Communications

How to get information communicated at St. Luke's

If you need to communicate something at St. Luke’s, we have lots of avenues for you! First, look at your target audience and figure out which options would work best. Messaging is very important to cut through the clutter. Make sure you give your audience a reason to pay attention to your message and that it is clear and to the point. Also, please review our Styles and Standards Guide so that your message complies with standards established by the St. Luke’s “brand.”

We have lots of methods to strategically utilize:

• Sunday morning worship pulpit announcement
• Weekly Sunday Morning Bulletin
• Monthly Bulletin Shell
• Big Screen PowerPoint in Sanctuary/Entry Screen
• Kiosk in Fellowship Hall
• Flyer/Poster
• Pamphlet
• Article in The Chronicle (our newsletter)
• St. Luke’s Website/Webpage/Website Calendar
• Weekly Email Blasts (Week at a Glance and Sunday At St. Luke’s)
• Video “Ministry Moments”
• Press Coverage/Community Bulletin Boards/Newspapers
• Direct Mail

Feel free to contact the Communications Team (complete the contact form at this link (be sure to put a checkmark in the Communications Team box): http://stlukeshr.com/p_contact.asp).

Bulletin

Short announcements in the weekly Sunday bulletin should be submitted to the Office Administrator. Deadline is noon on Wednesday. Email here or drop your request off in the church office Mondays through Thursdays 8:00am-4:30pm, Fridays and Sundays 8:00am-noon. Text should be no longer than 40 words, with the topic, date, time, location, and contact information only.

Direct Mail

The direct approach, i.e., postcards for communicating with select subsets or personal invitations handed out between services can help get the word out to those you are trying to reach. Targeted mailing lists and labels are available through the office staff. All requests must comply with the St. Luke's UMC Confidentiality Policy. If you would like to do a targeted mailing to a specific group from the church database, call the Office Administrator at 303-791-0659x10. You may also qualify for bulk mailing rates to save money. *Make sure you have money in your budget, if not, please see our Finance Director. Allow 3 weeks lead-time.

Press

For notice placement in the external press (e.g., the Highlands Ranch Herald, Denver Post), contact your Communications Team at least 4-6 weeks in advance. Types of press include advertisements of upcoming events or human-interest stories (e.g., past mission trips).

Flyers / Posters

Flyers and posters are a great way to get the word out. Be sure to include the "who, what, where, when and why" of your event. Tips for a good flyer or poster:

• Include information about the event, date, time, place, and contact.
• Garamond or Gills Sans is the preferred font for St. Luke’s.
• Include a graphic that reprints clearly when copied and communicates something about your theme or event.

When you are ready for print, please send your final draft to our communications team for final editing. They will send it back to you ready to print! You may do all of your printing at the church. See the Finance Director for your copier code. Please contact the Office Administrator 303-791-0659 or email the office for approval of where to hang these items before you post! Posters may also be included in our Kiosk; contact the Director of Servant Ministry 303-791-0659 x20 or email Lynda or the Office Administrator 303-791-0659 or email the office.

Pamphlets

Pamphlets are a good tool for introducing all of our community to your group. They give a brief overview of what you're about. Include your group's mission statement and information about how to get involved. Please contact our Communications Team to publish this item. They can help you in writing text, editing, and keeping with St. Luke’s formats.

The Chronicle

The Chronicle is published 10 times a year.  It's a great place for post-event coverage. This is a great place to boast of successes! By recapping great events, we create momentum toward next year's efforts. Upcoming major events and schedules are also published here, i.e. Advent, Easter, Stewardship.

Issue	Deadline for Submissions
February	January 20
March	February 20
April	March 20
May	April 20
June/July	June 1
August	July 20
September	August 20
October	September 20
November	October 20
December/January	December 1

Deadlines occasionally change due to special circumstances. Send all Chronicle information here.

Email Blasts

Email may be sent to various St. Luke's members, to various groups of members, or to all St. Luke's members who have requested email as a form of contact. 

The St. Luke's web site, http://www.stlukeshr.com "Members Connection" contains email addresses of some individual members: go to eMinistry>Members Connection

 

The Ministry Email Lists section under eMinistry>Email lists on the web site allows mail to be sent to various groups at St. Luke's; new email lists may also be easily created. 

The Newsletter Email Lists section under eMinistry>Email lists on the web site also allows you to add your name and email address to the lists used to send general information to all St. Luke's members, such as Week-At-A-Glance (below).

