A Moment of Gratitude:
The Website Transformation
Rev. Anne Marie Holloway
If you visit our church website (hillschurch.org), you will find these familiar words of extravagant welcome; "Whoever you are, wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here". Scroll down the homepage and you will also find these resonating soul-full words, “Going it alone is hard. Journeying together with love at the center, we can support and serve each other and better follow in Jesus’ footsteps in times of both joy and sorrow”.
After two years of pandemic, our community continues to cherish being together, caring for one another, welcoming visitors, gathering for worship, service and fellowship. After two years of pandemic, we have also been blessed with a crash course in understanding what it means to “connect” in supportive new ways. The gift of technology allowed us to continue to gather, be in fellowship, grow in faith, welcome others into our community and “be the church” -- from "wherever we are" (which has been such a blessing because "going it alone is hard").
This past Fall, with the inspiration and encouragement of our Interim Senior Ministers (Rev. Rick and Rev. Dru Jill Edens) our church leadership and staff began to think about the digital needs of our faithful community. Our prayerful reflections pointed us to ways in which our church might be better able to reach beyond the physical into the virtual world. Our efforts to remove the barriers that separated us by focusing on the website as a space for connection brought forth the good news of the Gospel -- that nothing (not even a pandemic) could separate us from God's love as found in community!
A website working group was quickly formed and by the early Fall of 2021. The group enthusiastically and faithfully took on the work of revamping our church website! This working group included our magnificent moderator team : Sarah Pedersen, Jack Morgan and Chris Stowell, as well as Myralee Wilson and myself.
It was the team’s hope (and goal) to have a clear vision for a new website and a website design consultant in place before the beginning of November 2021. The working group was determined to have a new website designed and launched by February 2022 in order to align with the sharing of our church profile and search for a new senior settled minister. Needless to say, although our timeline was crunched, our determination and focus kept us on track – and as you will see (if you have not already) we have reached our goals!
With the creative work of Johhny Flash Productions (our website design/consultant team), input from our church leaders, our staff and clergy, our website has been transformed into a beautiful, sacred extension of our church community – a place where church seekers and members alike can experience a glimpse of what makes the Hills Church so very special.
The tireless, meticulous heartfelt dedication to this project has been awe inspiring. I am especially thankful to our team of Moderators (past and present). Sarah Pedersen has played a major role in the successful results you will see on-line. Sarah kept us focused, organized, and moving forward. Her spirit and thoughtfulness can be felt on every page of the website. The gifts of Jack Morgan’s faithfulness, his love for the Hills and our Faith Formative programs speak throughout the “Grow” section and on our homepage. Chris Stowell’s passion for our sacred music program, his kind and gentle leadership and hope for a faith community that supports all is woven into the digital fabric of the “Music” section of the website. All the beautiful photos and images you find, placement of sections and quotes were all gifts collected by Myralee Wilson. Input and creative support from Sally Tomasetti, Noreen Young, Doug Eisenhart, Rev. Judy Swahnberg, Rev. Rick and Rev Jill Edens and many others contributed to the results of our website's transformation. It is our hope that you will visit the website frequently and find it to be a beautiful digital expression of our love for one another and for God.
This morning, if you find yourself reading this note on your mobile device, I invite you to use a “shortcut” tool that we will refer to in worship on Sunday mornings. If you visit whccnow.org you will find a website shortcut mobile tool. Instead of needing to scroll through the entire website, during announcements at worship, it is our hope that you will find an ease of access to giving, events, volunteer opportunities, and even contacting a minister! If viewing the website as a new visitor, it is our hope that a visitor will have the opportunity to check out our “New Here” section and the church map to figure out just where things are in our church building and parish house!
Friends, as we will continue to "fine tune" this beautiful new virtual space we welcome your prayerful support. It is our hope that you and those seeking a new church home – will be able to explore our website and truly get a sense of what a blessing it is to belong to such a vibrant and faithful community.
My eternal gratitude for the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, our church leadership and staff for their extraordinary efforts to get this good work accomplished! We are also thankful for the patient and creative partnership of the website consultant team at Johnny Flash Productions whose expertise has been invaluable!
As we continue to keep our website current, we encourage you to send us your photos and ideas! Emails can be sent to office@hillschurch.org.
Click HERE to watch a video of this joyful announcement from this past Sunday's worship service.
