Many church newsletters cross my desk. Some are snappy, richly filled with energetic materials and compelling to spend time with. Others are lackluster, tired, predicable and short on engaging material. In this day of electronics and creative web sites, many people call for abandoning weekly or monthly newsletters, what with the printing and postal costs.Many church newsletters cross my desk. Some are snappy, richly filled with energetic materials and compelling to spend time with. Others are lackluster, tired, predicable and short on engaging material. In this day of electronics and creative web sites, many people call for abandoning weekly or monthly newsletters, what with the printing and postal costs.Not so fast. The printed vehicle, in some ways, still trumps the electronics-delivered message. First of all, a portion of a congregation never will be online. Some forthrightly say they dont intend to learn computers and insist on getting printed news and information. There is the portability of the printed page. The newsletter can be carried around the house, passed along to anyone (not just the on-line crowd), filed away, even cut up, with part of it going into a scrapbook or placed on the refrigerator door.Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, I produced our monthly church newsletter. Believe it or not, I produced it on a mimeograph. I typed it on a blue stencil and made my corrections with a stinky blue fluid. I played church reporter, dug for news from the congregation the old-fashioned way and made sure all the upcoming events were completely explained and promoted. Todays church newsletters are far, far better because of technology, graphics and the ease to import elements to make them inviting and illustrated. Most congregations mail periodic newsletters to the entire membership, although some may make them available for pick-up first at church and selected other members having them mailed to them. That is geared to ensure everyone has accessibility to the churchs news. Certainly, parishes that make the news available only in the weekend bulletin for Mass fail to deliver it to those who skip or miss weekend Masses, although virtually all parishes today post them on their web sites. But then again, only those with computers have access to it. Praise to the church staffer or volunteer who produces the newsletter who gathers it all together, lays it out and has the skills for conciseness and clarity. This week, Black Mountain Baptist Church in Cave Creek sent me its new full-color, six-page monthly newsletter, The Buzz. It complements its web site, bmbcaz.com. The web site offers a link to download the newsletter. What makes the newsletter sing are the colored photos, quick profiles of staff and volunteers, including family write-ups on deacons. Calendars are colorful. Programs are smartly explained, and there is a page of word search games, a cartoon and book club features. The new childrens play area is showcased in photos.Some advice to congregation members: 1) if you have campus responsibilities, regularly keep your church apprised of what they should know; 2) write items to the point with essential information; 3) observe deadlines submit materials as early as possible; 4) send them electronically so the editor can cut/paste, instead of doing lots of key strokes; and 5) help produce material with surprise and with stimulating and insightful ideas. Remember the church newsletter knits a faith community together — putting everyone on the same page.