Parish Guide

Announcements — How It Works

Share timely parish notices on your home page — written once in English, shown to everyone in their own language.
A simple, step-by-step guide for parish staff · Powered by Nave

At a glance

Announcements are the short, timely notices your parish wants people to see right away — a Mass-time change, a second collection, a parking note, a registration deadline. Staff post one in plain English; it appears on the parish home page and in the weekly bulletin, in every language you offer. No webmaster, no re-typing in three languages.

1 · Staff post a notice→ 2 · Translated automatically→ 3 · Shown on the home page→ 4 · Reorder anytime
Author once, available in every language. Write each announcement in English only. The title and body are translated to Spanish and Tagalog automatically, so every parishioner reads it in their own language. Tools that go a step beyond the basics are marked Advanced in this guide.

What's in one announcement

Each announcement is a single short notice. Only a title and body are needed — a category is optional.

Category

An optional label that groups the notice. e.g. Liturgy, Faith Formation, Events. Optional.

Title

The headline parishioners see first. Multilingual — written in English, auto-translated.

Body

A sentence or two with the detail. Multilingual — written in English, auto-translated.

↕️ Order

Up/down controls set the sequence. Newest wins within ties.

Flyer

Optional. Upload the poster you were handed — a PDF or a photo. A picture shows on the card; a PDF becomes a "View flyer" link.

Linked event

Optional. Announce something already on the calendar. Its date, place and photo are read from the event — see below.

Where they appear. Every live announcement shows on the home page, in one row you can scroll sideways — so nothing is hidden behind a "first few" cutoff. They also appear in the weekly bulletin. Empty? The section simply hides itself, so the page never looks bare.

Announcing something that's already on the calendar

Don't type the Parish Festival twice. When you add or edit an event, tick “Also announce this on the home page” and the notice writes itself.

Why it matters: the announcement doesn't copy the event — it points at it. The date, time, place and photo are read from the event every time the page is drawn, so if you move the event to 7pm, the notice says 7pm too. Nothing to remember, nothing to keep in step.

The words stay yours: the title and body live on the announcement, so you can write “Volunteers still needed for the Festival” without touching the event. Untick the box and the notice is archived, never deleted — it moves to the archived list where you can bring it back.

Part A · For parishioners

No account or sign-in needed — announcements are public, and you read them in your own language.

Use case 1 · See what's new

Who: Anyone visiting the parish website.   Goal: Catch the latest parish notices.

  1. Open the parish home page — the most recent announcements appear in their own area.
  2. Each shows a title, a short body, and (if set) a category label.
  3. Tap through to the full Announcements section to see everything, newest first.

Result: You stay current on parish news — in English, Spanish, or Tagalog, automatically.

Part B · For parish staff

You post and arrange announcements from one admin screen. The golden rule: write in English only — Spanish and Tagalog are filled in for you.

Use case 2 · Post an announcement

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Share a timely notice.

  1. Open Admin → Announcements and add one: an optional category (e.g. "Liturgy"), a title, and a short body.
  2. Write in English — Spanish and Tagalog are translated automatically within moments.
  3. Save. It appears on the home page and the Announcements section right away.

Result: A fresh notice goes live in every language, with no extra steps.

Use case 3 · Put the most important one first

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Control what shows at the top.

  1. In Announcements, use the up/down controls to arrange the list.
  2. The home page shows the first few in the order you set (newest first within ties); the rest live on the full section.
  3. Move a finished notice down — or remove it — so the home page always leads with what matters now.

Result: The right notice sits at the top, in the order you choose.

Use case 4 · Group with a category Advanced

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Make a notice scannable at a glance.

  1. When posting, set an optional category — e.g. Liturgy, Faith Formation, Events, Giving.
  2. The category shows as a small label on the card, so parishioners can tell at a glance what each notice is about.

Result: Cleaner, easier-to-scan announcements — without any extra typing.

Use case 5 · Fix or retire a notice

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Keep the list accurate.

  1. Edit an announcement's English title or body and save — the translations refresh automatically.
  2. Once an event has passed, move it down or remove it so the home page stays current.

Result: The home page never shows stale news — it reflects exactly what you've posted.

Quick reference

Where do I post announcements?Admin → Announcements. Add a category (optional), a title, and a body — in English.
Do I have to translate them?No — write English only. The title and body are translated to Spanish and Tagalog automatically.
How many show on the home page?All of the live ones, in the order you arrange (newest first within ties). Past three they become a row you can scroll sideways, so none is hidden.
Can I add a poster or a PDF?Yes — the Flyer field takes a PDF or a photo. A photo shows on the card itself; a PDF becomes a "View flyer" link. An announcement linked to an event borrows the event's photo, so you never upload the same poster twice.
Do I have to retype an event to announce it?No. On the event, tick “Also announce this on the home page”. The notice reads the date, place and photo straight from the event, so moving the event updates the notice too.
How do I change the order?Use the up/down controls in Admin → Announcements. The home page follows that order.
What's the difference between an announcement and a bulletin?An announcement is a short, timely notice on the home page; the bulletin is your weekly printable document. See the Bulletin guide.
Why did my announcement disappear from the home page?Almost always its expiry date has passed — expired notices move to the archived list in Admin, where you can renew or delete them. Ones scheduled with a future go-live date haven't appeared yet.
The big idea: announcements are your parish's bulletin board for "right now." Post once in English, and Nave shows it to everyone in their own language, in the order you choose — so the most important word of the week is always front and center.

Announcements — How It Works · A guide for parish staff · Powered by Nave