If you are an LPi regular, you might have noticed that we’ve been sending out customer surveys recently so that we can get a better idea of what our partnering parishes’ hopes and dreams are for their weekly bulletins. A HUGE thank you, by the way, to everyone who has taken the time to respond to the surveys! Guided by your feedback, we are launching a cover series called Immerse for the new cycle of the Liturgical Year, Year B, starting this upcoming Advent in December 2023. This week, we sit down with the lovely designer of the new series, Kristen, to learn more about it and to give our readers a little sneak peek before we start releasing these beautiful new covers into WeCreate.
Hi Kristen, can you introduce this new series to us?
Sure thing! The Immerse series is designed to have more of a macro-focus on the Gospel message of each week, paired with nature photography specifically selected to reference that week’s readings. This series starts in December for the new liturgical cycle and includes three different image size options in both Spanish and English.
Why are there multiple image size options for each cover?
We have different sizes of cover images available because churches have different needs for their bulletin covers. Some parishes use a half page, some a full page, and some use these pieces of cover content inside their bulletins instead. We wanted to create a variety of options so that everyone can make use of this beautiful series in whatever way their parish needs.
What was the concept behind this cover series?
Our concept for the Immerse series was inspired by the survey responses that we’ve received from Church staff across the country. We found, from these responses, that there was a significant request for more nature imagery paired with the weekly gospel for bulletin covers. Customers also indicated their need for designs with text that is larger and that stands out more boldly on the cover as its main focus.
How did you approach the design?
First, I made three completely different design options to present to our team. All focused on the same image and Gospel passage but using different text treatments, colors, and design styles. One design element I wanted to be sure to incorporate into the series was a “focus word” that popped out as visually distinct in every cover. Once the three design options were completed, I sent them over to our LPi graphic design manager and our brand and art director for them to choose their favorite. The option that they chose just happened to also be my favorite of the three designs! Once we made the choice, I got to work. I’ll continue to design these covers throughout 2024.
What do you hope churches get out of these covers?
My hope is to give parish communities great quality artwork to showcase on their bulletin covers.
Who are these covers for?
These covers are for any parish that wants to try a more modern approach to design on their bulletins while also staying true to the traditional Gospel message of the Church. Although it’s not necessarily traditional-looking artwork, the covers do lend themselves more toward focusing on the Gospel which makes them the perfect blend of modern design and traditional messaging.
What is something you’d like our parishes to know about the design or work you’ve put into these covers?
One thing I’d love people to know is that these covers often feature images of the Holy Land and other photography of locations that mirror each week’s Gospel message. For example, when the readings speak about Jesus in the desert, I chose imagery of the Judean Desert so that the image used was accurate to the message. Another example of this is a cover using a verse from the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus and the image I used for that cover is from the actual Jordan River where the event happened historically.
What do you like about the Immerse series?
One thing I like about this series is the fact that we have three options for different sizes that parishes can fit into their bulletins however they want. Each size’s imagery is specifically curated to fit that size so that, no matter what image a parish uses on its bulletin cover, it looks professional, fresh, bright, and inviting.
Thank you, Kristen, for letting us know more about this new upcoming cover series!
To stay in the know about when LPi releases new content for vibrant parishes, like new bulletin cover series, digital images and templates, stock photography, and more, make sure to subscribe to our monthly new release emails! Don’t have access to this content but want it? Get all of our relevant and reverent Catholic content inside WeCreate.
We have a great new series to help engage children in the parish — introducing our Parish Treasure Hunt images! The pieces, designed by one of our awesome multimedia designers, Tim, were created to provide an educational and fun interactive game for parents and children to play together. They can also be used as educational content for faith formation programs or as graphics inside bulletins, social media, or on your parish website! Each features a common item found inside of a Catholic church and invites youth to find that item at their own parish. The piece also shares a fun fact about that specific item. In your own parish, these items may have a different shape or look to them which can add to the educational aspect of the game.
In November we focus our social media efforts on showing gratitude and giving to charity as well as vocation stories, and ideas for Veterans Day and All Saints Day.
“We want to be a welcoming community.” Sound familiar? We work with churches all over the country and one of the most common things we hear from church staff everywhere is that they want their parish community to be welcoming, friendly, and accessible to visitors. This endeavor requires more than just open doors, however, and even the most well-intentioned churches can sometimes miss the mark when it comes to helping newcomers feel truly welcome and included. Let's delve into some key aspects that might be easily overlooked in your parish’s collaborative quest to bridge the gap between established parishioners and visitors.
Mistake — Lack of Information
Walking into a new place can be intimidating, especially when there's a lack of easy-to-access information available. How are visitors supposed to know where to park, where the bathrooms are, how to get access to ministries or services, if there is childcare available, about opportunities for those with disabilities, or simply that you pray the rosary together as a community after the 5 p.m. Mass? It can be scary walking into a new parish for the first time when you don’t know what to expect.
Fix it by —
Mistake — Overwhelming Liturgical Jargon & Unexplained Traditions
While longstanding parishioners might be well-acquainted with your parish’s liturgical language and practices, newcomers can often feel lost in a sea of unfamiliar terms, rituals, and culture.
Fix it by —
Mistake — Exclusive Social Circles and Inaccessible Leadership
Human nature often leads people to gravitate toward those they already know. This can inadvertently create exclusive social circles within the church.
