Information Technology Committee

BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN CHURCH WEBSITE

Have you ever looked at the Bethlehem Lutheran Website? Have you ever wanted to attend a meeting at the church and did not know when and where it would be held? Do you have a child who would like to go to Vacation Bible School? Everything you want to know about the church and church activities is on the website at

bethlehemtc.org

Over the last few months a number of church members have been working diligently on the Bethlehem Information Technology Committee or IT Committee to upgrade various aspects of the church electronic  technology. One service on Sunday mornings is recorded on a CD-Rom. A copy of the CD-Rom is taken to shut-ins so that they can hear the service. A server has been installed in the church office. It contains our web site and backup files for the church accounting and word processing systems Speedconnect is no longer our Internet Service Provider. We now have an agreement with Charter Communications to provide this service. All persons on the church staff have email. All church councils members may also have a church email. Information about all of these new services are mentioned someplace on the church website.

Every web page has a list of web pages links along the left side of the page. You can easily move from one page to any other page. Current activities are listed on the Home Page. Blue text is usually a link that will provide additional information about a particular topic. If you are interested in looking at the Current Announcements, click on the link near the middle of the page. A link to the Church Calendar is on the same line.  Special pages were added for the Relay for Life and the Navajo Mission Trip. At the present time there are links for Alpha, VBS, and the Volunteer Picnic.

One thing that catches the eye of many visitors to the website is Today’s Bible Verse.

There is a new verse every day.

We post a portion of the Pastor’s Message each month. If you desire to read the entire text, there is a link in the column on the left side of the page.

There are many church groups. Pictures of the groups are on many of the group pages.

The complete Bethlehem STAR is posted on the website each month. In addition sections of the STAR are also posted to the applicable pages of the website.

There are a few items that remain left to be done. New pages will be added when the church undertakes a new activity, but pay a visit to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Website to learn more about the church and church activities.

Scott Chaussee and Richard Hayes have been working on the website. Phil Bossardet and Carl Lehto have been tending to the technical aspects. Norm Fred has been ready with his camera. Penny Schmidt has been providing training for the staff and Joyce Weise has been providing support services.

From the July 2007 Bethlehem Star

The IT Committee has been focused on three tasks over the past year:

Support

This past year brings another volunteer to the IT Committee, Frank Watz. Frank has many years of experience using, administering and supporting computers and computer software in the workplace. Frank has bravely taken over support of the office computers, a great help to Phil Bossardet and Scott Chaussee (a brand new father!) Frank has done an admirable job supporting the office staff with IT. (Be sure to thank him when you see him in church. During the seasonal year he also sits in the bass section of the choir.)

An addition to the office is a computer that has been donated for the library. Library software was purchased for a nominal fee and is currently in use, with assistance from Richard Hayes.

The BLC website, www.bethlehemtc.org,

Under the administration of Richard Hayes, it has continued to grow and refine. Among the many new items there are 18 months of Bethlehem Star newsletters and a Church Event Planning calendar. Always a great contributor, Norm Fred has continued to provide us with candid photography of the Habitat Home, youth outings, and happenings around our Church. We are proud of it and encourage you to visit it often.

Internet Access

Our Internet provider has been changed from Speedconnect to SBC DSL. While this was much more difficult than it probably should have been, it is now complete. A church member, who has an Internet marketing and hosting business continues to donate the web hosting for our website and has provided us with a nearly unlimited number of email addresses. In the near future we expect to have BLC email addresses for each council member and any committee that desires one.

I received a copy of a Synod-suggested church Internet and computer policy. After some review, it has been modified to fit BLC’s needs and use. It will be submitted to the Church Council with a recommendation that it be adopted for our use.

Yours in Christ, Phil Bossardet, IT Committee Chair