Offer a Warm Welcome

Published by Rev. Joan on

If you’ve been around First UU much this past year you have heard about our dream.  We want to grow!!  We want to grow spiritually and numerically.  We want to create an organizational structure that can adapt to this growth.  And we want to reach out to our community in ways that are both beneficial and at the same time, let folks know who we are, what we value, and that we are here in Indiana County.

As part of this growth plan we are now funding full time ministry.  It is important that we not forget that this leap of faith is being funded through a grant to ourselves from the John Grauer Endowment.  This grant is for five years.  Our hope is that we can gain 10 net new members per year over this five year period.  This means ten more than leave each year.  This is an ambitious goal, and it will take our attention, our focus, and our commitment to make it happen.  What happens if we don’t make it?  Your leadership is committed to evaluating our progress annually and changing course if necessary.  Your minister is aware that this is soft money and that she too is taking a leap of faith in this congregation.  For now, I hope we all commit to the dream and give what we can to our success.

Last weekend in our goal setting session with our District Executive, Joan Van Becceleare your leadership discerned one area where we really need to improve and that is our Path of Membership.  We need to articulate the steps to membership, what it means to be a member, what are the rights and responsibilities of membership.  Understanding this Path of Membership is important for new members, prospective members, and those of us who have been around for some period of time.

Our membership committee is being re-vitalized and our Path of Membership will be articulated and publicized over the next few months.  But in the meantime, every member and friend and family unit can help our congregation grow by serving as a greeter(s) one Sunday over this church year.

When we hear the word diversity we often think of skin color and we don’t have much diversity in this area in our congregation.  But we do have diversity in age and ethnicity and style and we want to showcase our diversity at the front door.  And most important, we also want to showcase our warm and welcoming spirits.  Community is the value most often mentioned when we are asked what we celebrate about this congregation.  This is not a value celebrated by a small group.  It is value that is collective important to us.  Please help visitors, friends, and each other feel that warm welcome and community when walking into our church each week.

Being a Greeter is really not hard work.  You do not have to be an extrovert to smile and say “Good Morning”.  There will always be two greeters for support.  A list of Greeter tasks will be sent to each volunteer the week before you agreed to serve and a copy of this list is also in the drawer in the table in the foyer for reference.  A sign-up sheet will be at the back of the church, you can volunteer by emailing the office, or you can wait for a member of the Membership Committee to call you.

Our path to growth must be proactive.  We cannot simply sit at the top of our hill and open the doors.  We must let folks know and feel our warmth and vitality every Sunday from the front door through social hour.  Help us make our dream come true.

Looking forward to seeing you in church and around town.
Rev joan