A project starts with an idea, and the key thing is for the church community to see all ideas as possibilities; to be prepared to see past all of the reasons we can’t do it right now…
The idea needs to be based on the parish gifts and realities. Not every parish community is going to have the desire or resources to produce a book or recording. On the other hand, you might be surprised how many writers and artists are sitting in your pews, so try an in-house art show or an evening of readings as a first step in celebrating and supporting those gifts.
If you decide to pursue something like a book project, know in advance that it will take both time and persistence. It took us 18 months to go from the first call for submissions to the actual publication, and even at that it required a huge amount of work on the part of our senior editor, Bramwell Ryan.
Don’t be afraid to contract out any components that your own community cannot do itself. In our case, page design and layout was contracted to an independent designer. The same advice applies for parishes wishing to expand or improve their presence on the Internet.-Jamie Howison