Following are some general hints about how to write a note.  If you get stuck, one thing to do is to visit the Good Housekeeping Note Generator.  You can use it to help you generate any type of note.  It may be especially useful if you do not know the person or people you are writing well.  If you are interested in how to express condolences, a great tool was written by Helen Fitzgerald, Training Director of the American Hospice Foundation.  You can also visit other sites on the web to get ideas.  The most important thing to do is to get started!  Now for some quick hints:

If someone is ill and the prognosis is not certain, you may not want to use the phrase "get well."

 

Instruct the person how to ask for additional help, such as "your church family would like to be of help to you during your illness.  If you need assistance, please let us know by calling the church office."

 

If there is a death in the family, you may want to write the whole family, i.e., if an adult's mother has died it is likely that the spouse, partner, and children are all in need of comfort and support.

 

It is rarely a good idea to share medical information or your own experiences in a note.  This might be helpful in person or in a phone call, but these are notes on behalf of the church family.

 

Notes of congratulations for births, anniversaries, or special accomplishments are always welcome.

 

People really appreciate the time and effort that it takes to write a note in this age of telephones and emails.  Be prepared and accept their thanks graciously.

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Last modified: 03/14/05