Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: The New UU: A Program for Welcoming Newcomers to Unitarian Universalist Congregations

Leader Resource 2: Letter to Panelists

Part of The New UU

Personalize the letter by filling in the brackets in the text below. To determine the length of time each participant may speak, assume that 20 minutes of the panel's time will be presentation and divide the available time among the panelists.

Dear Panelist,

Thank you for agreeing to meet with The New UU workshop on [date] in [place]. We anticipate that the panel portion of the workshop will begin about [time], and last for approximately thirty minutes. Our purpose is to introduce our lifespan religious education program to people who have been visiting the congregation. We are including panelists from a wide variety of generations and experiences. [List the specific panelists and the perspective each brings.]

Each panelist will have [amount of time] minutes to describe their experience. We're relying on you to talk about [the purpose for this particular panelist]. Then, the workshop participants will have ten minutes to ask questions of the panel. We encourage you to focus on your personal experience and to share what you wish you had known as a newcomer. You may learn something, too, from hearing the perspectives of others! We will close the workshop immediately after the panel, so if you can stay a few extra minutes in case anyone wants to talk with you further, that would be great.

Again, we're very grateful for your participation. It helps to provide potential new members with a deeper and more developed understanding of our congregation.

Sincerely,

[Facilitators of the Workshop]