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Sync with Parish Life

Parish Life Quick Start Guide

This is a high-level, one-page guide for getting Parish Life up and running quickly. This page covers the basic tasks you need to complete to set up the portal for your parish. You can always make changes and add other features later.

For a more detailed explanation of each task, see the individual help topics.

  1. Set up the portal and upload data. In this process, you will initialize your data. That means, you're starting from scratch. You'll then upload your member contact information from PDS so it's visible in Parish Life.

  2. Invite new administrators to Parish Life. After you've set up the portal, invite yourself and other administrators (parish staff, pastors, and so on) who will be using it. Take a look around and make sure everything is ready for parishioners.
  3. Invite members and personnel from your PDS records. When you're ready, you can email invitations to parishioners, personnel, and anyone else who should be able to view parishioner contact information in Parish Life.

Set Up Parish Life and Upload Basic Data

  1. On the Information tab, click Parish Life.
  2. Select Upload Member Information, and click Next.
  3. Select Initialize App Data, then click Next.
  4. Select the keywords options that display to members for phone types, email types, and titles, then click Next.
  5. Enter your parish's upcoming Mass names, dates, and times that are available to members. Enter the maximum number of attendees for each mass, or enter 0 if you don't want to limit attendance. Click Next.
  6. Select the funds you want to include in parishioners' giving history. Members only see the activity name associated with each fund. Click Next.
  7. Use the selections to build a list of members whose contact information you want to upload to Parish Life. These members will not be able to log in until you invite them. Click Next.
  8. Review the list of members to upload, then click Next.
  9. Enter your parish's contact information. This displays in Parish Life for members to call or email, so make sure the parish staff answering are able to handle questions about the portal.
  10. When you're ready to set up Parish Life and upload the selected data, click Upload.

Invite Administrators

After you've set up Parish Life, invite yourself and any other administrators who will be using Parish Life. This way, you can take a look around and make sure everything is ready for parishioners.
CAUTION: Administrators can see all parishioner data, even the information parishioners mark as "Private". This includes all names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and birthdays. Make sure the admins you invite should be allowed to view this information.
  1. On the Information tab, click Parish Life.
  2. Select Email Invitation, select Administrators, then select Send Email. Click Next.
  3. Click the add icon green plus sign above the grid, and enter the administrator's information. Or, click Use Member to select a member or personnel from your data.
  4. Select whether this admin has edit or view-only rights to member information.
  5. Select whether this admin has view rights or no access to member giving information.
    Note: Admins with view rights can see a family's contribution totals and each contribution, including dates, types, check numbers, and amounts.
  6. When you're ready to send the invitations, click Send.

An email is sent to each admin that includes instructions on creating their password and logging in to Parish Life.

After you've invited them, admins can create a password and log in to the portal. There, they can view parishioner information and edit their own information.

Invite Members from PDS Records

When you're ready, you can invite members via email. Additionally, you can put your parish's unique login link on your parish website to allow members to register themselves. Note that you are able to accept or reject registration requests to ensure that those registering are actually members of your parish who should have access to Parish Life.
Note: Each member is encouraged to have their own, unique email address. This email is the user name they use to log in to Parish Life. If family members share an email account, you can enter the shared email address on each member record and Church Office will generate unique logins. For details on how that works, see our blog article.
CAUTION: As mentioned in our Privacy Policy, PDS is 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. Please ensure that you only invite members who are at least 13 years old.
  1. On the Information tab, click Parish Life.
  2. Select Email Invitation.
  3. Select Existing Members, then click Next.
  4. Use the selections to build a list of members you want to invite, then click Next.
  5. Review the list to ensure that these are the members who should be invited to use Parish Life.
    Note:

    To help ensure the safe protection of children online, this list does not include individuals whose Member Type is "Child" or "Other".

    To allow members with these types to use Parish Life, you must invite them using your Login URL so they can register themselves. They must agree to the Parish Life Terms and Privacy Policy, ensuring that they are at least 13 years old.

  6. When you're ready to send the invitations, click Send.

An email is sent to each selected member that includes instructions on completing their invitation and logging in to Parish Life.

After you've invited them, members can create a password and log in to Parish Life. There, they can add and edit their own information. Members will not show up in the Parish Directory until they select to share their profile.

Invite Personnel from PDS Records

When you're ready, you can invite personnel via email.

  1. On the Information tab, click Parish Life.
  2. Select Email Invitation.
  3. Select Personnel, then click Next.
  4. Select the type of personnel to invite, then click Next.
  5. Use the selections to build a list of personnel you want to invite, then click Next.
  6. Review the list to ensure that these are the personnel who should be invited to use Parish Life.
  7. When you're ready to send the invitations, click Send.

An email is sent to each selected personnel that includes instructions on completing their invitation and logging in to Parish Life.

After you've invited them, personnel can create a password and log in to Parish Life. There, they can add and edit their own information. Personnel will not show up in the Parish Directory until they select to share their profile.

Getting Started
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Last updated: April 10, 2024