Posted on by Brea

In mid-November, the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference website got an upgrade! Some highlights of the new website include:

  • An updated style that is more user-friendly and accommodating to various devices and screen sizes;
  • A large searchable resource library filled with materials to help strengthen your church and support your leaders;
  • A News page to keep church members and pastors up-to-date – featuring PSEC stories and newsfeeds from UCC News, Disaster Updates, the UCC Daily Devotional, the PSEC Facebook posts, and a link to Communitas;
  • A calendar that is easier to navigate featuring PSEC events, association events, and continuing education opportunities;
  • And increased search optimization, to help users find exactly what they’re looking for much easier.

Please take some time to explore the new website. At the Fall Meeting on November 18, there will be an introduction to the new site and how it works. If you missed that event (or are visiting the new website before that event!) there are some helpful tips below for navigating the new site.

We hope churches will regularly utilize this website and its many resources. These updates were made possible by your support of Our Church’s Wider Mission. Thank you!

If you have any difficulty navigating the new website or find an error message or problem, please contact Brea Rarick, brea@psec.org or 484-949-8774 ext. 311.

Helpful tips:

  • If you’re looking for information on an upcoming event: On the old website, the most popular upcoming events were featured on a scrolling banner at the top of the screen. Some of our events will be featured on the large homepage banner of the new site, but the best way to find an event will be to look in the events section of the website. Conference events can be found by navigating to the “Events & News” item at the top of the webpage and clicking “Conference Events” or by visiting the Calendar under that same item.
  • Currently the calendar features mostly Conference events, but we will continue to add featured Educational Opportunities and Association events as those leaders provide dates. When you’re looking at the calendar, the default setting is to see all of the events that have been entered. However, if you’re looking for something specific, you may click one of the color-coded items at the top of the page to show only that type of events (such as “North Penn Association” or “Educational Opportunities”). Once you make a selection, the other type of events will fade so that the events you’re interested are made prominent. To undo that, just click the same category again.
  • The new Resource library can be helpful in tracking down specific materials that the conference has provided OR for browsing recommended resources that may support ministries within the Conference. Click “Resources” at the top of any page to visit the Resource library. From there, you can scroll through all of the available resources, posted in the order that they were uploaded onto the website. If you know what you’re looking for, use the light blue box on the right side of the screen to “Search PSEC Resources.” (For example, typing “Remittal” will immediately provide the OCWM Remittal Form without needing to scroll through other resources.) The final way to find helpful resources is to browse by category. On any of the Resources page, there is a box on the right side labeled “Resources Categories.” By selecting one category, you will see only the resources that are more helpful under that category. (For example, a pastor nearing the end of formal ministry, may find scrolling through “Retiree Resources” helpful, or a newly elected search committee chair may be interested in browsing “Search and Call Resources.”
  • The News & Updates page of the website is an exciting new feature. This page is designed to provide pastors and church leaders with all of the PSEC/UCC information that they need to know. There are PSEC news stories, a link to the Communitas bulletin inserts, items from the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference Facebook page, United Church of Christ news, Disaster Updates, and the Still Speaking Daily Devotional. You can access this page by visiting psec.org/news or clicking “Events & News” at the top of any page. However, we would like to encourage Authorized Ministers, church secretaries, and other church leaders to set this page to open whenever you open your browser. For instructions on how to set that up in the most popular browsers, click here.
  • To search the entire website, on the top of any page click the magnifying glass below the “Donate” button. Once you have selected the magnifying glass, a search bar will appear below the navigation bar. Type search term into the bar and hit enter or click on the red magnifying glass to complete the search.