Managing and organizing information
How have the ways you organize and manage information changed over the years?
On my sixth birthday, my dad took me to open a savings account. I was given a passbook where each deposit was entered. My mother gave me an address book where I wrote and crossed out and rewrote addresses for years. All of that has changed. Now, I have contact lists in my phone and online banking. While I miss the record of all the places people have lived and the feel of holding a passbook, I am thankful that I can access that information anywhere and don’t have to worry about losing it.
Your church manages information to help us connect with one another and to be good stewards of the financial resources entrusted to us. For years this was accomplished with paper directories and databases, which could only be accessed through hard-wired desktop computers. Beginning in 2023, All Saints’ started moving to a new record-keeping solution called “Realm.” Among its services, Realm offers a tool, “Realm Connect,” which you can access from your personal computer or by downloading the “Realm Connect” app on your phone. “Realm Connect” replaces the “Church Life” app we have been using since 2017 and has much wider functionality. It will make it easier for our parish to “connect” with one another, keep up with what’s going on, and grow as a “connected” community.
The security of your personal information is very important. Realm Connect is a secure web-based program that allows you to personally control what contact information appears in the directory. Parents determine whether to display their child’s name in the church directory. Contact information is never public or searchable on the Internet. Any information you elect to make visible to your church family is always protected behind a login.
Initially, the primary benefits you will experience in Realm Connect will be the ability to directly:
- Update your personal information
- Retrieve your financial giving records
- Access our constantly updating church directory
Moving forward, this new tool will allow you to sign up directly for church events, make donations and payments, easily communicate between members of ministry teams, post reminders, share files and resources, and a whole lot more.
During the next two months, Realm Connect will slowly roll out to various ministry groups. This will allow time to address the inevitable hiccups that occur when introducing and adjusting to a new system. As we roll out more widely, there will be people available on Sunday mornings to personally answer your questions and help you get into Realm Connect. Those dates and times will be announced.
Watch your email for your Realm invitation, which will come from All Saints’! If you have any questions after receiving your invitation, please contact Stephanie Trosper, Church Administrator at 704-782-2024 or [email protected].
I know change is always challenging, but I am excited about the possibilities of Realm and Realm Connect. I think you will be too!
Nancy