RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication.  In other words, it’s a simple way to publish or spread information that has been posted on a web site.  If you are new to reading blogs, you might wonder, ‘how do you know when something new has been posted?’  For example, my family has a blog that we share and I just checked.  No one has posted anything since July 10th.  If you were a regular reader of my blog, I suspect you might have given up checking for new post by now.  But, if you were to subscribe using an RSS feed, then your web browser would tell you when a new post appears.

Wikipedia says this:

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works – such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video – in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a “feed”, “web feed”, or “channel”) includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content quickly and automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader”, or “aggregator”, which can be web-based or desktop-based.

You can find the RSS feeds on any web site by looking for this icon.

But if you’re like me, even an RSS feed requires too much attention which is why many web sites also offer email updates.  If you sign up for this service, every time a new post is published, you’ll receive an email with the content of the post and a link to the original site.

Finally, there is a third alternative.  Google offers a service called Google Reader.  By typing the web sites you want to follow into the ’subscribe’ box, Google will keep a list of all your ‘feeds’ and then you can read them whenever you want.  Doesn’t get much easier than that!

By now you’ve probably guessed that the Presbytery’s web site now has live RSS feeds and email subscriptions available.  Stay connected to Winnebago Presbytery and the PC(USA)! Sign up today.

feautor.org -  A free, multilingual, and open space to share religious resources is now being used by several major denominations (including the ELCA) as a gathering place to share ideas.

Here’s what the creators say

Welcome to FeAutor.org!

We are a group of people who have come together to support the sharing of religious resources using Creative Commons licenses. For more information, please contact feautor@religioused.org.

Some of us first met at a World Council of Churches consultation on intellectual property, and others through two planning meetings that a foundation helped fund (one in St. Paul, Minnesota in January of 2006, and one in Sao Paulo, Brazil in April of 2006).

We are organized into working groups that anyone is free to join, including an administrative oversight group which is coordinated by Mary Hess. Most of us who started this project are members of Christian communities of faith, but we welcome participation from people of other faiths. If you speak a language that is not part of the navigation of this site, and would like to contribute a translation to make it possible to navigate in your language, please let us know.

Want a litany to bless backpacks?  How about an Advent booklet or a healing service.  Browse or Search AND if you’ve got something to share, upload content.

The Parish Papers have disappeared from the menu bar at the top of the page - but they haven’t gone far.   They can now be found at their new home on the Resources page of this website.

Bulletin Inserts are back on the menu bar with the latest one featuring information about the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance response to the Midwest storms and flooding.  Consider using it in your Sunday bulletins.

2009 seems like a long way off, but it’s time to think about ordering your copies of the Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study.  Order forms have arrived in local congregations.  Discounts begin with an order of 25, but what if you only want 1 or 6 copies?  Do you need to order them at the full price ?  No!

The Presbytery Office will once again submit a bulk order.  Since we will be ordering 100 or more, we can purchase them for $5.00 per copy, including some of the postage costs.  The office pays the balance of the postage.  What a deal! 

We need to order during the month of August so I’ve set a deadline of August 1 to receive orders from congregations and individuals who will be ordering less than 100 copies.  The order forms are available on the Forms & Policies page of this website.  Click here.

“Too many web pages to wade through” is a common complaint and I agree! It’s hard to find decent sites with relevant information in formats that are accessible. You could spend ALL day looking

In an effort to help you find what you’re looking for, we’re going to start publishing an occasional Resource Round-up. Quick links to church relevant web-sites and a brief description. Please note that a link here is not an endorsement. There are nearly 8000 members in Winnebago Presbytery with a wide range of interests and so we hope to provide information and connections on a variety of topics.

Here is the first round.

Movie Clips. More and more churches are using movies or movie clips as part of their education curriculum. If you don’t know about the Presbytery’s group CVLI liscense, you can read more about that here. Below are some of the places you can go to download clips.

HollywoodJesus.com ~ Pop Culture from a spiritual point of view. Looking for sermon illustrations? movies for the youth group? A film for family movie night?

Wingclips.com ~ Movie clips that illustrate and inspire. Sorted on the left column by topic, these clips are available for you to search. Downloads are available for monthly fee.

SermonSpice.com ~ Give your Message some motion. With everything from conservative to progressive and hilarious to serious, these high quality videos may be just the thing you need.

Other sites of interest

albanlearning.org ~ Alban’s new blog on the topic of transforming congregational leaders. Posts on education events, relevant research and

ymilive - the social networking site for youth by the Presbyterian Church (USA) - it’s like Facebook but it’s Presbyterian!

When Religion Meets New Media - the blog of Heidi Campbell

And finally, click on over to our own Stephen Wright’s new blog at the Wausau Daily Herald