Pastor Jim Clarke    Pastor Paula McCutcheon

The Nametag—Tool of Welcome

Pastor Jim Clarke

One of our esteemed members caught me after worship one Sunday this past month and pointed at the kiosk where all the nametags are hung and asked me what I saw there.  It took me a moment, I’m sad to say, before I got her point – all the name tags were up there and not on people.  I know it gets tiring to hear this reminder, to wear your nametag, but we wouldn’t have to remind so often if everyone would wear his or her nametags!!!

I view this as a kind of barometer of how prepared we are for visitors.  Another of our esteemed members shared in Joys and Concerns last month about visiting a Methodist Church back east and being given some kind of pin when he and his spouse arrived.  During coffee hour, standing around alone, the pastor came up to greet them, and he asked what the pin was for.  The pastor told him it was to identify them as visitors, to which he replied, “It isn’t working.”  I think we do better than that, but I occasionally hear stories of “missing the mark” with new people.  One Sunday I watched a man get up and leave without a word.  I am not sure why he did, but I suspect he felt uncomfortable.      

We have to remember it can be a terrifying experience to visit a church – where everyone seems to know each other, but you, the visitor, know no one.  Wearing nametags is the least we can do.  Even more, we could come to worship prepared to greet someone we don’t know.  I hear people say they are afraid they will “meet” a person who has been here for 30 years!  So what?  Isn’t it about time? 

Recently I did a little calculating and discovered that well over a third of our active congregation have come to our Church within the last 5 years.  If you also include those who are active, but haven’t joined, it gets closer to half.  That means we are growing.  Sadly, at the same time we lose people, mostly through moving.  If we don’t continue to welcome new members we will shrink as a congregation.  We don’t want that – we want to grow!  Right?

I am sharing this again because I have noticed many visitors this past month.  It is something to celebrate, no doubt.  It is also an invitation to reach out.  See you in worship, and in coffee hour too. 

Pastor Jim