The St. Matthew's Online Community
St. Matthew's has become a geographically diverse community. We come from all parts of the Twin Cities area, and some of us have gone afar but want to keep in touch. When we get together on Sundays, we share stories, laughs, and sometimes tears with thoughtful and supportive people. But it's sometimes hard to make it on Sundays or to get together at other times.
For that reason, we have created the St. Matthew's Online Community, a place where we can share the same things that we do on Sundays, but one that's available 24/7. The Online Community is a message board created as a Google group. You can use it share whatever you'd like with your St. Matthew's friends, including things like comments about current events, musings on theology and life, favorite recipes, happy and sad things in your life, things you'd like to sell, or whatever strikes your fancy.
You can view the board by clicking on the link in the next column or by going to:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/stmatthewsmn?hl=en
To fully participate in the online community, you need to register an e-mail address and choose a password on Google (Tip: Many people have separate e-mail accounts just for this sort of internet activity, like a Gmail account at Google.) Once you have registered, you can view and post all you want.
Step-by step, here's how to sign up:
1. Go to the message board:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/stmatthewsmn?hl=en
2. Click on "Join this Group" on the right side of the page.
3. On the sign-in page, click on "Sign up now"
4. On the "Create a Google account" page, fill in your e-mail, select a password and a nickname (the "handle" you want to use to sign your posts) and complete the agreement. If you already have a Google account, select the "sign-in here" link.
5. Then configure how you want to interact with the board: If you want, you can have new posts sent to you by e-mail (either one by one or as a daily summary) and you post new messages to the board using your e-mail account. If you'd rather not get more things in your e-mail, choose the "no-email" option and use the board online. You can also add an avatar (a picture or symbol) and fill in a profile if you wish.
6. Bookmark the board address in your web browser and come back often!
Welcome and enjoy!
