Liturgical Resources

LITURGICAL RESOURCES

PARISH COMMUNICATORS MEETING ON WORSHIP PLANNING

CELEBRATION OF NEW MINISTRY RESOURCES

The following are examples of liturgies to celebrate new ministry and transition for churches:  

EXAMPLES

LITURGICAL RESOURCES

BLUE CHRISTMAS

Holidays can be a very challenging time for those experiencing loss, loneliness, and hardship. In response, some churches offer special services leading up to Christmas that offer a respite from the holiday cheer, leaving room for pain and grief. Often called Longest Night services, these services are usually held around December 21, the longest night of the year, and the date of the winter solstice.

Blue Christmas services offer comfort when the holidays do not feel like an appropriate time to celebrate. Blue Christmas services are services of lament… missing those in our lives who are now gone, the losses we’ve experienced, etc. Whatever sorrows are held during the holiday season, community members are invited to Blue Christmas Services to pray, be comforted, and share in a mutual feeling of grief or loneliness. Giving our sadness to God, together we discover hope and a peaceful contentment during this sacred season.

EXAMPLES

  • Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Tucson, Arizona PDF

  • St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Andalusia, Alabama PDF | Publisher

  • The Episcopal Church in Garfield County, Colorado PDF | Word

  • St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, Eastpointe, Michigan PDF | Word

  • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Casper, Wyoming PDF | Word

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

In remembrance of Saint Francis Assisi’s love for animals, Blessing of the Animals happens on October 4th of every year. These services allow parishioners the chance to gather for a blessing of their furry, scaly, or feathered loved ones. If the feast day falls on a Sunday, many churches will include the blessings in their Sunday service, and others will hold separate services.

In the midst of COVID-19, many churches are making adaptations to their standard Blessing of the Animals service. A few ideas include holding virtual blessings, drive-through blessings, or holding them outside, while practicing social distancing. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, MN is having parishioners do readings with their pets. Parishioners are submitting photos of their pets which will then be used to make a video set to “All Creatures Great and Small”. Finally, they will have a live pet blessing on their peace and coffee hour Zoom call.

RESOURCES

Blessing of the Animals service in Spanish from The Episcopal Diocese of Texas

St. Francis Day Resources from The Episcopal Church

Creation Care Resources

FUNERAL RESOURCES

Do you have a section on your site that provides information to individuals or families who are needing to hold a funeral at your church? What types of questions do you need to answer ahead of time for them? What information do you need to provide? What are the parameters for how you conduct a service in your faith community? Check out resources below by churches who post their funeral planning resources:

St. Gregory’s Littleton: https://www.saintgregs.org/funerals
Funeral Planning Form, Suggested Scripture Readings & Hymns

BILINGUAL LITURGY RESOURCES

Providing bilingual bulletins in church services helps foster the multicultural and multilingual connections within the church.  

EXAMPLES

HOME: FROM THE COMMUNITY TO THE KITCHEN

An intersection of communications strategy, formation, and membership growth
 
Home: From the Community to the Kitchen is a paradigm shift, a metaphor for the invitation and connection we know in our own families. It is how we connect with each other as neighbors. It’s how it can start with a conversation on a soccer field or at a neighborhood meeting and culminate in friendship—especially when invitations to dinner are extended. “Come over for dinner,” we say. From that first front-door welcome to your guest, to the deeper relationships built with those who’ve dined at your table many times, to the deeper connections as family friends become an ‘Aunt Mary’ or an ‘Uncle Bob,’ our conversations, our hospitality, and our mutual expectations change in our ever-deepening relationships over time.
 
So too in our churches our dynamics change in the rooms of our common life as we welcome guests at our front doors, as we show hospitality around the family table, and as we ask those who consider themselves family members to help prepare the meal and to stay for conversation and help with the dishes afterwards.
 
Discover the strategies employed by healthy, growing churches to create intentional environments where relationships grow deeper with God and with one another. Explore how hospitality can move guests to engage and explore life in a church community and eventually become members of the family, themselves inviting new friends and neighbors to come for dinner and stay for the nurture and nourishment of community.

