As most of you know, I am filling in for Rev. Kim in the areas of preaching and pastoral care and I’ve been charged with “letting go” of some of my Congregational Life duties until post-sabbatical because I am a part time employee working twenty hours a week. Of course, this being a church, we were due for a “mini miracle” and it has arrived in the form of The Connection Team.
The Connection Team falls under the Congregational Life umbrella. To date we have five members on the team: Linda Vogt, Dave Thelan, Jean Semler, Nancy Cox and Eileen Spedding. They will each function as “hosts” before and after worship, linking visitors to programming and answering questions. The Connection Team will assist at Coffee Hour connecting visitors to members and facilitating social connection as needed. In addition, the Connection Team will run the Quieter Coffee Hour (our once a month pilot program in Room 201) and Welcome Table Wednesdays.
As has been said before, the word “welcome” is a verb. The privilege of welcoming new people is shared by the entire congregation. Therefore, if you are introduced to a visitor by one of our hosts, please do your very best to extend hospitality. Remember how you felt when you first attended this church. It can be intimidating to negotiate the social spaces in a place where it feels as though everyone knows each other. Everyone has someone with whom to share the latest news of their lives….and you…you are left standing there feeling awkward. That is not what we want anyone to experience.
You will be getting more information about our next Welcome Table Wednesday (not scheduled as of newsletter deadline). The dates of the Quieter Coffee Hour are: January 26, February 23, and March 15. It was a hit when it rolled out in December. Space limitations prevent us from holding it weekly.
Our Membership Ministry is undergoing changes, as you can see from the diagram below, showing the many teams of the new Congregational Life Council.
Please send me an email at conglife@uucwc.org if you would like to be involved in the work of the CLC and I’ll make sure your information gets into the right hands. Also, in the diagram there is a reference to Growth Through Service (GTS). This is an aspirational chart; implementing GTS is a goal, not a “done deal” yet.