Franciscan Chapel Center, Roppongi - Tokyo
A walk-through of every change from our planning meeting - shown side by side, current app next to the proposed design, so we can talk through each one together.
What we aligned on
Five are quick visual updates. Two build the foundation for people and ministries. Two are on the horizon.
The app changes its accent color with the liturgical season, starting with green now that we are in Ordinary Time.
Quick winSchedule and announcements first, pastor's message below. The Pope Leo card comes off the home screen.
Quick winToday's Masses shown front and center, with an arrow to look ahead to coming days.
Quick winAnnouncement dropdowns can include images, matching the look of the parish website.
Quick winAn inquiry form on the OCIA page that sends the message straight to the parish.
Quick winA Ministries section, starting with Lectors for the pilot. Members see their reading assignments.
FoundationEveryone registers with a simple login. You approve who gets access to ministry tabs, and it becomes our living parishioner list.
FoundationBring Father Clifford's Facebook updates into the app so nothing has to be posted twice.
On the horizonSend simple surveys or votes to specific groups when the parish needs feedback.
On the horizonDecision 1 - Look & feel
4-2-37 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Dear friends, as we return to Ordinary Time let us carry the joy of Pentecost into our daily lives...
June 12
4-2-37 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Dear friends, as we return to Ordinary Time let us carry the joy of Pentecost into our daily lives...
June 12
"We have moved into Ordinary Time, so the color should change to green."
What changes: the app reads the liturgical day it already calculates and tints its accents to match the season, green now, violet for Advent and Lent, white and gold for Christmas and Easter, red for feasts of martyrs. One small piece of logic, and it stays correct every year on its own. The whole app shifts color together, not just the home screen.
Decision 2 - Home screen
4-2-37 Roppongi, Tokyo
A message from Father Clifford for this week...
The Holy Father's reflection...
4-2-37 Roppongi, Tokyo
A message from Father Clifford...
"Header first, then the daily schedule, then announcements, and the pastor's message after that. We can take the Pope Leo card off."
What changes: the home screen opens on what people check most, today's schedule, then announcements, with Father Clifford's message just below. The Pope Leo Angelus card is removed from Home. Nothing is lost elsewhere; we are only reordering the front page around how parishioners actually use it.
Decision 3 - Schedule
Fourteen small cards in a row. You scroll sideways and read tiny times to find a day.
Today's Masses in full. Tap the arrow to step forward to tomorrow and the days after.
"Show the current day, and then an arrow so you can go to the next days."
What changes: the schedule opens on today, with every Mass and its language clearly listed. A forward arrow steps to the following days. Same parish schedule underneath, far easier to read at a glance.
Decision 4 - Announcements
Join us after the 10:00 Mass on Sunday for the procession through the chapel grounds. All are welcome.
Join us after the 10:00 Mass on Sunday for the procession through the chapel grounds.
"On the website the announcements have pictures. Can we have that in the app too?"
What changes: each announcement can carry an image that appears when it is opened, the same way it looks on the website. Plain-text announcements still work exactly as they do now; the picture is optional.
Decision 5 - OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults is the journey for those seeking to become Catholic.
Interested?
Email: fccpastoral@gmail.com
Phone: 03-3401-2141
A reader has to copy the address into their own email app and write from scratch.
Thinking about becoming Catholic? Send us a note and the parish will be in touch.
"Like the inquiry form on the website, so people can ask about OCIA right there."
What changes: an inquiry form is added to the OCIA page. When someone fills it in and taps send, the message is emailed straight to the parish inbox, no copying addresses, no leaving the app. The same pattern can later serve other ministries.
Decision 6 - Ministries
No place for ministries. Lectors get their assignments by email or paper.
First Reading, 10:00 Mass. Proverbs 8:22-31.
"A Ministries tab, lectors, extraordinary ministers, acolytes, music. Let us start with the lectors to test it."
What changes: a new Ministries tab holds the liturgical ministries. For the pilot only Lectors is open, so an approved lector opens the app and sees their own reading assignment for the coming Sunday. The other ministries appear locked until we are ready to switch them on. This tab depends on sign-in and approvals, the next slide.
Decision 7 - People & access
Create your parish account
"A simple login for everyone. And I approve who is a lector, so they only see what they should."
What changes: every user registers with a simple account. Most see the public app. When someone asks for a ministry like Lectors, the request comes to you and you approve it, then that tab appears for them. Two benefits: ministry content stays with the right people, and the list of registered users becomes a living, accurate picture of who is active in the parish, replacing the old Google form that still holds people who have left Japan.
How we get there
The visual updates can land quickly. Accounts come next because the Lectors pilot rests on them. Then we test with a small group before opening it wider.
To confirm together
For lectors to see their readings in-app, we need a digital version of the readings book that we can license and use. I will look into availability and cost before we build that part.
Nalu to researchBringing Father Clifford's Facebook posts into the app depends on what Facebook allows us to pull in automatically. I will confirm what is possible before we promise it.
Nalu to checkThe parish kindly offered to cover the app store costs. I will send the receipts (Apple and Google developer fees) to the office.
Receipts to the officeThis deck uses a calm Franciscan green for Ordinary Time. Happy to adjust the exact tone with you so it feels right.
Your callYou mentioned updating the OCIA content and schedule on the website now that the preparation phase has ended. The app will mirror whatever the parish settles on.
Caje to updateLet us set a short follow-up in a couple of weeks so I can show progress on the visual updates.
To schedule