Parish Web site—An Instrument of Peace

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” These powerful words from the peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi have special meaning for those of us working on Catholic Web sites and seeking to keep our visitors nurtured and informed. As we work to build our Web presences, we should be aware of the tools that others are using and providing to better connect with the needs of those regularly visiting our sites and with those who we have yet to reach. AmericanCatholic.org is working to provide links that will help your parish Web site to fulfill its mission: to be a growing, fresh, evolving place for parish communications and peace. Here are some areas that can help your parishioners. The St. Francis feature area includes information about the saint, a listing of pet blessings, and Francis’ commitment to issues of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. On issues touching the Church and the culture, we offer our Year of St. Paul feature, the Election 2008 area which focuses on the connection between faith and politics and the Church, Evolution and Creation feature. May our work on the Web truly be an instrument of God’s peace. Mark Lombard Managing editor, AmericanCatholic.org