Format is 8 1/2 x 11 sheet folded to 5.5 x 8.5 (ie. in half the long way).

Front cover - basically a title page with the date, service topic, service and music leadership, a relevant picture (or sometimes just a chalice), and a welcoming statement. Header with logo, name address at top. Staff and board lists at bottom.

Inside - Order of service on left (sometimes spills over to the right), announcements on right. Use an insert if these spill over or if there are readings/song words that aren't in our service book.

Back cover - UU Principles, Congregational Covenant, Congregational Mission Statement

This is the current format. It has evolved over the time I've been at the fellowship which is not surprising when you consider that in that time we've been through 5 ministers and 4 office managers.

Mendalla

Hi Jobam,

Depends on the week.

http://www.waterforduc.org/currentbulletin.pdf

Grace and peace to you.

John

We don't post ours right now, though I find most UCCan congregations around here do. Must bring up with the board as we start on our new website.

Mendalla

Thanks to the both of you for posting.

Ours changes a bit from week to week as well.

Rev John, how does one sponsor the bulletin?

We are a rural pastoral charge and currently do not have a clergy person.  We rely on congreation members and LLWL's to lead services.

Format: 8 1/2 X 11 folded landscape (like most UCC bulletins)
Worship service is listed first
Annoucements in a table format and some posters of the event if we have room.
We include moment for mission write up
We include moderators blog (usually takes up 2 pages)

We include both Minute for Mission and Gary's blog in order to have some connection with the national church. 

London conference from time to time, sends out Stewardship flyers/print outs and we include them as well. 

We print the minutes of the last council meeting as part of the bulletin as well - just so everyone is on the same page.  Anything that has to do with the pastoral charge as a whole can be commuicated using this format.  So far, is serving us well.

Our bulletin can be as little as 4 pages (1 sheet of paper) or up to 12 pages (3 sheets of paper).

We print our own covers.
 

we don't have a bulletin. Powerpoint is used for service. annoucement page is e-amiled to all who want it on Thurs. before service. A few print copies are available each Sunday morning for those without internet or newcomers.

Hi Jobam,

All bulletins are M&S bulletins which we purchase at our cost.  We defray that cost by allowing individual members to sponsor bulletins.

We take a sponsor rate of $10 per week and that includes a dedication in the bulletin such as, belletins this week are dedicated to the memory of so and so.

A sponsor sheet for the year is on our bulletin board.  Folk just sign up.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Ditto re sponsorship:  $25 if I remember correctly.

Bulletin  and announcements are here: http://wesleyunited.ca/bulletin%20-%20copy.htm

(note: quite surprised they are word documents posted instead of pdf's)

We have the bulletin sponsor (not a business) but "The bulletins this week have been donated by the Smith family in honour of Sunday School teachers everywhere."

We also have contact information and financial information.

Not applicable. We don't use bulletins. We just use PowerPoint during worship services. We also post our announcements on our Facebook page, and some on our website.

As a person who is challenged by failing eyesight I immediately wondered whether people ever find it difficult to read the Powerpoint presentations?  I was at a funeral once whee words and images were projected onto a screen as part of the eulogy - I couldn't  see well enough to enjoy it (several othe rpeople said the same thing).

It could be problematic to merely read, or project the announcements.  So many people have failing memories and no computer access to look things up at home.

I would miss a paper bulletin if we switched to only using projection.  I like to have something on which to scribble dates and reminders to take home for my calendar.  We don't currently use projection as we are just now researching how it would work in our space (lots of natural light and no obvious place to hang a screen).

The one UCCan that I have been to that uses projection still does a paper bulletin, though what goes in it seems to vary. Some Sundays, they just have a broad outline and project everything, others they have the words for the Call, prayers, etc. both in the bulletin and projected. I've stopped going to that one for the moment for other reasons. Maybe they're more consistent now. I am not totally crazy about their implementation. While it's a modern sanctuary (built in the eighties), it still predates projection of this sort and the screen is off-centre in a rather awkward way (vs. my UU fellowship where we have a retractable screen dead centre behind the chancel, but it's converted commercial space rather than a purpose built church).

The other two don't use projection yet. They are ancient sanctuaries by London standards (I think they are both nineteenth or very early twentieth century) and I imagine positioning screens and projectors without affecting their historic elements or aesthetics would be a challenge.

Mendalla

Other people may have equal or greater difficulty with reading bulletins. Our announcements don't just appear on screen. I announce each one to our church. So people can both see the announcements and hear them. Also, we have a small church, so we on the leadership team can reach via phone, net, etc. those most involved in events before such events occur. While it's true not everyone has computer access, the vast majority of people do these days, and computers can also be used at the Toronto Public Libraries.

Many people these days make notes on cell phones and tablets.

Since my cateract operation a few years ago, my vision is almost 20/20.   But I well remember the frustration when, even with thick glasses, I couldn't see anything on power point.  Therefore I prefer the printed bulletin.   My church provides two sizes - the regular 8x11 folded M&S bulletin, and a large print one that also has the words to the hymns printed.

The bulletin includes:

Information about church leadership - names of clergy, secretary, sexton, music director - and any guest speaker, soloists, trumpet player, etc.  Phone numbers, office hours, web address, etc.

Order of service, including responsive and communal prayers.

Welcome and invitation to join us for fellowship after the formal service.

Congregational news - new babies, graduations, anniversaries, etc.

Announcements of upcoming events.

