Getting Online - A Basic Guide For Parishes Setting Up
A Website
This guide is aimed at those setting up or updating pages on their own parish website,
whether they will be doing the actual updating of pages themselves or having the work
done on their behalf by a web editor. It is a revision of 'The Good Web Work Guide',
produced in 2006.
Please note that these are guidelines only, and the Church of Scotland cannot take
responsibility for the information and style of external sites.
Contents
Getting started
Basic requirements
Finding a host
Domain names
Setting up the site
Content
Planning what you need
What should go on
What shouldn't go on
Keeping it up to date
Getting the information
Design and developing the site
Navigation
Being accessible
Design issues
House Style
Language
Feedback
Resources and guidance
Getting and using images
Using the Church emblem and graphics
Downloads and file formats
Links to the Church and other websites
Copyright, data protection and privacy
Appendices
1. Dunblane Cathedral's website brief
2. Image reproduction slip (to get permission for photographing young people and
adults)
3. Photo reproduction slip (to get permission to use someone's photos or images)
4. A - Z suggested house style guide
Getting Started
The basic requirements
To get started you'll need:
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A host who will provide a web server where you can store your website
A domain name for your site so people know where to find it
A computer and access to the internet so you can edit pages and
send them to the web server
Someone to design and set up the pages which will make up your
site
Someone who will be able to update information on a regular
basis once the site is up and running
Finding a host
There are many hosting sites which will provide free or low cost web space at a few
pounds per month. Some of these also provide authoring tools which allow users to
set up pages and update them. If you search the internet, you can find sites which
will compare different companies and costs for you, or it might be useful to ask other
congregations with websites what they did, what hosts they used and how successful
it has been.
Things you will need to think about will be the size of your website and how many
pages it will have, what sort of content it will have, for example will there be lots of
video, audio or images as well as text, and how many people will be editing the site.
Advertising
Many sites provide free web space without advertising banners but there are some
who offer free space or lower costs in return for banner adverts on your site. You
should be careful as these banners may be wholly inappropriate for a church
website, for example online gambling.
Using other websites
One option is to 'piggy back' on another site, for example there might be a local
community website which allocates space or pages to organisations and churches, or
your Presbytery might have this facility on its website. The Scottish Churches Scheme
has a website called Sacred Scotland, which provides churches from all
denominations who join the scheme with their own page. If a neighbouring
congregation is also setting up a website, there might be options to share hosting or
costs
Domain names
Many hosting sites will also provide you with a domain name included in their costs or
at an additional price. You would usually 'rent' the name by paying a monthly or yearly
sum, and might need to agree to a fixed term such as two years, after which you will
need to renew it. The cost of a UK domain (normally .org.uk for charities and nonprofit organisations) can be as little as a couple of pounds a month.
You can also purchase a domain name through a separate domain hosting site. It will
then need to be redirected to where your site is being hosted (also called forwarding
or web forwarding). This service can be provided as a free feature through some
domain sites.
Setting up the site
Whoever sets up your site will need to know something about web authoring and web
design. You might opt for a web development professional to do this for you or, as in
many congregations, there might be a willing volunteer who will take this on.
To call in the help of an expert, initial site design can cost anything in the region of
£200 upwards, with additional pages ranging between £25 to £100 plus graphics,
depending on complexity. A small straight-forward site normally works out at about
£100 per page, larger sites work out cheaper per page.
Depending on how your site is set up, you may not need someone with technical
knowledge to update it afterwards. If you have a content management system, you
can have several people editing their own pages through an easy to use form or
interface on their computer.
However you decide to set up your website, you should be aware there is nearly
always more to a site than meets the eye. Setting up will also include testing,
configuration for various browsers, screen sizes, colour combinations, navigation,
usability and accessibility. Designing or writing for a website is not as straight
forward as using a simple Word document.
Content
Planning what you need
Good content is essential to keep people coming back to a site and it should be:
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Informative
Easy to find
Regularly updated.
