Adding the Content of Each Gathering Issue to GatheringWorship.ca

I am so glad that people are eager to find the material from each Gathering issue on the website. The Gathering team is working at refining our schedule so that you have what you need when you need it.

We’d like to share with you the process for adding all of the wonderful contributions in each issue of the Gathering magazine to the website, so that the material is ready for you to search, copy, paste, and edit.

We enter each item manually (copy and paste). There is no magic upload of the whole magazine. In order for you to be able to search the website, we need to apply “tags”; that is, we identify all the elements associated with each item, such as scripture references, themes, language, culture, Christian year, special occasions, and more. Connecting scripture to each piece takes the longest. For example, I can enter about five to seven prayers an hour. There are about 150 prayers in each Prayers for Worship section. That means that just the Prayers for Worship section takes me 25 to 30 hours to enter. For everything in the issue, it takes me personally 40 to 50 hours. The music editor and copy editor put in another 20 or so hours to add their assigned parts of the magazine material.

I tag and enter the Seasonal Resources first, and the Complete Prayers for Worship and Complete Weekly Services documents. Next, I tag and add in the Sparks, Exploring section (as a PDF), and Bonus Material. Then I get to work on tagging and entering the individual prayers. Meanwhile, Music Editor Tammy-Jo Mortensen is entering the Music for Worship material and Copy Editor/Production Manager Catherine Dorton is entering the Weekly Services, Worship Columns, and blogs. 

Remember that we are currently posting the Complete Prayers for Worship and Complete Weekly Services (which can be searched for under those titles along with the issue name and year) as PDFs. These complete prayers and services documents provide the material while we are busy adding in the individual pieces.

And in the midst of all that tagging and entering of one issue, the Gathering editorial team is compiling and editing the next issue of the magazine. Please also note that for Tammy-Jo Mortensen and me, Gathering is a very part-time job, one that we love and have taken on in addition to other full-time church work.

To find individual items from the print magazine on GatheringWorship.ca, search

• by the first line (for prayers)
• by the title (for Seasonal Ideas and Resources and Bonus Material)
• and by the name of the author

That should bring you to the item you are seeking.

And please, feel free to email and let us know if something isn’t there or you can’t find it. We are willing to help. It could be that we have made a typo in the entry or that we happened to miss entering something.

We appreciate your grace and generosity of spirit in understanding the process. We always love to have your input, questions, and ideas so we can make sure that the magazine and website support you in your worship planning.

Susan Lukey, Editor

P.S. And for those who like to search by scripture reading, we are working on improving this aspect of the website. One thing I’ve learned through the whole process of developing GatheringWorship.ca is that the things that seem simple to me as a user of a website are far more complicated to make happen than I ever thought! But we’ll keep working on it. Thanks for your support!