Feeling 'Out of the Loop'?
It is Sunday morning, and you are just now arriving to church. You are excited to be here after having to miss a couple of Sundays due to a long-awaited vacation. You walk into the building and the lady who you always see fixing the coffee is wearing red. You greet each other warmly. As you make your way to the sanctuary entrance, that friendly man that always hands you a bulletin is wearing a red tie. You think to yourself, “That color sure is pretty with his suit coat.” Glancing through the doorway, you notice that a LOT of people are wearing red. What is going on here? Why is everyone wearing red? You sit on your pew in your lovely blue dress as the preacher announces that today is Pentecost and thanks everyone for wearing red. Why did you not know everyone was to wear red? Or, you attend church only to find out that there is a covered dish dinner in the fellowship hall after worship and everyone was supposed to bring something. Now you don’t want to stay because you didn’t bring anything. You feel like an outsider. “Why didn’t I know about this,” you wonder, saying to yourself, “I never know what is going on.”
Now these are made-up tales, but I have a feeling some of us have had similar experiences. How does one find out the happenings of the church? Bethany wants everyone to feel included and to participate in the life of the church and does multiple things to ensure people are in the know, but maybe you are not aware of these resources or which resource to use when you have missed a Sunday or two. Hopefully, this information will help you navigate the resources available for you.
One of the greatest communication tools is our weekly bulletin. Our secretary, Christine Beeman, creates this every week so we can easily follow the order of worship during service. Included in the bulletin are offering envelopes (also provided in the pews) and a page of announcements. The announcements are upcoming events such as special worship services, VBS, covered dish dinners, fundraisers, meetings, practices, camp opportunities, etc. Be sure to take this home with you and put it somewhere that it will be noticed. In addition to the paper copy of announcements, our AV team (currently consisting of Christine Beeman and Liam McCarhty) projects the announcements on the sanctuary wall prior to the beginning of the worship service.
These same announcements are also usually posted on our Facebook Page. Facebook is where we post short messages informing everyone of upcoming special services, events, and local opportunities. Sometimes, we will also post photos of an event that has happened and a thank you for those who attended or perhaps organized the event/service or served at it.
Another awesome communication tool is our monthly newsletter, The Beacon. This is produced by Jennie Adams, a member of our communications committee, at the beginning of every month. The Beacon includes photos, birthdays, a Word from our minister, unapproved board minutes (very handy for learning what is going on), needs of the church, articles written by several people discussing upcoming events and reviewing past events, and also current prayer concerns. If you are not receiving the newsletter, please check with Jennie to see if she has your correct address. The church mails out over 200 newsletters every month.
Bethany also has an electronic church directory. It is available through an app that is installed for free on your phone. This is called myUCD. It has photos and contact information for many people who attend the church, both members and non-members. If you would like this app or would like your information available on this app. please contact me, Melissa Watson, of communications. The app also has a shortcut to our YouTube channel, so you can view recorded services on your phone.
Also, we use Onsolve for our OneCall needs. This is a great tool that helps the church send out (via phone call) prayer requests, announces events and special services, and is utilized to remind people of deadlines, such as when money for poinsettias is due etc. Currently, our communications chair is managing the One Calls. Our minister as well as our communication chair sends out messages on the OneCall system. If you are not receiving these calls and would like to receive these calls, please contact Melissa Watson.
