Jordon emailed to point out to me that Grace Cathedral has been nominated for a Webby, and I take heart in the fact that any Episcopal Church organization has done anything sufficiently attuned to online life that a Big Award cares to recognize it. At the same time — and not to be a wet blanket — the site looks pretty busy to me, and it’s probably not a coincidence that a Bay Area-based awards body selected a Bay Area church as its nominee (possibly, of course, because sophisticated Bay Area designers worked up the site — but also possibly because Grace has a high profile locally).
There’s so much to be done, so very much, to improve the Church’s engagement with the web — and Grace Cathedral’s site shouldn’t stand out. Indeed, it ought to look rather stodgy and obvious, compared to more visionary congregations’ web sites. Till those congregations take the plunge, though, here’s a toast to Grace, and to the hope that this is a launch pad rather than a terminus.
Posted by AKMA at May 1, 2004 07:37 PM | TrackBackI recently stumbled on the comments about Grace Cathedral's web site, www.GraceCathedral.org on the jordancooper.com web site.
I am very excited that people are talking about our site (I am an employee), whether positive or negative. I think it's great that I am able to read your feedback, this is the kind of information we need, but have a hard time retaining.
We recently redesigned the site about a year + ago and I can assure you all that the current site is about a thousand times more pleasant, although it will always be a work in progress as most things are. Some of the things I noticed that were written were about stories or lack thereof, more specifically stories of people who are part of our community.
We have recently taken on a project in the past year called "Telling Our Stories." It is in streaming video and it features members of our community and their personal stories of faith and their spiritual journey. Also, The Forum at Grace Cathedral is a great way to catch a glimpse of what kind of a community we are. Although the guests of The Forum are rarely congregation members, the program content really speaks to the diversity of our church and our local San Francisco community.
Another part of the web site that shows off our congregation would be our ministry page. We have a wide selection of ministries that represent the cathedral and all that we're doing.
Grace Cathedral is located in the center of busy San Francisco. In addition to our loyal congregation members, we also serve the city of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area by offering an inclusive message to those who may not identify with organized religion or those who practice other faiths.
To some people this can be frustrating, but it really is our purpose to offer a place of worship where everyone feels comfortable and welcome. The web site is trying to do that as well with our enrichment content, audio and video, information about the cathedral and its ministry groups and our calendar of events.
I wish I could go on, because I have so much to say. I receive countless comments on a daily basis that thank us for our web site and all that we're doing to connect people worldwide to our House of Prayer for All People.
I enjoyed reading your comments and the others, and I welcome anyone's thoughts, please feel free to email me. We rely on our visitors to give us guidance and we are constantly in the process to please so many tastes.
McKenzie Ward, Publicist - Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
Posted by: McKenzie Ward at May 4, 2004 04:49 PM