What is the Open Door?

 

The purpose of The Open Door e-newsletter is to build up the Body of Christ at St. James Anglican Church through sharing our stories of God’s love and goodness—the behind-the-scenes stories of God moving in our community as we explore God’s love together in new, creative, and sometimes surprising ways. 

Stories of hope and encouragement give assurance that with God the door is always open. The Open Door team is committed to helping build community, engagement, and faith through storytelling. It is our hope that these stories will encourage all to come to know God as we open the door of our church to our neighbours. We invite you to crack the door open and peek inside to see what we’re all about. We hope you’ll be glad you did! Come on in! 

The Open Door publishes monthly (except for July and August) and is produced by an in-house volunteer editorial and publishing team. We welcome story submissions, ideas, photos, and the building blocks for stories you would like us to write and share. We reserve the right to edit and revise submitted stories.

To find out more or submit a story, email: opendoor@stjamescalgary.com

Our Beginnings

The Open Door started during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a way to keep the St. James’ Anglican Church community connected and engaged. The early tag-line, With God the Door is Always Open, echoed our hopes and abated our fears during lockdowns. Initially, the newsletter publication provided info on attending church in person, event details, post-outdoor-event photos, along with a clergy reflection. After public health restrictions lifted, The Open Door began to pivot in its purpose and shifted towards telling the stories of the people in our church, sharing community gathering details and photos, and helping us understand that behind all we do at St. James is the desire to share the love, truth, and ways of Jesus Christ. 

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The Open Door Team

Our editorial team is 100% volunteer.

We are all passionate about the Open Door and committed to serving God through this ministry. We do our very best to produce a top-notch newsletter every time, but recognize that we won’t always get things 100% right 100% of the time.

If there is something that we didn’t get quite right, we encourage you to contact us directly. We welcome the opportunity for open and honest dialog so we can all learn from the situation. We do publish corrections when both parties agree they are needed. Mistakes happen: we want to learn from the situation, and take responsibility when we make them.

Open Door Style and Philosophy

 

The Open Door is a vehicle for building community—a platform for sharing the stories of God and His faithfulness, and for fostering faith. Through the Open Door, readers will encounter items for praise and prayer, avenues for involvement, and engage with the happenings of the community. It is where we learn about each other, and are inspired and encouraged by the faith journeys of fellow followers of Jesus. 

Where do we get our stories? 
From you. Feel free to submit a story for publication. Submissions can be in the form of a complete written story, or bullet points of information accompanied with photos and quotes. If appropriate, the publisher will accept it and send it for editing. Other stories are crafted by our team, and are interview-based. For these, information will be obtained through an interview by phone, email, or in person. 

What writing styles are utilized? 
The Open Door tends to utilize humble story telling styles that focus on the message and story rather than the author. However, in certain circumstances exceptions can be made. The goal of all Open Door writing is to build up the body of Christ and share stories of His Love, Joy and Wonder. Here are the writing styles you can expect.

•    The News Story Style is often used for news, updates and reports of events. It utilizes the active voice and the stories contain quotes from interviews. The focus is often on the subject and action. The introduction is written in two short paragraphs: the lead paragraph (first paragraph >25 words) states the subject and purpose while capturing the reader’s attention; the bridge paragraph (second paragraph) further develops the context or topic. Word count ~400.

•    The Feature Article Style is used for reflective pieces, researched articles, sharing experiences, book reviews, or complex stories. Here the first-person voice of the author may enter into the text. The first paragraph, typically three-sentences long, introduces the reader to the subject and reveals the angle. Word count ~400-600.

•    Submitted bullet points with photos: Do you or your group have a story to share, but are uncomfortable writing it? Send us your bullet points and photos and we’ll put it together for you. Just ensure: your facts accurate, provide a couple of quotes from key players, get photo permission from photo subjects and let us know who took the photos.