The Summer Doldrums

In the days of tall ships, sailors relied on the wind to fill their sails and move their vessels across the ocean. Sometimes the wind gave out and the ship was stuck dead in the water.

Now that summer is in full swing, is your bulletin stuck in the doldrums? Nothing is going on? Does it seem like the whole congregation is on vacation? Are you looking for something to fill up the blank spaces on your summer pages?

Here is one answer for Catholic weekly bulletins.

Go to LPi’s Art and Media Portal [ www.portal.4lpi.com ] and scroll through the pages for this week until you come to “Text – Reflection”. This is a three paragraph reflection on Sunday’s gospel. You can use all three paragraphs, or use any of the paragraphs alone. Since this is a text file, you may highlight the words you want with your mouse and copy and paste them into your publication. It is a great way to make your bulletin more meaningful.

Here is an answer for anyone with summer space to fill.

Try doing a keyword search for the word summer. There are many graphics on general summer themes like nature, sun, fishing, picnics, and so on. They might make your readers smile. Pair a fun summer graphic with one of these quotes:

Summer is the season when a man thinks he can cook better on an outdoor grill than his wife can on an indoor stove. —Anonymous

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. —James Dent

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. —St. Francis of Assisi

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. —Sam Keen

Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more? —Bev Adams

[Don’t have access to LPi’s Art & Media Portal yet? Go to www.portal.4lpi.com and click Register.]