Using technology to reach out

CLIFTON  Texting in church is never a good idea. But on Easter, it will be a great tool for parishes to use to reach out to the many Catholics filling the pews to overflowing for Mass that day. And parishes using Flocknote will be able to reach out to those in the pews so that they can stay connected with the parish going forward after Easter and throughout the year.

Whether they are a millennial with a new family or a senior who has been absent from the Church, the Diocese sees this influx of churchgoers as an opportunity to better communicate with all of them and help grow parishes in many ways.

Next Tuesday, Feb. 27, the Diocese is offering two workshops on Flocknote, an email and text messaging tool created for churches, ministries, teams and other community organizations. The meetings will be held at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls in Madison at 10 a.m. and at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Oak Ridge at 2 p.m.

Parishes, which have yet to sign up for Flocknote and those parishes that are already actively using Flocknote, are invited to attend the meetings. The Diocese has purchased Flocknote for use by every parish. In addition to English, Flocknote can also be used in different languages, including Spanish and Polish.

Flocknote also integrates seamlessly with eCatholic, which hosts almost every parish website in the Diocese.

Matthew Sewell of Flocknote will do a presentation on the use of Flocknote and will be available for any questions anyone might have. According to Flocknote’s website, “Flocknote helps you reach a majority of your parishioners when you need to most — in between Sundays and once people stop showing up on Sundays.”

Tom Barrett, diocesan coordinator of special projects, said, “The Diocese’s Flocknote initiative, launched in September, already has many parishes involved and they report jumps in attendance, stewardship and overall engagement.”

Flocknote engages people of all ages through the use of current communication. “It’s meeting millennials and how they communicate, which is through their smartphones with texting messaging,” said Barrett. “For seniors, studies have shown that 93 percent of seniors have access to a computer or email. Flocknote is easy to use. It’s basic level technology and parishioners can chose to have messages sent via text or email or both.”

Even if a parish has an older population, Sewall noted, “Definitely continue with the methods of reaching members you’re already reaching but keep in mind that the best way to grow is to offer a method of engagement that’s accessible to the people you’re hoping to reach, which time and time again has revealed to be text messaging and email.”

Flocknote has proven to grow the participation of people in parishes, according to Sewell. “A church in Crystal Lake, Il., St. Thomas the Apostle, before using Flocknote had a contact list of around 1,600 people. They opted to hold a sign-up for Flocknote on Ash Wednesday, the most popular day of the year for their church. Using Flocknote’s handy script they were able to get 700 people signed up right there in church and had grown their database to 2,450 people within 24 hours. That’s a 50 percent growth in those they could reach in just the first day,” he said.

Today that same parish in Illinois has now grown to 5,000 members according to Sewall.

For almost five years, the parish community at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in Cedar Knolls has been connecting with its parishioners through Flocknote with more than 2,000 members signed up.

Cristina Folan, communications specialist at Notre Dame, said, “Flocknote has been an all-around blessing for our parish. It is particularly vital to the operational logistics of our ministries, especially the larger ones and those serving liturgical purposes.”

In many ways, the Cedar Knolls parish considers Flocknote as a virtual “lifeline” to its larger community of faith, especially for those who are registered with the parish but not necessarily connected to Mass or its Faith Formation program. The messages Notre Dame’s sends to all its parishioners, active and inactive meet them where they are currently in their faith lives. This is especially important in times of personal, emotional or spiritual struggles.

“We also occasionally share pictures, video or testimonials from past events via Flocknote,” Folan said,” as opportunities to not only rejoice from what we have experienced but to also in the hope of sparking curiosity and an interest to connect in the future.”

With parishes especially active during the Lenten season with missions, special Masses, retreats, reconciliation services and other activities, Flocknote has helped communicate dates and times of these events and the sharing of photos and videos similar to social media networks. “Last Advent Father Jhon Madrid (parochial vicar) celebrated special Family Masses, which we intentionally promoted each week via Flocknote — the response was just amazing,” said Folan, “Each week we shared pictures and video of the children’s choir, which brought more families in the following weeks. Father Jhon will be doing the same for Lent, that is, celebrating special Lent Family Masses at our 9 a.m. Mass on Sundays in Lent through Easter Sunday. Father sent a Flocknote announcing the First Sunday of Lent Mass in a series.”

Whether it’ll be a priest or layperson who attends the meeting, Barrett believes all parishes will benefit from the information given about Flocknote. “We hope parishes come to the meeting. It’s a great communication tool. With Easter coming, it could really boost new participation and this type of communication will continue to engage them all year long,” said Barrett.

[Information: Tom Barrett (973) 777-8818, ext. 231 or [email protected].]