The Georgian
The Keys to a Welcoming Parish
The dictionary defines the word magnetic as “the ability to draw or pull; an attractive force”. A newcomer from our parish and I have just returned from the Magnetic Church Conference in Ancaster. I have not laughed or learned so much at a church event in years. I can honestly say it was probably the most fun I have had with a bunch of fellow church-going folks on a topic that most of you would find scary: Evangelism. The presenter, Andrews Weeks, is an Anglican from Montreal, now living and working in Rhode Island. He has an uncanny ability to share his faith, insights and knowledge of the Anglican Church – so that we can share with our parishes what it means to be welcomed to the church.
The goal of this conference was simple. Help this church become more AWARE!
A – Attract new comers, so you can
W – Welcome them in the name of God
A – Affirm them as children of God
R – Respond to their spiritual needs
E – Engage them to become disciples
At one time or another, each of you crossed the doorstep into St. Georges for the first time. Why are you till here? Some people cross the threshold once yet never return. Why is that?
Process & Product
Our job is not to fill empty pews, but to fill empty lives. We learned how Evangelism will succeed when we “recognize that in churches, the PROCESS of every activity is as important as the PRODUCT produced by the activity”. That is, how we undertake something is as important as what we are trying to accomplish. Are our volunteers run off their feet or do they discover helping hands? In other words, it is better to do three things really well as a parish than ten things poorly.
During the conference we learned how to create bulletins, newsletters and welcome brochures that would be inviting. In small groups, we critiqued a bulletin, news-letter and welcome brochure from another parish. Here at St. George’s, our parish publications appear to be doing very well in all three areas as we received very favourable feedback and only a few criticisms from another church.
In another workshop, we tried out welcoming a newcomer. We were put into random groups of four to practice greeting, being a visitor and also as an overall observer who critiqued the exchange between the parties. This was extremely nerve wracking and I never knew how difficult a task it was to greet someone and try to be helpful, welcoming but not too pushy.
Our last assignment was to walk around the Anglican Church hosting the event. We were to look at signage both inside and out, presentation of the building from colour, structure, to cleanliness, and even how many crosses were on the property. We looked at the parish grounds, parking and our overall impression of the parish. It was a wonderful exercise for the hosting parish as well; they were given an overall impression of their church property from over 100 people who had never set foot in the place before! They learned lots. I did also, as I now know how to go about looking at various aspects of our church from a newcomer’s perspective. (And we do have a number of ways I can see for improvement).
Evangelism at St. George’s
If you had never set foot inside St. George’s until today, would you feel welcomed? Every church claims to be a warm and welcoming place, but statistics show that more and more people are staying away from church. Why? It is my job as Evangelism Representative, with your help and encouragement, to find ways to make people who cross our doorstep feel welcome, by giving them what they need (and for each person, this is different). I hope to make newcomers feel that this is a place that they can belong to. That is no easy task and I will need your help. From the greeter at the door, to the person serving coffee, to the rector giving a sermon, all contribute to the experience of community at St. Georges.
I am looking to put together a core group of interested individuals in the parish that can help me look at St. George’s from the ground up and see if we are doing things that are inviting, welcoming and relevant to our parish. Whether you have just a few observations or you have specific ideas regarding welcoming newcomers, I want to hear from you. If you think that St. George’s is a place where more can be done to make sure all of our spiritual needs are being fed, then let your voice be heard. If you are interested in doing something like this, please speak to me at coffee hour sometime in October or call the parish office 905.877.8044 for my contact information. I look forward to hearing from you soon. The Magnetic Church Conference has shown me that the process of making our Church more welcoming will be as much fun as seeing the new faces arrive on a Sunday morning for worship with us.
<< Home