Making Newcomers Feel Welcome
Terry Edison
Have you ever walked into a new church while on vacation or moved to a new location and found an Episcopal church you wanted to join? Did you have a good impression right away? Did someone greet you and ask if they could help with the prayer book, take you to coffee hour, meet the priest, etc? If the answer is “no,” you probably didn’t care to go back.
At St. John The Divine we try to make newcomers want to come back and join. By volunteering to be a Greeter, you are that person who makes the newcomer want to return. Greeting is fun. The training is easy. You just have to remember how you wanted to be greeted the first time in a new church, and the job takes care of itself.
The Greeting: Shake hands/ask if they are new to the area/if they are Episcopalian/if they need help with the prayer book. Sign them in at the Welcome Desk and give them a name tag. Take them to coffee hours. Introduce them to one of the priests. There are guidelines I can give you. Call me at 634-4795.
Terry Edison
