Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
A liberal religious congregation  in the Minneapolis area

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COMMUNICATION TIPS
Home  |  Communication News
Updated March 21  2008

What is Community News?
Order of Service - Community News
The focus of Community News during the Sunday service is to impart congregation-wide information to the Fellowship. Topics are generally planned and introduced by Committees with Minister Mary Samuels and Office Manager Janet Stevens organizing available dates. This will preserve our sense of community by hearing about the things our Fellowship as a whole is doing. It will also cut down on lengthy oral announcements that may pertain to only small groups.

If you want to share news that is not committee-related, nor is congregation-wide, what are your choices?
  • Joys and Concerns – for personal news
  • Silent Announcements – for MVUUF-related activities (committees, groups, activities, etc.)
  • About Our People – also for personal news, but is more wide-reaching than Joys and Concerns (put the information about the play you’re in here)
  • Group Email lists – groups are encouraged to use an e-list to keep in touch regarding meeting cancellations, etc. Our webmaster, Kathy Park, can help set one up for your group
Even given all these outlets, there may be things that slip through the cracks. Please talk to someone on the Communication Committee if you have questions or comments regarding Community News or any other communication item.
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Uni-Sun Tips
  • PROOFREADING 101 or How to Keep Our Copy Editors From Pulling Out Their Hair
  1. The name of our newsletter is the Uni-Sun (hyphenated and italicized).
  2. Look up names in the directory and spell them right.
  3. Spell out the names of the months.
  4. Avoid using “RE” and other abbreviations that may be confusing to visitors and new members.
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How the MVUUF Calendar Works
All MVUUF and community activities that require the use of any part of the building must be recorded on the Event Calendar. The Calendar is located in the main office. Janet Stevens, Office Manager, is the Keeper of the calendar. She records the necessary information on the calendar and will help resolve conflicts. All communication with Janet should be done either by e-mail or by leaving a note for her in her mailbox.

Here are the steps you need to take to successfully reserve the building.
  1. When you are planning an activity, check the Calendar for available dates. You can check in the office or on the website  or e-mail Janet.
  2. Once you have selected a tentative date, ask Janet to put it on the calendar. You will need: event name, date, time, contact person, the room requested, how much room needed if event will use more than one room.
  3. When the date is firm, let Janet know. (If your event will use the kitchen, see When You Want to Use the Kitchen).
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The Wall
Please put material you would like posted on The Wall (downstairs hallway) in Janet Steven’s mailbox. Someone from the Office will post it. Please use this wall to post detailed information about your event as a way to keep the Silent Announcements brief.
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Silent Announcements Deadline
Please have your Silent Announcement submitted by Noon on Wednesday morning. This allows Janet Stevens, Office Manager, ample time to format and copy them for insertion into the Sunday Bulletin. Submissions may be made by calling Janet at 952-884-8956 or e-mailing her. Keep the following in mind when adding an item to the Silent Announcements:
  • Keep Them Brief – use them primarily as reminders. Your main announcement should be in the Unisun and on the website.
  • Include Time, Date, Location and Contact information
  • Include Where to find additional information - (Uni-Sun, website, the wall, sign-up sheets, etc.
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Where Have all the Nametags Gone?
Sure, some of the faces on Sunday morning are familiar, but do you know everyone? How about learning a new name or two, and letting someone know yours? Wearing your nametag every week lets everyone, from old-timers to newcomers, meet some new people and keep everyone’s names straight. If you have lost your nametag, please sign up on the sheet downstairs to get a new one.  Nametags can be stored on the Nametag Kiosk in the entranceway.
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Email Mail Lists
Communicating with Mail Lists at MVUUF

Do you have a particular interest in issues of the environment (global warming and green sanctuary), social justice, peacemaking, or theater?  Would you like to share information and discuss the subject with fellow MVUUF'ers?

Do that by joining an MVUUF email list for the topic and using one email address to share sources of information and express opinions on the issue with everyone else who has signed up.

