(effective 2/2009)

Purpose:
The purpose of the Holy Spirit Parish Communication Policy is to:

• Ensure consistent, high-quality and appropriate communications to all parishioners, prospective parishioners, and parish event invitees and attendees
• Provide an infrastructure for communications with clear policies and responsibilities
• Protect the privacy of all parish members and donors
• Ensure that all communications are appropriate for a Catholic faith community
• Assist staff, committee chairs and committee members with the preparation of communications using our available communication methods

Scope of the Policy:
These policies should be applied to any communication created by the parish office, a parish committee, council member, any parishioner, or any external organization for communication to any of the Holy Spirit Parish community. Common methods for such communications include but are not limited to:

• The weekly parish bulletin
• Electronic or printed information such as flyers, email, direct mailings and presentations
• Lobby kiosks in the church, catechetical or school offices
• The parish web site
• Signage on the parish grounds or facilities
• Announcements during weekly liturgy
• Speakers replacing the 4 Minute Catechesis or Homily during weekend liturgy

Communications distributed via any of these methods must also follow the specific policies and procedures for these methods.

Communication Policies:

General Policies:

• Communications should be in keeping with the mission of the Catholic Church, the vision of Holy Spirit Parish and should be relevant to parish life.
• All communications should be created using the Holy Spirit Parish identity tools for a consistent look and feel.
• Communication should not endorse or condemn any candidate running for any local, state, or federal office, should only address the issues as they relate to Catholic values and should follow Diocesan directives.
• Communication should not contain any material that is fraudulent, harassing, intimidating, or unlawful

Privacy Policies:

• Holy Spirit Parish should respect the privacy of parishioners and safeguard the confidentiality of information that would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, e.g. personal contact information will not be distributed to anyone outside the Catholic Church.
• The Parish should provide parishioners and donors an opportunity to state that they prefer to remain anonymous and that their name, the amount of their gift, or other information not be publicly released.
• Communications will not provide for external use the home addresses, email addresses and contact information of parishioners who have requested their information remain unlisted.
• Email distribution lists, contact lists or direct mailing labels may be used only for communications that follow the Communications Policy and are directly related to the activities of the parish, staff, councils and/or committees.
• Bulk mailings should be approved by staff directors, council or committee chairs and the Pastoral Team prior to distribution and will only be facilitated through the Parish Office.
• The Parish should honor requests from donors, who are not parishioners, to curtail repeated mailings, emailing or telephone solicitation from the parish.

Responsibilities:

Communicators:

• All parish communicators should follow these policies.
• All parish communicators should carefully consider the content of any communications they send, understanding the implications that may arise from that communication.
• All parish communicators should allow enough time for review and required approvals.

Communication Approvers:

• ♣    Staff, Committee or Council Chairs should be aware of, review, revise and approve any communications concerning their departments, councils and/or committees prior to distribution.
• ♣    The Pastoral Associate for Communications will review all communications and has the responsibility to edit or delete any communication that is not in keeping with these policies.
• ♣    The Holy Spirit School principal will review and approve any school related communication to the Holy Spirit Parish community.

Parish Office Staff

• The Parish Office Administrative Assistants will provide administrative and maintenance support for all communication, including templates and guidelines.
• The Parish Office Administrative Assistants will maintain a list of all parishioners and donors who have opted not to be contacted by mail, email, and/or telephone, or have requested any other restrictions. 
• The Parish Office Administrative Assistants will make available to Parish staff, councils and committees a list of parishioners when necessary and appropriate.
• The Parish Office Administrative Assistants will prepare bulk mailings in a timely manner after proper approvals are obtained.

Any communications in process prior to the effective date of this policy should make every attempt to comply with these policies.