Click here for a print-ready version of these notes (available through the free download, Adobe Acrobat).

Click on each of the following topics to view the topic notes:

1. Organizing your team
   
2. Access to the pathway
   
3. System settings
   
4. Registration
   
5. Other notes as you begin
   
6. Troubleshooting

Organizing your team

The pathway leads a team through the discovery of a collective vision. Group members merge their individual reflections and observations to create common response. The typical arrangement is a team of 6 to 10 people gathering to do the seven pathway segments over a period of time—once a week for seven weeks; every other week for fourteen weeks; or even once a month. Other teams may decide to do all the segments over a single weekend retreat.

Before you recruit your team, you might want to log in to the pathway and become familiar with it. As you recruit your team, you will be better equipped to answer questions and describe the pathway to your team members.

Each team has a leader responsible for logistics and guiding the team through the pathway. A designated recorder enters the team answers into the online pathway. The pathway tracks the team’s unfolding vision and shows the responses of pathway teams in other parishes. The team leader may serve as the recorder, a second person can be the recorder, or the duties of leader and recorder can be rotated through the team membership. The pathway can also be completed by an individual working alone.

Before each session, the team leader will want to review the pathway online and develop a plan for exploring the segment. This might include assigning "homework," printing out activities and bible passages for use during the session, and making sure the meeting room is reserved and set up. He or she may plan to bring a laptop computer to play the music components or to display the pathway.

Logistically, the team may decide to gather around a single computer and complete the exercises together online. (This might be a good option if your team has access to a projected computer screen.) The team may review the online components individually as homework and then come together to merge their answers together into a single team response entered online by the recorder.

If your team is more comfortable working with pen and paper, start there and then have the recorder add responses to the online pathway when consensus is reached. All activities, exercises and even the pathway itself can be printed out for ease of use. The recorder may also print the "see all" or "compare" responses for the group to review away from the computer.

Caution: While the pathway can be printed, its online features (music, graphics, etc.) interact with the textual components for a complete and multi-sensory experience. When you use only the printed version, some of these components are lost. We encourage you to use the pathway as best fits your team needs with this in mind.

Access to the pathway

The pathway URL is www.congregationalresources.org/LearningPathway/VnC.

Caution: as you set up your computer for Vision and the Church, do not save the pathway address as a favorite or bookmark. Starting the pathway from a bookmark interferes with the pathway’s startup script.

You may save the Congregational Resource Guide as a bookmark or favorite (www.congregationalresources.org) and then type "/LearningPathway/VnC" at the end of the address line each time you enter the pathway.

System settings

Be sure your system is set up with the following:

• Pop-ups enabled. Your internet provider, browser and/or third party software control the option to use pop-up windows on your computer. There is no standard language for this function, so check your settings to allow for "pop-ups," "additional" or "multiple" windows. If you have a third party spam blocker, check that for this setting as well.
  
  
• Address permissions. If your computer has a list of acceptable emails, be sure that "Horton.com," "congregational resources.org," and "alban.org" are listed as acceptable email addresses.
  
  
• Flash software. Be sure you have the Flash multi-media player installed on your computer. Flash is used in the graphic and audio elements of the pathway. It can be downloaded from the Macromedia Web site, www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_P rod_Version=ShockwaveFlash.
  
  
• Adobe Acrobat. Be sure you have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer if you plan to print out activities. This free software is available for download from the Adobe Web site, www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
  
  
• Internet connection: A high-speed Internet connection is best. Dial up access will work, though it may be slower; some music and images may be distorted slightly.

Registration

When you first enter the pathway, you register with your email and a registration name. Your registration name will be displayed on the pathway, so we recommend that you choose a name that protects your anonymity.

Your registration name is your team’s name. If individual team members want to review the pathway or do the exercises as homework between team gatherings on their computers, each will have to choose a unique registration name.

When you register, a temporary password (nine numbers) will be emailed to you. You can change the password to something more memorable once you log in. To change your password, click "change password" at the bottom of the log in page.

When starting the pathway in some browsers, a new window opens with the question, "do you want to close this window?" Answer "yes" if the question appears.

Other notes as you begin

Some of the scriptural passages are repeated in activities through out the pathway in order to be considered from a different perspective. Many of these passages are long (whole Bible chapters, for example). These longer passages may be better absorbed if read between sessions as homework. The team leader may also decide to print out only a portion of the text for use in the gathered team setting.

Music and graphics help members transition from their everyday work and responsibilities to the centered work of the pathway. Consider having the music playing as team members gather or prepare for meditation. The fun activities and graphics tap into different parts of the brain to keep creative ideas flowing.

When revising your vision statement at the end of each segment, you can use the control keys to cut (ctrl-X) and paste (ctrl-V) a previous vision statement in the "view all" boxes to the current vision box.

You can edit your answers from the "show all" display.

Troubleshooting

Q. I click on "save," "update," "compare," or "see all" buttons and nothing happens.
A. These buttons display information in a second window which is sometimes hidden behind the first. To see the data, simply minimize the first window (click on the small box in the center three shown in the upper right corner).

Q. I want to change my temporary password (nine numbers) to something more memorable.
A. You can change the password from the login screen. Before you login, click "change password" at the bottom of the log-on page and follow the instructions.

Q. When I start the pathway, a window opens and asks, "do you want to close this window?," What do I respond?
A. Answer "yes" if the question appears.

Q. Help! When I open the pathway, cascading multiple windows appear.
A. This may happen with older versions of Internet Explorer. To fix the problem, download the latest version of Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Web site.

Q. Nothing happens I click "compare," "see all" or other displays.
A. When these buttons are hit, a second window is used to display this data. Sometimes the window comes up in front of the existing screen; at other times behind. To see the second, minimize the first window using the middle box from the upper right hand corner of your screen.

Q. When logging in, I enter a user name and password and then I’m bounced out of the pathway.
A. This happens when pop-ups are not enabled. Enable pop-up windows through the browser, a spam filter, and/or your system.

Q. Music and/or graphics are distorted or play slowly.
A. The data transfer rates on some dial-up connections slow the process. It may take up to two seconds after a click for something to happen. This may be most obvious with the Flash elements of the program.

Q. When I register, my password isn’t sent to me within 10 minutes.
A. The password email is sent as soon as the user name is entered. In some cases, the returned email is held as "spam" by the server. If your computer has a list of acceptable emails, be sure that "Horton.com", "congregational resources.org", and "alban.org" are listed.
 

Click here to return to the Vision and the Church "welcome" page.

Click here to log on to the Vision and the Church learning pathway. (The pathway is free, but requires registration.)

If you decide to complete this learning pathway, we'd love to know your thoughts about how you plan to use Vision and the Church in your congregation. Click here to complete our questionnaire and share your thoughts with us.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us at crg@alban.org.