An upgraded website and new products from the LMS

Amajor project this year is the re-launch of the LMS website.

The site has become cluttered as extra components have been added over the years and we need to upgrade our software too. The aim is to provide a more streamlined user experience.

The first section to be rolled-out will be the membership sign-up area. Later in the year we will be launching a membership campaign with advertising in the national press and across social media. The web upgrade is an essential prerequisite to this. For the first time members will be able to sign up online for direct debit renewal. Each year a number of members forget to renew and this new facility will hopefully increase our member retention rate.

There will also be an option to sign up for free as a supporter. While not formally members, supporters receive our monthly e-newsletters and briefings and are encouraged to participate in our events.

Later in the year we will be upgrading the online shop. Our former General Manager, Stephen Moseling, came to the LMS from St Paul’s Bookshop next to Westminster Cathedral. Using this retail experience, he did an excellent job expanding our online offer to well over 1,000 items. The new website will make it easier to navigate this cornucopia of Catholic products. We are constantly updating our range of items and so, for example, we are now offering the Lasance and Angelus hand-missals alongside the ever-popular Baronius missal. At the request of LMS stalwart Mrs Marygold

Turner we will soon be adding the St Andrew missal to the range too. A bestselling item this year has been Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s Credo – the first comprehensive catechism written by a bishop in more than 50 years – which has already gone into its third printing. There is unexpected new fodder too. The College Graces of Oxford and Cambridge provides a rich diet of Latin prayers ante & post coenam, many dating back to preReformation times. A favourite among staff at Mallow Street has been Winnie ille Pu, a Latin rendition of A.A. Milne’s children’s classic Winnie-the-Pooh. Visit lms.org.uk/shop to discover more.