Share links, QR codes, and welcoming new members
Any open or approval-based group can have a share link — put it in the bulletin, on the website, or print its QR code for the narthex. The link opens a simple public page with the group's name and description. Nothing else: no member names, no counts, nothing about groups that are hidden.
Making a link
Open the group's Workspace → Share links & QR. Choose an optional expiry and maximum number of uses, then New link. Copy the link right away — for safety Vianney keeps only a fingerprint of it, so this exact link is never shown again (you can always mint another). The printable QR opens from the same row. Every group's share links, QR codes, and pending join requests also gather on the Connect Joining tab, so you can manage joining across all your groups from one place.
Revoking a link kills every copy of it — and its QR — immediately.
How joining works
Visitors on the page sign in with their parish account (identity is never guessed and never created from a public page):
- Open groups — they're in right away.
- Approval groups — a request goes to the group's leaders, exactly like the portal.
- Youth groups — always a request, whatever the group's join setting; a leader or the office confirms.
- Hidden groups — can't have share links at all; membership stays invitation-only.
Expired, revoked, or used-up links all show the same gentle "this link isn't active" page.
Welcoming
When you approve a new member (or any time from the API), Vianney can open a welcome draft — a normal Connect message, pre-addressed to the new members, with the group as sender. It sits in Drafts until you review and confirm it like any other message: nothing ever sends itself. For youth groups the welcome automatically addresses the guardians, not the young person.