Sunday Morning Announcement Guidelines

Announcements are an important way to communicate the many good things happening at the Winchester Unitarian Society. Yet, it is easy for the community to become overwhelmed by many announcements and/or wordy announcements. To ensure people truly hear your message and no one is overwhelmed by information, we have created these guidelines for all to follow:

If you want an announcement read during the Welcome and Announcements time in worship, please contact the Worship Associate and the worship leader (assuming it is not a guest speaker) who will be serving that Sunday. The Worship Associate and Worship Leader for each Sunday is communicated each week through the Highlights newsletter. When you contact the Worship Associate, your announcement must:

• Be sent by noon the day before your announcement will be read (Saturday)
• Be no more than 140 characters (not words). To measure, highlight the draft text and use the “word count” function in your word processing or email program. This will indicate how many characters you have used in your message. Edit as needed.
• We sometimes permit others, such as staff or committee members, to give announcements, longer than 140 characters. These announcements are reserved for 1) events happening very soon and/or 2) events/issues that are central to congregational life (such as the Annual Meeting or Auction.) In advance of these announcements, it is assumed that the event/issue has been communicated through written and short-form spoken announcements in previous weeks.

If you are giving a special announcement, we ask that you:

• Be brief! Be lively! The power of your message will be lost if you lose the attention of your audience.
• Write out what you will say in advance so you can measure the length and stay on track. You may wish to email your draft to the Worship Associate for input.

As there are often many requests for announcements, we reserve the right to:

• Edit the written or spoken text for brevity and/or clarity.
• Set aside the announcement for a week or two, depending on the timing and the number of other announcements.
• Decline making an announcement or permitting an announcement if the above guidelines are not followed.

Thank you for your assistance in making the announcement time in worship an efficient and pleasant experience for all!