Parish websites being handled long-distance

Although Carol DiCrosta and her husband, Earl, moved to Arizona last June, she remains in charge of the websites of both Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes in Schenectady.

She created the sites for the churches in a city that from 1978 to last summer was her home.

As webmaster, she receives photographs and news by e-mail, which she posts on the sites from thousands of miles away. Bulletins, sent to her every week in electronic form, are displayed as well. Advertising

Both sites play an integral and practical role in the lives of parishioners, she explained: Vacationers and college students can access the bulletins from anywhere, and people can get one-stop answers as to when they're lectoring or being a Eucharistic minister.

Plus, Mrs. DiCrosta said, the sites are a good evangelistic tool, advertising the church and its activities to people who may not have known about them before.

"I've had people tell me that they joined our church because they went to the website and saw all the things we did, and thought it looked like an awesome church," she said. "I feel connected by doing this, but it makes me so homesick. There are so many things to remember."

Active in parish

At Mt. Carmel, Mrs. DiCrosta was a catechist, taught Baptismal classes, co-managed Christmas gift baskets and charity events for the needy, trained altar servers, served on the parish council, did altar linens, and sold Mass cards on Sundays.

When she started teaching children about computers at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, she was a volunteer using the only machine, which was located in the principal's office.

"I would bring children there, and we'd do little projects," she said.

Gradually, she became an expert in HTML, the computer-ese of websites.

Still home

Healthwise, "the move [to Arizona] was necessary, but as far as I'm concerned, Mt. Carmel is still my church," Mrs. DiCrosta said. Both parishes are "family-oriented, warm churches, and I love both of them. I miss the people something terrible. The church we go to here has 3,000 parishioners. It's such a different feeling. I miss the smallness."

As the world becomes more technologically literate, Mrs. DiCrosta expects that churches will rely more and more on the internet to reach and inform parishioners alike (see The Evangelist's site at www.evangelist.org).

"People check out different churches on the web in their area if they've just moved into the area," she said. "I was amazed at how the parishes have responded, sending me things. They take pride in their website."

On-line info

Computers played a crucial role in Mrs. DiCrosta's recovery from a stroke two years ago. On her doctor's advice, she used computers as an exercise to regain lost knowledge and skills.

"I would sit at my computer trying to do something, and say, 'I don't remember how to do this,' and get furious," she said. "My husband would say, 'Now think what you want to do and how you would go about doing it.' He made me think, and that is what you have to do."

The couple is enjoying high temperatures and the unhurried pace of retired life. They spend time together -- in the company of their three computers.

"He has one, I have one, and we have a laptop," she said.

(Immaculate Conception's website is www.ic-schenectady.com. Our Lady of Mount Carmel's site is www.olmc-schenectady.com.)

(2/9/06) [[In-content Ad]]