|
back
I know it’s not
easy visiting a new church for the first time. Sometimes you feel like a
non-member visiting a country club. Do I belong here? Am I really
welcome? Will the people be unfriendly, or too friendly? Will I be
conspicuous? Will it be easy to leave if I don’t enjoy it? Will they ask
me for money? Will my kids enjoy it? How should I dress? Am I welcome if
I don’t believe?
As the senior pastor at Chapelwood United Methodist Church, I want to
make your visit an enjoyable experience, easy, stress-free, relaxing. We
designed Chapelwood to be "user-friendly" for people, whatever their
background, including those who have never been to church before. In
fact, we have many people who were not regular church attenders before
starting at CUMC. So you won’t be alone when you visit!! If I were
visiting a new church for the first time, I’d like to know what to
expect, so here’s a brief overview.
When you arrive at Chapelwood United Methodist Church for either our
8:30 or 11:00 services, you’ll park in the parking lot and use the main
entrance. There is good signage to help you find your way.
At the front door, there should be some friendly people (we call them
"greeters") to say hello, answer any questions you have, and direct you
to the sanctuary or the nursery. Speaking of the nursery, we have a good
one with a good security system so you’ll know that your kids are safe
and well cared for. If your kids are shy, they’re welcome to attend the
worship service with you, it is up to you.
You’ll notice that everyone is dressed comfortably, some folks wear coat
and ties, others are dressed in "office casual" and many are in jeans
and sneakers. We are not about a fashion show. If you arrive early,
you’re welcome to have a snack or a cup of coffee. You won’t have a hard
time finding the coffee and information center in the lobby area.
When you come in the sanctuary, you’ll be given a copy of The Bulletin
which has the week’s announcements and an order for the service. You’ll
notice the Bulletin has an insert asking for some information…it is an
easy way for us to get better acquainted as well as a way for us to pray
for you by name throughout the week (I will explain this at the
beginning of the service). You can ask for any kind of information or
assistance using this insert. You can also request a nametag to be made
for you next week. (We try to get our regular attenders to wear name
tags so people can call one another by name…plus I am so bad with names,
but you will find that out for yourself.)
The service usually begins with announcements and an introduction to the
theme of the day’s service. Music plays an integral part of the service
and we have great music that will appeal to many different tastes. The
sermon is also part of the service and I usually speak less than 25
minutes. I do my best to make the messages interesting, enjoyable, and
relevant to daily life. If I do my job right, you’ll hear solid
Christian theology in intelligent, understandable, relevant terms. And
hopefully, you’ll laugh at times and maybe feel a tug at your heart too.
If it is a Sunday we celebrate Communion (also known as the Lord’s
Supper and the Eucharist), you are encouraged to join us in the
celebration. We do not believe you have to be a Methodist or a member of
any Church in order to come forward. I will explain how we celebrate
Communion right before we come forward.
I’ll close the service about 60-70 minutes after it began (and believe
it or not, the time will fly). I hope you’ll come up and introduce
yourself to me afterwards.
One thing, I do want to you understand. We will take an offering but I
do NOT want you to feel any pressure to put anything in the plate. We
want you to feel welcome as our guest, with no pressure to give. The
offering is for our members and regular attenders who have committed to
support the church with prayers, presence, gifts and service.
After the service, you’ll pick up your kids from the nursery and I hope
you stay around and visit for a bit. Church is about God and worship,
but it’s also about community and friendship, so we hope people really
experience warmth and friendliness at Chapelwood.
You will be able to pick up a packet of information and we will be able
to answer any question you may have…or we can figure out where we are
eating fro lunch.
That’s about it. People constantly tell me that they really felt
comfortable - "at home" are the words I hear most frequently. I hope
you’ll stop by this Sunday. And if you do, please come down and say hi…I
look forward to meeting you.
Thanks for your interest!
back |