Communications: Frequently Asked Questions

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Browse the most common questions about our Communications Tools

What is Church Center?

Church Center is a mobile app and web experience that serves as a digital hub for our congregation to connect, engage, and manage your involvement with church. Members use Church Center to interact directly with the administrative tools our church staff and congregational leadership uses.

WHAT CAN I DO IN CHURCH CENTER?

  • Online Giving: Members can safely submit donations, set up recurring payments, manage your annual pledge, choose specific funds, and track their giving history.
  • Event Registration: You can sign up for upcoming and ongoing church events and programs, and pay for tickets or fees directly through the app.
  • Group Management: Users can get connected and involved with active church groups, or get in touch with  Councils, Committees, or other teams. Group leaders can email or chat with their group members, post shared resources, and more.
  • Church Directory: Members can opt-in to a secure, shared digital directory to exchange contact information and see household photos.
  • Profile Management: Individuals can log in securely using 'passwordless' authentication to update their own contact information, addresses, and privacy settings.

PASSWORDLESS LOGIN:
Church Center uses a passwordless login, which is more secure than a traditional username and password combination. If you've had trouble getting logged into Church Center, review the steps on their Help forum: help.planningcenter.com/en/141275-log-in-to-church-center.html

How do I use the Member Directory in Church Center?

VERIFY YOUR PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PROFILES:

Keep your Church Center profile up to date so your church can always contact you! You can also update your household members' information, such as medical notes and grades.

  1. Tap or select your profile picture or initials.
  2. Tap or select My information and settings.
  3. Tap or Select Personal and household info.
  4. Tap or select the Edit buttons to update or add your personal information.
  5. Tap or select Save if prompted by the field you're editing.
  6. To finish, tap Update.

If one of your family members gets a new phone number, your child changes schools, or someone new joins your household, update that information in Church Center to keep First Universalist up to date!

The directory is a private place for the people in your church to share their contact information. If you've been invited to your church's directory, you can view it and share your information, as well as that of your household members.

The information you choose to share is entirely up to you. No information will be shared without consent from you or someone in your household.

UPDATE SHARED INFORMATION:

To edit the information shared for you or anyone in your household, go to your Directory profile.

  1. Select your profile photo or initials at the top of the page.
  2. Select My information and settings.
  3. Select Directory listing.
  4. Make any desired changes, such as sharing or removing information for you or your household members.
  5. Select Update profile to complete your updates.

CONTACT OTHER MEMBERS:

  1. Select Directory in the main navigation.
  2. Search by a person's name or household name, based on the filter you have set.
  3. Select the profile of the person you'd like to contact.
  4. If you don't see a way to contact an individual, they haven't shared their contact information.
How do Group Leaders use Groups in Church Center?

GET CONNECTED GROUPS: The Groups section in Church Center shows active groups at First Universalist Church of Denver for members and friends to get connected and involved in regular events and programs. Most groups listed are for group leader(s) communication only. Even if a group is marked "Closed," there may still be upcoming events or opportunities for you to get involved. To get in touch with a specific group, click the "Contact" button to send them an email.

  • GROUP LEADERS – MANAGE YOUR GROUP IN CHURCH CENTER: From the Church Center app or web, you can add members to your group, send emails, create events, take attendance, view reports, and view/moderate group messaging. You must be logged in to Church Center to manage your groups. Groups includes a "Resources" tab, where you will find quick links to your group's Basecamp, standing Google Meet links, and anything else you decide to add.
  • GROUP LEADERS – ADD OR INVITE MEMBERS TO YOUR GROUP: Whether a person has requested to join your group from the invitation email or the public group page, Group Leaders must approve requests to officially add them to a group so they can view chat conversations, member contact info (if shown), and resources.
  • CONTACT GROUP LEADERS – FOR ALL MEMBERS: Each group has a Contact button on its publicly listed page. Anyone connected to Church Center can use the Group's page to send an email to the group email, or listed contact email.
What is Basecamp?

Basecamp is a project management platform, or online workspace, our church groups use to help coordinate their work on projects throughout the year. Groups all have different needs, so make sure your leadership team is clear on who needs Basecamp access, and who is responsible for inviting new people and clearing out old members.

  • One of the main functions of Basecamp is organizational recordkeeping. Within each Basecamp, there should be quick links to your group's Shared Google Drive space and your standing Google Meet link for virtual meetings.
  • Group Leaders – Use the the Directory to find the correct email address to add/remove people from your Basecamp project.
How do I use Google Workspace?