For more information about this workshop, or to inquire about availability to lead this workshop in your diocese, please contact Mike Orr at mike@episcopalcolorado.org.

In January 2021, we held a virtual Home workshop. Here is the video from that time together (watch on YouTube / download from Dropbox) as well as the slides (PDF). Recording began after the introductions. This workshop overview and resource packet may also be useful.

TELEPROMPTERS

Teleprompters are a great tool to have in your toolkit. They allow you to maintain direct eye contact with your audience or the camera during a video shoot while reading a script. Viewers are given the impression that a presenter is speaking spontaneously or has memorized a speech since they don’t have to look away from the camera to a written document or cue cards. Using a teleprompter also enables the speaker to build a stronger rapport with their audience by maintaining natural eye contact.

DISTANCE IS KEY

Maintaining a fair amount of distance between the teleprompter and the talent is key to success; at least 7 feet but preferably 8 to 10 feet. This helps to minimize the look of the speaker’s eyes darting back and forth on video. The closer you get to the teleprompter, the more your audience will notice your eyes going back and forth. 

PRACTICE AND ADJUST

Practice, Practice, Practice. It's best to practice a lot to get comfortable with the teleprompter. It can be tricky and you'll need to watch yourself on video after some practice rounds to be self aware about how you are interacting with the teleprompter. Do you look natural? Does it need to be more eye level because you are giving yourself a double chin? Do you sound like a robot or do you need to inflect more natural pauses and tics into your presenting? Do you need to have more or less hand gestures? Are you being expressive enough with your face? Does the text need to be larger or smaller to help you in your reading from a distance of 8 to 10 feet? Do you notice your eyes going back and forth? Practice and then watching yourself will result in a much more natural connection with your audience. 

EQUIPMENT

For equipment, there are some great setups for churches. The Telmax Tablet Teleprompter or Prompter People options are great for using an iPad or other tablet for your control. The Parrot Phone Teleprompter is ideal for on-the-road applications or where space is an issue, and you can use it with your iPhone or Android. 

APPLICATIONS

For applications for your tablet or phone, check out the PromptSmart Pro app ($20 for the app and $19.99/year for the subscription, but really worth it) that even allows for the talent to go off-script a little and won’t keep advancing with its voice tracking. Also, you may want to check out the Teleprompter Premium App ($14.99 for iOS and $9.99 for Android)

CHURCH AUDIT PREPARATION

The following are resources for church audit preparation:

Church Annual Accessibility Audit Checklist Form (freechurchforms.com)

Church Annual Internal Audit Checklist Form (freechurchforms.com)

Audit Policies and Procedures (freechurchforms.com)

CHURCH AUDIT PREPARATION WORKSHOP

A church audit is an independent evaluation of the financial reports and records of the internal controls of the local church by a qualified person or persons for the purpose of reasonably verifying the reliability of financial reporting, determining whether assets are being safeguarded, and determining compliance with the law, and local church policies and procedures. Conducting an audit is not a symbol of distrust. It is a mark of responsibility. It is good stewardship demonstrated for all to see. It is a message to local church donors that you care about their gifts. How do you prepare for an audit? What is the best way to be organized to be prepared for a yearly audit?

Lesley Williams, CPA, led this one-hour workshop in July 2022. She has extensive experience in church auditing and guided us through the steps for being prepared to have a church audit performed.

Watch Workshop Video

View Workshop Slide Deck

Workshop Resources

Colorado Nonprofit Audits
10730 E Bethany Dr Suite 140,
Aurora, CO 80014
(303) 386-3647
"Welcome to Terrance L Bartell, P. C. certified public accountants in Denver, Colorado! For over sixteen years, Terrance L Bartell, P.C. has been specializing in nonprofit accounting and auditing services in Colorado as a CPA, however he has been providing accounting services for the Denver metro area for over thirty years. Colorado Non-Profit Audits has worked exclusively with small to midsized nonprofit organizations. We’re a peer-reviewed firm that strives to develop a long-term relationship with each of our clients by providing financial and operational leadership, guidance and advice built on trust and mutual respect. Contact us today for non-profit business accounting in the Denver area!"

