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Apportionments Department of Communications

"We just need to get the word out." "Why didn't someone tell me that the meeting was yesterday?" It seems that there is never an end to the need for communication. The story needs to be told again and again-in new ways-to new people-with new information. That is the task ofthe com­munications department.

The most well-known product ofthe communications department is the semi-monthly publication of Con­tact. The newspaper is sent free of charge to all officers of each local church, to help them stay informed about the plans and happenings of the annual conference and its min­istries and to share the inspirational stories from local churches.

Contact Digest is a free elec­tronic newsletter distributed in coodination with the newspaper. This e-newsletter uses Internet technoligies to reach a wider com­munity with information about the church in Oklahoma.

The communications depart­ment is also the official publisher-and final editor-of much ofthe printed materials provided by the annual conference, such as the Conference Jour­nal, the Pre-Conference Workbook, the worship materials used during the annual conference session, and print resources for the Annual Conference Council programming.

Many people are also familiar with the videotapes and DVDs produced by the communications department, showing images of the lives affected by the ministries of the annual conference. This aspect of the department is also used to produce instructive videos for many settings.

Other evidence of the work of this office is the maintenance of news posted on the conference Web site, www.okumc.org. The first conference Web site in the denomination was established by our communications department, and the staff continues to be instrumental in the redesign and expansion of the Web site.