Hello! By way of introduction, my name is Julie Craven, and I am delighted to join The Basilica of Saint Mary staff as Director of Marketing.
A condo in downtown Minneapolis was about the last place my husband Doug and I thought we would land when we both retired after long careers in southern Minnesota at Hormel Foods. Our two adult children were in the Twin Cities and I was grateful to be closer to them and have more flexibility. But at the same time, I felt a bit lost in this new chapter.
We started attending Our Lady of Lourdes parish and when I introduced myself to Father Daniel Griffith after Mass one Sunday, I said “My go-to ministry is Eucharistic Minister. Put me down for that!” He asked questions about my background and what I did at Hormel and replied, “Oh, I have something else in mind for you!” The parish needed communications support and I had a blast creating a website, social media platforms, and email marketing campaigns. Friends commented that the parish was lucky to have me volunteering in the role. I always replied that I was the lucky one; to have the opportunity to do work that mattered in an area I knew something about was a gift – it gave me a profound sense of purpose!
Father Daniel and I have collaborated on projects now for nearly 10 years, first with parish communications at Our Lady of Lourdes, then restorative justice work in the wake of the clergy abuse crisis in this archdiocese, and most recently at the University of St. Thomas School of Law with the launch of the Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing. It was an easy “yes” when he asked if I would help with marketing at The Basilica. Marketing is all about the power of storytelling and those stories abound at The Basilica!
Father Daniel was named pastor and rector of The Basilica of Saint Mary in 2022 and in the Summer 2022 edition of BASILICA Magazine, he wrote that “many lay Catholics and some clergy have called on the Catholic Church to embrace and integrate a co-responsibility model of governance in the Catholic Church. This emerging model recognizes and integrates the extraordinary gifts of the Catholic laity, not as second-class citizens but as co-equal – in dynamic partnership with clergy for the good of the Church.” Doug and I have found that he embodies this approach. (Speaking of Doug, he now serves as a lector and on the Restoration committee and the Restoration Executive committee. His years in the areas of operations and logistics are being put to good use and he would agree, The Basilica community as large as it is, has been very welcoming.)
The best marketing begins with internal marketing. The people closest to the mission, in this case, staff and lay leadership, have wonderful insights and stories to share. To mine these great stories, I decided to start with one-on-one meetings (their choice of coffee, lunch, or a happy hour, over 40 so far!) and oh the stories they’ve told me! What a blessing to begin taking all this good news and sharing it with our many and varied audiences.
When I headed up the communications function at Hormel Food, I would sometimes edit out what I called the “A words”, amazing and awesome. I felt that the team sometimes overused both words and they were just handy adjectives. I have reconsidered that admonition lately when it comes to awesome. Being in our beautiful Basilica fills me with awe, and I am so grateful to the Spirit and fellow parishioners for this opportunity!
Julie Craven
Director of Marketing