Sermonette

Sermonette (i.e., a small sermon) is a generic term for short, locally produced religious messages that were aired by many U.S. television stations during their sign-on and sign-off periods.

While some of these segments carried the actual program title of "Sermonette," there were a variety of names used by individual stations, such as "Prayer for Today," "Give Us This Day," "Words of Inspiration" or the like.

Sermonettes were generally about three to five minutes in length, and featured religious clergy from churches in the local station's coverage area. Reflecting the majority religious faith in the U.S., the clergy involved were almost always Christian (Protestant or Roman Catholic), although in TV markets with a large Jewish population, a rabbi might occasionally be called upon. The segments were pre-taped for airing at their normally scheduled early morning or late night time slots.

Articles written for church bulletins are often sermonettes in essence. They contain an introduction, body or situation that is being addressed, a Biblical/scriptural equivalent and a wrap-up or point tying the illustration and scripture together in a meaningful way. Similar articles often begin with a joke or comedic opening leading to a serious discussion and pointed statement for the audience.