Emerging from the Middle Ages

Since 1999, believe it or not, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church has had a website. It has been hosted these past few years by Terra Lycos/Tripod at http://www.members.tripod.com/ctrcc/, at no cost to the Parish. Many thanks to Kevin McKernin for setting up this initial website using an original design, and maintaining it through the year 2000.

Everyone who has visited the CTRCC website, though, has been accosted by pop-up advertisements. This was the price we had to pay to keep the hosting fees at zero. Bothersome as they were, nevertheless, the website did attract some attention over the years as the visitors counter recorded more than 11,000 “hits.”

Everyone, too, who visited the CTRCC website was met with an introductory message stating that the website was out-of-date, that we knew it, and that it would be fixed. In fact, as of March 2004, the website had not been updated with new information since the latter part of 2000, and a website with old information is pretty useless.

Starting before Easter, 2004, the CTRCC website underwent an upgrade. The Lenten and Easter Mass schedules were published; the staff page was made current; and old Eucharistic Minister, Alter Server, and Lector schedules were eliminated. If someone went to the CTRCC website after Ash Wednesday, even though bothered by pop-up ads, at least he was rewarded with current information.

It has been the intent since the first publication of the CTRCC website on Tripod that a paid hosting service would be found, and the contents of the website transferred as a way to eliminate the bothersome advertisements. That vision has now come to fruition. Christ the Redeemer has a new website at http://www.ctrcc.org, hosted by 1 Plan Host, a web hosting firm headquartered in Morristown, Tennessee. Much of the content of the Tripod website has been transferred to the new website, and those who have visited the Tripod website will recognize immediately the look and feel of the new website.

Tour http://www.ctrcc.org

Once you type “www.ctrcc.org” into your browser, you will get the Parish’s new Homepage. From the homepage, you will be able to navigate throughout the website, and to other websites of interest to Catholics. It is the intent, now, to keep the information current and useful, to augment the site with more information of interest to Parish members, and to provide glimpses of Parish life. The new website, as it stands today, is still just an outline, a harbinger of better things yet to come.

The new Staff page contains current information on how to reach staff members, there to assist you, and also administrative information; the new Schedule page contains the current Mass and Reconciliation schedules, and will be updated at those special times — Christmas and Easter — to provide best information concerning extra worship opportunities.

The Ministries page is still under construction, and will be completed by the Fall. Placeholders have been set to navigate to the different ministries where one will eventually find organizational information, contacts, and rules and guidance for those participating in those ministries. The older version of the CTRCC website, the one on Tripod, did include schedules for Eucharistic Ministers, Alter Servers, and Lectors,

but the most recent were for the year 2000; thenew website will not contain such schedules. The reasons are twofold: first, current methods of ministry leaders managing their own processes seem to be working well; second, it might not be a good idea to post the names of so many individuals in such a public place. We have seen a great shift in the realities of the World Wide Web since 1999, away from being a conduit of specialized information to one of advertising.

The Sacraments page is also dead-ended with “under construction” signs. Intended for these pages are the current rules and guidelines for the Sacraments, and contact information for those interested.

The News page is the current placeholder for Father Howard’s weekly message, found on the back page of the Bulletin. As we progress and the website fills out, this will also be the place for other types of news, such as the upcoming summer Bible school being discussed among the Staff for August. Usually, one will be alerted to “new News” by a message and link on the Homepage.

Finally, the Announcements page contains the announcements listed in the current weekly Bulletin. Contact information will be provided where necessary for those opportunities for Parish service.

Where We Go From Here

Communication is at the heart of the World Wide Web. Websites are created to supply information to those related to the website, and also to announce an organization’s presence to the world. A healthy website will contain current information, and all the information that is needed by those related to the website. In its broader role, a website provides a window into the vital life of an organization, providing pictures and dialogue describing an organization’s events. That’s where we would like to go with www.ctrcc.org, but it is a group effort. As events happen—like the most recent Maryknoll Dance Benefit, or the Children’s Choir at the White House at Christmas—they will be recorded to inform members of the Parish—and the world at large—of the vitality of Parish life at Christ the Redeemer. We ask the planners of future Parish events to keep in mind this extra added responsibility, and to take pictures at events and provide commentary. If anyone comes across a website that he or she thinks would be of interest to the broader population of the Parish, communicate that fact and we’ll get it listed. Right now, the webmaster can be reached at jkingsbury1@cox.net, and later will have a “ctrcc.org” address.

The website hosting firm provides each website owner with up to 50 email addresses; this summer, email addresses will be established at least to the Parish secretaries, and likely to all members of the Staff. Reaching members of the staff to provide comment or ideas will never be easier. Members of the Staff are open to all of your suggestions.

Finally…

With the advent of the new Parish website, Christ the Redeemer will be able to better serve the Church—we are the Church. The Web is a tremendous resource for better communication. It also provides great learning opportunities. We want www.ctrcc.org to be an entry point for members of the Parish to this broader world. Together we can continue to build the Church in the Herndon-Sterling area, and make it strong.

Jim Kingsbury