Parish Life FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions that members and admins may have about Parish Life.
Member FAQs
- What is Parish Life?
- Parish Life is a mobile-friendly portal that provides a way to keep everyone informed, from parishioners to parish staff. Parishioners and personnel can update contact information to keep the parish informed and view important information, such as Mass times, parish events, giving history, and other parishioners' contact information (if they've shared it).
This helps admins keep the most up-to-date information in their records and share important announcements with everyone. Using Parish Life allows for more accurate and convenient communication, so you can live your best parish life!
- I received an email invitation from my parish. How do I sign up?
- Use the link in the email to complete your invitation.
- I didn't get an invitation from my parish. Can I still sign up?
- If your parish provides their unique Parish Life link (on their website, in a newsletter, or another way), you can sign up for a Parish Life account.
Make sure you sign up under your parish's unique URL. If you're unsure, contact your parish for the Parish Life URL that is set up within the PDS Church Office program.
- How do I log in?
- You can log in to Parish Life using a web browser on your mobile device or computer.
- Is my information safe in Parish Life?
- Yes, the data stored in Parish Life is secured on servers hosted by ACS Technologies. (Parish Life is a service provided by ACS Technologies.) View more about Data Security. Parish Life also complies with the ACS Technologies Terms of Service and Use and Privacy Policy that you agreed to when you signed up. You can review those documents for more information.
There are three types of people who can log in: parishioners, personnel, and admins. All of these types are invited by the portal administrator in your parish (either directly by email or through the unique parish URL, which are then approved or rejected by the admin). This means that no one is able to gain access to Parish Life without knowledge from your parish administrator.
- Who can see my information?
- Parish Life admins (usually parish staff, as determined by your parish) can view all of your contact information and family giving information available in Parish Life. Your family members can see all contact information on your profile and family giving information. Personnel and other parishioners can only see the contact information you've marked as "Public" to share in the Parish Directory. They can't see information you mark as "Private".
You can edit your profile information by clicking My Profile in the left menu, then Edit My Profile.
- The contact information listed in the Parish Directory is not what I want to show for my family. How do I change it?
- The address, phones, and emails that display in the Parish Directory come from the Family Information section on your profile. To change this, edit your profile, then add or edit the information in the Family Information section.
If you do not want certain information to show in the Parish Directory, you can hide it by marking it as "Private".
- How do I change my password?
- If you can log in, you can change your password at any time. If you forgot your password and can't log in, you can reset it.
- I forgot my login email. Where can I find it?
- If you forgot the email address you use to log in, you can look it up in the system. Click Look up email on the login screen. You must provide the name, address, and phone number associated with your account. If your email address is found using the account information you entered, it partially displays, giving you enough of the email address to know which one you need to use to log in.
If needed, you can also change the email address you use to log in.
- I don't want any of my information in Parish Life. How do I remove it?
- If you want to hide your contact information from personnel and other parishioners and still be able to use Parish Life, you can remove your contact information from the Parish Directory. If you no longer want to use Parish Life, contact your parish and ask them to remove you.
- How do I remove my child's information from Parish Life?
- You can remove a profile from your list of family members so they no longer show up in the Parish Directory. To completely remove the profile from Parish Life, contact your parish and ask them to remove the member's ability to log in.
As mentioned in our Privacy Policy, we are committed to the safe protection of children online, and we adhere to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Parish Life is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 13.
- Can anyone see my giving information?
- Parish Life admins (usually parish staff, as determined by your parish) can view your family giving information in Parish Life. Personnel and other parishioners are not able to view any giving information.
You can view your giving information by clicking My Contributions in the left menu.
- How do I give to my parish through Parish Life?
- If your parish uses our online giving solution, Abundant, you can make a one-time gift or set up recurring gifts. If your parish has this set up, you will see the Give Now button in the My Contributions section. Click it to enter your gift information in our secure system (PCI Level 1 compliant).
- Can I copy a parish event to my calendar application?
- If you use Google Calendar, you can copy a parish event to your calendar or add the entire parish calendar to your "Other calendars" section. For all the details, see Copy Parish Events to Your Calendar.
Admin FAQs
- Why does my parish need this portal?
- Parish Life allows for more accurate and convenient communication between the parish, your personnel, and your parishioners. Parish Life users can update contact information to keep the parish informed and view important information, such as Mass times, parish events, giving history, and other parishioners' contact information (if they've shared it).
This helps you keep the most up-to-date information in your PDS records and share important announcements with everyone. For more on the benefits of Parish Life, check out our webinar.
- How much does Parish Life cost?
- Parish Life is included with a PDS OnDemand account. There is no additional cost. If you are a desktop client and would like to upgrade or learn more about OnDemand, contact our Sales team at 1-800-892-5202.
- How do I set up Parish Life?
- Parish Life is set up through PDS Church Office. For steps, see Set Up Parish Life. To get the portal running with just the basic features, see Parish Life Quick Start Guide.
- How do I send invitations to my parishioners and personnel?
- You can invite people from your PDS records or using your unique login URL. For steps on both methods, see Invite People to Parish Life.
For a comprehensive guide and materials for your initial launch, check out our Rollout Resources.
- Can staff and ministers use Parish Life?
- Yes! Any personnel you invite can use Parish Life to view parishioner information. This is especially useful for pastors and group leaders who need contact information available on their mobile devices.
If they should have access to all information, including parishioner giving history, invite them as Parish Life administrators. Otherwise, if they should only see what parishioners select to share (which never includes giving history), invite them as members. For steps, see Invite People to Parish Life.
- A parishioner asked me to remove their Parish Life profile. How can I remove it without affecting their PDS record?
- You can remove Parish Life users without affecting records in PDS Church Office. For steps, see Remove Profiles from Parish Life.
- How do I add my parish's Mass times for parishioners to see?
- Mass times are added using the synchronization process in PDS Church Office. For steps, see Show Mass Times in Parish Life.
- How do I add my parish's calendar of events for parishioners to see?
- If your parish publishes a public Google Calendar, you can embed the calendar in Parish Life.
Parishioners can view (but not edit) events and copy them to their personal Google Calendar. They can also add the public calendar under the "Other calendars" section in their personal Google Calendar. These actions do not affect the parish's calendar or events. Read more about how Google's public calendars work.
- How do I add a certain fund that parishioners can give to?
- If your parish uses our online giving solution, Abundant, you can allow parishioners to make a one-time gift or set up recurring gifts. In Abundant, you can select the default fund that your parishioners can give to. For steps, see Allow Parishioners to Give via Parish Life.
- What fund information can parishioners see in Parish Life?
- Parishioners can only see the activity names for the funds you select. You can select which fund activities display in Parish Life based on the funds in PDS Church Office.
- Will the attendance data be cleared out if I update my Masses?
- Yes. If you make changes to Mass information after parishioners have marked themselves as attending, the total number attending will be reset and parishioners will need to mark the Mass(es) they plan to attend again.