RCC handbook assists faith communicators  Aug. 2, 2004
By Nancye Willis* NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (UMNS)--A new edition of a handbook for all faith communities,
produced by the Religion Communicators Council (RCC), will be available
in September.
The seventh edition of the organization’s resource, Speaking of Faith: The Essential Handbook for Religious Communicators
is a 155-page, softbound book covering issues ranging from establishing
a strategic communications plan to crisis communication.
United
Methodists who wrote sections of the handbook include M. Garlinda
Burton, the Rev. Daniel R. Gangler, Bret Haines and Kimberly Pace. The
Rev. J. Richard Peck, a United Methodist Publishing House retiree who
also serves as communications officer for United Methodist Men, was
editor. RCC’s executive director, Shirley Struchen, a United Methodist,
helped in the planning, review and production of the new edition.
Divided
into three sections, the handbook is aimed at helping communicators at
all levels of the church meet the challenge of communicating religion
through varied forms of media. The
section on “Communication: What’s All the Fuss?” begins with an
exploration of discovering the mission of a faith group, identifying
communications needs, developing a strategic communications plan, and
maintaining a constant evaluation process. According
to Pace, the author and chief communications officer for the United
Methodist Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tenn. “A communications plan
that gets awareness, but fails to stimulate some action, is probably
not successful.” Chapter
2, by Burton, top executive, United Methodist Commission on the Status
and Role of Women, stresses the importance of the personal touch in
effective communication, no matter the medium. “At its best,” she
writes, “communication implies a two-way exchange.” The
second section, “If I Had a Hammer: The Tools of Communicating,” covers
ways to communicate—with secular journalists, through graphic design
and photography, and in print resources. Haines, a graphic designer who
served 17 years as art director for the United Methodist Board of Higher
Education and Ministry, concludes Chapter 5 with: “In a day and age
when your audience—and especially the youth—are visually savvy, it is
important to keep your publications visually interesting.” The
final section, “We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands: Communicating
in the Larger Community,” deals with crisis communications, interfaith
America, copyrights and other ethical issues, and a look at the future
of communications. In
Chapter 13, “We’ve Got a Situation Here,” Gangler, director of
communications for the denomination’s Indiana Area, offers advice for
dealing with crisis communications. In the event of a true crisis,
Gangler writes, “an organization’s managers, legal consultants and
communicators must work together in a coordinated and integrated way” to
ensure “minimum damage to the organization and its values.” The
handbook also includes an introduction by Diana L. Eck, professor of
comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard University; a CD with
printable samples, worksheets and training materials; and
bibliographies of additional resources. RCC,
a nonprofit organization created to serve the religious community, was
founded in 1929 as the Religious Publicity Council. It later was known
as the Religious Public Relations Council, which opened its membership
to people of all faiths in 1970. More information about the organization
is available at its Web site www.religioncommunicators.org
The
RCC handbook can be ordered in care of UMR Communications, Inc., 2400
Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX 75212. The cost is $19.95 plus $6 for
shipping and handling. Checks should be made payable to RCC handbook.
*Willis is editor of Public Information at United Methodist Communications. News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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