Online Meeting Resources

Several online resources exist for holding virtual gatherings.  Conference and national UCC staff use Zoom extensively. Zoom is an affordable, easy-to-use web platform.  In this time of social distancing your church may want to give it a try, if you aren’t already using Zoom.  The conference is currently offering grants of $50 to congregations who are setting up the Zoom meeting platform, thanks to a gift that arrived just a few days ago for this very purpose. To request a grant email the conference office.

The cost for Zoom is $15 per month for unlimited meetings of up to 100 people, and you can cancel any time. There is also a free account option for meetings of up to 40 minutes.  Go to the Zoom website at https://zoom.us/ to get started.

You will find tutorials on the Zoom website.  Also here are basic “how to” instructions for scheduling meetings, as well as a Helpful Hints for Participants guide.

Other options for online gatherings are Skype and Google Hangouts/Meet. Facebook Groups can be an option for private groups of congregation or committee members.