The Parish Paper

The Parish Paper

The Parish Paper is published monthly by Herb Miller and Cynthia Woolever. It offers "ideas and insights for active congregations" and has been a popular feature of the MACUCC "The Mailing" for many years. The MACUCC has a paid subscription to The Parish Paper and a hard copy is sent with "The Mailing" to each church in the Conference. The Massachusetts Conference United Church of Christ’s purchase of a subscription to The Parish Paper INCLUDES:

Permission to provide copies to our staff and to the congregations within our jurisdiction in any of the following ways: E-mail, Postal, newspaper, newsletter, meetings, training events, and our Web site.
Permission for each congregation within our jurisdiction to (a) photocopy or electronically distribute for local use as many copies as it needs, (b) post them on its Web site, and (c) quote sentences and paragraphs.

Congregations within the MACUCC jurisdiction to which we distribute The Parish Paper do NOT have permission (a) to delete the copyright ownership notice, (b) to re-write, paraphrase, delete, or change the wording of sentences and paragraphs, or (c) to give ANY THIRD PARTY—other than our staff and constituents—permission to photocopy or reprint (in any quantity, no matter how small, whether for free distribution or for sale).

For PDF versions of issues dating back to 2008, visit macucc.org/parishpaper.

For other free resources and more information about copyright/photocopying permission please visitwww.theparishpaper.com

Published Articles

2/1/2020 - Get to Know the Community through Mapping

1/1/2020 - Repurpose Worship Space, Don’t Rebuild

12/1/2019 - Writing as a Tool for Community Engagement

11/1/2019 - Learning to Love Variety in Worship Song Selection

10/1/2019 - Let's Take a Walk: The Ministry of Accompaniment

9/1/2019 - A Team Approach to Worship Design

8/1/2019 - Learn More about Your Congregation through Focus Groups

7/1/2019 - Team Talk Can Strengthen Volunteer Ministry

6/1/2019 - Overcome Volunteer Burnout by Building Capacity

5/1/2019 - Tips for Starting and Managing a Worship Band

4/1/2019 - Building Your Community Ties with a Block Party

3/1/2019 - Media Technology for Worship

2/1/2019 - What is Contemporary Worship

1/1/2019 - Defining Church Vitality - Let Me Count the Ways

12/1/2018 - Getting to Know Our Neighbors

11/1/2018 - How to Develop Habits for Well-Being

10/1/2018 - Don’t Disagree, Deliberate: How to Lead Community Conversations in Your Church

9/1/2018 - Checking Up on Clergy Health: Assessing the Cost of Sacred Work

8/1/2018 - How to Raise Money for your Community Projects

7/1/2018 - Inviting, Informing, and Including Newcomers

6/1/2018 - Making the Nursery a Place of Belonging

5/1/2018 - How to Balance Hospitality and Church Security

4/1/2018 - Church Energy Use: Can We Harness Hope?

3/1/2018 - Finding Significance as a Small Church

2/1/2018 - Best Practices for Church Members Serving as Staff

1/1/2018 - 18 Questions for 2018

12/1/2017 - Does Our Pastor Need a Job Description?

11/1/2017 - Mistakes Churches Make During an Interim Ministry

10/1/2017 - Short-Term Mission Trips that Yield Long-Term Success

9/1/2017 - Equipping Volunteers Builds a Strong Community Church

8/1/2017 - What Promotes Hope?

7/1/2017 - How Can We Help Immigrants?

6/1/2017 - Ministry in the Midst of Tragedy

5/1/2017 - Financing the Local Church

4/1/2017 - Small is Big Again: Reclaiming Small Church Ministry

3/1/2017 - Guide to Good Governance

2/1/2017 - How Do Congregations Respond to Interfaith Couples?

1/1/2017 - Conquering the Cutback Syndrome

12/1/2016 - Can We Wait for God's Spark?

11/1/2016 - Does Your Congregation Suffer from Anxiety?

10/1/2016 - Keeping UP with the Pastor's Pay: Trends Behind Clergy Wages

9/1/2016 - What Keeps Congregations from Implementing New Ideas?

7/11/2016 - Multiple Roads to a Multicultural Congregation

7/1/2016 - When Charity Brings Anything But Relief

5/10/2016 - Making Congregations Greener

5/1/2016 - How Do New People Hear About Your Church?

4/1/2016 - How to Deal with Church Conflict

2/1/2016 - The Payday Lending Crisis: What Can Congregations Do?

1/1/2016 - How Ministry Teams Get Things Done

12/1/2015 - This Conversation ----- Again? Improving Church Communication

11/1/2015 - Navigating the Currents of Endowments and Reserve Funds

8/11/2015 - Can Congregations Reach Young Adults?

8/1/2015 - How to Enhance the Ministry of Associate Pastors

7/1/2015 - Congregational Strength is Always Plural

4/21/2015 - Seeking a Bivocational Calling for Pastors and Churches

3/2/2015 - What Churches Can Do to Increase Social Media Security

2/1/2015 - How to Avoid the Potholes on the Road to Retirement