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CHICAGO — With this issue, Horizons begins its 40th year of publication. And, at 40, the publication is more diverse than ever, with its part-time staff and team of dedicated volunteers setting their sights on yet another year of steady growth and development.
This previous year saw new ventures for the official newspaper of the Eparchy of Parma, as staff determined to try to meet more of the diverse needs of its readership and their changing media consumption habits. As well, in line with the values of Catholic publishing, Horizons sought to offer resources and experiences that would contribute to the lived experience of faith of the community.
By spring 2017, with these goals in mind, Horizons was on a steady course for growth. By June, Horizons went digital when it launched the ParmaByz app, which includes news, faith and prayer resources. Horizons joined the world of social media in July, posting its first videos just weeks later. In October, Horizons led its first pilgrimage in honor of the Mother of God to Fatima, Portugal. By December, Horizons launched its faith resource publishing arm, Horizons Press, with a handy Byzantine Catholic confession guide.
Alongside all this activity, two volunteers completed the yearlong process of digitizing back issues of the newspaper, which forms the foundation of a project Horizons has in store for its 40th year: to upload the newspaper to a national digital Catholic news archive.
This anniversary year also includes a fall pilgrimage to Europe, where the Ruthenian Church was founded and endures today, and the launch this spring of its first documentary on the links between the Byzantine Catholic Church of the United States and the Byzantine Catholic Chapel in Fatima.
Horizons looks forward to sharing more about these developments and its anniversary in future issues.
Caption: The graphic above illustrates Horizons’ growth and new initiatives in 2017. Clockwise from top: Horizons’ first pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal, in October and November; the creation of Horizons Press, its new faith resources publishing arm; Horizons Press released its first publication in December on confession; a Facebook page, begun in July; Horizons contracted with an ad sales company in downtown Chicago, Shanley & Associates, over the summer to increase financial stability; two generous volunteers completed in October the yearlong digitization project of back issues of the newspaper; branding efforts were begun on social media, including videos, with the introduction of a new Horizons “stamp;” the eparchial app, ParmaByz, launched in June. (Graphic: Laura Ieraci)
As published in Horizons, Jan. 21, 2018.
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