COMMUNICATIONS TOOLKIT
The Saint Mark's Cathedral Strategic Plan, released in February of 2024, contains goals and priorities intended to inform the activities of all the cathedral's diverse ministry groups and guide out common life in this place. The sixth and final theme identified in the plan is Connecting and Telling Our Stories: "We offer creative ways to connect with one another, navigate ministry resources, and tell our stories as a Parish and Cathedral."
This page is intended to offer resources, suggestions, and guidance to live out this goal.
Download the slides from the Communications Forum on September 22 here.
"Official" vs. "In-house" Communications
Saint Mark's Cathedral communicates its offerings and activities through many channels, including the weekly newsletter, website, public social media accounts, brochures in the narthex, and others. The information in these channels reflects on the cathedral as a whole, and so must be seen by the Dean and Communications Director before being made public. Major statements, commitments, endorsements, or policy positions must also be approved by the Vestry. The procedures and guidelines below will help to expedite the process of getting information into these official channels, and minimize the bottleneck.
Ministry groups also need to communicate in less public and less official ways. Newsletters or emails sent to ministry members or a self-selected list, flyers distributed at information tables in the nave or posted to the Community Bulletin Board, less public social media spaces, etc., are not seen as official statements by the cathedral as a whole, and can be distributed by ministry groups directly. Please use the tools and suggestions below to make such communication as accurate, complete, accessible, and appealing as possible.
There is some grey area in this distinction between "official" and "unofficial." When in doubt, ask! Contact Dean Thomason (sthomason@saintmarks.org) or Communications Director Gregory Bloch (gbloch@saintmarks.org)
Communications Office Hours
As a follow up to the Communications Forum, Gregory Bloch, Director of Communications, and Alexandra Thompson, chair of the Communications Committee of the Vestry offered “office hours” online via Zoom on a Friday and a Saturday in October, to address any questions relating to event promotion, this Communications Toolkit, the new Canva brand kit, the podcast relaunch, Slack, or just cathedral communications in general. These hours were helpful and we hope to offer them again in the future.
Please note:
This toolkit is a work in progress. Suggestions welcome! This is a list of possibility and questions to consider, not a comprehensive checklist. Different communications strategies and channels are appropriate for different offerings.
COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS
NEWSLETTERS
The main cathedral newsletter (sometimes known as "Sundays & Beyond") is the primary mode of communication to the members of the cathedral community.
The newsletter is mailed out Friday morning. Deadline for content is the end of the day the preceding Tuesday.
Using the newsletter submission form (found on the cathedral website by clicking "Submit an Announcement" under "Connect" in the top bar menu) streamlines the process and ensures that the information submitted is complete. Inclusion in the cathedral newsletter is always at the discretion of the Dean and Communications Director, and announcements may be edited for length and clarity.
Much of content in Friday's email is then reproduced in printed form in the back of the leaflets of the Sunday morning services. Space in the printed version is much more limited than in the email, and items are included in the printed version at the discretion of the Dean and Communications Director.
Certain ministries (Creation Care, 20s/30s, QuiC, etc.) produce their own dedicated email newsletters that are sent only to a self-selected list of those who have signed up. If this might make sense for your ministry, reach out to the Communications Director.
You are welcome to submit an announcement to the email newsletter of the Diocese of Olympia, Across the Diocese. Use their submission form here.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is one of the powerful tools to tell your ministry's story, but it must be used with care. Not everyone in the cathedral community is active on social media, and so information send out through those channels will not be seen by the entire community. For this reason, social media cannot be a primary communication channel.
Saint Mark's currently has an active presence on: YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. If you have an idea for something that could be posted publicly by the cathedrals official accounts, reach out.
On Facebook there is also a group called Saint Mark's Cathedral Community Life. This is a closed group, meaning that only those who request to join and are approved can see the posts in the group. This allows for more informal posts than would be appropriate on the public page, and creates a space where individual members can share and discuss. As of September 2024, there are 470 members, most of which are members of Saint Mark's local to the Seattle area, but many of whom are not. This is a great place to share news about your ministry! (But again, it cannot be a primary way to get the word out about important ministry announcements.)
Dedicated accounts. In certain situations it may make sense for a particular ministry to have its own Facebook or Instagram account—for example, Cathedral Yoga or The Flower Ministry's exquisite Instagram. Please consult with the Communications Director before creating such an account—but with clear expectations it can be a great tool.
Would you be interested volunteering on the team that creates posts and moderates the cathedral's official social media accounts? Let's talk!
PRINTED MATERIAL
Even in our digital age, printed communication still has an important role to play. Brochures, posters, postcards, and mailings can reach people in a way that electronic media cannot. Cathedral publications such as The Rubric, the Ministry Directory, and the Annual Report have value as physical objects that is different from their online forms.
