Category Archives: Welcoming

Making a welcome, making all feel welcome – and making the coffee!

Shout Outs: Thank You To All!

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Thanks to all who made the installation service and reception so memorable and beautiful:

Val and Steve Gruenwald; Donna, Jessica,and Paul Tamaski; and Pat Kalicki for the amazing display and presentation of food and decorations in Holy Innocents Hall. And for all those who cleaned up after the party – Cindy Goodwin, the Tamaskis, the Gruenwalds, Johny & Eileen Borg, Carin Lewandowski, Monica Knapp and Ron & Laura Malacek.

Bob DeHaven and Douglas VanHouten for the hours spent on name tags — both for our members and those who were with us for the first time. Bob also arranged and organized the Welcoming Table, and designed the beautiful new St. Nicholas Ministry Cards which are now printed and available.

Hal Stratton and Steve Raftery for the detailed work of creating programs, ordering and purchasing flowers for the church, organizing the Installation Liturgy, Hal serving as Verger and both being such dedicated, “go-to guys.”

Douglas VanHouten for printing the worship program.

Tess, Neal, Jillian and Shannon Setchell; Vince Ortero and Jeff Westerheide for staffing the Welcoming Table and greeting all those present. Hank Mandziara and Bob Kalicki for greeting and ushering.

Paul Swanson and Steve Gruenwald for directing traffic. Erlene Lee-Forde, Pat D’Aprix and Eason Williams for helping Bob Kalicki with the collection.

Pat Kalicki and Steve Raftery for setting in motion the wheels that made this Installation go!

To all those who presented the symbols of ministry during the liturgy: Cyndi De Bock, Jay O’Reilly, Penny Mandziara, Mindy Golden, Chuck Schroeder, Eunice Dohra, Nancy Allan, Audrey Cannon, Vernon Forde, Molly and Rose Gruenwald, Shannon Setchell, Jack Zimo, Pat Kalicki, Steve Raftery.

Our Acolytes Extraordinaire…Jessica and Paul Tamaski.

Our lectors: Jennifer Garcia and Paul Brouillette.

Our intercessor and litanist: Connie Nicholson.

Our chalice bearers: Kristin Jacobs, Val Gruenwald, Pat Kalicki, Steve Raftery.

The musicians who so ably assisted everyone in robust congregational signing: Mary Fletcher-Gomez, our organist/choirmaster; our choir; Alex Schwarz, trumpet player; all members of the assembly, who raised the roof in song!

For Jeff Lee, our beloved bishop; David Gibbons, preacher and our Dean; and our beloved Paul Brouillette for sharing their ministry.

All who came — many for the first time, and those who ‘came home, again,’ your company was so welcomed and pleasing.

The Inter-Faith ministers of Elk Grove Village and clergy of our Episcopal Diocese and their husbands, wives and partners for their shared prayers and support.

All 140 ministers of the assembly who gathered for Wednesday’s celebration of a new, shared ministry.

And lastly and certainly far from least…our gracious Lord Jesus our Most Holy Redeemer for the love, grace and hope He provides.

Other Voices: Speaking to the Soul | Isnt That Our Cup?

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Here is an interesting post about welcoming – offering it, and claiming it.

Our story in Genesis–and my own story, linked to it–are reminders to me of just another reason why we need to engage visitors with a little more than a nod and the Peace of Christ. It’s not that hard to engage without being annoying–Simply a “Hi, my name’s whatever, and you are…?” and an invitation to coffee hour is a good start. I have learned more things about visitors in the line to get food in the undercroft than I ever have in the back of the nave. Seems like even shy people can get chattier when the conversation turns to food.

Link: Speaking to the Soul

This is absolutely the best time to chat with a newcomer – it’s important to invite a new face to coffee first, introduce yourself, offer information without smothering, and so on. But offering a cup of coffee and a little something sweet (we usually have a variety of yummy things) to a new person means something tangible. Conversations about anything can start over a simple cup of Java and a cookie.

The chalice and ciborium used to illustrate this post, which relates to the story of Joseph and how he used a golden cup secreted in his brothers’ baggage to detain them so he could reveal his identity to them, were donated in February 2008 to St Nicholas (in Exile), Atwater CA. Photo credit Ginny Gibbs.