Sign up by sending an email to webmaster@mnvalleyuu.org and specifying the list(s) you want to be on.  Or look for the signup sheets downstairs.

PLEASE NOTE: We add the email address to the list that is on file for you in our database in the office.  If that address is not up-to-date, send an update request to the Office Manager at office@mnvalleyuu.org.

You can also signup for these notification lists:
•    Notification when the Uni-Sun is ready.  Download an electronic issue at your convenience.
•    Notification of Activities Committee events
•    Notification of the deadline for submitting material to the Uni-Sun.

We also have lists used by the to communicate to members, friends, and visitors, and we have notification/discussion lists reserved for members of the Board of Trustees and members of various committees to do their work.  Notify the webmaster if you want a list for your committee or activity group at MVUUF.
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About Our People

Have you gotten a new job? Do you have news to share about a child? Would you like to promote your business? Are you involved in an non-Fellowship activity that you want others to know about? Do you have a personal cause worth shouting about? All this and more can be shared with the Fellowship community through the Uni-Sun column and the website page headed  About Our People.

About Our People is the perfect place to share those things that just don’t fit elsewhere in the newsletter or Silent Announcements.

Here is a little background. The Communication Committee wrote Policies and Procedures (Policies) for the website, newsletter and Silent Announcements. While writing them, we adhered to a long-standing policy that the Unisun not accept advertising. Well, that worked as a concept, but we started running into the inevitable gray area. Some members wanted to know whether other members had businesses they could patronize. Some members started their own businesses and wanted to let other members know. What about the musicians and actors in our midst who wanted to share performance information?

Thus was born About Our People. Here is a list of things that can be included on the page: brief personal news such as  family events (births, weddings, promotions, deaths, etc.), business related news (special events, classes, etc.), and personal news (participation in plays, concerts, etc.)

Information can be submitted to About Our People by sending it to the newsletter editor by the submission deadline (usually the 20th of each month). Questions or comments? Anyone on the committee can help you out.
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Using the microphone for joys, concerns, announcements and dialogue
Gentle Reminder
When using the microphone for joys, concerns, announcements and dialogue, please stand, so we all can see you, state your name so we can get to know you, and hold the microphone close to your face so we can hear you. 

This is greatly appreciated by
  • Parents listening with their young children in the foyer
  • Persons in the meeting hall who have difficulty hearing
  • Persons who listen to the tape of the service. Our services are taped so those who missed the day can listen at a later time. You can’t be heard if you don’t use the microphone.
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Mailboxes
 We have mailboxes for all MVUUF members, friends and staff. They are located in the hallway near the back stairs. Please remember to check yours weekly.

The mailboxes can always be used to exchange items with another individual - books, etc.  If you have an all-congregation flyer, however,  please check with the Minister or the Office Manager who are the gatekeepers.
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Publicity in the Larger Community.
 The MVUUF  Publicity Chair, is responsible for submitting material to newspapers, radio, and television   While this is mainly community newspaper material now, we expect this to expand. 
  • Advertisements: –The Publicity Chair submits Sunday service advertisements which appear in the Sun-Current newspapers Religion section for Bloomington, Richfield, Eden Prairie, Edina, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Lakeville, Savage, and Rosemount.  Advertisements are paid for by MVUUF and are part of the Communication Committee’s budget.
  • Articles, Press Releases, Calendar Items: – These are submitted to the Sun-Current and Minneapolis Star Tribune to promote a special event or speaker.  They are usually written by MVUUF or committee members. All submissions to outside media must be coordinated with the Publicity Chair and the Communication Committee. The Publicity Chair knows the publications’ deadlines and submission guidelines and is familiar with articles that other groups within MVUUF may want submitted. Newspapers will not print an infinite number of press releases. We (MVUUF) want to choose what is important, not the publication.
When you are in the early stages of planning your event, let the Publicity Chair know so appropriate publicity can be well planned.
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