The brochure racks in the narthex are primarily intended for guests, visitors, and newcomers to the cathedral, and so contain only "official" Saint Mark's publications. Unauthorized material left in the narthex will be discarded or moved. If your ministry does not currently have a brochure on display in the narthex, and you think it would make sense for you to have one please talk to the Communications Director.
Saint Mark's has a Community Bulletin Board located on level 1 near the main reception desk and cathedral offices, just inside the Hoerster Annex entrance. All are welcome to post flyers or posters on this board. Material posted on the Community Bulletin Board may be removed at any time.
You are welcome to create your own flyers or postcard for events or other offerings from your ministry. These do not need to adhere to the same branding standards as official cathedral communications, but using elements of the cathedral's branding, such as the official logo, colors, and fonts, can look good and make a visual connection to the cathedral. These are available through the cathedral's Canva team—find more information about Canva below.
Flyers you make can be posted on the level 1 bulletin board, distributed personally to members of your ministry group, passed out at events such as Sunday forums or Cathedral Commons events, or given out at an information table in the nave after Sunday morning services. (Tables in the nave must be reserved well in advance, and are not possible on certain Sundays. Contact the Scheduler Stephen Eddy seddy@saintmarks.org about making a reservation.)
A tip: for any printed communication, it is good practice to include a QR code linking to more information—or even just the same information in digital form. QR codes improve both convenience and accessibility, and are appreciated by many readers.
THE CATHEDRAL WEBSITE
This website is the way most people find information about the cathedral. For this reason the website as a whole should paint a complete and accurate picture of who we are as a community and what is going here today. With an institution as abundant and dynamic as Saint Mark's, it is impossible to achieve this goal perfectly, but if you find any information which is inaccurate or out-of-date, please let the Communications Director know.
All active ministries of the cathedral should have an accurate and current description on one of the pages linked to on the Get Involved! page. This description mirrors the content of the printed Ministry Directory.
For some ministries, it also makes sense to have a dedicated page on the cathedral website. Imagine what a newcomer unfamiliar with Saint Mark's would want to know about your ministry, then explore the website and consider how easy it would would be for a newcomer to find that information. A ministry's website can also be used for other purposes (see, for example, the page of Creation Care.) If you'd like to edit or expand the web content related to your ministry, please reach out.
The cathedral's Events Calendar is an official communications channel used to inform the broadest community about events at the cathedral to which the public is invited. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but in general "closed" events that are of interest only to a specific ministry group do not belong on the events calendar. Keeping the events calendar complete and accurate is a difficult task—please inform the Communications Director if there is something missing or incorrect.
Since 2020 it has also been the practice to make dedicated "posts" on the website for particular cathedral offerings. "Posts" differ from "pages" in that they are linked to a specific date and become less visible as time passes. Such posts are useful for promoting an upcoming event (or series of events), and then become a convenient location to make archive video and other resources from the event available afterward.
Most such posts can be found on the Community Life page (found under "Connect" in the top bar menu). This page also contains announcements, messages to the parish, reflections, and other special web content.
SPECIAL EMAILS TO THE PARISH
Special emails separate from the newsletter, including event invitations, are sent out by the cathedral in certain situations. Talk to the Dean or your ministry's staff liaison if you think this might be appropriate for your ministry.
PRESS RELEASES AND THE NEWS MEDIA
The cathedral issues press releases and reaches out to particular reporters directly for major cathedral announcements and events.
It may arise that a reporter reaches out to you for comment about a story relating to Saint Mark's. Do not, under any circumstances, communicate with the media regarding the cathedral or its ministries without first speaking to the Dean and Communications Director. Even if the reporter is on a urgent deadline and is asking what seems like a straightforward or insignificant question, you MUST end the conversation, take down their contact details, tell them you will get back to them soon, and contact Dean Thomason or Gregory Bloch immediately.
THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT NEW AND DIFFERENT COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS & STRATEGIES
The ways to communicate, whether to your ministry group, to the cathedral community, or to the world, are constantly changing and multiplying. Some of these ways to communicate are perfect for telling the cathedral's stories. (Many are not!) The cathedral's podcast is preparing to relaunch; the 20s/30s Group have their own Slack channel; and the Creation Care Ministry solicited short-form first-person videos from parishioners. You are not limited by what has been done before, or what appears on this page! At the same time, begin with a clear goal in mind—what is the message you are trying to communicate, and who is your intended audience? Novelty for its own sake has no value, but connecting with the community in a new and compelling way is priceless. If you have an outside-the-box idea, email the Communications Director and let's start a conversation.
A CHECKLIST FOR EVENTS
PLANNING YOUR EVENT
If your event will take place at the cathedral, contact Scheduler Stephen Eddy as early as possible to reserve a space. Check out the Events Calendar for potential conflicts, but be aware that the website's calendar contains only a fraction of the events that are actually taking place in cathedral's spaces—there are many private meetings and events not listed on the public-facing calendar which may affect your plans. (Guideline for the rental of cathedral spaces by outside groups can be found here.) After Stephen has confirmed that the space and time are available, he will ask you to submit this Facilities & Event Details form with details of your request.
