Day #1496

February 4, 2018 

Let me begin with the assumption it was meant to be helpful (I'll explain what "it" was in a moment). And perhaps I’m a little sensitive because I was once a church secretary and know how impossible it is for each letter, newsletter, bulletin, report, etc. to be flawless, but still hated having mistakes in what I produced. Or perhaps I am sensitive because I proofread almost everything that comes out of the office and also know I am not flawless and that I miss a few typos. But when a bulletin was left on the secretary’s desk with a typo circled and only the word typo written beside it, it made me sad. Not as sad there was a mistake as I was sad that a slightly different way wasn’t used to point it out. Here’s an example of what I would have loved to see written: you do so much work that comes out perfectly that I thought you might want to fix this. I’ve noticed it this way for a couple of weeks.

Again, I’m assuming it was meant to be helpful, but perhaps a reminder that we are all in this together, to be the best, do the best, live the best, and put others first the best we can would make a difference in how we “speak” to one another. Being a follower of Jesus and living in community is not a competition, it’s a partnership, especially living in the community of the church. 

Either way, I removed the bulletin from the secretary’s desk, made certain the “error” wasn’t repeated the next week, and will now get off my soapbox. And because I assume it was meant to be helpful (yes, I’m repeating myself), thank you for your time in so carefully reading the bulletin that you saw the error and pointed it out. 

Blessings.

PS By the way, I think this goes for all things in living in community, not just bulletins. How we "point out" things to others is important. Again, partnership - we're in this thing called life together.