Before you start looking at webpages and how they will be set up, you should think
about the content you want on the site and how it should be organised. You might
consider getting a small group together to work on ideas. Whether or not you are
using a professional web developer, it might be useful to write out a 'brief' which
details what you want from the website. Members from Dunblane Cathedral wrote a
detailed brief for their website, which you can read at Appendix 1.
Some of the things to think about are:
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Why do you want a website and what do you want it to do
Who will be using it - it might be mainly congregation members,
or you might be trying to attract visitors from outside the church.
Who will be updating it - will you have one editor, or are there several
people going to be doing this, how much technical knowledge does
everyone have.
What features would you like to include, for example will you want to
show videos, have an events calendar, include music
What should go on the site?
Your website can be a communication tool where anyone living, visiting or moving to
your area can find out how the Church plays a central role within the community. As
with all content on your website, you should not presume that visitors to your site have
any prior knowledge about your church so list all details that you, as a complete
newcomer to the area, would like to find out such as:
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Church address and how to find it
Contact details for ministers, those arranging car pools, Sunday schools and
other activities.
Service times
Local church groups such as Guild, Boys Brigades, Brownies, parent and
toddler group
Disabled access and crèche details
Latest newsletters and parish information updates
Other useful information might be information on funerals, weddings,
christenings, and a history of the church, including past and current ministers
and office bearers.
What shouldn't go on the site?
Always remember that whatever is on your site can be read by anyone anywhere, not
just congregation members. If you want to post minutes or other documents be careful
about including information which might be sensitive to others, might cause offence if
read out of context, or names of individuals who may not know they will be identified
on the website. If you are not sure whether you would want everyone in the world to
read the information, do not include it
Keeping it up to date
Whoever updates your site is likely to do it either as a volunteer or by adding it on to
other jobs they are already doing, and finding time is often a problem. Whoever
takes on the website should decide how often they will be able to update it - be
realistic though, updating information weekly might be a good idea but
unmanageable given other commitments. It might be useful to set aside a regular
time for updating.
On the other hand, you do not want your site to be out of date and unchanged for
long periods of time, otherwise visitors will lose interest in coming back and assume
the site is static and no one is looking after it. Think about what sort of information is
going on to the site, for example there is no point including information that needs
updated every day if you know you can only update monthly. Some pages on the site
won't change much in the course of a year such as address and contact details,
while others can change daily, weekly or fortnightly.
Try to keep your site looking as fresh and up to date as possible by changing images
or latest news items on the front page so that visitors can see that the site is kept
updated and they will be interested in coming back.
Getting the information
A common difficulty is getting information from people on a regular basis for the site. It
might be useful to identify at the start where your content is going to come from, and
check that the people who will need to supply it know when it is expected. You should
also make sure people know how to send information for the website and to whom it
should be sent. Adding contact details, an email address or an online form on your
pages will make it easier for people to send you information. Advertising the website in
newsletters and church magazines will remind people that it is there.
Design And Developing The Site
Navigation
Anyone who uses your site needs to be able to find their way around easily. If they
cannot find the information they are looking for, or they get lost and can't find their way
back, they are likely to give up and might not return. Good navigation through the site,
and through each section of it, is therefore important. You should ensure:
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Your home page has a navigation bar which helps users go to
different sections on your site
The navigation bar appears on each of your pages so that people can visit
other parts of your site rather than just one page.
All pages also carry a link back to your home page.
Include links in the text to other parts of your sites to encourage people to
move about your site.
Links to external sites:
If linking to external sites, it is a good idea to make sure the new link opens in a new
browser window. This means you do not lose users off your pages, and it makes it
clear to users that they are leaving your editorial boundaries. When opening a new
browser window, it is helpful to inform users with a message, for example: Please note
this link will take you out of the church website and open a new browser window.
