I would like to invite you to be our Welcome Ambassadors. When I walked into Harvard Epworth UMC for the first time, many of you welcomed me with open arms and I felt I could fit in quickly. We all know that visiting any new church for the first time can feel awkward. I hope that all those hungry souls, people who were desperately searching for God’s love, who might have finally worked up their courage to go to church, have someone to speak to and make them feel welcome. I would love the newcomers to discover, as we all have, many wonderful people here at HEUMC. By welcoming them we can help them prayerfully consider our church as a family they would like to worship and fellowship with as we continue to grow together. We want them to know that we truly believe we are a “Place to belong."

As a Welcome Ambassador, you will

1) Make sure that everyone who walks through the doors will feel welcome and wanted. A simple “I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you’ll come back!” goes a long way. 2) Instead of jetting out the doors as soon as the “Amen” is uttered from the closing prayer, take a few minutes to talk to the newcomers. Invite them to Coffee hour or Bible study. Tell them about the activities for their children. Talk about the Friday Café or Mission Trip experiences. 3) Introduce them to other church members and our staff. Help them build a community. 4) Be an extension of God’s loving hands. Take a casserole, send a card or provide help as needed. 5) Ask newcomers how you can pray for them.

It takes so little to make someone feel welcome and it takes so little for someone to feel so unwelcome that they will never enter the doors of a church again. I hope many of you are as excited as I am to welcome the newcomers to our wonderful family and if you are interested in this program, please sign up to be a welcome ambassador and come speak to me. My email address: erinism614@gmail.com/ phone number 857-243-1067. For the doodle poll sign up for the welcome ambassador program click here.

Erin