Parish first onto Web

Then he found that there were free sites available on the Internet for non-profit organizations. This gave him an idea: Why not put his own parish on the Net?

The pastor, Rev. John Cairns, gave the okay; and three months ago, St. Edward the Confessor become the first parish of the Albany Diocese to have its own home page on the Internet. (The Diocese has since formed a task force to explore use of the Internet, and has asked parishes and organizations not to develop web sites until the task force has finished its work. Parishes should contact Jay Feeney, chancellor for finance and administration, at 453-6612.)

Communicating

"It's another means of communication," Mr. Taylor said of the parish site on the WWW. "if you will, it's a free advertisement."

All that's needed to start an Internet site is a computer, a modem and telephone line that can be tied into it, and a software program called "Netscape" that costs about $45. (Non-profit organizations can access this software for free, Mr. Taylor added.)

Mr. Taylor is the "web master" for St. Edward's site, which originates in his home computer and operates through the Capital Region Information Service of New York, or CRISNY.

Right now, the site contains a brief history of St. Edward's parish, a list of Mass times and ministries parishioners are involved in, and a picture of what the church will look like after current renovations are completed. There is also a provision for Father Cairns to include a monthly column, if he wishes.

Community

"This is basically for people in our community, to just have a place where they can find out about the parish," Mr. Taylor said. "We have people moving into the area who have visited the site, wanting to know where we are in relation to the Capital District. There are a number of people who might have questions -- comments about sermons, questions about the building project et cetera."

He believes that having a home page is helpful to those trying to decide which parish to attend when coming to a new area.

Mr. Taylor hopes to expand St. Edward's home page in the future to include the parish bulletin and links to other sites, including the Vatican and sources for Catholic publications.

He pointed out that the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, has their own web site that lists all the parishes, priests and deacons of the Diocese; and a North Carolina diocese is tying all of its parishes together on the Internet as well.

(The Internet address for St. Edward the Confessor parish in Clifton Park is http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/stedward. It is also accessible off The Evangelist's web site.) (07-18-96) [[In-content Ad]]