Policy for Announcements at Mass REVISED – May 14, 2010 All announcements must be approved by the appropriate Staff member who oversees a particular ministry and then emailed to the Director of Liturgy by noon on Thursday to have them incorporated in the weekend’s liturgy.  Announcements should be very brief (25 words or less)   Announcements should also be posted on the web site.   I. General Announcements General announcements are made following the prayer after Communion, and are read by the commentator. General announcements should appeal to a large segment of the community. Announcements must be 25 words or less. The maximum number of general announcements per weekend is five. If requests exceed five, the Director of Liturgy will consult the Team members making the requests to reschedule certain announcements where possible. General announcements are limited to twice per event per calendar year (exceptions are made for Eat at McDonalds fundraisers, Blood Drives, Blood Pressure Checks, and Fair Trade Coffee sales). If the submitted announcement is too long, it will be edited for brevity. If the announcement requires catechists, the parish staff may elect to have a more personal appeal by the priest. If a group is selling or distributing items or conducting sign-ups in the Welcome Center, they still may only announce the event twice. The use of the Welcome Center must be scheduled with the parish Business Office and is subject to availability. Under no circumstances can sign-up, selling or distribution activities take place in the Narthex. The only authorized exceptions to this are Souper Bowl Sunday, Tootsie Roll Drive , Wings marketing, and the distribution of seasonal prayer books/materials.   II. Special "In Person" Style Announcements "In person” style announcements are announcements of a slightly longer nature, where a more personal appeal is desired. These usually consist of a representative from the group coming forward to make the announcement themselves. “In Person” announcements are limited to one per group per year. A request for this type of announcement is first made with the appropriate parish staff member for your ministry. The request is forwarded to the Liturgy Office who will schedule the special “in person” announcement. The “in person” announcement must be no more than two minutes in length, and must be completely scripted (no ad libs) and must be screened by the parish staff member responsible. This review should be made two weeks prior to the assigned announcement date. “In Person” announcements  will be done following the prayer after Communion, and after all other announcements.