Being accessible
The range of visitors to your website could include:
school pupils students older people retired people members of congregations
members of other denominations ministers chaplains people interested in the
Church in general people interested in job opportunities careers officers people
using a computer for the first time church workers . . .
Your visitors will therefore be a wide group of people with different interests and
abilities, and differing levels of computer skills. For instance, older people may not find
scrolling down long pages very easy, and find it hard to read certain colour
combinations. You also need to remember that not everyone will have the fastest
broadband connection or the latest technology. Large photos might look good on your
web page, for example, but they could take a long time to download if you don't have a
fast internet connection, and people might give up.
Your site should also be accessible for people with disabilities. People with particular
eye conditions find it difficult to read text printed in some colours, for example. People
with dyslexia can have difficulty with particular colours, or can sometimes recognise
images more easily than text, so including icons or other graphics in addition to text
links on the page might be something to consider.
Using plain or buff backgrounds rather than patterned ones, and font colours
which are a good contrast to backgrounds are generally more helpful.
Further information for web accessibility:
The World Wide Web Consortium produces Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) which provide information on how to make web content accessible to people
with disabilities at www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php
The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has guidelines and practical
ideas on its website, and it also offers a pack which can be ordered online.
For more information, visit www.rnib.org.uk
Testing accessibility:
The Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) produced a free online tool
called 'Bobby' for checking web accessibility. This was sold on to IBM and is
available as an application on their website at: www01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/tester/policy/accessibility/
Design issues
Aim to keep it simple and start small - you can always build it up.
Web pages are not the same as printed pages so you won't necessarily see a jazzy
new leaflet going online as an exact reproduction of the printed version. Even if the
design effect could be achieved, the page could take a while to download and it is
estimated many users give up waiting after an average of eight seconds. Remember
that every graphic image you put on to a web page slows down the time it takes for
that page to be downloaded by users, and different browsers, screens and computer
settings affect how your page is viewed and whether everything on it can be
displayed.
There is a huge range of features you can add to web pages, such as videos, blogs
or animation. There is a temptation to add in things because they are the latest bit of
technology or everyone else has them, but you should think about how they would
enhance and add to your site first before you include them.
Some design tips:
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Use colour schemes that are readable.
Leave lots of blank space. Start lots of new paragraphs and leave plenty
of space between objects.
Don't cram in text: use headings and horizontal rules to help break it up.
Don't underline text: it could be mistaken for a clickable link.
Try to keep pages fairly short, and break long pages into several shorter
ones. If pages have to be long, use the "top of page" link with anchors.
Try to keep down the amount of text per page: screen after screen of text is
dull and unlikely to be read. Research shows that users will not scroll down lots
of text.
Don't use lots of colours, garish colours, and lots of bold and italic
character styles
House style
Decide on a 'house-style' and keep the design and layout consistent throughout the
site. It makes it easier for users if the navigation bar is in the same place on every
page, and also makes the whole site look more 'unified' and lets people know they
are still on your site. You can use templates which will make it easier to add content
without having to think about design each time.
Language
Online publishing is like any other medium in one respect: consistency lends authority.
Styles for the same words and phrases should be the same from one part of the site to
another, so establish a house style, particularly if there is going to be more than one
editor. Some suggestions are listed in the house style guide in Appendix 4.
You should also try to use plain English. This is a world wide web and will not be
read just by people from your local parish. Always assume people are not starting
from a position of knowledge and avoid 'church-speak' or local colloquialisms. Most
of the people accessing the site will probably not be as familiar with the world of the
Church as we are.
Terminology and abbreviations
If Church terminology has to be used, it might be helpful to create a link from the
word or phrase to your site's glossary if you have one, or at least follow on with an
explanation of what you mean. It may also be useful to link to a "Frequently Asked
Questions" page if you are experiencing or expecting a lot of feedback on your site.
Always write out abbreviations in full the first time – e.g. ACTS, CTBI, SCIFU –
with the abbreviation in brackets after it. People then will know what the
abbreviation refers to, or have somewhere to refer to if they forget.
