[Fuusm-l] New Attendees

[gbanz42 at suddenlink.net]

FUUSM Members & Friends:

   This week I had a telephone meeting with Beth Casebolt, our UUA liaison. This call represented part of her periodic check-in with UU board presidents.
   
    I mentioned to her that when I was greeting at our worship service last Sunday, I checked the attendance book. I looked at the attendance figures at our worship services in the recent weeks of 2017 and compared them to the same weeks a year ago. Our attendance is UP this year.  Beth told me that this is a national phenomenon--most UU congregations are experiencing an increase in attendance. I also have noted, as many of you have as well, that there are new faces appearing at our services and at the coffee hour.

    One of the worst experiences that a newcomer can have with us is to be left standing alone during the coffee hour or to enter the sanctuary ungreeted. The Membership Committee does an outstanding job at arranging for regular, warm-hearted greeters at every service. But it is not just their responsibility to welcome newcomers. We should all share their responsibility for making newcomers feel welcome at our worship services and during the coffee-hour informal conversation. 

    So, please,  if you see a new face at our worship service or during the coffee hour, go up and introduce yourself, give a personal welcome, and try to establish some personal connection.
 
    If you see a newcomer who has shown up multiple times, try to get them engaged in our wide range of activities. Ask them if they are interested in the Green Sanctuary Committee, choir, Men's Group, 'Women's Group, the Community Meal, or any other of our activities. 

    In the case of FUUSM it may be because of the 2016 election, our Putnam St. banner, our enhanced presence on social media. But whatever the reason, we are seeing more newcomers. Let them know that we are proud of what we stand for, we are an active congregation always seeking new participants in our activities, and that we are truly a welcoming congregation.


--
George Banziger
202 Lawton Road
Marietta, OH 45750-1111
740-434-5685
cell: 740-434-3354