Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any parish council, parochial church council, diocese, cathedral, church, chapel, churches trust, sponsor, school or community organisation.
It's ten to ten on a wet Sunday in October, and the west door of the church has been wedged open with a cast-iron stop that nobody can remember buying. Just inside, a retired geography teacher called Gwen is squaring off a stack of service sheets on a small table, next to a pile of hymn books with tired spines and a basket of large-print copies. Beside her, a young dad called Tomasz, who started helping after his son's baptism and somehow never stopped, is shaking out umbrellas and pointing people towards the radiator end. A woman nobody has seen before hesitates on the step, looking as if she might turn round and go home. Gwen catches her eye before she can. "Come in out of the rain," she says. "Sit anywhere you like. The back is very popular, and nobody will ask you to do anything."
If you want to say thank you to people like Gwen and Tomasz, this is a guide to doing it well, with or without a puzzle.
Who we mean
In many churches, the first person you meet isn't the vicar or minister. It's someone at the door. Depending on the church and its tradition, they're called sidespeople, sidesmen, welcomers, stewards, ushers or the welcome team, and in some churches the job is done by whoever happens to arrive first. They might:
- unlock or open the doors, put out the signs and switch on the porch light
- hand out hymn books, service sheets, notice sheets and large-print copies
- say hello, learn names, and notice the person who looks lost, nervous or new
- help people find a seat, a hearing loop, a step-free route, the toilets or the children's corner
- take up the collection or the offertory, and help count it afterwards, the way their church does
- guide people forward at communion, or show visitors where to sit at a baptism, wedding or funeral
- tidy the books away afterwards, pick up dropped gloves and lost glasses, and close up
Why a thank-you matters here
Welcoming is one of those jobs that looks easy until you try it. Saying hello to a stranger without making them feel watched, remembering that someone's husband died last month, knowing when to chat and when to just hand over a hymn book and step back: that takes practice and a lot of quiet kindness. For a newcomer, a nervous visitor, or someone walking into church for the first time since a funeral, the person at the door can decide whether they ever come back. Most sidespeople have no idea how many people they've made feel welcome, because the people they helped most rarely tell them. A thank-you closes that loop.
A little honest background
It helps to get the basics right, because the people on the door usually know the congregation better than almost anyone.
Arrangements vary a lot. In some churches sidespeople are formally chosen at the annual meeting and have duties written down; in others the welcome team is a loose rota or a few regulars who like to arrive early. Some churches separate welcomers from those who take the collection; others don't. Some still use books, some use printed sheets, and some put everything on a screen. Please don't assume yours does it the way another church does, and don't thank someone for a job they might not actually do.
Money is handled carefully in most churches, usually with two people present and rules about counting and recording it. So please don't photograph the collection, the plates or bags with money in them, the counting sheet or the safe. If you'd like to give money in their honour, ask the church office or the treasurer how the church prefers donations to be made, rather than handing cash to an individual for the church.
Welcomers often have safeguarding and first-aid responsibilities too, and they may know private things about people in the congregation: who is unwell, who has been bereaved, who needs a seat near the door. It's kind not to put any of that in a public note or a photo.
Many churches are listed buildings, so please don't move furniture, books or memorials for a better shot. Ask before you take photos inside the church, take them before or after the service rather than during, and keep worshippers, visitors, mourners, children, rotas with names and phone numbers, alarm panels, key safes, door codes and car number plates out of the frame.
What makes a good photo
- a neat stack of hymn books and service sheets on the table by the door, with the large-print copies beside them
- the west door propped open to the light before the first arrivals, with the porch swept and the umbrella stand empty
- a row of name badges or a "Welcome" sign on the porch noticeboard, if there's nothing personal on it
- a basket of lost property waiting for its owners: one glove, two scarves and somebody's reading glasses
- the empty nave from the back, with the books laid out along the end of each pew, before anyone sits down
- the welcome team together by the door, only if every one of them has agreed to be photographed
Getting the JPG right
Use a JPG, sharp and well lit. Porches and doorways are tricky because the bright outside light makes everything inside look dark, so stand inside with your back to the door, or wait for a moment when the sun isn't directly behind it. Tap on the books or the table to focus. Hold your phone steady, or rest it on the end of a pew. Turn off flash: it makes old hymn books look shiny and flat. If you're photographing the welcomers themselves, ask them first, and let them choose where to stand. Most will want to put down the stack of books before you start.
