3 Magic Words!

There you are sitting in the pew on Sunday morning and wondering who those ‘strangers’ are sitting in front of, behind or beside you. So at the end of the service you welcome them to Zion and ask their names—only to find out they have been members for 20 years! How embarrassing! From now on you’ll limit your contact with folks you don’t know to a smile and sharing the peace.

But there is a better way! Straight from the ELCA evangelism team comes a guide for teaching members how to make guests at worship feel welcome:
Use these three magic words: “Have we met?”

Now it doesn’t matter whether the ‘strangers’ are first time guests at worship, frequent visitors, or members who usually worship at one of the other services. This neutral introduction will not embarrass either members or guests. Use them every week! Let’s make sure everyone who comes to worship is made to feel welcome.