Rota Notifications

ChurchDesk sends notifications relating to the work plan for 6 scenarios:

1. Service email – the main confirmation email sent when a Contributor is added to a service.
2. Service cancelled – notification to the Group Admins when a Contributor has declined a service.
3. Rota cancelled – a notification when a rota is cancelled by the Group Admins.
4. Rota updated – a notification when a rota changes.
5. Rota reminder – a reminder email before the rota begins, including an overview of the other people assigned to the rota.
6. Unallocated rota – Notification to Group Admins and administrators if a rota is still open shortly before the scheduled time.

Note: Contributors are only notified if ‘Save & Notify’ is clicked after signing up for a rota.

1. Rota email

Until now, many parishes have asked their members in advance by telephone, email or in person before signing them up for a rota. This takes time and involves several steps. This is exactly where the new rota request comes in: members are asked to take a rota, but are signed up straight away – so they do not need to reply first to confirm their availability. Anyone who is unable to attend can decline directly from the email with a single click or reply to the email.

As soon as a person is assigned to a rota and the “Save & Notify” button is clicked, they receive a rota request via email. In this email, they can:

see which other people have been assigned to the rota,
decline the rota directly via the email,
reply to the email to consult with the Group Admins.

Note: The person is automatically confirmed for the rota and does not need to confirm it. However, they can decline it!

If a person declines, the rota is displayed as open again.

📷 [Screenshot: Rota request email with list of assigned people, ‘Cancel’ button and option to reply]

You add Anna to the Sunday reading service and click ‘Save & Notify’. Anna automatically receives a rota request by email; she is already scheduled and does not need to confirm anything. If it doesn’t suit her after all, she can decline directly via the email, and the rota will be displayed as open again.

2. Rota declined

If the person assigned to the rota declines it, the Group Admins responsible for that rota receive a notification that the rota has been declined.

3. Rota cancelled

If a rota or the entire event on which the rota was scheduled is cancelled, the people registered for the rota will receive a notification that the rota has been cancelled.

4. Rota updated

If a service or the event on which the service is scheduled is updated, the people registered for the service will receive a notification that the service has been updated.

5. Rota reminder email

Three days before the service begins, the registered people will receive a reminder email.

A new feature is that they can now also see which other people are on duty with them. They can still decline the duty using the ‘Decline’ button.

EXAMPLE:You assign Anna to the Sunday reading rota. Anna receives a duty request by email, sees that Markus has also been assigned, and declines directly via the email. The rota is displayed as open again. If it remains unfilled until 3 days before the service, you, as the group admin, will be automatically notified.

📷 **[Screenshot: **

6. Unallocated rota

3 days before the service begins, the relevant group admins of the respective service group receive a reminder email stating that one or more rotas in their group are still unallocated. Using the “Assign service” button, they can edit the service and find a replacement for the unallocated rota directly via ChurchDesk. Clicking “Notify service group” takes them straight to the relevant group, where they can send a message to all group members.

📷 **[Screenshot: **

Updated on: 18/06/2026

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