50th Party Announcement + Realm: Membership Hub
This announcement is two-fold with some very important information. I’m about to tell you about the incredible 50th Birthday Party, but I have to start in a different direction! Over the last twenty years, all of our database software has been kept on a server. This means that everything we have from financial records to membership records is kept on a computer hard drive in the church office. For the past five years, we have known that the time was running out for our antiquated record keeping and everything would have to be migrated to the “cloud.”
Over the past year, we have made the transition to a cloud-based program called Realm. Realm has some wonderful features. It allows parishioners to review and make changes to their personal information, to participate in our online directory, to view your personal giving history, and to sign up for ministries, classes, and programs. Realm allows us the opportunity to merge our current three separate databases and should reduce user errors and streamline our work. We now are ready to invite all of you to join Realm! As an extra incentive to get you signed up in Realm, we have sent you an invitation to our 50th Anniversary party via Realm.
On Friday, May 19, Saint Stephen’s will celebrate its 50th Anniversary with the 2nd of three significant events. This will be a special party for our community (ages 21+) which will include dinner, and a 50-minute production by the Red Mountain Theatre Company telling the story of Saint Stephen’s. This will be an extraordinary evening and I am so grateful for our visionary party planners under the leadership of Kathryn Dorlon and Ann Carpenter, and the unique creativity of Keith Cromwell. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with the production beginning immediately at 6:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall.
The event is made possible by some sponsorships, a few gifts, and the designated In-Reach allocation of our first regular distribution from our general endowment (which also supports outreach and capital projects). There is no cost to attend the evening, but we are asking all parishioners to register in advance through Realm. This will make sure that we have ample seating, food, and beverage, and it will encourage each of you to start using Realm and to become an active member of our new online community. In two weeks, we will open up registration by phone call to the office, but want people to try Realm first.
Each adult in the household will receive an introductory email to Realm today. While you can access Realm via the web and through its app: Realm Connect, we suggest starting out with your computer and creating your login using the web-based version and the link provided in your Realm invite. After you have created a login, please rsvp for the 50th Anniversary party. You will find the invitation under “registered events.” If you need any help getting logged in or sending your rsvp for the party, George Mitchell will lead a team of volunteers to assist you the next five Sundays in the Library during the Formation Hour. We will also have office hours on Mondays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a table on Wednesday Nights in the Gathering Space to help people learn Realm. George has created this wonderful handout here. which provides all the details on how to get set up in Realm, and a second handout about 2-step verification.
We wanted to give all of you the opportunity to accept your invite to the 50th Anniversary party first. We will launch our non-member ticketing for the party in two weeks so that people who have been a part of Saint Stephen’s in the past may also join in the fun and festivities. So, please sign into Realm and send us your RSVP by April 28. Once you are logged in, you will be able to register other family members in your party, but please remember this celebration is only for members aged 21 and up.
I can’t wait to celebrate with each of you!
Faithfully,
The Rev. John B. Burruss, Rector