Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Just Griping
Who knew? I certainly didn't think of it before I became a pastor. Who knew that there is a whole subgroup of junk mail and telemarketing just for churches and church leaders? Ugh. I get so much church-related junk mail every day it is ridiculous. And I just ran frantically through the church trying to get to the phone in time only to hear a sales pitch for some "inspirational gifts" that my youth group could sell for a fundraiser...
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I got an e-mail from the church secretary today. Apparently I had mail at the church office. Even though I had youth group at night, I decided to drive over just in case it was important mail, like candidacy stuff. It was junk mail from a local photographer, identifying me as the Interfaith Hospitality Network coordinator for my church. How that ended up as a mailing list or what photography has to do with it, I don't know.
I guess for pastoral junk mail, retailers are hoping that you buy into the consumerist megachurchianity. From what I know of you, they wasted their printing money.
The really REALLY sad thing?
I still get the random piece of junk that has followed me from when I actually had a "title" at the church I went to the first year I lived in Albany. That was, what, 1998?
I serve a small church, and I thought I would escape the junk mail (I including catalogs and anything from the IRD in this category). Alas! Even in part time churches, the junk mail is overwhelming.
At least it keeps postage rates low.
Yuck, I really hate that stuff. I have a great file 13 for these things. Worse is the ones you are talking about in terms of phone calls.
A lot of that junk mail follows us wherever we go. Some of it followed me to my new appointment with my last church name on it. Some of it followed me to this appointment with the name of a church that closed some 4-5 years ago on it (I never pastored that church). Much of it comes in multiple copies - one addressed correctly and another 5 incorrectly (all variations of my name, church name, former pastor's name, closed church name, etc.).
And it's impossible to get off most of their lists as well (though youth specialties was really good about condensing the list when I called them)
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