Tues, 16 Nov. 2021

Ashley Wade

Welcome to Church: Updates to Welcoming During a Pandemic

Why do I have to register for church? You don’t, and thanks for walking this path with us.

TIMELINE:

2020 March 15, In-person services at 8 & 10. We knew this would be our last pre-covid-era service in the sanctuary. Other than that, we didn’t know much of anything. We felt a lot of feelings.
2021 June 6, In-person (448 days later) services at 8 in the sanctuary. 9:30 began on the lawn of the Goodwin Gardens of Strawbery Banke.
2021 November 14, Both services 8 & 10 in the sanctuary, with children’s and music ministries active again. The choir school performed. Masks abound.

After 448 days worshiping remotely, we prepared to come back together, physically. Again, we felt a lot of feelings. There were several safety measures we agreed to – some of them were based on human comfort levels; some of them were passed down to us by the NH Diocese.

Covid tracing was mandated by the NH Diocese. Fortunately, we had a savvy new database to help us do this well. Beginning on June 6th, Jennifer and I were stationed at the entrances for both the 8 and 9:30 services, checking people in and personally registering anyone who was not already in our system.

As it turned out, this was a robust ministry of welcoming! It was also an unsustainable model for our staff, however, while music and children’s ministries were still quiet, we could manage. And we could use Realm to create registration links and integrate our attendance information with our church directory.

REGISTER. This word, though. “Why do I have to register for church?” The answer used to be straight-forward: to take attendance for Covid-19 tracing efforts. It was a requirement, and we felt the silver-lining of face-to-face welcoming and supporting our administration around the newly adopted online database, Realm.

Today, however, this process and more specifically this word “register” feel like a barrier. The answer to that question has changed, or more accurately, we no longer sense a logical answer exists.

UPDATES TO OUR WELCOMING ROUTINE

Checking-in online for church is not required but is encouraged for the purposes of knowing who’s with us and welcoming new people and families to our community.

You may notice a welcoming team begin to emerge. We believe that in-person welcoming efforts should continue and we’re growing that ministry. (Are you interested in welcoming people? It’s fun and you get to know everyone!!)

We want to loosen our ties with the word “register” and feel a return to normalcy by letting that go. We have learned a lot in these past 20 months, and I’m sure will continue that path. You will be asked to register / check-in / RSVP for specific events and perhaps even worship services in the future. However, our weekly Sunday services are always open and welcome to all. No seats are ever reserved, no one is ever uninvited. There is a place for you and me and everyone else. All may, none must. You get the picture.

We do appreciate your feedback and like to hear your experience of entering and communing with St. John’s. This is not our church, it’s your church. Thank you for the honor of this good work, and thanks for trusting us.

See you in church!

Ashley