A Church Voice

Issue #6: In with the New

January 31, 2001 - Fourth Week After Epiphany

http://www.laufers.com/churchvoice/
To subscribe, mailto:churchvoice-subscribe@topica.com

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From Barbara’s Keyboard

You're right, you haven't seen A Church Voice in a while. It's been a bit uneven this winter. I am getting things back on track and we should be back to biweekly now. Welcome, new subscribers! We're almost at 400 subscribers, and I am honored that you chose to subscribe. I hope A Church Voice is a valuable resource for you.

As always, if you think a friend, colleague, church staff member, pastor, denominational resource person, or any others would enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to pass it along to them and invite them to subscribe.

The Web home for A Church Voice, with the archive and other resources for you, is at: http://www.laufers.com/churchvoice/ . There are good changes ahead for the Web site. I strive to have the latest issue up on the site a week after publication, but I'm a bit behind at the moment.

In January we often assess things as the new year begins. Let's do the same with our newsletters and Web sites: out with the old, in with the new!

blessings,
Barbara Laufersweiler
mailto:cveditor@laufers.com

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You are receiving this newsletter because you requested it. Thank you!

I will  n e v e r  share your name or your email address with anyone else. If you need to unsubscribe, you'll find that information at the end of the newsletter.

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C o n t e n t s

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Have you left your Web site languishing for weeks or months? Are you running some items week after week in your newsletter with no change? It's time to clear out the old stuff, remember the organization underneath it all, and put some new things in - or old things that have been dusted off and spruced up!

Every month or so, or at least seasonally, go through your content and remove everything that is out of date. Don't even think twice about removing that stuff - toss it. Then look at the rest and make sure what you're running is fresh and appropriate to what's going on in your parish right now.

If your Web site has sermons, newsletters, or other archives, make sure you have current content. Readers should never arrive at a sermon page to find nothing more recent than a year or two ago! If you're not keeping this area up to date, think carefully about whether this content is a high priority for your church.

In your parish newsletter, are you running notices that haven't changed their wording or look in weeks? Toss those that aren't needed any longer, and rewrite the notices that will stay. Put a different spin on the messages, vary their locations, add some clip art, group notices by purpose or the intended readers or some other perspective -- make them noticeable again!

Now take a look at your leadership listings; the education offerings; descriptions of the youth program; the Sunday services listing; and so on. These can so easily slip into obsolescence, since they don't change often and we sometimes forget to check these areas. The main question is: is this correct? Ask your sources to provide accurate, current information. Follow up, get that info, and update your newsletter or Web site. If the info is a long time coming, remove the information you have that's wrong so readers aren't confused.

There you have it: a New Year's resolution that will freshen up your church Web site or newsletter, clear out the cobwebs, and put a sparkle of interest in your readers' eyes.

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A content archive on your church Web site, whether it's written or spoken sermons, newsletters, or anything else, should help fulfill the overall purpose of that Web site. Is this material important to your Web site or is making the material available just an unspoken expectation that no one has challenged?

Choose carefully what you'll archive, because you're committing to maintenance of an up-to-date and usable archive. Are these sermons better heard than read? How will the newsletters be brought into Web format? If the process of readying the content for the Web is labor-intensive, streamline or rethink it.

Make sure the content is a great fit for the Web site, and put plenty of thought into creating a Web-readying process that is extremely easy. Then the many updates ahead will go smoothly and your Web archive will be an asset.

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If you find the material in your church newsletter seems to be about the same things, and doesn't represent the breadth or depth of activity in your parish, cast your net wider! Contact the people leading or deeply involved with as many different activities as possible, and ask them to use the newsletter to tell the greater church community what they're doing.

Talk with Sunday school leaders, the choir director, Bible study participants, nursing home visitors, lay Eucharistic ministers, soup kitchen volunteers, prayer chain contacts, and everyone else you can think of (maybe not all in one week!).

Give them guidelines for where, when, and how to submit information. Tell them where the In box is, what your hours are, when the deadline is, how many words they can write, what your email address is. Make it easy for them to help you and to improve everyone's understanding of what your church does as a whole. Cast that net out farther and deeper!

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Hosea.co.uk offers well-thought out tips articles and resources, and they offer a UK church Web site award.

Hosea.co.uk How to design church web sites

From the Disciples of Christ denominational site comes this tip site for church newsletters.

Your Church Newsletter: Ten Quick Tips

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In Issue #5 I suggested using rubber stamps as a source of clip art, with some caveats about copyright issues. I've since come across a so-called "angel" list, of companies that allow crafters to use their rubber stamps to create products for sale. This would be a great place to check whether the rubber stamp(s) you'd like to use are from a company already inclined to give permission for these other sorts of uses.

Angel List

I strongly recommend that you request and receive permission before creating Web graphics, or clip art for your newsletter. It's best to respect the rights of the artists and the copyright holders in our search for great clip art and graphics.

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Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

[The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, ECUSA]

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If you find this information of value, please pass the newsletter on in its entirety.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome! If you’d like to submit a tip, question, or Web site, send me an email at

mailto:cvoice@laufers.com

For more resources, visit

http://www.laufers.com/churchvoice/

See you in two weeks!

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Copyright © 2001 Barbara Laufersweiler.
All rights reserved.

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