It isn’t necessarily trash that occupies my floorboards. It is stuff that, once upon a time, I put in my car because I needed to take it somewhere. However, I really just never feel the need to clean it out.
There is one exception. About once every three or four months, I remove a stack of church bulletins from my console that would rival the thickness of any encyclopedia. If I did not do this regularly, my car would quickly be overtaken by these weekly announcement sheets that I can’t bring myself to leave at church.
I realize that church bulletins are useful. I understand that they serve a purpose. I get important updates and friendly reminders from ours every week. However, I can’t help but to feel wasteful every time I dump a Trapper Keeper full of those bad boys in the recycling been.
So I have decided to make a change. I want to do something different, something productive with the church bulletins after I am finished with them. Here are some options I have come up with.
1. Bookmarks – Half the time, I leave church with the bulletin wedged somewhere in my sword anyway. So I may as well keep it in there so I don’t lose my spot as I plunder through the book of Judges. You can hang onto them and use them for other books as well, like the book I plan to have out by the beginning of the year.
2. Paper mache – I know it’s messy, but paper mache stuff is really cool. Especially piñatas. They have candy inside. So yes, paper mache church bulletin piñatas filled with candy. That idea is hard to beat.
3. Windshield handbills – On your way out of church, find a random car and quickly stash your bulletin under one of the windshield wipers. Maybe that person will think God is trying to speak to them and they will reread the bulletin tirelessly until they have it memorized. Maybe they will notice an event announcement and decide to attend. Maybe they will take the time to correct the typos and alert the church office. See, sharing your church bulletin is a lot like paying it forward…and a little like littering.
4. Cut and paste notes – You know those cool cut and paste notes where people use words from different magazines to make a message? Sure, you mostly see them as ransom notes in movies, but they are still really cool. And magazines are super expensive these days, so it is kind of a win-win. The bulletins get re-used and you save money on magazines.
What do you do with your old church bulletins?