Caps or not caps
Capital letters should not be used for anything other than proper names. A common
mistake is to use capitals on job titles and adjectives, both of which should ideally not
be capped. If in doubt, leave in lower case as it makes reading the text much easier
and clearer especially for users where English is not their first language. Never use
capitals for whole sentences as it is difficult to read.
Feedback
Once you have your site set up, it's useful to test out your pages and get some
feedback from different users. You might also want to look at other churches'
websites to see what you think works well or looks good, and share practice and
ideas amongst them. When your site is live, users' reactions and comments are an
important contribution to the maintenance and development of the site. It can be
useful to set up an email account or web mail address box for this function.
Resources And Guidance
Getting and using images
Using other people's work
You must have permission to use someone's photos or artwork on your site or you
could be in breach of copyright and face paying a large amount of money. A
permission form for this is in Appendix 3. You may have to pay to use an image,
either a one-off cost or an amount per month. Using the image for one month and then
removing it can keep the costs down. If you have been given approval to use
someone's photographs or artwork, you should carry an acknowledgement close to
the image. Including the copyright symbol may be necessary in some cases.
There are a large number of websites on the internet where you can download
images and photos for free although many require a link back to the originating site or
an acknowledgement if you use them. You should always read the terms and
conditions and never assume that no one will know if you've used a photo from
somewhere else - remember your site can be viewed anywhere in the world.
Children and young people
If you are using photos of children and young people, you should seek their and their
parents or carers' permission. If the photos have already been published in the
church's magazine or newsletter, you should still confirm permission before putting
these on the website - people may have given permission if they thought their photos
were to be circulated locally but may have a different view if they are published
worldwide. A permission form for this is available at Appendix 2.
Size and formats of images
The larger the images you use and the more you use on a page, the longer they will
take to download. As a guide, images should not be larger than 30K in size although
this should be reviewed where you have a large number of images on a page. If the
image is a logo or artwork of some kind with only a few colours in it, it is better to be
supplied as a gif (.gif) file. Photos and other pictures should be jpeg (.jpg) files. The
resolution required for images on the web are very low compared to those for printing.
Moving images
You should try to avoid moving, scrolling or blinking text, as it is hard to read if you
have poor eye sight and screen readers cannot read moving
Using the Church emblem and graphics
The Church's main website has a copy of the logo and emblem which local churches
can use for their websites. Please contact [email protected] for
further information.
Downloads and File Formats
If you want to add a document to your site or link to a lengthy report, it is useful to
provide it in different formats, as not all users have the same system or connections.
PDFs
Portable document format (PDF) files let web users see what your original document
looks like, if they have Adobe Reader installed in the system. This format is useful if
your document has lots of images or graphics. However a PDF compiled using the
latest version of software will not be able to be viewed by anyone with an older
version on their computer and it can be helpful to provide a link for users to install the
latest version of Adobe Reader for free.
Other formats:
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Microsoft Word document (".doc" extension) - this is useful if you are adding
a form for people to complete
Naming web files
File-naming is important, because some characters won't register with certain
browsers, so your web pages won't be found. Avoid:
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Punctuation
Spaces
Capital letters.
Links to the Church website and other sites
Once your website is set up, you can email the webteam at
[email protected] with its new address and we will add it to the
contact details for your church on the Church's main website. You can also add a link
on your site back to the Church website address - www.churchofscotland.org.uk
It can be useful to include links to other sites such as nearby churches, local
organisations, councils and schools. You should bear in mind that if you add a link to
someone else's site, you are associating your church with its contents, and you
should check there is nothing on the external site which could reflect badly on your
church. Website addresses can change, so it is useful to check your links every so
often to ensure they still go to the right place.
Copyright, data protection and privacy
Copyright
You should not put any content on your site unless you either own the copyright or
have obtained the permission of the person who does. This includes all kinds of
content such as text from publications, audio and video files. Each version of the Bible
has its own copyright statement so it is better to seek permission from the publisher
before using large amounts of text.
