MiaChiesaBulk Operations or Merged: what changes
Compare the two pastoral unit modes feature by feature: public page, parishioners, content, collaborators and donations.
Before you begin
- You need the «Manage account communities» permission to see and create pastoral units.
- The pastoral unit is a paid add-on: it needs the Essentials plan or higher.
The two modes in short
Bulk Operations
Several communities run from one place, each keeping its own identity.
- Each community keeps its public page, parishioners and content.
- The unit has no public page: it is a workspace.
- You publish once and the content is copied into the chosen communities.
Merged
Several communities presented as a single one.
- The unit has its own public page and parishioners follow the unit.
- Noticeboard, calendar, events, groups and bulletin belong to the unit.
- The communities remain for donations, payments and tax purposes.
You choose the mode when you create the unit, at the “How do you want to manage the parishes?” step.
What changes, feature by feature
| Feature | Bulk Operations | Merged |
|---|---|---|
| Public page | Each community keeps its own; the unit is “not public” | A page for the unit, visible when you turn on Public profile |
| Who parishioners follow | The individual communities | The pastoral unit |
| Noticeboard, calendar and In Memoriam | A copy in each chosen community | A single item of the unit |
| Events, catechism and bulletin | Stay with the community picked in the switcher | Belong to the unit |
| Groups | The group is created in each selected community | The group belongs to the unit |
| Collaborators | Positions in each community | Positions on the unit |
| Donations and payments | Per community | Unit totals; Stripe stays per community |
| Parishioner search | Unchanged | The unit’s communities can be hidden |
| Catechism and enrolment from records | Each parish enrols from its own records | One catechism: each group has its Hosting parish and minors of every parish are enrolled |
| Per-parish roles | Positions assigned in each community | Preset roles apply to the whole unit; with Role scope you limit a custom role to some parishes |
| Google Calendar | Each community connects its own | One connection for the unit; after Import Contents the communities’ syncs stay paused |
| GrEst and after-school fees | The edition’s parish collects | Choose the Collecting parish for each edition |
| Fee on payments | Follows each community’s plan | Follows the unit’s plan, for every parish |
Bulk Operations: choose where to publish
In the sections that support it, such as the calendar, “Data of” shows which community you are looking at, while the pill below says where new content goes: for example “New content goes to all 3 parishes”.
Select the pill to open Choose where to publish: the choice applies to everything you create in that section, until you change it. You can publish only in communities where you have a position; if some do not receive the content, “Published in … of … parishes” appears.
Merged: one identity, some settings per community
In Merged, Identity edits the unit: profile, photos, social links and appearance are what parishioners see. The UP management tab gathers Public profile, the Parishes in the Unit (at least two) and Parish Visibility, where you can hide individual communities from search.
Some settings stay per community in Merged too, such as payments: those pages show “Settings of” and the pill “Merged · settings per parish”, and you pick the community to configure.
How to choose
Choose Bulk Operations if…
- the communities want to stay recognisable, each with its own parishioners
- you mainly want to save time by publishing the same content in several communities
- collaborators hold different positions in each community
Choose Merged if…
- the communities present themselves to parishioners as one
- you want a single noticeboard, a single calendar and a single bulletin
- collaborators work for the whole unit
What you have achieved
- You know what stays with the communities and what moves to the unit in each mode.
- You know which mode to choose before creating the pastoral unit.
Troubleshooting
Can I switch from Bulk Operations to Merged later?
The app has no command to change the mode after creation. If you already created the unit with the wrong mode, write to Support before publishing.
In Bulk Operations a community did not receive the content
Check the new content pill and Choose where to publish; you can publish only where you hold a position, so check that you have one in the missing communities.
In Merged parishioners still find the individual communities
Open Identity → UP management and, under Parish Visibility, select Hide next to the community.