A few times a year
this church holds a Friends & Family Sunday,
where members invite allong guests
who either have no church
or who have become inactive members
of the local Universalist church.
This past Sunday
(December 9, 2001)
they had a special high profile guest
speaker,
a special performance by their choir,
a special performance by 2 girls from
the local Junior High orchestra,
and a big meal after church services.
This church only has 24 adult members.
This Sunday about 40 people were in
attendance for worship!!
The congregation
president tells me
that most of their new members
make their initial connection through
these events,
and often attendance stays high for
a few weeks
as some of these visitors return to
learn more.
Scheduling one a few weeks before Christmas
or Easter
is a good way to magnify the number
of visitors
you can expect for Christmas Eve or
Easter Sunday
(when the number of visitors is often
at its highest).
I invited a friend of mine, she loved
the congregation,
and while she says she wouldn't want
to come often,
she said she would like to come back
again from time to time.
And you never know what she might decide
after that?
Someday she may decide that she wants
a church to go to regullarly,
and maybe ours will be the one that
meets her needs.
in faith - Derek Parker
Here is the home page of the Universalist
Church of Eldorado, Ohio:
http://www.bright.net/~wbehee/eldorado.htm
Return to the Online Handbook for Rural UU Congregations.
Go to the UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST page.
Go the beginning of this home page:
An
Existential Philosopher's Museum.