A quiet but necessary ministry
Dear ones,
This past Sunday we had an whole lot of visitors join our 10:15 worship service — enough so that it made me and Rev. Whitney shake our heads and chuckle together, wondering what’s going on here. After the service, we both delighted in the logistical challenge of trying to connect with each of these newcomers while so much life was swirling all about: an incredible postlude featuring Hendrix on the organ, a wonderful and festive coffee hour put on by the LGBTQ fellowship group, and all the general merriment that characterizes this community. As I’ve been reflecting on the influx of newcomers who have been coming in a fairly steady stream these last few years, I’ve been thinking about the ways we welcome people in and create space for them to explore making their home here. There are plenty of tangible ways you all help this happen: reaching out to unfamiliar faces during the passing of the peace; all chipping in Sunday by Sunday to make sure we have a great coffee hour where people can connect more after the service; making the extra effort to invite newcomers to join you at another event. These make a difference, for sure.
And as I’ve been reflecting this week, I’ve been struck by another form of ministry that takes almost no time to do. It is quiet, but very visible, and oh so important. I know I risk sounding a little cheesy here, but the ministries of name tags and the Breeze member directory are both really, tremendously important as new folks arrive at our church. I was the new kid in school enough times (I attended a new school every year from fifth grade until high school!) that I remember well how overwhelming it can be to show up as the new person in an established community. It takes a good while to start learning names and making connections, and longer for those names to really stick. And that in-between time can feel lonely and vulnerable. This is where our simple ministry of ease comes in: if we wear our name tags, all the way through the end of coffee hour, then no one is put on the spot to fumble for a name they’ve heard and already forgotten. It is a very easy way to be welcoming. And then, as people settle in a little deeper here and join the online directory, they have the added resource of being able to find connections there.
Here, then, is my straight-forward request of you all: first, please, wear your name tags! And second, please, please! add a recent photo to the online directory, or email one into the office and we’ll add it for you. Having the chance to put faces with names through this handy tool can make a huge difference for people who are just arriving here, and makes forming relationships that much easier. I hope and trust that these two quiet tasks, which are actually ministries, can really help to welcome people into our community.
Thank you!
Liz+