Software designed for churches is helping Brisbane parishioners stay in the loop. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Since its introduction in September 2024, parishes in the Brisbane Archdiocese been working to build their digital presence on Flocknote.
It is a space where newsletters, sacramental programs, prayer groups, last-minute notices and planned giving can all be accessed in one go.
Parishioners at St Therese and St Anthony in Kedron were quick to embrace the new technology.
Kedron Parish manager Sandra DiFrancesco said it was a “positive” for her parish where “pretty much everyone signed up”.
“I’ve got more than 4500 people on my on my register … for my newsletter, compared to the 200 that I print every week. And if you don’t want it you can unsubscribe. That’s how easy it is,” she said.
She said it was good to send out last-minute notices of Masses.
(Print) newsletters were great 10 years ago, but everyone’s a little tech savvy now and everybody gets things on their phone.”
“Going paperless does keep the cost down,” she said.
While Banyo Nundah Parish had seen a slower uptake of the software, surprisingly it was the homily group that was most popular, parish secretary Debra Visser said.
Parish priest Fr Dan Redhead shared his homily regularly with the group, which had gained popularity.
“I’ve been very impressed that people have jumped on, and that might have been one of the reasons they’ve jumped onto Flocknote – to get the homily,” Ms Visser said.
She said some older parishioners had been “very keen to jump on board because they’ve seen it in the newsletter”.
Ms Visser said she promoted Flocknote in the print newsletter and encouraged people to sign up, but a few had been reluctant.
“A couple of people that have shared some misinformation about scams – none of that is actually true,” Ms Visser said.
More than 500 people at Banyo Nundah Parish were receiving the digital newsletter each week.
Ms Visser said the parish used it for enrolments to its Sacramental programs, had set up a few groups and started using it for planned giving.
FULL STORY
Brisbane Catholics embrace technology to stay connected to Church (By Kymberlee Gomes, The Catholic Leader)
