Dh and I just got new callings. We built our house and moved in October 1 and we have a few "no-need-to-be-set-apart" callings. And we have been married for over 5 years and have pretty much been primary teachers the whole time. So, when the 1st counselor in the Bishopric called on Saturday and wanted to come over for a minute, I knew what was coming! Dh is the new ward webmaster and I am the ward newsletter and bulletin specialist. I at the word "specialist" because I don't yet know what to do. Luckily, the person who just got released from my calling is my good friend and VT companion so she wil help me out. I'm just a little nervous about doing the Sacrament Metting bulletin every week because I am afraid I will leave something out!
Has anyone had this calling before? Any advice?

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I (well, DH and I) am in charge of the Sunday bulletin and it's really not hard at all. If you want I can send you the format I use to give you ideas, you can email me at kma@cc.usu.edu
There are a few things I have that help:
-Monthly newsletter and calendar that the Bishop should be able to get to you (they should get one every month). I use this to put in coming up stuff for the next 2 or so weeks as well as I do a 2 week calendar on the back of the bulletin.
-Birthday list (can get from ward clerk). I put birthdays for the next week on each bulletin, everyone likes to know who's having a birthday and feeling special when their name is there.
-List of names and phone#s of bishop, counselors, etc that I have on back so people can find them easily.
-I have a list of monthly Primary themes that I put in. The Primary Pres can get that for you if you ask.
-Make sure you put some note or whatever that says what day you want any announcements, info, etc by otherwise you'll get people calling Sunday morning wanting you to add something. At first I didn't really mind but now it's annoying.
-Make sure you know who is in charge of getting speakers (Bishop or one of the counselors, you might want to ask for a monthly list of who is conducting when so you can call them for the speakers), prayers (usually one of the counselors), songs (chorister). You might need to call them to get info if they don't get it to you.

If you have any questions or want me to send you a sample bulletin just email me.

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good luck with that!!

One thing I always like to see in the bulletin is the addresses for the missionaries serving from the ward. (Not the ones who are currently IN the ward, but the ones who grew up in the ward and have gone out. KWIM?)

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~*~ Katie ~*~






http://thewanfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/

I agree with Katie, it's nice to have the addresses right there YK? Also, in my parents ward they always put a picture on the front of the bulletin. I always liked that. I never realized how much I liked it actually until we moved out here, and our ward here doesn't do it. I think it makes it look nice. Good luck!!

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I had this calling a few years back, too. The biggest problem for me was that no matter how hard I tried, there was ALWAYS some typo or mistake that I wouldn't catch in time! Sometimes I would forget to change the date; other times I wouldn't update the R.S. / Sunday School lesson. But the thing was that everyone was certainly forgiving about it; most people didn't even notice.

I was usually given the theme for the meeting so I would be able to pick a quote that went along with the topic. That was the best part of the calling -- combing through the previous Ensign to find just the right quote. Even though it may go unread by many members of the congregation, the time I spent reading the words of the prophets was invaluable.

This was a calling I had taken for granted before I had it; now I appreciate the work that goes into it much more. You will do great! Kara and Katie both had good suggestions, I thought. Good luck!

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Oh, I forgot about that! I like the missionary addresses to be in there too, but we rarely have any out because we don't have many people that age in the ward. And on the front I always put a picture and either a scripture or quote.

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Thanks for all the great advice! I forgot that when I was in a different ward, they used to put the missionaries addresses in our bulletin, but I haven't seen that done in awhile. I LOVE that idea! We need to let our missionaries know what a great job they are doing, and we have quite a few that are out right now and a few more who are getting ready to leave. I haven't seen a picture-on-the-front bulletin in a long time. I know you can buy the paper for it at Seagull Book and probably Deseret Book, but I don't know if the Bishop will want to used money in the ward budget for that. I talked to DH about buying some ourselves to use on Christmas and Easter just to make it more special, so we'll see what happens!

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Our ward also puts the military servicemen addresses in the newsletter . . . just a thought.

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