Would you like to come to church?
Of course, we are always ready to welcome visitors to our church - aren’t we? But on two weekends in September this year, churches throughout Wales are invited to make a special effort - and that means starting to plan now.
Saturday 19th September is Open Churches Day when churches and chapels throughout Wales will be opening their doors to visitors and sharing with them the riches of their heritage. Even if your church is usually closed in the week, can you open it for this one day to welcome visitors? The day will be widely advertised in local press so visitors will be looking out for open churches.
Research shows that many people would come to church if only someone invited them to ‘come with me’.
Sunday 27th September is Back to Church Sunday, a day when the members of congregations throughout the UK will be inviting a friend to come to church with them. On Back to Church Sunday 2008, people in 3,000 churches invited and welcomed back 37,000 friends. Many of those invited for the day became regular worshippers. Bishop Dominic is supporting plans for churches in our diocese to join in the day. Ideas and background information can be found on www.backtochurch.co.uk/index.asp
Packs of invitations and other resources can be ordered.
If your parish wants to know more, or is interested in taking part in either of these days, please contact Janet Bone in the Diocesan Office
Open Churches Day - Back to Church Sunday
Do one, do both - or make a welcoming week of it.
Back to Church Sunday brought me to a new family
St Mary's in Malpas held a ‘Back to Church Sunday’ in 2007 and 2008. On both occasions it has been an important event to help the church invite others to ‘come and see’ the goodness of God in the lives of his people. It has also changed the lives of many people.
Shelley Douglas of Malpas, Newport, says about her experience of the 2007 Back to Church Sunday:
“I had no contact with any church, apart from when I was at school, until a friend from the gym invited me to her church. It was lovely to be invited, it made me feel very special.
“I was struck by how welcoming it was and that there was a feeling of family amongst the people straight away. It was a celebration. People were relaxed, people just wanted to encourage you but not over-forcefully. It was just like them saying, ‘Here we are, come and join us, the water's fine …’
“I then wanted to be more involved, I went on an Alpha course and was baptized.
"And that was two years ago.”