You Are Welcome Here!

For the first six months of the year, a group of about fifteen of us worked together in an effort to “re-vision” the life and work of First United Methodist Church. It was an ambitious goal, and we were partially successful.

We read together You Only Have to Die: Leading Your Church to New Life by James Harnish. We looked at the statistical trends and patterns of our congregation and the community. We prayed together.  We talked together.

We thought that we would be able to develop a common vision or direction for our church’s life. It did not turn out quite that way–or at least not yet.

We continue to work toward understanding the “future with hope” that we do believe God has in store for us. We are working with a consultant in a strategic planning process. And we have decided that a long-used phrase really speaks to who we are–and who we want to be!

The phrase is simply, “You Are Welcome Here.”

• “You” means anybody and everybody who might come our way–intentionally or unintentionally.
• “Are” means “without condition.” We genuinely want to be open to whoever God sends our way. We want to avoid preconditions as much as possible.
• “Welcome” means that we want everyone to have a “place” where they can truly belong, discover a “pace” that works for them, and fulfill the “purpose” that God has for their lives.
• “Here” means not only First and Walnut but wherever God sends us as a congregation–individually and collectively.

Do we fully embody that commitment as a congregation? Not yet, but we are on the way. We need to live into this commitment to “radical hospitality” as we seek to live up to what we claim as God’s purpose.

It is not quite where I imagined that we would come out in the re-visioning process. But it is a place that I believe we need to be–and a place that we can become.

Grace and Peace,
Mark Conard