Communications Overview and Guidelines 2024
Mission Statement
The mission of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire Communications Department is to amplify the message of Jesus Christ beyond our worship spaces—both within the diocese and externally. We may be headquartered at Diocesan House, but our goal is to serve clergy, lay leaders, and congregations throughout the diocese.
We do this by using a variety of tools—including newsletters, social media, and connecting with the press—to share news, events, and vital information from the bishop and diocesan staff, congregations, and community partners. We also offer a website hosting program, and we are always eager to hear how we can help parishes with social media, email communications, and other related needs.
We host monthly Communications Office Hours, virtual meetings where anyone in the diocese can bring their communications questions and concerns. Check our newsletters and website calendar for upcoming dates.
Who We Are:
Director of Communications Susan Sherrill Axelrod | 207-712-1488
Digital Communications Specialist Amy Redfern | 917-373-5733
Read more about Susan and Amy here.
Our Newsletters:
The CALL: A Newsletter for Clergy and Lay Leaders, is published on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. As the title suggests, it includes announcements, information, and resources for church leaders.
The Vine is our “storytelling” newsletter. It contains articles and photos that highlight ministries, events, and opportunities that we believe will inspire our siblings in Christ throughout New Hampshire. It’s published monthly, generally on the third Thursday. You can find the schedule for the rest of 2024 here.
Submission Guidelines:
We encourage you to share photographs, event information, and job and event postings for our newsletters and website. A few things to note:
Be sure to include contact and any necessary registration information with links.
Get photo releases for anyone under 18—download a form here.
Graphics with lots of text are hard to read. Keep graphics simple and provide text to accompany them.
Instead of including all photos taken at an event, edit to send us the best 6-10 shots. We may use a single photo with a caption in a newsletter and put the rest in an album on Facebook. See more photography guidelines below.
The deadline for both newsletters is the previous Friday at noon.
Please note: We welcome your submissions, however we reserve editorial rights. Submissions that we determine are related to the mission of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire will be included in our communications as our priorities allow. Content will be edited as necessary.
Our Social Media Channels
We publish content to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and while our focus is content from the diocese, we often share event posts and other relevant material from around the diocese and elsewhere in the Episcopal church community. Tag us @nhepiscopal and use the hashtag #nhepiscopal to make sure we see your posts!
Photography Guidelines
There is no law preventing people from taking photographs in what’s known as “places of public access,” which include parks, shopping centers, and churches—unless the person being photographed asks the photographer not to. On private property, you need the owner’s permission.
In general, it is acceptable to use photos or video footage from an organizational event as long as the people photographed are not individually identified. By attending a public event, the individuals would not likely have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” However, if you will be identifying the people by name, it is best to have participants sign a photo use agreement.
As a courtesy, it’s a good idea to advise the attendees at the beginning of a worship service or other event that it is being photographed or recorded. Consider posting signs at the entrances so everyone is aware of the situation.
Photographing children
Our diocesan policy is not to publish photographs of anyone under 18 without permission from a parent or legal guardian. It’s always a good idea to inform parents ahead of time that you plan to take photos during an event or activity. Ask parents to submit a signed photo use agreement or “do not photograph” form before the activity, so your ministry team knows which photos they have permission to post and/or to forward to the communications department for sharing in diocesan communications. The form should note whether the agreement applies to a one-time event or an ongoing activity, such as the June 1-5 session of vacation Bible school. Download a template you can customize for your church here.
Death Notice Policy
We send death notice emails to clergy upon the death of:
Clergy ordained in New Hampshire or working in the diocese, their spouse, or child/ren
Diocesan employees, their spouse, or child/ren
Others at the bishop’s discretion
The Episcopal Asset Map
This resource, which includes worship times, contact information, special programming, and other information churches want to share, is used throughout The Episcopal Church as well as on our website. Anyone in your parish can make changes, which go to communications staff for approval before they are published. Learn how to use it and to make updates here.
Resources
Style Guide:
Writing style for the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire mirrors the style established by The Episcopal Church.
A few basics:
Use serial commas: “She baked a cake with almonds, apples, and coconut.”
For book, movie, and theater titles, use quotation marks, not italics.
Commas and periods go inside quotation marks.
For times, use 4 p.m. (no :00) and 4:30 a.m.
Abbreviate the month when used with a specific date. “The conference will be held Feb. 3-5.” “Feb. 12 is the deadline to apply.” Spell out otherwise. “General Convention is planned for October 2024.” (Note no comma.) Do use a comma when the year is included. “The target completion date is July 15, 2026.
For addresses, use abbreviations for specific addresses. “63 Green St.” Spell out otherwise “She lives on Green Street.”
See the full guide here: The Episcopal Church Style Guide
Membership organizations:
A collaborative project between four Episcopal dioceses, it offers expert-led workshops, virtual gatherings, an annual conference, and other resources for church communicators and administrators.
This national organization also offers a wide variety of communications resources, including a ListServ for members to collaborate and share information, and a monthly online meetup. It hosts an annual conference held in different locations around the country.