Sheet or booklet
Most parishes print a booklet every week when half their services would be better served by a sheet.
| Single A4 sheet | Folded A5 booklet | |
|---|---|---|
| Holds | One side: an outline. Both sides: an outline with readings | 8 to 20 A5 pages: the full liturgy |
| Type size | Can be generous — 12 to 14pt | 10 to 11pt to fit |
| Preparation | Minutes | Longer, and needs imposing |
| Paper per person | One sheet | Two to five sheets |
| Handling in the pew | Awkward — flaps, drops, no spine | Behaves like a book |
| Best for | Congregations who know the service; all-age; midweek | Visitors, festivals, anything with full texts |
When a sheet is genuinely better
- The congregation knows the service. If everyone has the words by heart or there are service books in the pews, a booklet reprints what nobody reads. An outline with hymn numbers, readings and notices is enough.
- All-age worship. Shorter is the point — see all-age worship.
- Midweek services, where the congregation is small and regular.
- Large print. A4 at 14pt takes a service that would need many A5 pages — see large print.
When you need the booklet
- Visitors. Christmas, Easter, baptisms, civic services. Anyone who cannot navigate from memory needs the full text.
- Anything where the congregation has lines beyond the responses they know — a responsive eucharistic prayer, an unfamiliar confession.
- When the pew books have gone. Many parishes removed them and never replaced them; the booklet is now the only text in the building.
- Festivals, where the booklet is also a keepsake.
The hybrid most parishes land on
A permanent booklet holding the unchanging liturgy, printed in bulk once or twice a year, plus a weekly single-sheet insert carrying the readings, hymns, collect and notices. It is the cheapest arrangement per week and the one most parishes drift towards on their own.
Its weakness is that the two drift apart: the seasonal booklet says one thing, the insert assumes another, and nobody reconciles them until a visitor asks. If you use this pattern, put a date on the booklet as well as the insert so you know which generation you are holding.
Questions
Should we print a service sheet or a folded booklet?
A single sheet suits congregations who know the service, all-age worship, midweek services and large print. A folded booklet is needed where visitors are present, where the congregation has lines beyond the familiar responses, or where there are no service books in the pews.
What is the cheapest way to produce a weekly order of service?
A permanent booklet holding the unchanging liturgy, printed in bulk once or twice a year, with a weekly single-sheet insert for the readings, hymns, collect and notices.