The Church of Scotland website has featured a video that some members of the congregation made a few months ago. [read the full article on the Church of Scotland website]
Most congregations pride themselves that new people coming into their church will get a warm welcome. A recent Priority Areas blog from Fred Vincent stressed the value of that welcome in creating a lasting positive connection with newcomers to Church.
One Edinburgh congregation has made a short video looking at what makes a warm welcome. Rev Norman Smith, who’s minister at Granton Parish Church, says they wanted to highlight how to get things right, so they could avoid some of the common pitfalls, which can risk leaving newcomers feeling isolated.
“We had a lot of fun making the video,” he says. “We were aware of increasing research, such as our own Steve Aisthorpe’s new book ‘The Invisible Church’, which shows making people feel included and part of the group is really important.
“It seems self evident and a fundamental part of our Christian tradition, but a lack of warmth or the breakdown in the feeling of connection to the group is often cited as a reason people don’t return to church or longstanding members drift away. We hope the video is a short and fun way to remind ourselves people about the importance of getting the welcome right, and see it as an essential part of maintaining and growing our congregations.”
Here’s the text from Fred Vincent’s blog
‘You’re welcome!’ said the elderly lady at the door as I went into a church at the top of my street in Govanhill which I hadn’t attended before. It wasn’t just that she spoke the words but she held out a hand and gave me a firm handshake which only served to reinforce that I was indeed welcome. The other lady standing in the foyer was tasked with taking me in to the church, and helpfully informed me ‘You can sit anywhere’.
I took the one empty chair on the corner of the back row, and the lady beside me took no time before welcoming me as well, and starting a little chat. After the prayers and before the sermon, I was also included in the distribution list for the sweets being passed along the back row.
The welcome at the entrance took me back many years to West Kirk Presbyterian church in Belfast. On the door Sunday by Sunday, Jack Fairfield (literally!) faithfully offered a welcome and a firm handshake to those who entered. The fact that I was a young person made no difference, I was welcomed as eagerly and faithfully as any. Jack F to this day epitomises for me the importance of a welcome into church. The fact that some thirty-five years later I still remember his welcome, and his faithfulness, bears witness to the affirmation I felt through him, and the sense of belonging I felt in the church.
I often hear people speak with genuine concern about the lack of young people in church (quite apart from the rest of the population as well!). When hearing this I am reminded of just how important it is to make sure children and young people (and adults as well) experience an affirming welcome when they are present, and for however short a time they are there.
It would be my hope that their experience is such that no matter where they go and what age they reach, every time they pass a church door (open or closed), they will remember their own ‘Jack F’, know themselves affirmed and feel comfortable about (and maybe even encouraged into!) returning someday.
Should they do so, may they find a welcome and a handshake at the entrance, like I did today; and, maybe even a sweet passed along the back row.
A moment of grace; thanks be to God!
Lord, have mercy.
Fred Vincent
Chance to Thrive Co-ordinator
