Welcome Workshop

Connect to Church Sunday prayer Loving God, thank you for this day.

We remember that we are created and loved by you.We welcome you now as you have already welcomed us.We pray that we may know the power of your love in our own lives.We pray for Connect to Church Sunday and thank you for the gift of church as community.Help make us aware of you.We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen

A Welcoming Church Member“Consider others better than yourselves”

Philippians 2:3

What is Christian Welcome?“Christian Welcome is not just about being nice to

visitors, it is about incorporating new people into the Body of Christ”

Some Churches do ’ave em!

• Get grouchy greeters. • Or you could just get rid of greeters altogether of

course, but if you're trying to make guests feel unwelcome, it is actually more effective to have grouchy greeters. Train them to carry on conversations with other greeters, and sort of just grunt at people they don't recognize.

Back of Church Sunday!

• Make finding a seat really hard. All members can participate in this one. Just "save" all the seats at the back of the room or on the aisles. If you can make a guest come to the front of the church or crawl over several people to find a seat, you'll almost guarantee they'll feel unwelcome.

Self-Service!

• No greeters

• Get people to collect a notice sheet and find the right service book.

Ineffably sublime.

• Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.

• incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible

• magnificent, superb, august, grand, gorgeous,

Welcome

• What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?Everyone had left within a few minutes so there was little point in waiting around apart from to light votive candles. No one approached me or said anything, but I had a quick few words with the priest outside before heading home.

What is my experience of welcome?

Think about:• A time when I have felt distant from God or the

church

and/or • A time when I have not felt welcome in the church

(or somewhere else in the community)

Reflecting on My Story

• What was happening? • Why was it happening?• What did I need? • Who and/or what assisted in my connection /or

caused my disconnection?• What did I value or what was missing for me?

Reflecting on THE Story

• What does the passage tell us about God’s character and how we ought to act?

• Is there a command or exhortation in this passage which applies to welcoming?

• How can we apply this teaching practically in the way our church welcomes others?

So…How do we need to BE and act towards people who have become disconnected from the church?

Group discussion

What do we value

about being welcome

in a church community?

Small Group Discussion

• Who will I invite?

• How will I do it?

• What words will I use?

• How will I make him/her feel welcome on the day?

Welcome Workshop Section 2

Welcome Audit

Group Discussion

• Areas we are doing well

• Areas for improvement

Areas for improvement

Group Discussion

• How can we take practical action to improve in this area?

• What will we do in time for February 15?

15 February 2009

People are just waiting to be invited.

Let’s not disappoint them, and each do our bit to make them welcome