In order to enhance timely and effective communication at St. Dominic Parish, the following norms ought to be followed:
First, all parish groups are encouraged to keep minutes of their meetings and publish them to increase awareness of their membership and activities.
Website: Submissions of announcements, schedules, minutes, etc. for publication on the Parish Website are sent electronically to the Webmaster.
Bulletin: Submissions for the parish bulletin are preferred electronically. Please specify number of weeks of publicity requested. Submissions are made to Martha Jean Walsh at . The deadline for submissions is Thursday Noon the week before publication. Editorial and layout discretion are given to the Parish Secretary. Translation of certain shorter articles into English or Spanish may be provided by the parish office if time permits. Otherwise please find a translator within your own organization to help build bridges between the different language groups in our parish.
Pulpit Announcements: Pulpit announcements are read by a priest or deacon at every Saturday evening or Sunday Mass. Submissions for pulpit announcements ought to be made through the Parish Secretary. These announcements ought to be limited to 30 words or less. Longer announcements may be approved by the pastor in exceptional circumstances. No phone numbers or websites are allowed in pulpit announcements. It is more appropriate to include such detailed information in a bulletin article. Pulpit announcements will be translated by a parish secretary for inclusion at every Mass on Saturday evening and Sunday. The deadline for submission of pulpit announcements is Thursday Noon.
Names of the sick or recently deceased for inclusion in the Prayers of the Faithful ideally are submitted to a parish secretary before Thursday at 4:30pm.
Pulpit Speakers: Occasionally a speaker will be allowed to address the congregation at the end of a Saturday evening or Sunday Mass. These speakers must be approved by the Pastor or in his absence the Associate Pastor. A maximum of two speakers will be allowed on a given weekend. Some weekends no speakers will be allowed due to liturgical or other considerations. These speakers should be well prepared and brief. Requests for speaking in the pulpit should be made well in advance.
Vestibule publicity: A maximum of two tables are allowed in the vestibule on a given weekend for recruitment, sign-ups or distribution of information. The use of these tables must be approved by the Pastor or in his absence the Associate Pastor. Likewise the distribution of flyers in the vestibule (without using a table) must be similarly approved. Groups that are willing to share a table with another group are encouraged to do so to avoid congestion in the vestibule. Requests for doing publicity in the vestibule should be made well in advance.
Distributing flyers on vehicles in the parking lot is prohibited.
Posting flyers on the glass outer doors of the Church must be approved by the Pastor. Flyers are not allowed on the glass inner doors of the Church. Posters or flyers to be included in the bulletin case in the entryway of the Church are submitted to a parish secretary.
Ideas, comments and suggestions for improvement in communications are always welcome.
People who are willing to work for positive change are even more welcome.