When one speaks of a minister's Sunday preparation, it is often the sermon which comes to mind. However, it is a lot more than that. Here follows a glimpse of typical Sunday preparations in total. It will of course vary a lot from minister to minister: mid-week, peruse the sermon subject, and do background reading. Later in the week, write a draft, revise it, then rehearse and add various marks to the notes. Peruse (for spiritual balance) various prayers and select, and on Sunday morning revise throughout by hand. Prepare a sermon outline, as well as something educational or informative to go on the back of it. Ensure that it is copied for worshippers. Towards the end of the week, select hymns and a reading, and pass to the office secretary. Fill in / out an order of service, and write up an introduction to the service, as well as a customary Sunday joke. Run through the order of service a few times, to be well acquainted with it. Plan one or two special items for each service: sometimes organising personally, often delegating, sometimes putting people through their paces in Church before hand. If required, compile the monthly newsletter, with devotional input and news, and hand to the office secretary for duplication. Peruse the Church bulletin and Church rosters for clues as to what might be relevant on a given Sunday. Finally, check the sound and video systems for the service. OBSERVATION: I have omitted some things here, but it should give a fair impression. I would think that these are all things which weave into a viable or sustainable Church, not just perfunctory tasks. All of the above involves, I would guess, 100-200 pages of reading, and 20-30 pages of writing each week.
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