Have you ever noticed that when you visit some sites (including this one!) you see a little icon next to the web address? You also see this icon if you save the address to your desktop or favorites.

Guess what - you can do that too!

The first thing you need is an image usually 16 pixels by 16 pixels that you want to become the shortcut icon. You can create one from an image you already have with any number of applications out there. There are even some online (free) services, such as http://www.graphicsguru.com/favicon.php.

Once you have this icon, you must name it "favicon.ico" and put it on your server, and note the URL of where it resides (i.e. http://www.yourdomain.com/images/favicon.ico). Generally, this will be your web address, then a "/", and then the file name. You'll have more folder names and "/"s if it's in a folder somewhere, like the images folder in the example URL.

Then you must add this line of code to your homepage, between the head tags*:

LINK REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="http://www.yourdomain.org/favicon.ico"
(to make the text show up, I removed the < > so put the whole line between those two symbols, and obviously change the URL to the URL of your image)

* If you're using Frontpage, Dreamweaver, etc. there should be a way to view the HTML code (if you don't edit your own site and you use Lutherans Online or something like that, you probably cannot do this). When viewing the HTML code, look for the two "tags" toward the top that read head and /head (each within a pair of < >). The above code needs to be between those somewhere, but not inside of another pair of tags (a pair is like the head tags sample with the two brackets and the end one has the "/").

And that's it!

Thanks to Len Mason of ELCA Communication Services for posting that on LutherLink once upon a time!

Ok, so this may not be specifically about communication, but I know many of you either host or set up for meetings. The ELCA Board of Pensions provides the following tips to keep your meetings healthy to either fit in with participants' lifestyles or set a good example for healthy living.

• Include a variety of food choices throughout the day. Ask that food be prepared with low-fat ingredients. Include fresh fruits and vegetables with each meal and snack.
• Ask for smaller portion sizes of foods like bagels, cookies and muffins. Serve sauces, dressings and condiments on the side.
• Provide water or 100 percent juice rather than soda.
  
• Think about the environment - provide reusable water containers rather than bottled water.
• Encourage participants to stretch and walk between sessions.
• Provide stress-reduction activities, such as deep breathing or Bishop Murray Fink's Stretch & Pray exercises.
  
• Provide ample time for rest and relaxation - be cognizant of the amount of information the mind can absorb at one time.
• Challenge participants to listen to new ideas and ways of thinking.
• Encourage participants to seek out new conversations and social interactions.
• Provide time for prayer, thanksgiving and listening to God.
  

By now you've probably seen the tag line, "God's work, Our hands." in ELCA materials, including the new design of ELCA.org, at least I hope so! If you're looking for a new way to present your congregation, or even if you're not looking but are willing to think about it, consider using the redesigned emblem/tag line.

Kristi Bangert, Executive Director for Communication Services for the ELCA, says that some congregations question whether they can use this tag line or whether it "belongs" only to the churchwide expression of the ELCA. Her answer, "This is yours, you are the ELCA."

Materials will become available for more ways to integrate this into your congregation's identity. At this time there are standards in the ELCA graphics standards regarding use of the ELCA emblem and tag line. It is asked that you follow these guidelines for consistency. Note that in the entire manual is available at the bottom of www.ELCA.org/emblem and there is a portion that specifically addresses use for each expression of the ELCA, including congregations (click here for the PDF).

"God's work, our hands," is something that ELCA Communication Services is very excited about. They hope that this will be adopted throughout the ELCA and they tell us it is not expected to change in a few years and many fear it might.

Go to www.ELCA.org/love for more information.