Tidbits, 07/2004
UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS
Joan Lund, July 2004
Because you are reading this in July it would seem appropriate that I write about our recent General Assembly in Long Beach, California but the column had to be completed before departing for G.A. Happenings at G.A. will have to wait until August. I hope, despite the heat, you are enjoying the summer and your congregations continue to be active and welcoming to all who join you for Sunday services.
Welcoming visitors takes intentionality and practice. Even though you have greeters at the doors, a welcoming table for visitors, nametags, packets to be given or mailed to people and lots of activities for adults and children, sometimes visitors say that no one talked to them when they came. Remember every member of your church was at one time a first-time visitor and all of us get only one chance at making a first impression. Each one of us can be prepared to say ?Hi I am----, I don?t think I?ve had the pleasure of meeting you; were you able to sign our guest book?? Visitors can be encouraged to talk about themselves and their journey to the church. It is important that guests be asked to visit at least three times, and that they are introduced by you to at least one other member. I suggest if the minister, president, or lay service leader is close at hand, you could make an introduction to her/him.
Another valuable process for assessing your churches? welcoming profile is conducting guest interviews. Interviewing visitors can provide some of the best information you can receive about how your congregation and its members are viewed, how your facilities make an impression on the newcomer, and how well your congregational systems around welcoming the newcomer in your presence actually work. It would be beneficial to have a team of members from your congregation to do visitor interviews, dividing up the responsibility for the total number of interviews to be done. Someone on the team should compile the responses to the questions you?ve chosen and summarize them to share with the team and the membership committee. These interviews should provide a good general profile about the impressions you are making on your visitors; your strengths, problems, and limitations as a congregation. From all of this you will be able to make recommendations to the congregation regarding your ability to welcome newcomers.
Much more information about making certain ?no visitor is left un-welcomed or untended? plus an example of an interview form can be found at www.uua.org and looking under ?Uncommon Denomination?. I can be reached at jlund@uua.org or 813-931-9727. Early on in my role as a Trustee I encouraged you to stay in touch and to contact me with questions and/or concerns regarding our work as Unitarian Universalists. The offer still stands. Stay in communication.
Joan Lund, July 2004
Because you are reading this in July it would seem appropriate that I write about our recent General Assembly in Long Beach, California but the column had to be completed before departing for G.A. Happenings at G.A. will have to wait until August. I hope, despite the heat, you are enjoying the summer and your congregations continue to be active and welcoming to all who join you for Sunday services.
Welcoming visitors takes intentionality and practice. Even though you have greeters at the doors, a welcoming table for visitors, nametags, packets to be given or mailed to people and lots of activities for adults and children, sometimes visitors say that no one talked to them when they came. Remember every member of your church was at one time a first-time visitor and all of us get only one chance at making a first impression. Each one of us can be prepared to say ?Hi I am----, I don?t think I?ve had the pleasure of meeting you; were you able to sign our guest book?? Visitors can be encouraged to talk about themselves and their journey to the church. It is important that guests be asked to visit at least three times, and that they are introduced by you to at least one other member. I suggest if the minister, president, or lay service leader is close at hand, you could make an introduction to her/him.
Another valuable process for assessing your churches? welcoming profile is conducting guest interviews. Interviewing visitors can provide some of the best information you can receive about how your congregation and its members are viewed, how your facilities make an impression on the newcomer, and how well your congregational systems around welcoming the newcomer in your presence actually work. It would be beneficial to have a team of members from your congregation to do visitor interviews, dividing up the responsibility for the total number of interviews to be done. Someone on the team should compile the responses to the questions you?ve chosen and summarize them to share with the team and the membership committee. These interviews should provide a good general profile about the impressions you are making on your visitors; your strengths, problems, and limitations as a congregation. From all of this you will be able to make recommendations to the congregation regarding your ability to welcome newcomers.
Much more information about making certain ?no visitor is left un-welcomed or untended? plus an example of an interview form can be found at www.uua.org and looking under ?Uncommon Denomination?. I can be reached at jlund@uua.org or 813-931-9727. Early on in my role as a Trustee I encouraged you to stay in touch and to contact me with questions and/or concerns regarding our work as Unitarian Universalists. The offer still stands. Stay in communication.
