Bulletin Rescue Free file check

Publisher is going away. A plan for the Presbyterian church office.

For church secretaries and administrators in PC(USA) congregations and other Presbyterian churches, with years of bulletins and newsletters saved as .pub files.

The dates

Oct 1
2026

If you pay for Microsoft 365, you lose access to Publisher on October 1, 2026.

Oct 13
2026

If you bought Publisher 2021 (or Office 2021) outright, it keeps running, but support ends October 13, 2026.

What's in a Presbyterian office's Publisher folder

Open the shared drive in most Presbyterian church offices and you'll find some version of this:

  • The weekly bulletin. The order of worship, from the Call to Worship and the Prayer of Confession through the Assurance of Pardon, the readings, the Prayers of the People and the hymns, with the announcements on the back.
  • The monthly newsletter, often with a column from the pastor and a calendar page.
  • Once-a-year pieces: Christmas Eve, Holy Week and Easter, the stewardship campaign, and the service for ordaining and installing elders and deacons.
  • Everything else: Vacation Bible School flyers, memorial service bulletins, the annual report cover.

In PC(USA) congregations, much of the wording comes from the Book of Common Worship (2018 edition) and the hymn numbers from Glory to God (2013), with readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. That text is easy to find again. The layout your office built around it is not.

Your order of worship is a template, not a document

Each week's bulletin changes, but the skeleton stays the same. That skeleton is the thing worth saving carefully, because it holds a dozen small decisions your office made years ago and nobody wrote down. Before you move anything, print last Sunday's bulletin and circle these:

  • How the congregation's parts are marked. Many churches set unison prayers and responses in bold.
  • How you mark standing, often an asterisk with a note such as "Please stand as you are able."
  • How hymns are listed: number, title and tune name, and in what order.
  • Where the readings, the sermon title and the prayer list go.
  • The fonts and sizes, including any large-print copy.

That printed page becomes your checklist when the template is rebuilt, whether you do it yourself or we do it for you.

Save the files, in this order

  1. Last Sunday's bulletin and the newsletter. You need both next week.
  2. The once-a-year services. The ordination and installation service in particular only comes around after the congregation elects new officers, so it's easy to forget until the day.
  3. The back archive. All of it, in one pass.

If Publisher still opens (check File, then Account: "Microsoft 365" stops on October 1), save each file as a PDF and keep the .pub file beside it. Microsoft's free bulk script can convert a whole folder, but only on a computer with a working, licensed Publisher. If Publisher is already gone, LibreOffice Draw opens most .pub files for free, though newsletters with stories running across linked boxes can come out jumbled. Our free guide covers each route.

Canva, and proving you're a 501(c)(3)

For the bulletin you still edit every week, most offices are moving to Canva. Canva for Nonprofits gives eligible organizations the paid features free. In the US, Canva asks for proof of 501(c)(3) status, churches are decided case by case, and approval takes a few days.

PC(USA) congregations are covered by the denomination's group ruling, which dates from 1964. Since June 2026, a PC(USA) website (pcusagroupruling.org) produces your church's inclusion letter using its EIN or PIN, where before you had to write to the Legal Office. That letter is the proof to send.

Other Presbyterian churches, such as PCA, EPC or ECO congregations, should ask their presbytery or denominational office. The PCA, for example, publishes its own group exemption information.

Canva makes the final call. If you're not approved, the free plan still handles a weekly bulletin. When you're ready to move the template, our step-by-step Canva guide covers the folded booklet, fonts and printing.

Who needs to say yes

Doing it yourself costs nothing but time. If you'd rather hand it off, our prices are fixed and all under $500, which in many churches is within what the office or a committee chair can approve without waiting for the next session meeting. Check your own spending policy. If your presbytery wants to offer this to several congregations at once, ask us for a single quote.

Questions

We're PC(USA). What do we send Canva as proof?

Your congregation's inclusion letter under the PC(USA) group ruling. Since June 2026 you can get it from the denomination's group ruling website with your church's EIN or PIN. Canva still reviews every application.

Will bold unison prayers and asterisks survive the move?

In a PDF, yes: a PDF looks like the printed page. When a template moves into Canva, text styles and symbols sometimes change, so check the first rebuilt bulletin line by line against a printed copy.

Our bulletins print the prayer list. Is that a problem for an archive?

It's worth thinking about. Keep the archive where only office staff can open it, and don't post old bulletins online without removing names and prayer requests.

If you have hundreds of files and no time

That's what we do. Send us the folder. We turn every file into a searchable PDF, remove the duplicates, sort everything by year and type, and rebuild the templates you still use in Canva. Archive is $249 for up to 2,000 files. Complete is $495 and adds 3 templates rebuilt in Canva, a 45-minute training call, and help applying for Canva for Nonprofits. You pay after delivery.

Not sure how many you have? Count your Publisher files free. It runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.

Get a free file check

Or call or leave a message: (207) 776-7530

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