Members read newsletters religiously

By LINDA M. LINONIS

VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR

They face deadlines, printing challenges and sometimes too much or not enough material for the publication. Whether they’re volunteers or paid staff, those who assemble newsletters for places of worship are involved in spreading God’s word and news about the place of worship and its congregation.

Nelda Stanley Hawkins, secretary at Jerusalem Lutheran Church, 415 S. Main St., Columbiana, has put together Good News from Jerusalem for 12 years, though she said the publication has a much longer history in the church.

“It’s a wonderful way to keep people informed,” Hawkins said. She’s self-taught on computer programs, having learned when her family bought one.

The publication features a calendar of the month with blocks noting church committee meetings, special services and programs at the church. “In the body of the newsletter, I elaborate on some items on the calendar,” Hawkins said. “I keep it brief because people don’t have a lot of time.”

When she needs a “filler,” she checks her file on jokes that’s she’s come across or that people have sent her. And she said she accesses various Web sites that offer free religious-oriented material including information, jokes and puzzles.

The newsletter is mailed to church members and also finds its way to a woman who lives in England. “She was baptized in the church and likes to keep in touch,” Hawkins said. The newsletter also is sent to addresses in Canada, Arizona and Florida. “Some are former members and want to get the news of the church,” Hawkins said. Some in Arizona and Florida are snowbirds and want to know what’s going on when they’re away.

Bulk mailing offers a break in the postage for the church. “We also have a list of those who like it e-mailed,” Hawkins said, noting that has come about more in the last two years. Hawkins mails out the newsletter during the last week of the month to announce next month’s news.

The church also has a Web site, www.jerluthcolumbiana.org, which is maintained by a young church member.

“The response is good,” Hawkins said of the newsletter. “And of course you get feedback when you make a mistake.”

She said a mistake she made many years ago and will never forget was with the word “interpret.” Hawkins said she used it when referring to an interpreter for the deaf, but it came out interrupt. “I’ve seen some other bloopers online and put them in our newsletter,” she said.

Ed and Barbara Childs compile Monitor, the newsletter for Mahoning United Methodist Church, 2214 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, where they have been members since 1981. “I’ve been doing it some 20 years,” Ed Childs said.

He explained he came by the job when the previous person was moving out of the state and he accepted the task. Now, he and his wife work on it as a joint project. “I do the calendar and she does the other stuff,” he said.

“We get most of the information from the pastor [the Rev. Joyce Lawson].” She’s on top of what’s going on,” Childs said.

There is no strict deadline for the newsletter, Childs said. “We try to get it done the week before the end of the month,” he said. He added that “no one gets excited” if the newsletter arrives at the beginning of the month.

Childs said he and his wife find the task of putting together the newsletter “enjoyable.” “Once in a while, we get a pat on the back from someone who tells us it’s a nice job,” he said. “But we’re old enough to take criticism and young enough to enjoy the compliment.”

“The name, Monitor, came from the idea of monitoring activities of the congregation,” Childs said.

The couple compiles the newsletter on a computer, then e-mails it to the church secretary, Monica Spelich, who prints, copies and mails it. Childs made a point of noting it was a team effort.

Mahoning UMC also has a Web site, www.mahoningumc.org.

Temple El Emeth Bulletin is compiled by Lauren Fader, a secretary at the synagogue at 3970 Logan Way, Liberty, who has worked on the newsletter for 21⁄2 years. Fader said the publication is reviewed by the rabbi and program director.

Programming and Sisterhood information play prominent roles in the publication. “I get some information from other resources such as the Jewish Journal,” Fader said.

The Bulletin is published the last week of the month to announce the next month’s activities. “It has everything in it that the members need to know,” Fader said. Bigger editions cover services and programs for the High Holidays and Passover.

The temple’s Web site is www.temple-el-emeth.com.