Appropriate Items For Ward Web Site Calendar

[SR Ward Clerk-p40]

My bishop's first counselor's daughter is getting married and having the ceremony and reception in our ward building. We are the agent bishopric for 2008, and we have already taken over responsibilities for building scheduling. The first counselor is the one that approves the items and submits them to me for posting. I am the person that the bishop wants to post items on the ward's Web site and the building calendar.

The first counselor has already spoken to the other two wards that share our building and has reserved the building for the date in question, which I have posted to the building calendar. However, he wants me to also post it to the ward calendar, which is something I do not feel comfortable doing because it is technically a private function (even though it is something that is authorized to be done in a ward building) and not an official ward event. I am stalling getting back to him while trying to figure out how to explain why I think it is not appropriate without going to the bishop and making it seem as if I am going over the counselor's head.

Can someone please tell me:
1. That it is not inappropriate to list private family functions on the ward Web site and I need to get over it.

or...

2. That there is a policy or guideline that I can reference to show that I should not put it on the ward calendar.

Thanks in advance.

Terry Sackett
Stewart Ranch Ward Clerk
Las Vegas USA

[russellhltn]

I know of no such guideline. In our stake the Executive Secretary tends to use the stake calendar as a building resource calendar (and given that the resource calendars aren't linked to events, I don't really blame him.) So private events get posted to our stake calendar. I know of no complaints.

If I was in your shoes, I would simply ask him if the event is open to the ward. If not, then why put it on the calendar? If a bunch of uninvited ward members show up, that's his problem.

If you really feel strongly about it, simply run it past the bishop. Unless the bishop says "no" it won't seem like you're going over his head. If the bishop says "no" then there's probably a good reason.

[SR Ward Clerk-p40]

Those are good points. Maybe I just needed another perspective. Thanks.

[jeffvand]

You could just put "Wedding" on the calendar so people know that it is taken. I think that is the point anyway..

[geek]

My wife is the building scheduler for a multi-ward building (formerly used by multiple stakes, now just one stake); she has been serving in this capacity for several years.

The wards here keep private functions off the ward calendars. My wife maintains
a separate calendar of events that actually use the building and keeps the bishops updated with what's scheduled.

Of course, the trick is that she's not using LUWS to do it -- it's hosted from a Yahoogroup web calendar.

But we found it easiest to use a calendar that the three bishops and their associated staffs COULD NOT edit -- only the building scheduler. And for purposes of fairness, it works to not have the building scheduler be part of any of the 3 bishops' staffs.

Your mileage may vary...

[bhofmann-p40]

I've been in charge of scheduling the building for years and our stake set up a resource calendar for our building on the stake level. I put all of the activities that have been scheduled in the resource calendar and then if it is something that pertains to the ward I enter it again in the ward calendar. We share the building with another ward and until recently it was the stake center. There were many activities that were personal, like a wedding reception, or that didn't pertain to our ward at all. It seems to work pretty well to keep the two separate even though sometimes I end up entering the information twice.

[SR Ward Clerk-p40]

I am grateful for all the great feedback. On Sunday I mentioned to the first counselor that I put it on the building calendar, but not the ward calendar because I thought it was for official Church events that concerned the entire ward. I told him I'd be happy to put it on the ward calendar, but to let me know the reception time so that people would know when to be there (the building was reserved for the whole day for decorating).

He thought about it for a few moments, then said, "You know, you're right. It probably shouldn't be on the ward calendar."

He must have envisioned what RussellHltn mentioned, and didn't want half the ward showing up to the reception.