Privacy and an optional PIN
Puzzlify puzzles are private links. You can add an optional PIN so only the person you send it to can open it. Photos aren't used to train AI and aren't shared with third parties.
Say it's from you
Put your name, or your family's, choir's, house group's or youth group's, in the note at the end so they know who sent it. A puzzle that ends with "from the family who turned up late and soaked to your first carol service, thank you" is a thank-you, not a mystery.
Piece counts
Church photos look lovely but can make tricky puzzles, because of large areas of similar stone, wood and pew backs. A 252-piece dim nave on a phone screen is hard work, so choose 24 or 48 for children or a quick smile, and save the bigger counts for a tablet or a computer.
| Pieces | Photo idea | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | a single hymn book with a service sheet tucked inside | a quick solve, or a child's thank-you |
| 48 | the stack of books and sheets on the table by the door | one clear subject, a relaxed solve |
| 80 | the basket of lost gloves, scarves and reading glasses | a strong subject with crisp detail |
| 130 | the west door open to the autumn light, with the porch behind | a detailed image for a keen puzzler |
| 252 | the whole empty nave from the back with books laid out on every pew | a long, slow solve for a long-serving sidesperson |
| 48 or 80 | an old photo of the welcome team next to one taken this year | a warm thank-you for someone who has done it for decades |
How to send it
Make the puzzle, write the note, publish the link, and send it by email or message, or print the link as a QR code inside a card. The recipient doesn't need an account or an app; it plays in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. The note appears when the last piece clicks into place. If you're thanking the whole team, one link can go to the church office or a churchwarden to pass on, or you can print the QR code on a card and leave it on the welcome table.
Note examples
- "Thank you for the first hello I got when I walked in, not knowing anyone. I came back because of you."
- "To Gwen: you remembered my name on my second visit. That mattered more than you know."
- "From the family who arrived late and dripping: thank you for finding us a seat without a fuss."
- "Thank you for holding the door at Dad's funeral and for knowing exactly what not to say."
- "To Tomasz: every umbrella shaken out, every lost glove saved. Thank you from all of us."
- "From the youth group: thank you for always pretending we weren't late."
What it costs, plainly
The preview is free, so you can see how it looks before deciding anything. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), or less per puzzle with a bundle. It's a digital puzzle, not a printed or cardboard one, so nothing arrives in the post. If a card and a few sentences feel like enough, they are.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
- a short letter to the parish magazine or newsletter naming the welcome team and what their welcome meant to you
- a card left on the welcome table, saying which Sunday or which service you were thinking of
- a donation to the church or a charity they care about in their honour, given the way the church prefers, with a note saying why
- offering to cover the door for a month, so the regulars can sit down and enjoy a service for once
- a hot drink brought to them on a cold morning, if the church doesn't mind
- telling the vicar, minister or churchwardens how a welcomer helped you, so their kindness is noticed by people who can say so publicly
Where Puzzlify fits
Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw that you send as a link. It isn't a printed puzzle, and it isn't a public puzzle board: only the people you send it to can open it. It's one option among many, and it works best when the photo means something to the person receiving it.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose the stack of books by the door, the open west door, the lost-property basket or an old photo of the team next to a new one, take it with the church's permission and before or after the service, don't move anything for the shot, keep the collection, worshippers, visitors, mourners, children, rotas and people's details out of the frame, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can make a free preview here and decide later whether to send it.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who props the door open in the rain and says hello before anyone else does, so that whoever is hesitating on the step decides to come in.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, safeguarding, financial, listed building, insurance, health and safety, copyright, photography permission or gift policy advice. Check your own church's and parish's guidance on gifts, photos, children and people's details.