Think about the accessibility of your event from the start. You are encouraged to make your event hybrid when possible—this allows for the participation of those who cannot attend at the cathedral for a variety of reasons. The hybrid event equipment permanently installed in Bloedel Hall can be used by ministry groups, although a staff member or trained volunteer is required to run the system, and there is a cost associated with its use. The system in the conference room (Cathedral House Room 210) can be used by anyone with a laptop, although some advance set-up is required. The "Owl" webcam for hybrid meetings in Leffler House is easier to use, but is only useful for certain kinds of events. For very special events, livestreaming from the nave may be a possibility
If your event will be hybrid, please ensure your communication has as much information as possible and early as possible about the hybrid option, including the Zoom link if applicable. Your particular ministry group's staff liaison can get a Zoom link for you.
PUBLICIZING YOUR EVENT
For most ministry offerings, publicity will begin with the Communications Request Form. The form asks you to indicate when you would like announcements in the email newsletter to begin running, although be aware that the Communications Director may announce your event earlier or later than requested. Publicity for most events begins 4–6 weeks in advance. In addition to the email newsletter, items submitted using the form will also be added to the Events Calendar and elsewhere on the website as appropriate, as determined by the Communications Director. If you have specific requests, include them in the "Special Instructions" field.
As early as possible, think about other ways of getting the word out, whether through official cathedral channels or otherwise (see "Official vs. In-house Communications" above).Think about what will be effective and appropriate for your specific event. Consider making a flyer with Canva or issuing a personal invitation on the Saint Mark's Community Life group on Facebook. Talk to the Communications Director about how we might employ official cathedral channels in creative ways.
A NOTE ON STYLE: When writing the description of your event, remember that it will be read by longtime members, newcomers, strangers, young people, people from different cultural background, people with diverse gender identities, people with disabilities... Your description should be meaningful to and inclusive of as broad an audience as possible. To that end:
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Avoid in-jokes, which almost always exclude as much as they include.
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Avoid sarcasm, irony, or any tone that could be misconstrued by the reader.
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Avoid undue enthusiasm! And the overuse of exclamation points! (In almost all situations, an announcement should contain no more than one exclamation point total.)
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Think very carefully about the use of the world "we" (and "us" and "our" etc.). Ask yourself, "who is the 'we' in this sentence?" and consider if the "we" includes or excludes the reader. There is much grey area and no firm rule. A phrase like "Climate change is our greatest challenge" does not need revision, but "music by our Cathedral Choir" should be revised to "music by the Saint Mark's Cathedral Choir." The phrase "Please join us..." should almost always be avoided.
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RUNNING YOUR EVENT
For events with a hybrid component, it is strongly recommended that a particular person be assigned to manage the online component, distinct from the person running the event or the main presenter.
Think in advance about recording or otherwise documenting your event. Perhaps designate a photographer to get good images—images that convey what the event was like for those who weren't there. Video—even a very short video—can be an even better way to record the experience. Make sure you document any referenced or resources that were shared.
You may also want to designate in advance someone to write up a summary or report on the event.
Note: Zoom and other platforms now offer services that use AI to automatically generate a summary of online events. They can be a great labor-saving tool, but can also make errors. Feel free to try them out, but double check the output carefully before sharing.
SHARING AFTER THE EVENT
Send any and all photos, video, resources, and reports to the Communications Director as soon as you can. He can provide a OneDrive link that can make photo submission easier. You are also encouraged to make a post to the Saint Mark's Community Life Facebook group about what happened, including photos and/or short video when appropriate.
Consider sending out a request for feedback or a brief survey to the participants immediately after the event.
You can use the same Communications Request Form to submit a brief report of a recent event to run in the newsletter or elsewhere. The community wants to know! As the 2024 Strategic Plan reminds us: "We share and receive our stories with respect and humility to deepen relationships with one another as we join in sharing the love of Christ."
CANVA
Ministry leaders can join the Saint Mark's "team" on Canva.com, allowing you to create documents and graphics using Saint Mark's official colors, logos, typefaces, and photos. Contact Communications Director Gregory Bloch for an invitation to join the team.
GENERAL REFERENCES
The Communications Guide is a useful as a guide to the cathedral's style. (Now somewhat outdated, and a revision is in the works.)
The Fall 2024 Ministry Directory
2024 Strategic Plan (or direct pdf link)
2021 Statement of Lament and Commitment to Action
Healthy Communication in Community (adopted by the Vestry in 2023)
A Ministry Event Planning Guide adapted from a guide originally written by Emily Meeks for 20s30s members