How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

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russellhltn
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#11

Post by russellhltn »

rjamesh77 wrote:I am the Ward Clerk in my unit and I maintain a google spreadsheet with the list, which is shared with leaders who need it.
Unfortunately, that probably runs afoul of Keeping Church Information Safe which says: "Do not store data found in Church applications in consumer cloud storage apps (such as Dropbox or Google Drive)."
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wrigjef
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#12

Post by wrigjef »

Is there any official “no contact” policy or reference in the handbook, if so where?
russellhltn
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#13

Post by russellhltn »

wrigjef wrote:Is there any official “no contact” policy or reference in the handbook, if so where?
None that I can find. I can't find any indication that the "DNC" policy that was sent via MLS some time ago has been incorporated into other channels of instruction. But I also can't find anything that indicates that the church is obligated to honor a DNC request. The closest I can find is from the Ministering FAQ:
Ministering brothers and sisters seek to do what best meets individual needs. Every form of communication is available to respond to the promptings of the Spirit and meet the needs of those they serve. Meeting those needs starts with prayerful consideration and with having an informative conversation with the families and individuals they are assigned. In that conversation and in subsequent contacts, they listen to those to whom they minister in order to understand how best to serve, the frequency and type of contact they desire, and the need for and content of messages they share. Those who minister ensure that all communication with any family member is appropriate.
Note that it appears it's up to the Ministers themselves to set the frequency, not the leadership. So, at best, a DNC would be communicated to the Ministers, who would pass that along in their interview with the leadership, who would hopefully advise the next set of Ministers.

There's a whole lot of stuff that might be communicated in a Ministering interview, and there's no official place to record it.
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wrigjef
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#14

Post by wrigjef »

Makes complete sense to leave it up to the Ministering Brother or Sister to determine based on individual needs and promptings from the spirit. A problem exists when a DNC who has been on the records for several years gets assigned a Ministering Brother or Sister and the DNC designation is passed on so they never make contact. They never meet with the person to learn their needs or desires. A very spiritual personal experience would have to occur in order to determine that person's desire without contacting them.

The above scenario would likely never happen because a leader would most likely use the DNC history and place that person on a separate list that does not get assigned ministering brothers or sisters anyway.

In case you couldn't tell, one of my pet peeves is using the term "minister" while the church clearly points out other wise in the FAQ's. Here in the southeast we have serious difficulty trying to keep our church meetings as they should be and without traditions or "out of alignment" influences from other churches. Using the term Minister to describe someone can easily take us back decades.
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#15

Post by lajackson »

wrigjef wrote:Is there any official “no contact” policy or reference in the handbook, if so where?
The best reference I know of has not made it into the Handbook, but I think it is as valid as if it were in the Handbook.
3 Nephi 18:30
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wrigjef
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#16

Post by wrigjef »

Pray for and minister to, is my point. It doesn’t say anything about putting on a list and forgotten about.
marjhan77
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#17

Post by marjhan77 »

I currently have them in a district separate from others and do not assign them. I've heard one quorum that assigns one DNC per companionship and asks them to pray for them. I think that is a good idea. Any way to mark the DNC within a companionship's assignment so they know which one?
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#18

Post by russellhltn »

marjhan77 wrote:Any way to mark the DNC within a companionship's assignment so they know which one?
No. But that should be communicated in the interview when the names are assigned.
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wrigjef
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Re: How to keep track of "do not contact" members?

#19

Post by wrigjef »

My understanding is that the church views all members as members. There are active members that we see at Church often and less active members that we don’t. We are slowly and lovingly contacting ALL less active members to lovingly invite them to come unto Christ and to come enjoy the brotherhood at church. When one is found who rejects the invitation they are asked if they are open to contact from church members from time to time. They are told that the only way to avoid contact (other than random missionary tracting) is to go through the process to have their names removed from the records. We’ve added a step to that process, prior to the Bishop conversation. We pray as a ward council specifically for the individual. There have been a couple times that during the conversation with the .bishop that the individual had a change of heart and accepted occasional contact. In those cases a ministering brother or sister is assigned and they contact the individual to find out their desires regarding contact. In most of the cases the person follows through and their name is removed.
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