Hello McFarland! Pastor Wayne here.
We are slowly, but surely, making our way toward offering all of our communications through email, at least to those who have email. We are using a service called MailChimp as our provider for the mass-mailing aspects (newsletter, general information updates) while using the option within our Church Management System to blast out important information such as closing notices due to weather or COVID.
The mass-mailing options that are through MailChimp require that you actively “opt-in” to receive these emails. Some time back we asked people to sign up for prayer request emails through our “Fellowship of the Concerned” email list or for our “Newsletter” email list. When we intiated this process, you received an email from MailChimp inviting you to subscribe to the emails. To subscribe, you needed to click on the option to subscribe to that service. If you did not actively choose to subscribe to the email list, then you were not included. These protections are part of the requirements of our bulk email provider to ensure that recipients of email blasts are wanting to receive those emails.
Sometime in the next week or so, we will send an email to everyone in our system that is NOT currently subscribed to either the “Fellowship of the Concerned” (basically our prayer request list) or the “Newsletter” email lists to ask you to sign up for these lists. If you want to receive these emails, then please click on the option to subscribe in that email.
Ultimately, electronic communication through email or text message will save the church time and money. Of course we will continue to offer printed material for those who do not have access to email. But, if we can move the bulk of our communications to electronic means, we can direct more resources to our need to “make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
Thank you for your time. May God continue to bless you.
Wayne Cook
Pastor
McFarland UMC
