Information Technology

Each Pastoral Charge has its own unique budget priorities. In some cases, budget priorities include fixing the roof or the furnace, and in other cases, it may include the purchase of a new computer. This page is intended as a resource to help pastoral charges make informed decisions when purchasing new equipment or when considering donated equipment.

For further guidance on issues related to purchasing equipment, accepting donated equipment, data security and support, you may wish to review the "Computers" section in the Financial Handbook for Congregations (formerly "Handbook for Church Treasurers").

Software

The following are based on the most widely used products.

Some of the basic desktop products such as browsers are now included with the Windows operating system and the latest version can be downloaded for free. For the Office software products, charitable organization or education pricing is available.

To purchase Microsoft product licensing, charitable organizations can use their individual Registered Charitable number to purchase as few as five Microsoft licenses under the "Open License Program (OLP)". Contact a Microsoft Authorized Reseller in Canada* to order the software and licensing at a charity price. You will need to qualify for the charity pricing through the use of your Charitable Organization Number.

In considering Microsoft products, it will be easier to find skilled volunteers, resources, and free macros or templates for these widely used products. Most importantly, in considering products below, you will have access to a much larger audience when sharing electronic files and software solutions with other Pastoral Charges and United Church organizations.

If you are looking for a simple, free alternative, OpenOffice.org is the software package you are looking for. OpenOffice is a multi-platform office productivity suite that includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites. OpenOffice.org runs stably on Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, Linux, and numerous other platforms. This software package is free to download.*

For basic desktop software the following software products are suggested:

Operating System

• Windows XP or later (XP Pro or later recommended for a LAN)+

Office Productivity

• Microsoft Office Basic 2003 or later (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Microsoft Office Standard 2003 or later (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)+
• Microsoft Office Professional 2003 or later (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access)+
• OpenOffice.org* 2 or later (free multi-platform office productivity suite)

Web Browsers and E-mail Clients

• Internet Explorer 7 or later (included with Windows or download latest version* from Microsoft)+ or
• Mozilla Firefox 2 or later (Download for free from www.getfirefox.com*)
• Mozilla Thunderbird 2 or later (Download for free from www.mozilla.com*) or
• Outlook Office E-Mail 2003 or later (included w/ MS Office; includes calendar functionality)+

Recommended Plug-ins for Web Browsers

• Adobe Reader 7 or later (Download for free from adobe.com*)
• Flash Player 9 or later (Download for free from adobe.com*)

Anti-virus and Security

• Trend Micro Internet Security* (includes anti-virus & firewall)+ or
• McAfee Internet Security Suite* (includes anti-virus & firewall)

Learn more about computer Security and Firewalls on our security page.

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Church Management Software

The following software packages are in use by Pastoral Charges:

Product	Website
Church Assistant (merging w/ DONATION) †	wincrafters.software4nonprofits.com*
Church Watch †	www.churchwatch.com*
DONATION †	www.software4nonprofits.com
Genesis †	www.dm2.ca*
Church Windows	www.churchwindows.com*
Membership Plus	www.memplushome.com*
Servant Keeper	www.servantpc.com*
Shepherd's Staff	www.shepherdsstaff.org*

†  Canadian Product

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Customized Solutions

Some Pastoral Charges are very happy with customized software solutions. It's clear from survey results that Microsoft Access is the most popular database-development tool in use. Also, with the popularity of this tool in the business community, you will likely experience fewer problems in finding skilled Volunteers and inexpensive courses, not to mention numerous resource books in the larger bookstores. Here are the most popular and recommended tools for custom software solutions:

• Microsoft Access—for custom database development (this product includes a wizard that will create a basic Donations database that you can then customize)
• Microsoft Excel—for customized accounting procedures
• Microsoft Word—for merging lists with letters or bulletins
• Simply Accounting*
• Quickbooks*—for Accounting

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Is Your Computer Obsolete?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is my computer hardware older than 2001?
• Does my computer have anything less than a Pentium III (3) or comparable processor?
• Do I have sufficient disk storage space (at least 20GB) and RAM memory (at least 256MB) to run current software?
• Am I able to backup important files to an external device? (CD-R, DVD-R, memory key, etc.)
• Is my operating system too old to support current Anti-Virus software (Trend, McAfee, etc.)?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, it's time to consider investing in a new computer system with current software. If you're having difficulty justifying the cost of a new system, consider the cost of lost time, not to mention the cost of lost data, or the cost of distributing incorrect information after a destructive virus infection.

If you still have questions or comments, please contact the ITS Help Desk.

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Financial Support for Eligible Congregations

For eligible congregations of the United Church, financial support is available from the Congregational, Educational, and Community Ministries Unit. To assist low-income, low-membership pastoral charges, funding is allocated for Technology Grants.