For using images on your site, see Getting and using images above.
Data protection and privacy
You should obtain someone's consent before you publish any of their personal or
contact details, and be aware of the implications of keeping any personal information
which you might collect from your website under the Data Protection Act. You can visit
the Information Commissioner's Office website www.ico.gov.uk/ for guidance on the
Data Protection Act 1998 and read the Law department's circulars for congregations at
www.churchofscotland.org.uk
If you plan to put photos or videos on your site which include children and young
people, read the guidance produced by the Safeguarding Office at
www.churchofscotland.org.uk
APPENDIX 1
Dunblane Cathedral – Brief For A New Website
This outlines a brief which members from Dunblane Cathedral compiled for a web
development company when they wished to redevelop their website. You can visit their site
at www.dunblanecathedral.org.uk
Background to the new site
A website review group was set up to investigate having a site where any Cathedral
organisation (with the appropriate password access, training and guidance), could add,
amend or update information from any web-connected computer, without the need for
web-creation software on their computer. This would involve using a content
management system.
The aim was to make the website more dynamic, so that different people could take
responsibility for the information in their part of the website. The site was also to have a
consistent look and feel, with text size and colour required to automatically comply with
accessibility legislation.
Specification for Dunblane Cathedral Content Management System website
The content management system (CMS) required must be designed so that it complies
with the following specification.
1.
Allows non-technical people within the organisation to update parts of the
website. This must be fully web-based, accessible from any computer via a web
browser, enabling users to connect to our website and make changes without
the need for any software other than a web browser.
2.
Must allow different levels of access to restrict varying levels of users to editing
selected parts of the website only. This management to be set up by local
administrators.
3.
Provides web management tools via web browser that enables anyone with
basic Internet experience to grant different levels of access to visitors, registered
users, moderators, and content managers so that all can contribute to the
creation of a dynamic, full-featured website.
5.
Must allow the users to make their own changes to the website as often as they
like. Must conform to all accessibility legislation – contributions from organisations
should automatically be formatted to conform to accessibility legislation. These
should include automatic Spelling & Readability Checking to provide accessibility
compliance which requires content to be created in clear and concise language,
suitable for website visitors.
6.
Must provide appropriate navigation to provide for users to browse the website to
the section where the user would like to add the new content with tools provided
to enable the user to select an appropriate content layout template and enter
content using the WYSIWYG 1 interface. Such content to automatically follow the
CSS 2 rules defined for pages within that section of the website. This also to
automatically put it into the navigation menu.
7.
Includes calendar of events which can have multiple editors. This to integrate
with home page to provide highlight of latest events from calendar.
8.
Includes accommodation/facilities booking system which integrates with the
calendar to show when accommodation or facilities are available, and also
what is used.
9.
Provides the facility for easy uploading of images and documents (e.g. pdf,
Word, Powerpoint, mp3, etc) by every level of user granted the right to upload
text. This to provide facility to include provision for details to be input by
selected users and seen by selected users but to only make visible to others
what these selected users wish to be seen by others, with the provision of
restricting access to such materials if deemed necessary.
10. Provides facility for slideshows of images.
11. Provides Event Registration for events, classes, trips, concerts, etc.
12. Provides Needs/Skills Board or Forum enabling members of the congregation to
help each other.
13. Includes contact forms for each office-bearer, organisation representative
without revealing e-mail addresses
14. Provision for Podcasts (sermons, services or groups) including streaming
media.
15. Includes interactive Map to the church
16. Includes updating Local Weather
17. Provides Bible search tool
18. Provides Verse A Day with a scripture verse that changes daily
19. Provides a facility for automatically updating message of the day
20. Includes search facility of site
21. Includes donations link to receive donations via PayPal – This to include provision
for donations to be gift aided
22. Incorporate current embedded link to current national Church News
23. Includes Flash tour with photos, captions and interactive 360° panoramic tours
24. Provides the facility for managing access rights for users, with the facility to decide
who can view each specific page on the website as well as who can modify and
administer each.
