Make a Name for Your Congregation
When people who live in your community, that do not attend your church, hear your congregation named, what comes to mind? Is it your food bank or soup kitchen? Perhaps it is your Scout troop? Maybe it is the people they know who go to your church that are involved in community boards and active in many ways beyond the church itself. Perhaps your neighbors have never heard of your congregation.
There are two ways I want to suggest that you can get your name out in a positive way. Either or neither may suit your church, but I offer them for prayerful consideration:
Something for Nothing
Lots of churches sell food or drinks at a city event. Some congregations have decided that it is better to give away cold water as a way to show hospitality. For example, St. Patrick’s, Pooler, is present at local festivals giving away bottles of water (pictured above). Whatever it is that works for your church, offering someone something they want with no strings attached is a great sign of the unearned grace of God and a way to connect your congregation to a positive first impression.
The Place Where the Community Gathers
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Historically, this has made a big impact in some cases. Grace Church, Sandersville, was important to that community as the one place where whites and blacks could and would meet together. While racial tensions are not so overt as to require church space for meetings, it is still a wonderful gifts of hospitality when you reach out and offer room for free. Pictured here is a diocesan group in front of St. Matthew’s Savannah which offered a gathering place at the start of the MLK Parade in Savannah in the years when the parade started at the intersection by the church.
Whether these two ideas fit your congregation or not, it is worth considering what impression you are making on your neighbors and whether their is anything you can offer with no expectation of return. It will likely help you put your church’s name out in a positive way. In any case, it is a chance to show care of your congregation for its community.
The Rev. Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary
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