St. Stephen Lutheran Church — Weekly Bulletin Template

A DesignCraft template for the weekly worship bulletin. It replaces the Microsoft Publisher file: same page size (7 × 8.5 in, printed bifold on landscape legal), same fonts and layout, automatic page numbers, and clean frames that don't overlap. Everything you might need to touch has a name you can find in the Layers panel.

One-time setup

1. Install DesignCraft (from the ArtCraft launcher, or https://getartcraft.com/apps/designcraft).
2. Keep the Document Fonts folder in the same folder as the template file (this repo's build/ folder is already set up that way). It contains the font for one symbol, ☩ (the sign-of-the-cross mark). DesignCraft finds it automatically when the file opens.
3. The bulletin text uses Garamond, which comes with Microsoft Office — if the computer has Office (it had Publisher), you already have it.

The weekly routine

First: File → Save As and name the file with this Sunday's date (for example Bulletin 11152026.designcraft). Never type into the template itself — keep it clean for next week.

Getting around: open Window → Layers. Every frame in the bulletin has a name there — click a name and the page shows that frame. The names that say "replace weekly" are yours to edit; the ones that say "fixed" or "rarely changes" you can ignore.

Replacing a picture (cover art, hymn scans): click the old picture so its frame is selected, then File → Place… (Ctrl+D) and pick the new image. The new picture replaces what was in the frame and keeps its proportions; the frame itself doesn't move or resize.

Changes every week

Page	Frame name in the Layers panel	What to do
1	Cover Sunday title (replace weekly)	Type the new Sunday name
1	Cover date and time (replace weekly)	Date and service time
1	Cover art (replace weekly)	Select the art, File → Place…
3	Liturgy introduction (replace weekly)	Type the week's introduction
3	Prelude (organist writes here)	Prelude title
4	Gathering hymn header (replace weekly)	Hymnal, number, title
4	Gathering hymn scan (replace weekly)	Select the scan, File → Place…
5–6	Hymn of praise music 1–6 (replace weekly)	Replace the music scans
7	Prayer of the Day (replace weekly)	The prayer
7	Word: first reading (replace weekly)	Reading + intro
8	Psalm header / tone / verses (replace weekly)	Number, tone scan, verses
9	Second reading (replace weekly)	Reading + intro
9	Gospel acclamation verse (replace weekly)	Select, File → Place…
10	Gospel reading (replace weekly)	The gospel text
11	Hymn of the day header + scan (replace weekly)	Header line, then scan
13	Anthem (replace weekly)	Title + lyrics
14	Distribution + communion hymns (numbers weekly)	Hymn numbers
15	Offering hymn header + scan (replace weekly)	Header line, then scan
18	Lamb of God scan (seasonal)	Only when the setting changes
19	Prayer after communion (replace weekly)	The prayer
19	Sending: blessing + dismissal (hymn header weekly)	Sending hymn number
20	Sending hymn scan (replace weekly)	Select, File → Place…
21	Flowers dedication (replace weekly)	The dedication message
21	Next Sunday readings (replace weekly)	Four citations
21	Serving table (update names + dates)	The two date columns
22	Prayer requests (replace weekly)	The week's petitions
23	Calendar (replace weekly)	Dates and events
23	Announcements (replace weekly)	The week's announcements

Changes with the seasons (check with the pastor)

• Confession form (page 3, frame "Gathering + confession") — ELW has seasonal forms.
• Hymn of praise music (pages 5–6): "This Is the Feast" in Easter season, "Glory to God" otherwise.
• Gospel acclamation (page 9): in Lent the Alleluia verse is replaced.
• Proper preface (page 16, frame "Great thanksgiving"): seasonal wording.
• Sanctus and Lamb of God scans (pages 16, 18): when the musical setting changes.

Practically never changes

• Page numbers — automatic. Nothing to do.
• The welcome page, the communion invitation box, office hours, staff names (until they change), the apostles' creed, the words of institution, the blessing and dismissal.
• The boxes, tables, fonts, page size, and margins. Leave the Styles panel alone; everything is already styled.

If something looks wrong

• A frame shows an overflow warning, or text disappears: there is more text than the frame holds. Shorten the text (a prayer or announcement ran long), or ask for help before printing — text that doesn't fit does not print.
• Boxes or squares instead of the ☩ symbol: the Document Fonts folder is not next to the file. Move the file and the folder together.
• Pink highlighting everywhere: the text is being shown in a substitute font because the computer lacks Garamond. This machine doesn't have it; the church computer does. It never shows in print. (Preferences → "Substituted Fonts" turns the highlighting off.)
• Hymn scans look fuzzy: that comes from the scan itself, not the template. Ask the bulletin service for a PDF or digital copy of the hymn page instead of a paper scan; digital art stays sharp at any size.

Printing

1. File → Export PDF… (all pages).
2. Send the PDF to the copier as before. The pages are individual 7 × 8.5 in sheets in reading order; the booklet imposition (two-up on landscape legal, double-sided, fold) happens at the copier exactly as it did with the Publisher file.

How this template was built

The template was generated from the church's two example bulletins (October 11 and November 8, 2026) rather than edited by hand:

• src/build_dcs.py — the layout, styles and content, as Python
• build/template.dcs — the machine-readable build script it emits
• assets/ — this week's example images (not in git; parish-use licences)
• ANALYSIS.md — project notes: design decisions and known limits

To change the template itself (new section, different fonts, more pages), edit src/build_dcs.py and rebuild — hand edits in the app would be overwritten by the next build. Ask Jez, or see ANALYSIS.md for how the pieces fit together.