Website Down on Saturday, 7/12

UPDATE (7/13, 9:21am): The server upgrade has been completed and httpd web server has been restarted. Welcome back to sonrise.hopto.org!

UPDATE (7/13, 1:34am): A concurrent internet connection problem delayed the upgrade, but the upgrade has now been completed. Packages are being updated to the latest state of Fedora 9 prior to launching httpd.

The Sonrise website will be down on Saturday, 7/12, from 12pm to 12am for server upgrades. We are upgrading the server from Fedora 7 to Fedora 9 now that 7 is no longer supported, and 9 has proven to be a stable platform.

The Return of the sfsonrise Login

If you've checked the resources page recently, you may have noticed that we now include the Churches Chart and Sonrise directory logins through the sfsonrise account, rather than your own Google account. That's because the sfsonrise account offers more security through a separate password limiting access only to those who actually come to Sonrise.

Best of all, if you have the invite for these pages, you can still access the pages through your own account! Just let me know if you've misplaced the invite or want me to add you directly.

-David

Updated Sonrise Songbook (2008-05-01)

An updated Sonrise Songbook has been posted on our Google Groups. An online changelog has also been created to track the new additions and updated songs in the book. If you have a song you'd like to add, please don't hesitate to post it to the Group!

Post Your Sonrise Special Event

You've been planning your special event, but no one knows about it... Too bad.

j/k! We've just added a special area where you can post your Sonrise special event. You can add details such as name, date, and sign-up URLs by filling out a simple form. Your event will appear automatically on our Schedule page. Later on, if you need to make any edits, you can change your event directly on the special events spreadsheet.

I hope this will help you promote your event at Sonrise...and for others to find it. May God bless your heart for brothers and sisters at Sonrise and around SF!

New poll (please vote) - new contacts - and other website updates

Hi Sonrise,

We've been working on a few new website updates, and I'd like to expose you to a few highlights.  Mostly importantly, please vote on our poll!

New Poll
We've posted a new poll asking for your perspective on the vision for Sonrise's growth.  As we continue to grow, we are still very much concerned with your personal spiritual growth and creating the best possible environment for that.

Voted in the primaries?  Now vote at your nearest Sonrise precinct.

Didn't vote in the primaries?  No prob--redeem yourself at the Sonrise poll!

New Bible Studies Blog
Frequently people tell me how much more they get out of Bible studies when they get to read the passage ahead of time.  We're trying to make that easier by posting passages on a dedicated Bible Studies blog before each study and posting handouts afterward.  You can even post questions ahead of time or comments/follow-up questions afterward!

New Contacts
We are well underway in our leadership transition quarter and have posted contacts/pictures for our new leaders and their ministries.  We're blessed by their willingness to serve and desire to let Christ be invested in our lives on and off campus.  Please keep our leaders in your nightly prayers! (or come to a prayer meeting!)

And of course, if you'd like to get involved in serving now or in the future months, it's never too late.  Just let us know!

Post Past Handbooks and Other Documents

As our Sonrise Google Groups becomes more active, it's a great time to explore some of its additional features.  You may have noticed the Files section, where we post Sonrise Songbook updates and other files.  I know many of you have spent lots of time on retreat/banquet handbooks and other art or documents.  I'm sure that fellow sonrisers would love to use them for their ministries, so please post them here!

Built-in Blogs and Discussions
Because of our several blog/groups/main sites, we've collected and embedded them into our main site.  Now when you click on Discuss or Blogs, you'll be taken to view these sites right from within the Sonrise website.

Prayer and Mission Ministry Pages
Prayer is an oft unrecognized bedrock of any Christian fellowship.  Sonrise is no different!  Check out our new Prayer Page for prayer meeting updates.  There's also been talk of a first-ever Sonrise Missions trip.  We've all talked about "medical missions"...how about joining one for a week?  And of course--let's keep this in prayer!

New Website Notes Blog
Wondering about some newfound website quirk?  Looking for the latest updates?  The new Sonrise Website Notes keeps you up-to-date with known issues and new features.  You can even post comments/feedback on how we can improve the site!

Many thanks to Ken for his continual suggestions/feedback on the website!  If you have any thoughts or questions, I'd love to hear from you.

Blessings,
David

Gathering of the Blogs

If you're reading this blog entry, you've probably realized that Sonrise has more than one blog. We now have 3 blogs, and to make things as easy (as 1-2-3) as possible, we've collected them together in a new page on our website. Now you can pass back and forth among all the blogs without ever leaving the website. Handy links are included in each blog's sidebar in case you want to view the blogs in their own page (shift+click).

Now You Can Sign Up for Cooking Online

The Cooking ministry page has a new look and a new input: another editable online spreadsheet. We've been looking for ways to make signing up for cooking easier, and now you can click on the "Sign-Up Here" link to starting add your name right from within the website. Hopefully the by-now familiar spreadsheet makes things easier to navigate as well.

Just a little history...believe it or not, an online cooking sign-up was the original reason we started thinking about creating online editable pages. Collaborative pages took off with our retreat planning pages, but now we can do the same with cooking. Please post any feedback on your experience signing up!