The ministry of greeting

The ministry of greeting was the subject of a recent Saturday morning workshop at St. Paul’s in Norwalk.  Victoria Miller and I attended with about twenty others from various churches.  Greeting is a team ministry in a parish.  Greeters reach out to new and returning parishioners before the Sunday service. 

The workshop began with an opportunity for participants to share stories of being new in any setting:  we shared our memories of what made us feel welcomed and part of the group and what, on other occasions, made us feel excluded or isolated.  Three words to remember are SPACE – it is important to give each person his or hers; PACE – let the conversation flow naturally; and GRACE – God’s grace is the center of what we are offering and receiving. 

We learned a variety of helpful and non-threatening opening sentences, how to follow with information about the church and staff and services when wanted, and how to answer questions even when we don’t know the answer.  Several members of the St. Paul’s greeters team shared their experiences as the morning continued. Role playing helped us understand what works and what doesn’t work  

This same kind of training will be offered here at Saint Saviour’s to parishioners who would like to serve as greeters.  It will help them to be open and honest with new parishioners and feel more comfortable and excited about the process of welcoming newcomers.  Joe Marinelli and the New Member Ministry Committee plan to launch a greeters ministry in the near future.  Please think about whether you would like to participate in this important part of parish life.  We would do well to remember this from chapter 13 of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Noreen McLaughlin

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“Human life is the operating system on which
all God’s programs run.”

Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, quoted in Tom McGrath, Raising Faith-Filled Kids (Chicago: Loyola Press, 2000), 16.