Helping you help others

For Ministry Leaders

Resources and information for collaborating with Church Staff.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I . . . ?

Plan a ministry event

How do I reserve space for a parish event at St. John's?

The first step is to contact the Parish Office Coordinator (call 301-654-7767 or use the staff contact form) to request a calendar hold or reservation.  

Church staff will follow up, as needed, to provide an event planning form, as well as to inform you of any other immediate steps.

Fees
Please note that some event services, such as clean-up and tech support, may have additional fees connected with them, which you'll want to know for your event budget.

Nave/Chapel
If you desire to use the Nave (sanctuary) or Chapel for an event, additional considerations apply, and additional lead time is requested.  Please contact the office no less than four weeks prior to any event that is being proposed for the Nave or Chapel.

How can my ministry organize an Adult Forum or Community Town Hall?

If your ministry would like to organize an Adult Forum or a Community Town Hall, please reach out to the Rev. Anne Derse, Deacon & Minister for Community Engagement (send a message).

What if my event requires audio-visual equipment and/or tech support?

For regular, recurring Sunday events (Adult Forums and ministry meetings):  AV support is provided by our contractors and covered by the operating budget.

For other events/meetings: If you need support to operate the Zoom meeting and/or AV systems, please contact the office (call 301-654-7767 or use the staff contact form) at least three weeks in advance to discuss your needs and arrange for the appropriate support.  This will provide sufficient lead time to orient your volunteers, if applicable, or to potentially secure contract A/V support. (The hosting ministry or group would likely be asked to pay for any contractor support.)

Please note that St. John's office staff are generally not available to provide AV support for weeknight meetings or events. 

What if my event involves food?

Church staff will provide an event planning form to gather initial information, then reach out to you for follow up, as needed.

Please also download and read  

What if my event is a fundraiser?

Contact St. John's Director of Finance (call 301-654-7767 or send a message).

How can I obtain funding for my event?

There are several possible funding options available for St. John's events.

How can I create a signup using the church's Signup Genius account?

Please contact Sharon Lopilato (call 301-654-7767 or use our staff contact form).

Where can event attendees park?

CAR PARKING

  • St. John's parking lot. Enter on Wisconsin Avenue (northbound) and park in our designated spaces. Do not park in spaces reserved for neighboring businesses – they will tow!
  • On-street parking. Park on West Avenue (behind the church) and on Wisconsin Avenue on Sundays.
  • Nearby public parking lots. Paid public lots on Walsh and Leland Streets are available every day, and free on Sundays. (Scroll down for map.) Do not park in parking lots or garages for other businesses, such as Trader Joe’s; they will tow. 
  • ADA parking. Available on West Avenue with a valid  ADA tag on display.

BIKE PARKING

There is a bicycle rack at the back of the church just outside the West Avenue entrance.

 

What should I do if my event has potential security concerns?

Please call the church office at 301-654-7767 or use our online staff contact form to reach our Executive Director of Operations.

publicize ministry activity

How can I publicize my ministry's activity/events to the rest of the parish? 

Many of St. John's ministry leaders develop and maintain their own email list of interested parishioners, which is an ideal way to keep in touch with a core group of ministry constituents. 

To reach a broader parish audience, email an article with full details—as well as an image that is free from copyright restrictions—to publicity [AT] stjohsnnorwood.org.   St. John’s staff can then adapt it for use on any/all of the following channels, as appropriate. 

  • St. John's parish newsletter, Crossroads, which is emailed to 1,000+ subscribers every Friday morning (or bi-weekly during summer).
  • Oral announcements during Sunday worship services.  This is primarily used for events that are new, non-recurring, and/or widely inclusive.
  • Our Sunday Notes & News leaflet, which includes an activity calendar for the coming week, brief Ministry announcements, and brief highlights of selected, high-profile items.
  • This website, which is updated weekly to roughly mirror content from the week's Crossroads newsletter that is relevant and appropriate for public view.
  • A graphic on the screen in St. John's West Ave Lobby, usually reserved as an extra “visibility boost” for our highest priority parish-wide events and announcements.

How can Church Staff help me publicize to the broader public?

To help publicize activities specifically designed to reach community members outside the parish (who may not be churchgoers and/or who may already be members of another church),  St. John's staff may also post information on one or more public-facing channels, as deemed appropriate:

  • St. John's social media accounts, such as Facebook and Instagram.
  • Free third-party calendar listings, such as EDOW's diocesan event calendar, Patch, and Eventbrite.
  • Custom flyers that you, your ministry members, and other parishioners can share to publicize on personal social media accounts, networks/listservs, etc.  [Please submit flyer requests one month prior to the event.]
  • On rare occasions, for extremely high profile, public-facing events, we can also discuss additional external publicity options.

How and when should I submit publicity material?

Email your publicity text and at least one good image to publicity [AT] stjohnsnorwood.org 

Image specifications:  
1. Images must be free of copyright restrictions (i.e., don't just grab something from the Internet).  A photo taken by you or a ministry colleague is ideal.  Free stock image websites like Unsplash or Pexels or Pixabay are also good.
2.  Images must be a minimum of 650px by 650px.  Larger is even better.

Submission deadline:  Although the absolute latest deadline for a Crossroads newsletter submission is the Monday just prior to the desired publication date, submitting material earlier allows us the option of starting to share even earlier on the website and other channels.  It also allows more time to plan for external publicity, if appropriate.  

What should I know about content placement in the church's Crossroads newsletter?

  • Standard articles only run once in the “New Articles and Announcements" section—often in abbreviated form with a link to full text on the church website.
  • A further abbreviated text (again, with links to full text online, if needed) can continue to run in the “Important Reminders” section of Crossroads for as long as appropriate.
  • Highest priority content may also be given boosted visibility via a "Feature Article" and/or may be highlighted in the “Top Things to Know” section at the top of the newsletter.
  • Final content placement and layout are determined by staff within these general parameters.

How do I get a longer "Feature Article" space in the church's Crossroads newsletter?

Email your interest to publicity [AT] stjohnsnorwood.org as early as possible, since our schedule for Feature Articles is typically determined weeks in advance.   Please provide a brief description of the article content you'd like to submit and what your ideal run date would be.

Length:  The ideal length for Feature Articles is 300-350 words.  If the article runs significantly longer, we would only include the first 300-350 words or so in the body of the newsletter, and provide readers a link to access the full article text.

Image:  Our communications are powered by pictures, so please also be sure we have a related image that is free from copyright restrictions.

Why does Church Staff make edits/alterations to my submissions?

Short answer:  Brevity, brevity, brevity!

Long answer:  Brevity is the MAIN reason that staff edits publicity submissions.  But we also retain the right to edit for style and clarity—as well as to decide when and where to publish content.

handle financial needs

How do I fund my ministry?

  • Host fundraisers.  
  • Submit a request (via the Director of Finance) for a ministry allocation in the annual operating budget.  The Director of Finance will reach out to existing ministries to request budget submissions in late summer.  Call 301-654-7767 or use the staff contact form to connect. 

Please note: If you are interested in starting a new ministry, please have an initial conversation with the Rev. Anne Derse, Deacon & Minister of Community Engagement.

If my ministry already has a financial account with the church, how do I request a reimbursement or vendor payment from that account?

Please use this check request form. (PDF)