Because our activity to date is very much a mirror image of last year except for the culmination of great effort and accomplishment by Joy Ahrens and the staff (Jenn, Erik and Debbie) in the updating and revision of our church directory, I will take the lazy way out by repeating verbatim much of what was included in our last year's report.

The committee’s duties involved keeping the brochure racks supplied with mostly up to date material, assembling folders of material for newcomers and visitors, staffing a welcoming and information table in the vestry after the worship service during coffee hour for much of the year, keeping a good supply of visitor cards in the pew card pockets, encouraging wearing of name tags during church services and writing profiles of our new members for the Newsletter and the newly created New Member Board in the vestry.

(we are a little behind on this endeavor and will try to complete the remaining profiles in time to include them in the July newsletter)

Our most enjoyable task by far was making follow up telephone calls to the 25 households that filled out a visitor card between September ’05 and the present and meeting a few of them at the Newcomer Gathering held in February. A distinct change from last year and a mild disappointment for us was 10 fewer visitors filling out cards than last year and fewer yet attending the Newcomer Gatherings that were offered, in spite of advance Newsletter notice, telephone contacts and news of the opportunity in the bulletin insert. We reduced the number of evening sessions to two but still had to cancel the fall offering. There are also fewer new members then at this time last year, six compared to 15 but if tracked, this fluctuation pattern may not be unusual?

For our six new members, there will be a celebration of their decision to become official members of our church family at the new member breakfast and recognition and welcoming ceremony during the worship service on June eleventh.

At a recent meeting we discussed suggestions and changes we might make in the year to come. We would like to resume offering the opportunity for visitors to introduce themselves at the beginning of the Sunday service. This may increase the chance for them to be recognized and greeted during coffee hour. We also continue to think about ways to make better and more timely use of the talents and interests of newcomers. Jenn McAdoo has suggested that we compose a friendly letter to be sent in May to all newcomers that filled out a visitor card during the year. We will add this good suggestion to others and are always very appreciative of any ideas offered to help us make visitors and everyone that comes through the church doors, feel they are important and welcome.

Respectfully Submitted
by Sue Kennedy,
Welcoming Committee Chairperson

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First Universalist Church • 207.846.4148 • 97 Main Street, Yarmouth, Maine 04096