You know the gyms are going to be crowded at this time of year, but what kind of shape is your church website? Follow this quick-fix checklist to make sure your parish looks its best before you head out into 2012.

1. Do you still have Christmas graphics up after the Epiphany? Now’s the time to take them down before you end up looking like that neighbor who leaves Christmas lights up all year.
2. Has anyone asked any of your Frequently Asked Questions in the past year? Are the answers still accurate? You might want to check the freshness of your “About Us” page, too. (Here are some good About-Us examples from the business world.)
3.  Is your domain name expiring this year? Renew it before you risk losing your entire site.
4.  Did you add any new social media accounts in the past year? Make sure all of them are listed on your site and in your marketing materials. Reorder the list if you are more active on some than others. And confirm that you are using consistent imagery and descriptions across all of these networks.
5. Got the wrong copyright year at the bottom of your website? That’s oh so 2011. Here’s how to fix that problem so your site automatically updates each year. If your site runs on PHP, use this line of code (without the spaces):

   &Copy; Copyright < ? php echo date ( ' Y ' ) ; ? > Your
   Business Name or Site

   This will give you:
   © Copyright 2012 Acme, Inc.

   this year and next year the 2012 will automatically switch to 2013.

   If you don’t have PHP, you’ll need to resort to JavaScript.

   Copyright &Copy; <script type="text/java script">
    document.write(new Date().getFullYear());
    </script> Your Business Name or Site Name

   And remember, you can copyright your content but copyright law doesn’t protect domain names.

6. Do your “contact us” forms still work? Fill them out, submit and then check that the confirmation message remains relevant and that the message reaches the proper inbox. And if these submissions go to someone other than you, it’s a good opportunity to see how fast your parish staff or designated volunteer replies.
7. Repeat step 6 with your online donations forms. (Actually, that’s a good one to check before the end of the year. Sorry about that!)
8.  Did any of your parish policies change, such as how you register as a parishioner or timelines for wedding and baptism preparations? Update your site and remind your staff accordingly.

Those are some key items to get you started on reviewing your parish website. So, what are you doing for your church to look good in the new year?

(Note: I wrote a small business-focused version of this article for NFIB that appeared as New Year Checklist for a Good Looking Small Business)

Examples of Copyright Dates on Church Websites

Wrong year on StCharlesChurch.org

StJohnsTipton.com avoids the issue by not putting a year in its copyright notice.

Mary.org's great site needs to fix that 2007 copyright date.

SMIP.org shows 2011 in January 2012

CrossintheWoods.com shows the previous year's date.

By Sune Rievers on Flickr

It’s September 19 so it must be, what, Monday of the 25th week in Ordinary Time (or Twitter version)? It’s also International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Celebrate with this buried treasure from ChurchMojo.com we arrrrgh diggin’ up for this here special occasion.

My mateys in crime also delivered:

Jonathan Sullivan shared this gem on Google+ if you want to go pirate and Episcopalian (cursed PDF alas)

Ironic Catholic struck gold again with F’thr Pete the Pirate Receives His First Parish Assignment.

To err is human. To arr is pirate! Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties. http://ow.ly/6rsKD #ITLAPD ^MR—
CSIRO (@CSIROnews) September 18, 2011

More #CatholicRulesForTwitter

1. Lent begins on Hashtag Wednesday.
2. Maximum tweet length is 125 – leave room for #theholyspirit.
3. #FF actually stands for Fish-Fridays.
4. When quoting Scripture, be vague and don’t provide a link to the exact verse (the exception, of course, is @todaysreadings).
5. Yellow–or more precisely, gold–makes the best Twitter background. #CatholicGild.
6. Late for Mass? Only check into Foursquare if you do so before the Gospel.
7. If you give up Twitter for Lent, you can still tweet on Sundays.
8. Learn from the example of Jonah and the FailWhale
9. Using fake words that start with tw- is as grating as using catechesis instead of education
10. Tweeting during the homily is okay if you make it look like you’re reading the bulletin

Whew, I feel much better now that I’ve got that off my chest. Here are my favorite Twitter rules for Catholics that have already been handed down::

#CatholicRulesForTwitter If you're a regular Catholic you'll type out Tweets with your hands. Pious Catholics do it with their tongues.—
James Martin (@JamesMartinSJ) April 06, 2011

{If you *must* tweet during Mass, be sure to whisper by placing {} around tweet like this one.}#catholicrulesfortwitter #ssshhh—
Catholic @BarbaraKB (@CatholicMeme) April 07, 2011

Do not refer to tweeting bishops as "Your Twexellency." #CatholicRulesForTwitter—
Jonathan Sullivan (@sullijo) April 01, 2011

Mary turned to the disciples ans said, "RT whatever he says." #CatholicRulesforTwitter—
Alfonso Pedroza ツ (@iTh0t) April 01, 2011

#CatholicRulesForTwitter – RT'ing a saint (e.g. @AquinasDaily) does not produce a second-class relic. http://ow.ly/4tNN6—
Timothy Sennett (@TimSennett) April 05, 2011

