Share Your Ideas

Have an idea for Seeds?

Background
Seeds for the Parish is a resource paper for congregational leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  It is published bimonthly (six times a year) and has a circulation of 205,000.  Editorial offices are located in the ELCA Communication Services (Chicago, Illinois).

Audience
Seeds for the Parish goes to lay leaders as well as clergy.  These include people with involvement in every facet of parish life: worship, Christian education, stewardship, youth ministry, evangelism, social ministry, building and property management and more.  Readers include people from many walks of life and a variety of lifestyles and cultural backgrounds.

Style
Seeds for the Parish seeks to maintain a popular style: readable, interesting and practical.  Associated Press (AP) Stylebook guidelines are followed.

Features and Departments
Seeds for the Parish highlights resources and programs for use in the congregation.  No matter the specific content, articles always point to a parish resource or program idea. Feature stories of approximately 300-400 words make up six pages of the main eight-page section of the paper.  A two-page, "Ripe for Picking" section, includes brief 100-160 word descriptions of resources.

Issue Emphases
Seeds for the Parish does not have "theme issues." Issues are planned to coincide with planning for the church year, the congregational program year and other events of importance to congregations and their ministries.

New programs and resources are given a high priority for inclusion, as are items that relate to the mission of the ELCA, the Churchwide Initiatives and other ongoing ELCA efforts.
Time-sensitive pieces should be sent at least seven months in advance (for example, a Christmas article should be submitted in May or June).

Photography
Good photography is always welcomed.

To submit editorial material, send it to:
Sarah Carson, editor,
Seeds for the Parish
ELCA
8765 W Higgins Rd, Chicago, IL 60631
or Drop us a line!