DESCRIPTION: Church groups may be given access to these Google Workspace apps:

  • A User/Group email address ending in @firstuniversalist.org, depending on the needs of the group
  • A Shared Drive for teams to create records and working documents that should be retained by the church
  • A standing Google Meet link for recurring meetings

CHURCH EMAIL: Active groups, committees, leaders, and task forces may have a dedicated email for their work at First Universalist. Group and User emails end in @firstuniversalist.org, and any email sent to one of these addresses will be received by members of the group, or the user assigned to the account. Account Owners and Managers are assigned by either the Executive Director or the Communications Specialist.

Leadership groups can be contacted through the Church Center Directory. All other church groups, including Leadership groups, can be contacted through the “Groups” module in Church Center.

GOOGLE DRIVE: Each church team that creates records and working documents that should be retained by the church has its own Google Drive, functioning as a dedicated digital filing cabinet. Permissions flow downward from the highest level:

  • Access to a drive grants access to all folders and subfolders within it, and access to a folder includes all its subfolders.
  • Access levels are decided by team relationships (e.g., the Social Justice Council sees all task force files; the Board’s access to HR committee files is a deliberate choice).
  • Drives are set so anyone with the link can view, and the link is posted in Basecamp as a “door.”
  • Consistent file naming and standardized folder trees are essential.

GOOGLE MEET: Google Meet is the video conferencing tool used by First Universalist to host virtual meetings and events. Church groups have been assigned standing meeting links by authorized staff. Standing links are available to leaders in their Church Center group’s Resources. If you can’t find your standing link or need to request a new one, reach out to the Communications Specialist.

For scheduled council meetings, task force meetings, and other scheduled virtual events, links will be provided by the event manager or contact person for the event.

How do I reserve/book space on the Church Calendar?

Scheduling an Event / Requesting Space:

How do I submit an announcement to Happenings?

Before You Submit to Happenings – Check the Church Calendar and Reserve Space
If your event, meeting, or program is happening at church, you MUST fill out the Event/Program Request Form to reserve space BEFORE submitting a article. You must receive confirmation from our Events Coordinator and see the event scheduled on the calendar before you submit your announcement for the newsletter.

This step applies to all announcements that fall into the “SCHEDULED CHURCH EVENT OR PROGRAM” submission category. Thank you for helping us avoid scheduling conflicts in our shared space!

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
firstuniversalist.org/calendar-and-events/happenings
To submit an announcement for the weekly congregational newsletter, complete the Happenings Submission Form. Articles and announcements should fall under one of these categories to be included in the newsletter:

  • Scheduled Church Event or Program: Includes anything hosted at First Universalist Church that is organized by an active church group and scheduled on the church calendar.
  • Invitation to Volunteer: Includes calls to volunteer for a specific group, recruiting new Sunday/Weekday volunteers, or specific invitations to get involved with active First Universalist groups.
  • Actions: Includes calls to action with a church group, on- or off-site. This category is ideal for invitations to "take action" without a specific event date, time, or location.
  • Community News: Includes events, programs, or informational notices that members of our community and congregation may want to know, but is not hosted at church; submissions to Community News must include contact information because it’s unlikely staff will be able to answer questions about the information provided.
  • Staff (*for staff use ONLY): Includes announcements about staff-led events OR programs, or news and announcements for the congregation.
  • Make Changes / Update Content: Request changes or updates to an announcement previously submitted (currently running) in Happenings.
  • Other: Includes anything that doesn’t fall into one of these categories, but is still important to share with members and friends of First Universalist Church. 
How do I sign up for church emails/newsletters?

First Universalist sends a number of email newsletters on a weekly or monthly basis. To subscribe to receive updates to one of our church newsletters, add your name and email in the appropriate fields on the Newsletters page to join an email list. If you stopped receiving a newsletter, the best way to resubscribe is to go to the Newsletters page on the church website and reenter your information. If this does not solve your delivery issue, then reach out to the Communications Specialist for more help.

Signup forms on this Page: firstuniversalist.org/calendar-and-events/newsletters

  • Happenings / Weekly Newsletter (Friday at 4:00pm)
  • Care News / Monthly Newsletter (1st Monday at 4:00pm)
  • Social Justice Matters / Monthly Newsletter (4th Monday at 4:00pm)
  • Sunday Service Reminders / Weekly Email (Sunday at 9:15am)

Please Note: The Religious Education (RE) email list is not an opt-in list; families must be registered with the RE program to be added to the list.

What are First Universalist's official communication/social media channels?

Check our social media profiles for regular posts, but more importantly, TAG @firstuniversalist on Facebook and Instagram of fun times at church events and programs!