From the Dean - July/August

Over the past year we’ve crafted Trinity Cathedral’s strategic vision, first as a vestry and then as a wider congregation. We’ve begun to take action on many of the initiatives of that vision, including creating the eight core mission teams, hiring staff to help us carry out our mission, and developing a communications strategy to help us reach all those who are drawn to Trinity as A Sacred Place for All People.

In our strategic vision presentations last winter, I spoke of the need to update the website and digital presence of Trinity Cathedral. Now more than ever, our website (whether on a computer screen or a phone) and our social media presence are very much our “front door” to the wider community. It’s how people first learn about Trinity, and it’s how current members and friends can explore their life here. A current and dynamic church website is essential for growth, but more importantly it’s important for telling our story in a way that keeps us true to God’s vision for us.

This has meant asking intentionally, “Who are we trying to reach?” The answer is as diverse and complex as Trinity Cathedral itself, but we find that our target audience includes those seeking an inclusive and creative church grounded in a robust tradition, longtime Trinity members, students and young adults seeking connection, those without a church tradition seeking meaning and community, and community stakeholders who connect with Trinity’s civic work.

We are working on a new visual presentation that helps us to tell that story. From that will flow mission and vision statements that will remain rooted in where we’ve been, while creating new points of connection for those who hunger for a sacred place like Trinity. The result will be a new logo, new colors, and a new website, which we hope to unveil in early fall.

Why a new website? A website is a critical piece of a church’s storytelling and evangelism. Our current website is more than a decade old, which means that even if little had changed it would be time for a refresh. Yet so much has indeed changed, from the digital revolution of livestreamed church to the rise of mobile users, so we need a website that tells our story in a way that users will find most compelling. Both in terms of style, content, and ease-of-use, it’s time for a new “front door” for Trinity Cathedral.

We’re doing lots of work behind the scenes to build the website and are grateful to be supported by Membership Vision, a web firm with a deep knowledge of The Episcopal Church, and FORM Group, a local design firm for nonprofits, who’s done work for many of our community partners. I look forward to sharing our work with you in early fall!