Background

The Mission Strategy process is making use of the Diocesan social network Web site to enable people to engage with each other. Within the Diocesan social network site, there is a group called (aptly enough) Mission Strategy, located at http://episcopalmn.ning.com/group/msn.

Everyone should sign up for an account on the Diocesan social network site, and become a member of the Mission Strategy group there. This enables you to participate in the forums, comment on blog posts, and keep your own blog if you so choose.

Getting started

1. Get ready with a picture of yourself saved to your computer’s hard drive.

2. Click here to open the Diocesan social network site in a new window.

3. On the right side of the page you will see a “sign up” link that looks like this:

   

4. On the signup form, enter your e-mail address. Choose a password and enter it in both the “password” field and the “retype password” field. Then type the code it asks you for and click the “Sign Up” button.

   

5. You will now enter some basic personal information to create your profile. This allows others on the site to know who you are, and you can change it at any time. Enter your name, the congregation you belong to, and any other information you’d like to provide. In the interest of open, honest discussion, please use your real name. Don’t click “Join” just yet!

6. Before clicking the “Join” button, add a photo of yourself to your profile. Select a picture from your hard drive by clicking the “Browse…” (or “Choose File”) button and choosing the picture file you want to upload. Now click “Join”.

7. You should now be returned to the Mission Strategy group, and where the “Sign Up” link was you should now see a box like the following:

   

   Right next to that box, there will be a link that says . Click that link to join the group.

The site will send you e-mail updates when certain things happen on the site, for example when someone comments on a blog post you wrote. To control which e-mail updates you want to receive, click on the “My Settings” link on the right side of the page, then go to “Email” on the left.

Once you’re signed into the site, you automatically have a blog associated with your profile. You can find it by clicking on the “My Page” link at the top of the page. (This is also where you can edit your profile.) Once there, click the “My Blog” link just below the “My Page” link. To write a post, click , type your entry, and click “Publish Post” at the bottom of the page. You can also save the post as a draft or preview what it will look like.