25. Provides the facility to create private pages, calendars, and forums for internal use
that certain user-groups can view.
26. Provides the facility for pages or content to go live or expire at user specified
times.
27. Provides the facility for blogs by selected users
28. Provides the facility for users to subscribe to newsletters by e-mail.
29. Provide the facility for RSS feeds.
30. Must use the domain www.dunblanecathedral.org.uk (will require to provide
migration from current host)
31. Must include provision for unlimited pop3 e-mail solution so that all office-bearers
and organisation representatives have e-mail the format
[email protected]
32. Provide facility for polling views of members.
33. Provide hosting of the website and back-up provision.
34. Provide website usage statistics for all elements of the website.
35. Provide plain English online user guides.
36. Provide online and telephone support.
37. Provide printer-friendly facility for printing webpages.
38. Provide backup and disaster recovery with version control over site structure and
content such that the CMS provides archiving of previous versions of each content
item and allowing rollback to a previous version when necessary.
39. Provide anti-spam measures for contact e-mails for office-bearers.
Information and queries
This information was asked for from the company:
1.
Indicate a total cost for the above as well as the specific costs for the design
element, and annual costs.
2.
Provide details of example church content management system websites you
have created and hosted.
3.
Indicate a projected timescale for delivery of the above should you be chosen to
provide this service.
4.
5.
Is it a one off license and/or is there a monthly/annual charge?
Is there an option to start small and then grow as we better understand our
needs, and can this be accommodated in the cost?
6.
How are costs calculated? Are they dependent on number of hits, number of admin
licences, or on each feature we use?
7.
How is support given and what are the service levels offered for error correction?
24 hours? 2 working days? 1 week? etc. What is the escalation process for
errors?
8.
Where is support provided from?
9.
If there is a cost for support how is that cost calculated?
10. How secure would the system be from external attack?
11. Are updates free of charge or how are they costed?
12. How are updates released - automatic pull as with Adobe Acrobat,
orCD/DVD sent to us, or email telling us of a new download?
13. How is the actual system configured to meet our needs and how do we turn on
and off the various options as we need?
14. What limit, if any, is there to the number of admin users who can be given
access to the system?
15. How do we manage test and live versions of the system i.e. proper lifecycle
management?
16. How "open" is the system to integrate with other packages/software e.g.
Word, PowerPoint, Access, MySQL, Adobe, etc?
17. Is the development system Windows 95/98/2000/XP/Vista or Mac compatible?
18. What browsers are supported by the output system? What OSs 3 does it support?
Thanks to the website administrator at Dunblane Cathedral for permission to reprint
this brief.
APPENDIX 2
Image Reproduction Permission Slip
To be filled in by young person, parent or guardian:
I agree to allow this image of me / my child to be used by (parish name) for
the following purposes:
Please tick all boxes that apply.
For inclusion in parish news publications
For inclusion in the parish's printed publications and publicity
For inclusion on the parish's Website
Name of child or young person in caps:
_____________________________________
___
Signature of parent or guardian:
(if child is under 12)
_____________________________________
___
Signature of young person:
(12 and over)
_____________________________________
___
Date:
_____________________________________
___
APPENDIX 3
Photo Reproduction Permission Slip
To be filled in by Photographer:
I am the owner of the photograph and agree to allow it to be used by the (parish
name) for the following purposes:
Please tick all boxes that apply.
For inclusion in parish news publications
For inclusion in the parish's printed publications and publicity
For inclusion on the parish's website
Signature of photographer:
_____________________________________
___
I am not the owner of the image please
attribute it to:
_____________________________________
___
Contact details for owner:
_____________________________________
___
APPENDIX
4
SUGGESTED HOUSE STYLE GUIDE
Introduction
The Church of Scotland's website text stylebook is based on standards established
by The Times newspaper (traditionally regarded as an authoritative source), by the
National Union of Journalists, the BBC online, and by experienced journalists with a
strong feel for language.
