Do Our Coffee Hours Define Us?

     This came up in our “Outside Church Walls” Steering Team discussions about communications in our churches and how it affects not only those within the walls, but also those outside the walls.

     All Episcopal churches do not have established announced coffee hours after a service or between services for parishioners and guests.  If you do, it is important that members of your congregation, greeters, ushers or appointed regular members make sure that all are welcomed and become a part of joint fellowship, whatever that may be.

     For guests that are not familiar with our traditional services, the Prayer Book and Hymnal can be difficult on its own, so that greeters, ushers or members of the congregation can assist them through the service.

     YES...an exclusive “coffee hour” with no warm reception and inclusion in joint fellowship can signal rejection.  While a well planned welcoming and inclusion in the service, passing the peace and joining in fellowship can create a warm reception.

     A timely bit of information from St. James, Kent , and Rev. Marda in her May newsletter did a special “Welcoming Newcomers” at St. James.  It has wit and humor and good food for thought.

     Another part of this communication discussion centered on our churches relationship with its community.  Many of us on Outside Church Walls Steering Team in our early stages of forming went out into the community for interviews with public and civic leaders .

     The large parishes with active congregations, strong out-reach and community relation programs seem to be doing well with strong community involvement.  Smaller parishes and missions, from a man-power and budget limitation, have to pick and choose what they can do for their communities with special projects and members being involved in their community.  It was these interviews and answers to our questions of what can we do to make our churches and communities better that led us to our OCW Church Survey Cards for those who attend church and those who do not. It is important that this program be continued by all churches so that it can give us the number of responses to be representative of our Diocese of Olympia area. 

     The last part of this communication discussion (I called it the 5 C’s – Communication, Coffee Hours, Congregations, Communities and Connections) – was the connection made between these very important parts of our churches;  between congregations and communities, between congregations, priests and the Diocese, Bishop and staff, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church worldwide.

      The communication and connections within the OCW Steering Team has been an interesting project in itself, as you can imagine!  A very dedicated group, who with the help of the Lord and all of you can work to propose a faithful future for the Episcopal Church in Western Washington.  “Do our coffee hours define us”?  probably, Yes and No, congregation by congregation, and church by church.  Your OCW Steering Team begins and ends each meeting with prayer and responds to:  “what have we done today that might affect people in poverty?”  As we ask the question, do we really believe in respecting the dignity of every human being?  Our 24^th Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, answered that question with his declaration of “NO OUTCASTS”, Amen!

Chuck