Appeals

Messages from the moderator or head office, presbytery or our own council

(Not everything at every service)

Sometimes there is a notice that the flowers, or bulletin are dedicated by ------ in celebration of (or memory of).....    These are paid for by donation. 

Only a few of the announcements are drawn attention to during the service. 

I pride myself in not being 'many people'.  I did say that *I* would miss a paper bulletin.

Personally,Hillary,, I love the bulletin

.What would FaceBook do without all the typos?

It gives you something to read before service( if you don't want to be friendly with your neighbours.)

And makes a good fan if it get really hot.

So it discourages community. That's not really something that I look forward to in a church.

Which is why our church, and countless others, have installed such things as ceiling fans and air conditioners in our buildings.

Really, if a church can't afford to update their technologies, we can hardly blame it for not doing so. Otherwise, what's the point?

Jae, thought you were going to come back in a reasonable state.  Seems like that lasted a day.

Your responses to Crazyheart are intentionally misreading her humour and approach.  You are acting, once again, as the troll, fishing for a reaction.

Personally, I won't give you the joy of doing so.   

Interesting re the power point, as if done reasonably, should be easier to read than a bulletin.   Sometimes folks go with small print rather than multiple slides which is a poor design decision in a service.

What bothers me in a bulletin is when the items that are to be read by the minister or leader are printed.  Really, just leave them with a "snip" indicator.  This encourages people to listen.   I get some folks are not auditory , but typically in a communion service there is also a visual of say "the bread being broken".  

There is nothing wrong with a difference of opinion Pinga. It honestly is my personal opinion that using bulletins is outdated. I got that crazyheart was being amusing, not that I really found her to be all that funny. If you think my comments to be offensive, Pinga, then you can flag them to the current board Admins.

The problem is that many people don't use powerpoint well. They fail to take into consideration the needs of everyone in the church.

Backgrounds should be light in colour, with much darker printing. Fonts should be simple, not ornate. Font size should be at least 20. Italics should be kept to a minimum. These are a few good guidelines to follow.

I agree, Pinga.  I used to argue this when I was church secretary.  I tried to tell the minister that it wasn't necessary to print long prayers if they were not in unison.   (Maybe that's why I didn't remain as church secretary until retirement.)   There are places for listening, and places for reading. 

Sometimes, it seems especially for communion, the minister might read the better part of a page before the congregation had a short response, and then another long reading by the minister.  I would much prefer to listen while focusing my attention on what is happening at the alter instead of fumbling with a paper, or watching power point.

While I agree that contrast is important, I have heard that the opposite is actually much easier to read: dark background with white text.

Sorry to prattle on about projection...  our bulletins are typically an 11x17 (??) page folded into thirds.  The front page has all the church's contact information.  The back page has announcements (both for our congregation and others locally if we are invited to an event they are holding).  I specifically like that we have "This week at Southminster:" which details day by day who is using the building throughout the week including committee meetings, room rentals, concerts and whatever else.  The other pages are the order of service interspersed with tacky clip art.

Overall, it works well enough, but there are no marks indicating when people should stand/sit and I think that writing out "More Voices" and "Voices United" is more user friendly than using MV and VU.  That's not too newcomer-friendly.  Maybe I'll have a chat with the office staff.

Hm... maybe you're right Hilary - it's just generally the contrast that is the key. Still, I have read that for some, lighter printing on a darker background is a real strain on the eyes.

Does your worship team just prefer to handle the sitting/standing issue more spontaneously than they could if directions were written down? I agree with you on the MV/VU. While I would know what they referred to, I would think that many outsiders would feel lost.

Hilary, that was what I learned a long time ago.  With the improvement of technology though, from what I've heard, and what is commonly done for academic presentations is what Jae suggests.  When people use dark backgrounds, it looks super dated to me.

I actually think Jae is right about this - dark print on light background.  I've heard that black on yellow is best for those with limited vision.

VU and MV - we use the initials, but when the minister announces the hymn she says something like #135 in Voices United.  That's the big red hymn book in the rack on the pew.   

or  #62 in More Voices.  That's the thinner book with the coil binding.

And she holds it up, and gives people time to find it.

Generally we follow the choir to know when to sit or stand.  Or the minister gives a prompt  "You may be seated." 

There is lots of stuff on proper slide presentation. It depends on the focus.

A slide intended for a verse of  a hymn is different than a slide designed to compliment a sermon.

I too like a bulletin.

Ours has the standard info about the staff, the order of service including a symbol to indicate when to stand though it always gets announced.

We have several pages of announcements, including upcoming meetings, bible studies.... Also included is what the children were discussing that day in their separate time. Memorials, flowers, community events are neighbourhood churches, schools, hospitals......

On baptisms the names of the children are printed along with parents and ages as well as the service that the congregation speaks.

Anthems and solos are listed

Ours in usually 81/2x11 folded and is usually about 8 pages. The secretary produces it in conjunction with the minister and it is printed in house and the new machine prints, collates and folds.
Most people seem to take them home and I find them very useful to refer to upcoming activities.

Our midweek service uses only PowerPoint

My pet peeve is when the lay person giving verbal announcements before the service reads them all. Most people are good at pointing out things to check at coffee, highlighting key points, but some are terrible

Are bulletin lists the order of the service in title format with community prayers printed. We have a separate announcement sheet as well. we also project the entire service through media shout. Sometimes we even show videos.

What is Media Shout?

Google (or Bing in your case, I guess) is your friend:

https://www.mediashout.com/

Mendalla