Worship Folder Templates for Microsoft Word
After several months of development, I am very happy to announce the release of Worship Folder Templates for Microsoft Word. You will instantly see the care and precision that went into designing each and every template that comes with the three uniquely styled themes.
These templates are identical to the Apple Pages templates in both look and features, and just like their Pages counterpart, they are very easy to use. Here is some general information about these templates:
Word for Windows and Mac
Built from the ground up, the templates take advantage of the distinct features of Word on Windows and Apple computers. Your download will include 14 themed services: 7 for Windows and 7 for Mac.
System Fonts
Great care was taken in choosing the fonts for each theme. In order to make using the templates the easiest it can possibly be, it was decided that system fonts would be used that come preinstalled with Windows and Word. The Word for Mac versions will also use the system fonts included with Mac OS X.
Styles
Every theme comes with its own paragraph and character styles that help you preserve the formatting, fonts, and layout of each of template. These one-click options, make it incredibly easy to keep that professional look and feel to a worship folder.
Placeholders & Text Fields
Every template is loaded with 100-300 text fields that make replacing text completely effortless. Text Fields are different from the normal text you type into a document. They look the same, but once you click within a sentence or paragraph, the entire block of text becomes highlighted. This makes it easy to copy and paste sentences and paragraphs of text without effecting the text around it and to keep the formatting of the template styles.
I hope you enjoy these templates. They will certainly make your life easier as you build and print worship folders every week. You can also purchase the entire collection of templates that will save you $20. More information can be found here.
Elements: Vines
A new set of Elements has been released called Vines. These graphics can be used throughout the year in your worship folders, Bible studies, or any other creative uses that may come to mind.
In addition to the weekly art that is posted every week, I am hard at work finishing the Microsoft Word versions of the Worship Folder Templates and the next Symbols pack. A soon as these are completed this spring, I will be hard at work on the next sets of Elements, such as flora, fauna, cloud, fire, and other graphics that transcend the use of the typical weekly art set.
Stay tuned for lots of new art this spring and other surprises that are in store for this summer which I'm sure you'll love.
Style Guide - Art
Today I am releasing what is essentially a 'beta' version of my art style guide for worship folders. This will be one in a series of guides that will be roughly 20-30 pages each that outline the best practices when working with and publishing a worship folder. The art style guide can be found at the bottom the Worship Folder Templates page. I am looking forward to complete these over the remainder of the year and hope that they will help you in creating clean, simple, and professional-looking worship folders for your members and visitors.
I also added some samples of the worship folder templates to the same page. These PDFs are examples of completed folders that were made using the Modern, Classic, and Royal template themes.
Some Music
Almost every week, I schedule out a block of time to write and record music. This process dates back to high school, but it wasn't until later in college (2004-05) that I began focusing on writing sacred music. I am currently developing a website that will feature my music, both sacred and secular, and decided to share some of that music here.
Since it is Holy Week, I thought it appropriate to post some of my compositions for Good Friday. The sheet music is made available under the audio. Also provided are some clips from the Worship Templates promo video. Hope you enjoy them and God's blessings this Holy Week.
O Darkest Woe
This is an early version of a short piece written for this year's Good Friday Tenebrae service. As is the case with nearly all of my choral music, I will record myself singing the song to help the singers and musicians practice it. The final version now has an alto voice and a tenor recorder in place of the flute.
Quaerite Dominum
Here is a version of a canticle from Isaiah.
My God, My God (Psalm 22)
This was written last year and sung my a small group choir. I also included the worship folder graphics and notes below.
Early Piano Demo
Here's an early recording of the music for the worship templates video. I'll quickly sketch out the composition on the piano, and in most cases, I will also record it using the incredible Zoom H4N . I had bought this handy little device for my Senior Church History project at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary called Opus 54.
Guitar & Piano Version
This version sounds close to the final mix, but I felt that the piano made it a little too dramatic.
Final Version
After removing the piano, the intro was reduced and the ending slightly edited. The video was then fine-tuned to match the audio.
Worship Folder Templates
I am pleased to announce that Worship Folder Templates are now available for the Apple's Pages app on Mac OS X and iOS. It has been a long time in the making, but I am sure you will be as pleased with them as I am.
Three unique themes were created to give you the flexibility to choose which one best suits your congregation. Each of these themes come with 7 different orders of service to help get you started. Placeholder text and images are used throughout the templates to make inserting the liturgy into your worship folder a breeze.
Be sure to check out the User Manual at the bottom of the page here for a more in-depth look at all the features these templates have to offer. There is also a special discount if you wish to purchase all the themes and templates ($20 in savings). Having the complete collection of templates can be quite beneficial if you wish to change the look and feel of a service during different seasons of the church year.
The style guide for art in worship folders will be coming early next week. Trust me, it will be worth the wait. Thanks again for all of you who support Paramentics and look for some art for Easter 2C and 3C that will be coming soon!