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March 29, 2012

Greetings, present and future Greeters!

From everyone who enters Epworth’s doors on Sunday mornings  -  thank you! We all know how important it is to feel welcome.  As Greeters, we know that newcomers especially need to be attentively invited in. The Welcome and Outreach committee is interested in focusing on the visitor’s first-time experience at Epworth, and the Greeting Ministry is key to that experience.

Since all worthwhile written pieces have “studies show” examples, here are a couple:

• Visitors make decisions about a church in the first few minutes, including before entering the building.
• Visitors’ decisions to return are significantly influenced by the nature of their welcome by and follow up from lay people.

We know Epworth is a very lively and friendly church.  Do visitors know this? To help them experience it, we’d like Greeters to try a couple of new approaches.

One idea is for one or all of the Greeting Team to stand outside at the top of the steps and welcome people there. Sometimes this will mean the Greeter’s fashion statement is that fabulous bundled-up look, or maybe slathered with sunscreen, or both! It’s really inviting for newcomers approaching the church to see people being friendly to each other.  Standing outside on a rainy day is optional!

After worship we ask that at least one of the Greeters returns to the Narthex specifically to invite visitors to join you downstairs for refreshments and to make some further introductions to people.  Odette will direct to you any newcomers she identifies whom you may have missed when they arrived. If you can’t stay, please ask someone else to do this and to show the visitors around if they’d like to know where meeting rooms and Godly play classrooms are.

We hope you’re willing to try these ideas and let us know how they’re working.

Other Greeter tasks, as before:

1. Arrive at 9:40.
2. Be sure the nametags are organized neatly and that you’re wearing one.  Remind Epworth folks to wear theirs, and invite visitors to make one.
3. Welcome everyone warmly.  If you’re not sure someone is a visitor and don’t quite know what to say, try first introducing yourself, then saying “I’m not sure we’ve met, are you visiting?” If yes, “We’re very happy to have you join us today.”  If no, “Oops, sorry!  Well, I’m glad to meet you ‘officially’.”
4. Stay in place until at least 10:10.

Please join in this welcoming ministry, and sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board in fellowship hall.

Many thanks.

Cathryn Bruno,  Pat  Bruce-Lerrigo,