How to Submit Something for Parish Communications

A single-page template the curator customises for her parish and hands to each originator (SVP lead, youth minister, music director, catechist, and so on). Pinned above the originator’s desk. Referred to every time she has something to submit.

The template is deliberately one page. Anything longer becomes unreadable for a volunteer who has one job to do: submit her news and trust the parish to handle the rest.

THE TEMPLATE

[To be rendered as a single-page PDF, A4, professionally typeset. Parish name and crest at top. True Light Digital attribution at bottom in small type. Designed to work equally well printed and pinned up, or shared digitally.]

How to Submit Something for Parish Communications

Parish of [parish name] · Version: [date]

Who this is for

If you run a ministry, group, or initiative in the parish, and you have news, updates, or invitations to share, this is the route.

The parish wants to hear from you. Your ministry is part of how the parish lives out its mission, and the good news of what you are doing deserves to be shared well.

Where to send it

Email: [communications@parishname.org.uk]

Or via the form on the parish website: [truelight-parish.example/submit]

Please do not submit: by WhatsApp, Facebook message, verbally after Mass, or by leaving a note in the parish office. Submissions through those channels are easy to lose and hard to track. The email or form route is the one we can reliably respond to.

What to include

A good submission has:

• Your name and ministry (so we know who to thank).
• Two to four short paragraphs of the news, update, or invitation.
• A photograph if you have one and the appropriate consents are in place (please confirm this).
• Any dates, deadlines, or times mentioned clearly.
• A note on urgency, if it is genuinely time-sensitive.

If you are not a writer, do not worry. Send the information in your own words. The curator will shape it before publication.

What happens next

• Within two working days: the curator will acknowledge receipt.
• Before publication: the curator will review the submission, and may gently rework the wording, adjust the length, or suggest a different timing.
• Publication: your submission will appear in the next newsletter, website update, or social post that falls in a suitable moment.
• If it cannot be published: you will hear why, and when it might fit better.

What might change

The curator may reword for clarity, length, or tone. She may adjust the timing to fit the liturgical season (the parish plans communications around the Church’s seasons; sometimes a submission lands better in two weeks than this weekend). Occasionally, a submission will be held back or declined, always with a pastoral conversation to explain why. Nothing personal. Editorial stewardship.

If your submission involves named individuals, children, vulnerable adults, or sensitive family situations, the curator will consult the parish safeguarding officer before publication. This protects everyone.

For urgent pastoral matters

This route is for parish communications. It is not the right route for:

• Bereavement or serious illness: contact the priest directly.
• Safeguarding concerns: contact the parish safeguarding officer: [name and phone].
• Genuine emergencies: contact the priest directly.

If you are uncertain whether something is a communications matter or a pastoral matter, err toward the pastoral. The priest or safeguarding officer will redirect if needed.

Your curator

Name: [curator’s name]

Role: Communications Curator

Best times to reach her: [days and hours]

Parish office phone: [number]

Thank you for the work you do in the parish, and for letting the parish share in it.

Based on the True Light Digital Formation framework. For accompanying guidance, see truelight.digital/formation/communications-champion/.