Hi everyone,
First, I want you to know I stand firmly behind the effectiveness of social distancing for slowing and stopping the spread of covid19. It is almost the only preventive tool we have to beat this thing. And it is the best.
Please take things seriously. Use soap and water, use rubbing alcohol and disinfectants. Make sure they are the right strength and type to use. Wipe down commonly used-surfaces once or twice a day, even at home, especially if you don’t know if you may have been exposed or you’ve had to have someone in (please notice I sad ‘had to have’; this is not the time for visiting). Do this in a common place where you don’t know who was there or what their medical status is.
Wash your hands frequently for 20 seconds, and don’t touch your face (personally, this is the hardest one for me). Gloves help when you must go out, if you can get them, and masks help. While masks are not foolproof by any means – so still distance yourself – they can prevent a person who does not know they are sick from infecting someone else. They might keep someone from catching it – but that is not a guarantee.
I look at it this way. It’s like wearing an extra layer in the winter. You could still freeze to death if you are exposed to severe enough temperatures for too long. Or, it might be enough to save your life. So, wear that extra layer, wear that mask. Stay safe – and keep others safe by doing so.
Video guidelines
Thank you so much for being so supportive of our attempts to keep in touch through inspirational videos. It’s great. However, we are discovering the limitations of our devices, our networks, and our skills. So I am offering these beginning guidelines to those who want to share.
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Don’t use a super hi-res.
Most methods of moving files from device to device or to internet do not allow for files this large. One file we uploaded (an .mp4) was ‘only’ about 69MB, but it took over 3 hours to upload to YouTube. The first video, while it may not have had as great resolution, was a .mov format. It emailed with no problem and uploaded easily.
The fact is, most of us don’t have fast upload speeds.
The internet is strained at this time.
And most email clients won’t move anything over 25MB or 50MB. Some only 10MB.
The office needs to have the video to store it, and to coordinate all the communications (see next section), so we need to be able to move it from your device to one the Parish Administrator uses. which can mean either keeping it small enough in size or using a method which will allow the movement of large files (there are some). Check with the P.A. about this in advance.
Continue the creativity, and thank you. Check your phone’s settings. You should be able to adjust either the type of file it is creating or the resolution the video will be.
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Operate through the church office.
I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m trying to run things — but I am. At least those things that come under my role as Parish Administrator.
My biggest job is trying to promote communications. Just like I handle the bulletins and the newsletter, I also manage and coordinate the online information avenues. This keeps things centralized, in one place, and with one point of access (and storage). Whoever works this position is in control of these things so that they can be kept organized. Also, that person then has the responsibility of keeping up with the tasks of solving the myriad problems of dealing with the Internet: knowing what our limitations – such as upload capability – are, maintaining subscriptions, accounts, and passwords, and protecting our information.
I am always open to new ideas or new information on how to do something. If you know of a way to make my life easier, I’m all for it. However, please keep me in the loop on your ideas and what you want to try. Sometimes we already have the process in place; sometimes there’s a good reason it won’t work the way you first thought; sometimes collaborative thought is a plus. Mostly, however, it is my responsibility to know what is going on so that I can help find answers and solutions .
