Getting Around Connect

by Greg Sharp

Here we will provide some basic understanding of the new Connect tool on our website. We hope this information will help you get connected into the online community of believers at the St. Luke Lutheran Church multisite.

Below you will find instructions on a few key features of Connect, but by no means is this an exhaustive list. After you take a look at the features listed here, you are encouraged to “poke around” the website to check out all the software has to offer.

You can access Connect from the link on the homepage at StLukeaa.org or by going directly to StLukeaa.org/connect.

Accessing the Online Community

Welcome to Connect, our online church community! We have provided this tool to help you get better connected with our church. You’ll be able to find groups to get involved in, see events you might want to attend, participate in discussions, meet the needs of others in the church community, and find volunteer positions based on your passions and gifts.

After requesting a login or being assigned one, you will receive an email containing your login information. Use the link in the email to access Connect!

NOTE: Bookmark the login page and save your login information so you can quickly access Connect in the future.

Your Personal Home Page

Once you log in to Connect, you will land on your personal homepage. This page contains information specific to you, including:

1. A welcome message from the church

2. Your personal settings dropdown menu under your name

3. A list of upcoming church-wide events or events hosted by groups to which you belong

4. A list of your groups

5. Activity in groups to which you belong

Viewing & Updating Your Profile

Click the Profile link under your name in the header bar to view information in your profile. The menu listed under your name is available from any page. For more information about updating your profile settings, read this additional article.

1. Contact Info

Your phone number(s), email, site affiliation, & address will be located here. Only you and appropriate church leadership will see your email address unless you choose to reveal it to others via your privacy settings. All others will see a generic “Send An Email” link instead, which allows them to email you without ever seeing your email address.

2. Profile Tabs

You can view your recent activity, family information, personal information, involvement, financial history, and serving availability from the tabs on your profile.

3. Actions Menu

This is where you can edit your profile, adjust your availability to serve, set your communication preferences, change your username and password, update your privacy settings, or update your whole family’s contact information at once.

Viewing Other Profiles

To view a profile for another person in our online community, first click the People link in the left menu bar. You will only be able to see listed profiles.

After clicking People, begin typing a name in the search box. You may type first name, last name, or a combination of both. As you type, the system will automatically narrow your results and generate a list of people who meet your criteria. Click the name of a person to access their profile.

On the Info tab, you will be able to see the information the individual has chosen to share with the online community. Anything not shared will be blank or show the message ‘not enough privileges to view,’ meaning administrative rights are required to view the information.

NOTE: Adding an individual to your friends list will allow that person to view information in your profile with privacy settings of friends only or friends and my group members. In addition, it will give you easy access to friends’ profiles if you wish to email them or view a phone number. This is a one-way add and does not require approval from the other person.

Groups

Select Groups from the left menu to access the list of all groups that exist in Connect. You can search for groups to join, or select groups that you belong to to be kept up to date with upcoming events and communications. Read more about using Connect with Groups here.

Calendars

From the Calendars menu item in the left menu, you can access your personal calendar, the all-site calendar and the public calendar. Select the calendar you’d like to view from the tabs.