Taylor Roth & Co
https://taylorroth.com/services/financial-audits/
800 Grant St #205, Denver, CO 80203
(303) 830-8109

Altruic Advisors, CPAs - Denver
https://altruic.com/nonprofit-audit-and-form-990
1600 Broadway #1600, Denver, CO 80202
(303) 532-9398

NFP Partners
https://nfppartners.com/services-outsourced-nonprofit-accounting/
3570 E 12th Ave, Denver, CO 80206
(303) 586-5011

EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING/OFFBOARDING

ONBOARDING/OFFBOARDING CHECKLIST

This onboarding checklist will help ensure your new hires are set up for success in their new role and will make sure you don’t miss any critical steps. Be sure to begin the onboarding process at least one week before your new employee’s start date.

Download Checklist

Employee Handbooks

The following are examples of church and diocesan employee handbooks:

GENERAL CONVENTION

General Convention is the highest governing body of The Episcopal Church, meeting every three years and made up of the Church’s bishops and elected lay and ordained deputies from each diocese. The 80th General Convention will meet in Baltimore, July 7 – 14, 2022. The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) Triennial meeting convenes concurrently.

Schedule

Health & Safety

News for Bishops and Deputies

Local GC Resources

Resources on the Archives of The Episcopal Church

Name Tags

Blank Name Tags   

  • Avery® White Adhesive Name Badges 5395, 2-1/3" x 3-3/8"; suggested because they reportedly do not roll up when worn or destroy clothing when pulled off.

Name Badges

CONNECTION CARDS

Welcome Cards / Pew Cards / Connection Cards… they have many names; but for the sake of clarity, let’s call them Connection Cards. Filling out a connection card is one of the first steps a visitor or newcomer will take to try to engage more fully with the church.

There are several things to consider:

1) Excellence: The Card should be designed to elicit information. So, let’s take the time to create a quality card that is easy to engage with. It should be designed with excellence and gives a user an idea of the level of importance the church places on being a truly welcoming faith community.

2) Clarity: Be clear in your messaging. Why are they filling out the card in the first place? No one likes giving their personal information wondering if they will begin receiving lots of and lots of spam emails; or even worse, receiving solicitations for money/a pledge or a gift. Be clear in what you are offering and what they should expect by giving their personal information. Include language such as “We’d like to connect with you about ways you can get plugged in at St. John’s. We will contact you by phone this week to welcome your personally and to provide you next steps to get connected. With your email address, we’ll subscribe you to our weekly eNewsletter, The St. John’s eWeekly, so that you can receive information about opportunities to connect to God and to others at St. John’s..”

3) Simplicity: The most crucial element of your church’s connection card is the number of form fields you request from visitors. The fewer form fields you display, the more cards you’ll have filled out. So the question you should ask yourself is, “What is the absolute least amount of information we need to capture from a new visitor?” Once you have basic information from someone, you can always follow up with them later to get more information. So if all you get is their first name and email address up front, you can always follow up later to get their physical address. They are more likely to give that information at a newcomer’s event or other ministry event.

Once you’ve created your Connection Cards, make sure you have a process by which you contact visitors. Who contacts them? What information do they provide, what questions do they ask, and what are the next steps/invitation to connect further with the church? If they are added to receive the eNewsletter, do they get an initial email welcoming them to the receiving of the weekly eNewsletter? Remember, if a visitor happens to visit during your stewardship season, the first point of contact shouldn’t be a request for a pledge or donation! Ensure your processes by which your visitors are contacted, communicated with, and entered into your database are well thought out. Your visitors will feel truly welcomed and will appreciate the care in which the church invited them to connect more deeply in the church community and with God.

EXAMPLES:

  • St. John's Episcopal Church: View Card

  • St. Andrew's Denver: Great stackable cards that include "New Around Here?" "Excuse Me, Where's The..." "Got Kids?" View Cards

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