Fix it by –
Mistake — Neglecting Technology
In today's digital age, churches that neglect technology miss out on valuable opportunities to connect with visitors. Don’t forget, 90% of Americans communicate daily through social media and over 65% of website views are from cell phones instead of home computers!
Fix it by —
We hope some of these solutions have inspired you! In the heart of every church beats a desire to embrace all who seek solace and belonging. By addressing these sometimes overlooked aspects of welcoming visitors to your parish, we sow the seeds of belonging and can ensure that your visitors feel valued, connected, and empowered.
Church bulletins have been a staple of church communities for decades. While they serve as an important source of information and communication, there are several myths that have developed around them. Let’s debunk some of these misconceptions and shed light on the incredible value your parish’s bulletin brings to your community.
This is an all-around FALSE statement. According to this 2023 research study on Catholic Media Use by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate from Georgetown University, the best way, by far, to reach Catholics in the pews or outside of them is the through the parish bulletin. This study found that:
If you catch yourself thinking that your bulletin might be irrelevant, then make it relevant! We have timely and reverent content, ready for use in WeCreate, LPi’s digital art and content library. We also have loads of bulletin ideas on content and design inside our blog to help you out!
While announcements are a part of most church bulletins, we hope your bulletin offers much more than that. If you need some ideas of what to put in your parish bulletin other than upcoming events and announcements, consider adding these content fillers. Some of these ideas are available in WeCreate.
Fresh Bulletin Content Ideas:
Even if you're a visitor or an occasional attendee, church bulletins can be incredibly helpful. They often include details that can ensure that everyone, regardless of their familiarity with the church, can actively participate in your community and worship experience! Printed bulletins are also often sent home to those who are home-bound or hospitalized and provide a real, tangible bridge for those people to connect directly and still participate in parish life with the parish they love.
We hope these facts and ideas were illuminating and that you’ve concluded, like us, that church bulletins are far from the outdated, ignored artifacts they might be mistaken for! Interested in a free parish bulletin for your church? Learn more about our ad-supported bulletin service here.
We are so honored to partner with vibrant parishes across the United States, each one working to bring the kingdom of God to their communities in unique ways. At St. Margaret of York in Loveland, Ohio, Michelle Manczyk serves as the parish communications coordinator. One of her many responsibilities is to design their parish bulletin. We sat down with her this week to learn more about her experience working with church bulletin design, gather some tips and tricks, and hear about the resources she uses to create such a beautiful weekly bulletin.
Q. Hi Michelle, your parish’s bulletin is awesome! How long have you been designing it?
A. Thanks! I’ve been working for St. Margaret as communications coordinator for over 6 years now! When I first started this job, the bulletin design was a little rough, so I’ve been slowly updating and developing it over time. The current iteration launched in 2021 although I’m always working to improve it. I had a unique opportunity when I started this position at St. Margaret because we were switching from our old bulletin company to using LPi for our bulletins, so I took advantage of that transfer to build something new.
Q. What are your goals for the bulletin?
A. My vision is that our bulletin should be a vehicle for catechesis and faith formation instead of a glorified repeat of the parish calendar. Now, the calendar is important so we do include the larger calendar items, but the rest can be found on our website. This makes a lot of room in the bulletin for other content.
Q. Speaking of content, where do you find inspiration?
A. I definitely use content from WeCreate a lot. It saves me time because, with WeCreate, I don’t have to come up with a cover design by myself every week and I like to use a lot of the square graphics available. I find that even the social media graphics in WeCreate can be perfect options to fill blank space in the bulletin. My parish and I also really love the Father Flood comics in WeCreate. They’re so much fun! We put a Father Flood comic into every bulletin and my husband always flips right to the comic to start with before he reads the rest of it. Those little clips are a fantastic way to get people excited about the publication.
Q. What kind of feedback have you heard?
A. The majority of the feedback for the new direction for the bulletin has been overwhelmingly positive. Our parish is in a suburb of Cincinnati, so we have a lot of parishioners who work for big companies downtown. At these companies, employees are exposed to a polished, professional look for print publications, so it’s important to us that they can tell we’ve taken extra care to make sure the church bulletin design looks great.
Q. What is your favorite aspect of creating the bulletin every week?
A. The design layout and typography part of it are my favorite things to work on. When I first started working at St. Margaret, all we had when it came to church branding was a logo and nothing else. Over time I’ve enhanced the brand for our parish with design elements unique to us. I’ve gathered lots of inspiration from the church architecture. For example, there’s a design carved into the altar that I used to inspire a ribbon that can be found in the bulletin design. Another example of this is down by the numbers on each page of the bulletin there is a red box with a little circle. These corollate with a design element found on the outside of our parish buildings. Using the church architecture as inspiration has enriched our visual identity.
Q. What tools help you get the job done?
A. I use WeCreate a lot and I also use Adobe Creative Suite programs. We also make use of the Parishes Online bulletin website widget to keep the bulletin automatically updated on our parish website every week. We include links to the digital bulletin in many of our emails and parish communications directing people to view that week’s bulletin online in case they missed picking one up at church.
Q. Lastly, what tips do you have for other editors?
A. Don’t forget to give yourself time to look at your bulletin with fresh eyes. It’s good to build it one day, sleep on it, then come back to it the next day or even a couple days later to make sure there aren’t any mistakes you’ve missed. Also, don’t forget to have a proofreader!
Thank you, Michelle, for sharing your parish and expertise with us!
If you have a vibrant parish and would like to be featured in an upcoming Parish Dispatch or know where we can find a great church bulletin in your city, let us know!
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