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By posting Diocesan Information electronically to a 'Diocesan Mailing' Conference, much of the "paper mail" to Parishes can be eliminated, with appropriate cost savings! This is better than sending a multitude of emails into each priest’s Mailbox, with the resulting congestion. It is much better than duplicating thousands of sheets of paper annually, stuffing them into envelopes, and mailing them to every parish; instead Diocesan Info needs only to be posted once to a private "Diocesan Info" Conference. It is so simple that any Diocesan employee can do it. Priests and Secretaries will find the appropriate Diocesan Information waiting for them in their Parish Conference, ready to be read, or downloaded, or printed, or copied into Parish bulletins. The saving more than pays for the FirstClass Diocesan system in the first year. This is one of the great advantages of a FirstClass Diocesan system. No paper, no postage, no postal delay, no cost.

Of course, the FirstClass Diocesan System provides every user with free email, and a free email address. Such email works both within the FirstClass system, and out over the Internet. It also connects quickly to all the other Diocesan FirstClass systems around the world.

A Diocesan Calendar is automatically posted to the Desktop of every User. Diocesan Events are added to this electronic Diocesan Calendar, so that priests, parishes and other users can all have instant access to dates and other info of Diocesan Events. Everyone has a personal Calendar, and can even post a copy of their Calendar to a secretary’s Desktop. There are Task Calendars, Location Calendars, and Resource Calendars. What a time saver for everyone, especially Diocesan personnel!

A Diocesan Website can be created simply as a document in text and pictures, using the FirstClass editing program, or using a website program. Though a FirstClass Diocesan System is primarily a Collaborative Conferencing System, Websites are integral to the System. No knowledge of html is necessary --- it can be easily maintained by anyone at a Diocesan Office. A Diocesan Website can have attached web pages, links to other Systems, and links to Parish websites, or it can connect to an external Diocesan website. Simple, easy, and free.

Every Parish or Diocesan Committee can also have a website on the FirstClass Diocesan System, that can be linked to the Diocesan website. Such a Parish website can be created using a web program, or simply done using text and pictures from the FirstClass editing program. The advantage of the latter is that it can be created and maintained by each parish, without having to pay a webmaster to maintain a Parish website. Such Parish websites may contain webpages, links, pictures, Calendars, and any other additions needed by the Parish or Committee. And all maintained locally at no cost. A Parish website, could contain a Sunday School webpage holding pictures done by Sunday School pupils. A Diocesan Committee could post its Minutes or other Information. Just think how you could use this feature?

The Conferencing feature is the hub of a FirstClass Diocesan system. Here, every Diocesan Group or Committee can have its own public Conferences in which to post notes, encourage discussion or inform the priests and people of the Diocese of its projects. Conferences may be topical, allowing priests and people to discuss issues that are important in the life of the Church or the Diocese. Conferences may be shared with other FirstClass Diocesan systems. Of course, News or Sermonshop from other Systems can be included in the easy-to-use FirstClass Diocesan system.

Any group within a Diocese can have a private Conference which only its members can access. In its own private Conference, a group can discuss issues before a meeting, circulate Minutes and private information to its own members, and discuss items --- between meeting dates. Other Users would not even know that the private Conference exists, unless they are given access.

No webmasters or other "techies" are needed. The FirstClass Diocesan system is so simple and easy to use that anyone can maintain it. No programming is needed, no computer language. It can easily be maintained by a small Committee of interested diocesan Users. Upgrades or extra User Licences are available, at low cost. Tech Support is supplied from Centrinity Inc. or Church Consulting Inc. Training Workshops in your Diocese are included free with your System.

If the FirstClass System is sited at the Diocesan Office, all the Diocesan Office computers can be linked together in a Messaging Local Area Network. Using this Messaging LAN, notes and other information can be sent directly to other office Users' computers, and the FirstClass system will instantly notify Users of New Messages, if they are connected on the LAN.

It is astonishing that All of the Above features are integrated in One Easy-to-Use System, all running on one low cost Server. A Simple, Easy-to-Use, Easy-to-Administer, LOW COST System, owned by the Diocese, controlled by the Diocesan, connected to the Internet, to other Dioceses and to the world. Once the Diocese purchases the System, there is no cost to Users --- and no annual fees.

The FirstClass Communication System runs equally well on Windows computers, or Mac or Mac OSX computers. Any low cost computer can access the Diocesan System, using the free FirstClass Client.

Church Consulting Inc. will not only come to your Diocese and fully install a FirstClass Diocesan system to your needs, we will provide Training Workshops throughout your Diocese. Fr.Ron Barnes is a retired parish priest, with a doctorate in Computer Communication. He is a specialist in providing FirstClass Systems for any Diocese, Church, or religious group.