Welcome Sunday at Westminster
If you were in worship on November 19, you know that “Welcome Sunday” brought a good number of first-time visitors to Westminster. All the pews weren’t necessarily packed, but many were fuller than we have seen in a while, perhaps not since last Christmas or Easter!
So, on behalf of the Evangelism & Outreach Committee, I have a long list of people to thank! They include:
Everyone who brought a friend to church! Thank You! Thank You!! Thank you!!!
Anyone who invited a friend even though the invitation may have been declined. Thank You!
Sylvia and the Board of Deacons for providing refreshments. Thank You!
Grace for her prelude, postlude, and all the music in between. Thank You!
Consuelo and Keri for assisting Madeline by serving Communion. Thank You!
Sylvia and Jim for making heartfelt announcements in the Sundays leading up to Welcome Sunday. Thank You!
Michael for being the liturgist, and Cindy for greeting everyone as they arrived. Thank You!
Everyone who entered the NM Gay Men’s Chorus concert ticket drawing, and to Cindy, our winner. Thank You!
Fred, Larry, Sylvia, and Cindy for folding brochures and/or helping stuff envelopes for our visitors. Thank You!
Vickie for making copies of bulletin inserts and brochures and visitor cards and welcome notes. Thank You!
Madeline for signing 50+ welcome notes and weaving together a welcoming worship experience. Thank You!
In Jim’s announcement on November 12 he mentioned that Westminster had not had a “Bring a Friend to Church Sunday” during the whole time he and Jenny have been here. While there may be a few reasons for that, least of which may have been the pandemic, you can see from the list above that it takes planning and a lot of people to make it happen. But now that we have a little bit of recent experience under our collective belts, we should probably think about having another one sometime in 2024. Think of ways we can enhance what we did and who you may invite!
We ran an ad to promote our “Welcome Sunday” in the Santa Fe Reporter on November 15, and on Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor. And while we may never know all the people who saw the ad or in which forum they saw it, I like to think of it and all our efforts as planting seeds. Some seeds may germinate right away, and some may lie dormant, perhaps waiting for another growing season. As gardeners, we have faith that most of the seeds will eventually take root. May God bless each of us, individually and collectively, and all the things we do to cultivate our garden and share the Good News with those in our community.