Calendars
Lightpost's calendars helps your church organize and share events with members, groups, and the public. Create multiple calendars, set up recurring events, enable RSVPs & let members subscribe.
Understanding Calendars
Multiple Calendars
You can create as many calendars as needed to organize your church's events. Common examples:
Main Church Calendar — Worship services, church-wide events
Youth Group — Youth group meetings, retreats, activities
Public Information — Sunday school, VBS, family events
Small Groups — Bible studies, home groups
Facilities — Room reservations, building usage
Each calendar has its own color, making it easy to visually distinguish events when viewing multiple calendars together.
Calendar Visibility Levels
Calendars have three visibility settings that control who can see them:
Hidden
Only users with admin access
Internal planning, draft events, staff scheduling
Members
Logged-in church members
Regular church events, member-only activities
Public
Anyone (no login required)
Events you want visitors to see on your website
Important: Only mark calendars as "Public" if you're comfortable with all events on that calendar being visible to anyone on the internet.
Group Calendars
Group calendars are tied to a specific group in Lightpost. Only members of that group can see the calendar and its events.
Use cases:
Small group meeting schedules
Ministry team events
Committee meetings
Choir rehearsals
When a calendar is linked to a group:
Only group members see the calendar in the member app
Events appear in members' calendar feeds
Events appear on the group's Events page
Great for keeping group-specific events organized
If you later link the calendar to a different group (or no group), its existing events follow the calendar's new visibility.
Group Events
Members can view a group's events from the group's Events page in the member web and mobile apps. Members with permission can also:
Add Event — create a one-time event on the group's calendar, with optional RSVPs.
Edit an occurrence.
Pin an upcoming event so it appears under Pinned events at the top of the group's feed.
Group Event Permissions
Account administrators can delegate event management for one group without granting account-wide calendar access.
For every member of the group — in the Admin, go to Groups, select the group, open Settings, and use Allow members to add events and Allow members to edit any occurrence under Group Events. Group Admins can change the same settings from the group's Admin Settings, or from Events → Event Permissions in the member app.
For individual members — in the Admin, open the group's Group Roles and enable Create Events or Edit Events. Group Admins can also grant these from Events → Event Permissions.
What each permission allows:
Create Events allows a member to add one-time events to the group's calendars and edit occurrences they created while they retain create access.
Edit Events allows a member to edit any occurrence on the group's calendars, including occurrences created by someone else, and to pin events and manage RSVPs.
Group Admins automatically inherit both permissions.
Group Post Admins do not receive event permissions unless they are granted separately.
The Group Roles screen shows Inherited when access comes from a Group Admin assignment or a group-wide setting. Direct Create Events and Edit Events grants remain independent. Changing a person's Group Admin assignment or a group-wide setting does not remove a direct event grant.
Group Roles and Event PermissionsCreating Calendars
Creating a New Calendar
Go to Calendars in the admin panel
Click the Calendars dropdown button
Click New Calendar
Enter the calendar details:
Name — The calendar's display name
Color — Background and text colors for events
Group — (Optional) Link to a specific group
Public — Check to make visible on public websites
Hidden — Check to hide from members (admin-only)
Click Save
Calendar Colors
Choose colors that help users quickly identify event types:
Use distinct colors for different calendars
Consider accessibility — ensure text is readable against the background
Be consistent — members will learn to associate colors with event types
Creating Events
Go to Calendars in the admin panel and click New Event. In the month view, you can also click an empty spot on any day to start a new event on that date.
Basic Event Information
When creating an event, you can set:
Title
The event name
Calendar
Which calendar this event belongs to
Location
Where the event takes place
All Day Event?
Check for events without specific times
Start Date / End Date
When the event starts and ends (up to 6 weeks long)
Recurring Event?
Check to repeat the event (see below)
Details
Full event details
Events added from a group's Events page in the member app also include a short Overview.
Recurring Events
Create events that repeat automatically:
Frequency options:
Daily — Every day or every X days
Weekly — Selected day(s) every X weeks
Monthly — On a day of the month (e.g., the 15th) or a pattern such as "the First Sunday" or "the Last Weekday"
Yearly — Annual events
Specific dates — Pick two or more individual dates from a calendar; each uses the same start time and length
Choose an End Repeat On date. Lightpost shows how many occurrences will be created. Recurring events can repeat for up to 18 months.
Examples:
"Every Sunday at 10:00 AM" — Weekly worship service
"First Wednesday of each month" — Monthly business meeting
"Every Tuesday and Thursday" — Recurring Bible study
"March 3, March 17, and April 7" — Specific dates for a class series
Recurring events display a small repeating icon on the calendar to indicate they're part of a series.
Editing Individual Occurrences
Click an event to open it. The Event Occurrence tab edits only that date, Occurrences lists every date in the series, and Edit All changes the whole series. Editing a single occurrence is useful when:
A regular meeting moves to a different room one week
A single occurrence is cancelled
Time changes for a specific date
Saving changes with Edit All overwrites changes made to individual occurrences.
Event Sign-ups / RSVP
Enable RSVPs to track attendance and let members indicate their plans.
Enabling Responses
RSVPs are set for each occurrence:
Click the event in the admin calendar and open the Sign-ups tab.
Check Enable Sign-ups.
Optionally check Allow Members to View Sign-ups to let members see who else is attending.
For events added from a group's Events page, the RSVP options are on the event form: Enable RSVPs, Show attendee responses, and Allow free-form attendees (optionally requiring an email or phone number).
