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Welcoming Best Practices

Do you have a welcoming ministries tip or best practice that you would like to share with others? What has worked in your congregation to help welcome guests? Have you implemented innovative and effective approaches to reaching people in your community with news about your ministry? Click here to share your own best practices.

Drawing Gen-X to the UCC - ideas

Posted January 25th, 2009 by Emm

I am a member of this frustrating demographic and I am looking for a church. I am familiar with the United Church's progressive stands on social issues and I would be open to going to a United Church....but

What is keeping me (and my friends) away?
Primarily I think it is a kind of vicious demographic circle. I go to a church and nearly everyone is over 65. The minister is at least 55. I simply will not be able to share the cycles of life with anyone in the room. Most people are widowed or married. There are almost no men. I would like for my church to be a community I can rely on and share with at a social level, meet and marry someone with 'good values'. I cannot get this at a bar; I would like to get it at a church. Not possible.

Newbie

Posted October 16th, 2008 by bydand

I am not sure if this is the place to post this question but here it goes... I am in charge of our church newsletter and I am looking for posters and /or info I can use about emerging spirit for this Christmas season. Our newsletter "closes" mid Nov with the publication for Dec. I can only find info on last Christmas...

Parish Nursing

Posted October 1st, 2008 by Anonymous

October, 2008 I am writing to tell you about The South Sherman Health Cabinet Parish Nurse Program in the hope that it will be of interest to you and others in Hamilton. The South Sherman neighbourhood is home to many typical people you may see in your congegation.  The program is an outreach of St. Giles United Church and is supported by a Federal

When Mapquest can't find your church

Posted September 24th, 2008 by pastorlorna

We've been frustrated that we couldn't include a map on our Wondercafe "find a church" mini-site. I suspect that Mapquest may not have enough info about many of the small towns in Canada in order to be able to add a map to your website.

On Mapquest's site you can report an error and tell them the problem with locating your church.

At the bottom of the Mapquest page, click Help
Then on the Help page click Contact Us
You'll get a Feedback page with a link to "Report Data Errors".

I contacted them, named the church, gave the street address and described the correct location, and probably 10 days later I got word that they had fixed the "business" location.

At the moment they have the church located at the wrong end of the block on Main Street and I'll try to get that fine-tuned, but it will still be better than "unable to locate".

give it a try.

Have you found a great tool for congregational on-line calendars

Posted August 19th, 2008 by JayneLittle

I am looking for recommendations or discussions on on-line calendars to cover such items as:

1. Recurring events, such as meetings for "registered" folks

2. One-time events which are announcements for all folks.

3. Group events where you are inviting folks, such as youth events or family nights, and rsvp would be appreciated

4. Rentals, which block room availability or restrict usage

5. Reminders -- order curriculum on x date, order vbs on y date

6. Special services -- WhiteGift, Rally Sunday

7. Special / Holy Days -- Good Friday, Christmas, Shrove Tuesday, Thanksgiving

It needs to be something that multiple individuals can have access to update and can get timely information. Ideally, it should allow for room bookings. Here is what I have tried.

Facebook Presence

Posted August 19th, 2008 by JayneLittle

Are are you using Facebook in your congregation? If so, how are you using it? I would love to be able to use the ad's as a GIF for the front page, but, when presented, the image is just way too small. I am wondering if anyone has cropped them sufficiently, that they work on the site? Have you used any of the new ads in that manner as well? I think they are currently only available as doc's. Anyhow, am interested in how others are using it. I am trialing. Keep adding people to it. Currently a lot of the people are those youth who are in the city area, now working, but, not back at church "yet"..and the teens.

Man Church

Posted February 19th, 2008 by Bill Kennedy

Man Church - the name says it all. They are starting to spring up all over. Here are my thoughts about how to welcome more men into your congregation. I think this issue needs more than a man-themed liturgy. Personally, I don't want to sit around and talk. I would rather DO!

Two Christmas Trees

Posted December 15th, 2007 by Anonymous

The Church newsletter Visitors were arriving to pick up their binders and marching orders for the pre-Christmas outreach to all the Faithful - and not so Faithful - on the church database. The year’s first snow was coming down hard and furious. Little two-year-old Sarah and her mom Sharon, blew in the front doors with a flurry of wind and snow.

“We’re gonna put up the Christmas tree and go to the bank and go shopping and see Daddy at home” she announced up to me as she patiently stood there while mom peeled coat and boots off of her.

Welcome cards wanted!

Posted October 17th, 2007 by Ted

Dear Friends of "Emerging Spirit"~

I was recently a part of the "Living The Welcome" event in Sudbury. I must say that I was humbled, impressed, and inspired-- not only by the exceptional workshops that were offered, but simply by the personalities of the presenters-- their energy, passion, and commitment. Thank you to them for your important work.

My present question-- and I anticipate having more-- is related to Welcoming Cards that might be placed in the pews. We at Trinity, Lively are envisioning a "Welcoming Card" which gives people a sense of the church, our character and features, as well as inviting an opportunity for feedback with the card being placed in the collection plate. However, we have no good models to work from-- but I suspect there are those of you "out there" who do!

Can you provide me with some kind of prototype to work from? Or suggestions of what you would like to see on a welcoming card?

A great personal affront - expletives deleted

Posted September 28th, 2007 by Bassic

I think all clergy are domineering, close minded and only interested in speaking with saved souls of a certain age and bank balance.
Lay people are lazy, and when they do speak up it is only to create mischief and sow seeds of descent, if not pure evil.
I have also seen that the only time people really get involved in online discussions is if they are:
(a) really into that kind of thing (geeks), and then only on the sites they are involved in
(b) they are tasked to do it
(c) they are offended
After three weeks online I've only seen one long thread (type c), so I figured I would offend everyone and see what else we can get posted. Hence this is a welcoming post. Welcome online, you've been flamed.
Have you ever felt welcomed? Where and how?
Have you ever been unwelcomed?
Is your church doing something right, or maybe wrong?
Have you posted a Biography of yourself?

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