Jefferson Unitarian Thrives With Welcoming Spirit
March 15, 2008
Much of this issue of InterConnections is devoted to an in-depth look at Jefferson Unitarian Church (JUC) in Golden, CO, which has grown from 400 to 770 members in the past decade through the use of intentional welcoming practices and dynamic worship and other programming.About once a week a leader from a Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregation somewhere in North America calls or emails Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, CO.
“They want to know how we do things,” says Cyndee Dries, church administrator. “The requests run the gamut, from what our policy is on disruptive members to whether we take credit cards for pledge payments, to our job description for our volunteer coordinator. Recently someone wanted a photo of our nametag display board.”
The calls come because word has gotten out about JUC. And for good reason. JUC is the 12th largest church in the Unitarian Universalist Association and the fourth fastest-growing church (among midsize and large congregations), with a growth rate of 85 percent over the past decade.
In 2006 JUC leaders shared the congregation’s membership practices at a well-attended session of UU University, held preceding General Assembly. They also created and distributed more than 400 DVDs, titled Ideas for Growth, outlining those practices.
JUC is located on a well-traveled street on the west edge of the Denver metro area, in a suburban area. It benefits from being near the intersection of four major highways and interstates. A large street sign helps people find it. Location is one reason for JUC’s growth, but there are bigger ones. Chief among them is a welcoming culture.
Here’s how it works. On Sunday mornings the first person that visitors (at JUC they’re “guests”) see is a minister stationed outside the front door welcoming everyone. Inside, there is a hard-to-miss welcome table staffed by at least two people, and there are one or two more greeters on the lookout for newcomers. There is often a separate greeter for families with children.
Guests are acknowledged five times each Sunday morning. Two times are before the service, by the minister outside and then at the Welcome table. During the service itself guests are invited to introduce themselves. When the offering plates are passed first- and second-timers are told that they are guests and are asked to let the plates pass. Then they are acknowledged again when congregants are invited to turn and greet their neighbors. And the welcome doesn’t stop there. A brief Getting to Know UU session is offered after most services. Every first-time guest also gets a phone call within a week or so.
JUC wasn’t always this friendly, notes Annie Hedberg, JUC’s membership coordinator. She and her husband visited JUC multiple times before being made to feel welcome 10 years ago.
The change at JUC began about 1998 when interim ministers the Revs. Barbara Wells ten Hove and Jaco ten Hove arrived at JUC and began a more intentional greeting process, including greeting congregants outside. In the previous year JUC had dropped from 400 to 300 members following a period of conflict. “Our practice of greeting people had a large and positive impact immediately,” says Barbara. The ministers also involved lay people in more visible greeting practices. “These changes may be the single most important thing we did the whole year,” she says. The ten Hoves also helped develop JUC’s Path to Membership process. (More on this below.)
When current JUC Senior Minister the Rev. Peter Morales was called in 1999, he continued the greeting practices, and he did more. From the pulpit and in other ways he encouraged the congregation to become “a truly warm, welcoming, and hospitable place for our guests,” he says. “I tried to model that. We put time and resources into it. The result was that we did in fact become the welcoming place we had always wanted to be. People experienced the warmth along with the excellent programming and the social witness. More came back for a second and third visit. Fewer members left. This combination produced a lot of growth.” He added, “I don’t talk about growth. I talk about serving people.”
Another reason for its growth is that JUC has both a membership coordinator and a volunteer coordinator on staff and backs them up with groups of volunteers.
Hedberg works 10 hours a week as membership coordinator, helped by a team of greeters. In addition to greeting, she also contacts people who have dropped away or are behind on pledge payments. JUC has 5 to 10 guests each week. About half fill out the guest registry on their first visit and more do it on subsequent visits, Hedberg says.
A culture change has taken hold, she says. “I used to feel I had to be there every Sunday to make sure no one left unwelcomed. Now everyone does it. We’ve eliminated the fear that newcomers are going to make the church feel strange. Now there’s excitement and enthusiasm about sharing all we have to offer.”
People at the Welcome Table stand rather than sit, she says. “When they’re standing they’re more available to people. It seems friendlier.”
JUC takes pride in its Path to Membership class for newcomers. This is an orientation session held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., four to six Saturdays annually, which includes brunch and childcare. Attendance is expected, but not required, for all prospective members. The class is presented by JUC ministers, the membership coordinator, and the volunteer coordinator. The class gives the guests an opportunity to say what brought them to JUC and includes sessions on UU history, principles, congregational polity, a description of the various JUC ministries, the responsibilities and benefits of membership, and the joining process.
Dries, who has been administrator for 26 years, says one of the greatest contributors to growth over the years has been a change in the nature of Sunday morning programming. Originally primarily humanist, JUC now embraces multiple theologies. “The services are consistently professional and sophisticated,” she says. “Every service is planned well in advance and the theme is carried through the sermon, music, and readings.”
Joys and sorrows are not spoken by individuals, but are written into a book at the side of the sanctuary and then made into a prayer by one of the ministers. Sermons are clear and to the point, says Dries. The chalice is lit each Sunday by a different congregant who shares a brief reflection about an aspect of his or her personal or congregational life. These reflections, which also fit with the theme of the service, are collected into booklets annually.
JUC has an endowment of about $600,000. Interest from it helps fund projects not included in the operating budget, such as a meditation garden, a wayside pulpit street sign, new chairs for the sanctuary, and more.
Music is another vital part of the JUC experience. The congregation ordained its music director, Keith Arnold, in 1992 as minister of music. In addition to selecting music that augments worship themes or the appropriate season, Arnold introduced “Morningsong” a 5- to 10-minute songfest before each service to teach new hymns and create an atmosphere of worship.
There are choirs for adults, youth, and children, plus a bell choir and a dozen or so small vocal and instrumental groups that people can engage with. JUC also has its second music ministry intern, Sarah Billerbeck, who is working to increase the involvement of children and youth with music.
For more information contact interconnections @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