Week-At-A-Glance

Short announcements can be included in this weekly email blast and must be submitted to the Office Administrator by noon on Tuesdays. Send email here or drop your request off in the church office Mondays-Thursdays from 8:00am-4:30pm and Fridays & Sundays 8:00am-noon. Please keep your items as brief as possible with topic, date, time, location, and contact information. Requested items will be reviewed by the Senior Pastor and Office Administrator for relevance to our St. Luke's community.

PowerPoint (Big Screen/Entry Screen)

To advertise your event on the video screen before Sunday services, send a brief announcement here. The deadline is 3:00pm Thursday. Text should be no longer than one or two sentences, with the topic, date, time and location. *Please add a note as to when the event can/should be removed. Announcements will be run no more than two Sundays before an event and will also cycle through on the screen in the entry.

Kiosk (Fellowship Hall)

To advertise your event on the Kiosk in the Fellowship hall, go to stlukeshr.com/kiosk or contact the Director of Servant Ministry 303-791-0659 x20 or email Lynda or the Office Administrator 303-791-0659 or email the office.

Pulpit Announcement

Please let one of the office staff or pastors know if you would like to make an announcement; they will let you know whether time is available at the beginning of the service. Videos (see below) are preferred over personal announcements except in unusual situations, to better control the time and to insure that all services hear the same announcement. If you do give an announcement, keep it to one minute or less. If you would like to request one of the pastors to make the announcement, contact the Office Administrator 303-791-0659 or email the office; there is no guarantee that the pastor will be able to make the announcement.

Video

To have a video prepared (e.g., a Ministry Moment shown at the beginning of Sunday worship services), please contact Ken Fong 303-346-7057 or email Ken at least three weeks in advance. These videos can be a good way to provide exposure to a small group, to advertise upcoming events, or to highlight a special occasion. The current schedule for videos is available here.

Web Site

Information, registrations and other forms of feedback are easily handled by creating a special event webpage. Direct the St. Luke's Community to your event under the Upcoming Events section of the main website. Include pictures of past events, and detailed information about your event that is accessible 24 hours a day from the St. Luke's website. Examples include Family Camp, Nursery Reservation, and Youth Mission Trips. Send submissions to the website team here. Three weeks of lead-time are recommended.

Other Communication Tools 

Church Event Calendar  We have an events calendar and an Upcoming Events calendar to show what's going on at St. Luke's, such as small group meetings, rehearsals and classes. Contact the Office Administrator 303-791-0659 or email the office to schedule these events.

Get Connected Center 

Please make sure you have any flyers/signups located at the center. If it is a large event (i.e.: any retreat…) or collection of money, the small group is responsible for assigning a person from that team to be present on Sunday mornings.  If you need a separate table, please discuss the need with the Director of Servant Ministry 303-791-0659 x20 or email Lynda prior to the Sunday you wish to set-up.

Office Machines 

Our copiers are available for use with authorization. Making copies is the responsibility of the committee, not the office staff. If you need assistance in using the machine or getting a user number, please contact the Office Administrator or Finance Director. If you have a large quantity of copies, please check with the Office Administrator to set up a time when you may come in to use the copier.

Our computers are not for “general” use. Arrangements can be made with staff members, if necessary, for the use of a computer. Other office machines (folder, laminator, binder, etc…) can only be used with authorization.

Mailing 

Postage Meter and Notecards are available in the church office from the Office Administrator. You will be responsible for taking your mailings to the post office, not the office staff, unless it can be picked up by the postman. If your mailings need to be weighed and metered, you will be responsible for taking them to the post office to have this done. We have a small scale in the office that you may use. Your team will be required to provide volunteers for folding, stuffing and stamping the materials.

Office Supplies and Stationary 

Office supplies are kept in the office. If you need something please ask the Office Administrator if it is available, if not, it will be ordered for you. Allow at least 7 days or more…don’t wait! If you take something from the workroom cabinet and it’s the next to last one, please let the Office Administrator know. If you need a large amount of supplies, please let the Office Administrator know 1-2 weeks in advance of your project time so it can be ordered for you or your team.

 

Adult Education supplies – please contact Rev. Brad Laurvick. 303-791-0659 x12 or email Brad
Children’s Ministry supplies – please contact Children’s Ministry – Sharon Oliver 303-791-0659 x27 or email Sharon

Letterhead stationary and matching envelopes: Please do not take these without first consulting with the Office Adminstrator. Please use letterhead at a minimum, as it is very expensive. Other paper and envelopes are also available in the church office.

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Additional information:

A large archive of photos of previous St. Luke's activities is available from Sharon Oliver and/or Ken Fong.  Unfortunately, they are not yet well organized.  Contact them if you would like a copy of a photo; please give the approximate date and description of the event.