Guilt induced by venial tweets can be removed via the delete key, mortal tweets however need sacramental cleansing #CatholicRulesforTwitter—
Tim Byron (@timsj) April 05, 2011

Depicting the Holy Spirit as the twitter bird is permitted in devotional art posted on twitpic. #CatholicRulesForTwitter—
Jeffrey Pinyan (@PrayingTheMass) April 04, 2011

Tweets posted on Saturday night count as being written on Sunday. #CatholicRulesForTwitter—
Dan Sealana (@CatholicDan) April 02, 2011

On Fasts, only one full tweet is allowed. 2 smaller tweets permitted, if they do not equal a full 140 characters #CatholicRulesForTwitter—
Jonathan Shea (@JonoShea1) April 01, 2011

The #CatholicRulesForTwitter meme is another great example of how the faithful can have some fun on April Fool’s Day. I just wish 1) I thought of it, and 2) jumped on it earlier. So what’s your favorite rule?

10. Sometimes you stand and sing, other times you sit.
See the rest of the list…

(If you enjoy the intersection of faith and sports, check out my March Madness brackets for church-goers.)

RT @loisgeller: No sure how I "unlink people" on #LinkedIn. Do you? | Hmm, that's a good question.—
Paul Zink (@paulzink) November 16, 2010

@loisgeller Click Contacts then upper right corner has small "Remove Connections" link cc @paulzink—
Mark Alves (@markalves) November 16, 2010

@markalves Thank you for that info…going to delete people I don't know!—
Lois Karen Geller (@loisgeller) November 16, 2010

@markalves Thanks for the tip. There are a few I'd like to unlink too.—
Paul Zink (@paulzink) November 16, 2010

The tricky part is that you can’t remove the LinkedIn contact from the profile page. Instead:

1. Click “Contacts” from the main LinkedIn menu bar.
2. Click “Remove Connections” from the upper right corner.
3. Select the name(s) you wish to remove.
4. Click the “Remove Connections” button.

Now why would you want to delete a LinkedIn contact? Unless the person is abusive or spamming the heck out of you, I’d err on keeping the connection even if you’ve had a falling out. Why burn the bridge? But, now you know how to do so if you ever need to — or if your pastor asks how to drop a parishioner from his LinkedIn address book.

Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery by Mark Alves

Living down the street from Arlington Cemetery, I’m seen the expansion of the hallowed grounds for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of my annual commemoration of Veterans Day, I’ve updated my Veterans Day Prayers list.  It includes a Miss Manners column on Military funeral etiquette for grieving family members, which I’ll highlight here.

Military Funeral Etiquette For Grieving Family Members

• Do not need to stand to receive the flag from a service member
• Do not need to return a salute (if a civilian)
• Should not misinterpret silent reverence by a service member in attendance as rudeness
• Are not obligated to verbally express thanks to service members in attendance

Source: Miss Manners column, 11/10/2010

Reflection for Trinity Sunday

Think of the elements of a website. You’ve got the words and pictures, you have the underlying site structure and directory names, and then there are the links that connect. When you bring these separate parts together, the whole is much greater than the sum of the distinct parts.

The same principle is at work with the Trinity. While it’s impossible for our human minds to comprehend the infinite love of God, we can get a glimpse by looking at the persons of the Trinity.

So let’s take a closer look at how understanding a website can give our nerd friends some insight into the Trinity. Now we all know that in the beginning was the Word (that will represent our words and graphics). The Word was begotten by the Creator who designed our world. Together, those two form our webpages–words and structure. But the bonds between those two are so strong and interconnected that we have links that spring forth, in the form of the Holy Spirit, to help us to see connections that we would otherwise miss, to enter into a deeper understanding of God. Putting it all together, we have three distinct elements working together.

Now if this doesn’t work for you, there’s always Saint Patrick’s clover leaf analogy or a more formal definition of the Trinity. But for your web geek friends, try this one.

• The Maiden and the Messenger
• Pieta

I’ve got these on tape and CD, but it took some digging to find them online so I want to share them in the spirit of Mother’s Day today. (You may need to hit the purple play triangle and then the gray triangle in the Rhapsody button at the bottom.)

Please give them a thoughtful listen and then consider buying them to support Michael John’s wonderful music ministry.

And now for something from a completely genre — the Mother’s Day rap my sons put together for my wonderful wife:

I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. If you have a favorite Marian song, or your own Mother’s Day project to share, please do so in the comments.

Top 10 Ways Going to Church Imitates Baseball

By jcarwash31 via Flickr

10. Sometimes you stand and sing, other times you sit.
9. It can go into extra innings.
8. Hard to follow without a program.
7. Uncomfortable seats.
6. Sometimes you spend more than you want to.
5. Gotta know how to read the signs.
4. Come early to get good seats.
3. Long line for alcohol.
2. You’re preparing for post-season play.

And the number 1 way going to church imitates baseball…

1. If you screw up, you get sent down.

Good luck to your team this year, unless you’re a Yankee fan.