Welcome, Bienvenue, Irashaimasu, Merhaba, Welkumme
September 30, 2008
During our September meeting, the Governing Board decided the church needs to focus its work this year on becoming a more welcoming congregation. Rev. José Ballester announced it to the congregation with our first hymn, Welcome, Rejoice, and Come In, and we announce it on our walls with a “Welcoming Congregation” sign. As a community, we pride ourselves on our friendliness and our open spirit. But what can we do to become more welcoming and grow our community?
Certainly, one way we can be more welcoming is to introduce ourselves to new people. Another way is to make our building attractive and accessible. We can offer social justice opportunities and adult religious education that are religiously meaningful. We can offer religious education and intergenerational services that nurture the religious life of families. We can reach our hands of support and friendship outside the walls of our community. Every committee, congregant and friend can make Bell Street a more welcoming place.
While our community is doing many of these things already, we are not doing enough of them. Too often, when we think of our community, we think of the people who we see every week, and not the new faces who come though our door. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of newcomers, to think of their needs at Bell Street as much as we think of our own. When we do that, the specific tasks of becoming a more welcoming community will become clear to us.
At our leadership retreat in early September, Bell Street leaders were asked how we see the Bell Street Community. We see it as a “loving, quirky, extended family with deep commitments to social justice and different paths to spiritual growth.” We all need to make sure that the picture of Bell Street Chapel we present to the outside world matches this community that we each love and celebrate.
In faith and fellowship,
Dan Greco, Governing Board
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