February 28, 2011

Academy Awards and Church Announcements: Time to Cue the Orchestra

How many of you have sat through announcements in church, wishing you could treat them like acceptance speeches at the Oscars?

When they get too long – or boring, you could cue the orchestra (or organ) music, and the teen daughter of a celebrity could politely escort the announcer away from the microphone.

Church announcements are a tricky thing. We need them, no doubt about it. We know that important items need to be communicated time and again in a number of venues – from the church bulletin to Facebook updates to e-mail reminders.

The announcement in church is another important tool for sharing information. But all too often, it’s a recitation of event listings mumbled by an inarticulate vestry member or the opportunity for some stage-starved parishioner to try and expand on his or her 15 minutes of fame.  

I think announcements are done best with exuberance and excitement – they’re about the ministries of the church, so don’t let humdrum reminders drive down interest and energy. 

Regardless of where the announcement time occurs in the service, they should always begin with a very warm welcome to guests and an invitation to fellowship after the service. Be spartan in the number of events to announce – three good announcements trumps 10 boring ones any day, and it would be great if they reflected the breadth of ministry in your church. Share an upcoming youth event, give details about the next mission activity and remind folks of the upcoming vestry meeting. Then direct folks to the bulletin for more details. 

Repeated begging or guilt-tripping for volunteers should get an immediate response from the orchestra pit. Let your committee chairs and vestry members call folks, send out e-mail requests or ask people personally at coffee hour. 

And the tenth time the music director takes announcement time to chastise folks for not singing in the choir is at least nine times too many. 

I don’t have an opinion of whether the announcer should be clergy or laity – as long as the person can engage parishioners, occasionally laugh and offer an authentic invitation to parish activities. 

And wouldn’t it be great if the announcer started the church announcements like most of last night’s winners: “It’s an honor just to be here.”