These are suggested house styles only and are offered as a guide to help you
establish your own website editorial style.
A
AIDS: all capitals. Do not use the term 'AIDS infected'. AIDS is a disease resulting
from HIV infection and therefore patients develop AIDS and are not infected with it.
Avoid using the term 'AIDS victim'.
armed forces: lower case.
army: lower case.
Assembly: as in General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Upper case.
Authorised Version (of the Bible): upper case for initial letters.
B
Bible: upper case initial letter.
biblical: lower case
boards: (of the Church of Scotland) lower case, unless the name of the board
(eg. the Board of National Mission; but the board is going to consider). Also, use
as the singular form, not plural.
Body of Christ: upper case initial caps.
C
Catholic: upper case.
chaplain/chaplaincy: lower case.
Church: upper case when referring to the Church of Scotland or the name of a church
(eg. Kelso Parish Church) but lower case when referring to the congregation or
building (eg. the Dingwall church congregation; the flowers in the church..)
committee: like 'boards' lower case unless the full name of the board (eg. the
Ecumenical Relations Committee; but the committee is considering...).
convener: like all job titles, this should be lower case.
D
dates: should be written as 10 March 2003; not March 10, 2003 or March 10th,
2003.
Diaconate: initial capital.
divinity: lower case.
E
elder, elders, eldership: lower case.
e-mail: lower case, with hyphen.
episcopacy: lower case.
Episcopalian: initial capital if used as noun, lower case if used as adjective for
description.
epistle: lower case.
F
Free Church: initial caps.
full stops: do not use after Mr, Mrs, Messrs, Dr, Rev, etc.
G
General Assembly: initial caps.
godsend: lower case, no space.
Gospel: capitals when writing about 'preaching the Gospel', etc. but lower case for
'the gospels' or the 'gospel of John'.
grace: lower case.
H
Heaven/Hell: initial caps.
hymnary: lower case, unless referring to the title of a book (eg. Church Hymnary).
hymn books: lower case, two words.
K
Kingdom (of God): initial cap.
Kirk: initial caps when referring to 'the Kirk', eg Church of Scotland, but lower case
when referring to the local church or kirk.
kirk session: lower case.
L
Lord (Jesus, Supper, Table, Prayer): initial caps.
M
ministers: lower case for ministers of the Church, caps for Ministers as in MP and
MSP.
ministry: lower case.
mission partners: lower case.
mission: lower case.
Moderator: initial capital only for the Moderator of the General Assembly (and
other churches).
N
Nativity (the): initial caps.
numbers: one to nine are written in full, 10 and above are numbers. Millions
are spelt out rather than listing all the '0's (eg, 4 million not 4,000,000).
P
presbytery: lower case, except in case of name (eg. Glasgow Presbytery). Note: use
'Inverness Presbytery', not 'the Presbytery of Inverness'
presbyterial: lower case.
Presbyterianism: initial caps.
percentages: always write out 10 per cent, not 10%.
Protestant: initial capital, if noun, lower case always if adjective.
Psalms: initial caps if referring to the scriptural ones; lower case for sung psalms.
Q
quotes: use double quotes (") only when directly quoting someone with all punctuation
inside the quotes, using colon to open quotes (eg. "The man said Jenny had been at
the service that morning," the minister mentioned. He added: "That was nice of her!").
Use single quotes (') when highlighting text or quoting from a publication.
R
Reformation: initial caps.
Reformed: initial caps.
Resurrection: initial caps.
Roman Catholic: initial caps.
S
sacrament: lower case.
seasons: lower case for summer, spring, etc.
session: lower case.
Spirit: as in Holy Spirit, initial caps.
synod: lower case.
T
thanksgiving: lower case, one word.
V
virgin-birth: lower case, hyphen.
Y
youth groups: lower case.