How Members RSVP
Member clicks on an event
Clicks Register / RSVP
On the Your family tab, selects for each family member:
Going — Will attend
Not Going — Cannot attend
Interested — May attend
Members can update their responses at any time by clicking the same buttons. When free-form attendees are allowed, members can also use Additional attendees to add guests who aren't in the directory.
Viewing Responses
When members are allowed to view responses:
Members see a list of who responded and their status
Response counts are shown (Going, Not Going, Interested)
Names link to directory entries
People who can manage the event can always see its responses.
Viewing Calendars
In the Admin Panel
The admin calendar view shows:
All calendars (regular and group calendars)
Toggle individual calendars on/off using checkboxes
Month, week, and list views
Click any event to view or edit details
In the Member App
Members see:
All non-hidden calendars they have access to
Group calendars for groups they belong to
Month, week, and list views
Click events to see details and RSVP
Adding Events to Personal Calendars
When viewing an event, members can click Add to Calendar to export to:
Apple Calendar
Google Calendar
iCal File
Outlook.com
Yahoo Calendar
This adds the individual event (not the full calendar) to their personal calendar.
New Event Notifications
Members can turn on the New Calendar Events mobile notification (under Calendars in their notification settings) to be notified when an event is added to a calendar they can see. It is off by default and is not sent for hidden calendars.
Subscribing to Calendar Feeds
Members can subscribe to Lightpost calendars in their favorite calendar apps. Subscribed calendars automatically sync, so new events appear without any action.
Getting Your Feed Link
Go to Calendar in the member app
Click Calendar Feeds
Choose a feed:
All Calendars (viewable to you) — Everything you have access to
Individual calendars — Subscribe to specific calendars
Copy the feed URL, or download the events as a CSV file
Feeds include events from two months ago through two years ahead. A feed link stops working if the person is no longer a member.
Subscribing in Calendar Apps
Apple Calendar (Mac/iPhone):
File > New Calendar Subscription
Paste the feed URL
Choose refresh frequency
Google Calendar:
Settings > Add Calendar > From URL
Paste the feed URL
Click "Add Calendar"
Outlook:
Add Calendar > Subscribe from web
Paste the feed URL
Name the calendar and save
Important: Keep your feed links private. They are personalized to you and provide access to all calendar data you can view in Lightpost.
Printable Calendars
Generate print-ready calendars for bulletins, newsletters, or posting in your building.
Creating a Printable Calendar
Go to Calendars in the admin panel
Click Printable Calendar
Select options:
Month / Year — Select the month to print
Start the calendar from this week rather than the beginning of the month — For the current month only
Select Calendars — Choose which calendars to include
Event Font Size — Small, Medium, or Large
Page Orientation — Portrait or Landscape
Multi-Day Events — Repeat on each day or Span across days
Additional Weeks — Add up to 6 weeks after the month
Show event times
Show color stripe on events
Show border around all events
Show member birthdays and Show member anniversaries
Hide birthday & anniversary icons
Click Generate Printable Calendar, then Print
The preview is ready for printing or saving as PDF. Days from the previous and next months that fill out the first and last weeks also show their events and birthdays.
Tips for Bulletin Inserts
Use Portrait orientation for half-page inserts
Use Landscape for full-page calendars
Small font size fits more events per day
Disable color stripe (or add borders) for black-and-white printing
Website Integration
Display your public calendars on your own website (outside of Lightpost).
Website Code Snippet
For churches not using a Lightpost website, you can embed public calendars on any website:
Go to Calendars in the admin panel
Click Website Code Snippet (only appears if you have public calendars)
Copy the provided HTML code
Paste it into your website where you want the calendar to appear
How It Works
The script loads an interactive calendar widget
Only calendars marked as "Public" are displayed
Events update automatically when you add or change them in Lightpost
No login required for visitors to view
Lightpost Websites
If you use a Lightpost-hosted website, public calendars can be added through the website builder without needing code snippets.
Best Practices
Organizing Calendars
Keep it simple — Don't create too many calendars; group similar events
Use clear names — "Youth Ministry" is better than "YM Events"
Consistent colors — Stick with your color scheme once established
Event Information
Include locations — Even for familiar venues
Write clear titles — "Sunday Worship Service" not "Service"
Add details — Include what to bring, who to contact, etc.
Managing Recurring Events
Plan ahead — Set end dates for seasonal events
Update individual occurrences — Don't delete the whole series for one change
Check the calendar — Verify recurring events appear correctly
Public Calendars
Review before publishing — Check all events on a calendar before making it public
Keep internal events private — Staff meetings, planning sessions, etc.
Update regularly — A current calendar builds trust with visitors
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have events on multiple calendars? No, each event belongs to one calendar. Create separate events if needed on multiple calendars.
How do I cancel a single occurrence of a recurring event? Edit that specific occurrence rather than changing the entire series.
Can members create events? Yes. For a group calendar, a Group Admin can grant Create Events or Edit Events to individual group members, or allow all group members through the group's settings. These permissions only apply to that group's calendars, and members can only add one-time events.
Why can't I see a calendar? The calendar may be hidden (admin-only), it may be a group calendar for a group you're not in, or the Calendars feature may not be enabled for your account.
How often do subscribed calendars update? This depends on your calendar app settings, typically every 15 minutes to 24 hours.
Can visitors RSVP to events? Visitors can't RSVP themselves, but when free-form attendees are allowed, members can add guests who aren't in the directory.
What happens if I delete a calendar? All events on that calendar are also deleted. This cannot be undone.
Can I import events from another calendar? Contact support for assistance with importing events from other calendar systems.
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