2 minute read
The Welcome Committee: Ensuring That All Feel “at Home” in Our St. Benedict Community
It can feel awkward to go someplace new, especially when you don’t know anyone, where meeting new people and feeling connected seems like a challenge. But here at St. Benedict Cathedral Parish, we hope that from the first moment someone steps through our doors, they feel welcome and at home in our faith community.
Parishioner Gini Combs remembers feeling that way when she first moved to the area and joined St. Ben’s at age 11. Today, she serves as a member of the Welcome Committee, in hopes of creating that same experience for others.
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“My family moved to Evansville and I started school at St. Ben’s,” Gini says. “Everybody in my class was so welcoming and so friendly and made me feel part of the group. And I have remembered that my whole life, and tried to put that forward anywhere I go.”
The Welcome Committee serves the parish in a number of different ways, some of which have shifted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, they have hosted a Welcome Dinner for new parishioners, sent birthday and anniversary cards, served as greeters at Mass, and made a point of welcoming new parishioners to our Lenten Soup Suppers and Knights of Columbus Fish Frys.
More recently, the parish had begun to send out welcome packets to new parishioners, developed a sponsor program to help new parishioners become acclimated to our community, partnered with the University of Evansville to welcome students, and more. The Welcome Committee also developed a church history brochure and began to offer church tours after Mass, to help people appreciate the beauty and history of our Cathedral.
Gini hopes that by connecting with new parishioners early on, they will become engaged in the life of the parish and find ways to use their gifts to serve, as well as connect with others in our community who share similar interests.
“I think that people can make their church their family, if they feel welcome here,” Gini says.
Gini encourages other parishioners to consider becoming involved in the Welcome Committee, using their gifts to help new parishioners feel connected and supported by our community. She points out that it takes people of all different backgrounds and personalities to ensure that all of our new parishioners — regardless of their needs — are able to find someone they can relate to.
We have a variety of Welcome Committee members and it’s nice because of the diversity,” she says. “They can share their experiences, and how they felt initially, and we can talk about how we can improve that experience for our new parishioners.”
It is Gini’s hope that whether or not parishioners feel a particular call to serve on the Welcome Committee, they will always seek to make visitors feel at home — even if only by a (maybe masked) smile.
“A smile goes a long way,” Gini says. “In a way, that’s Jesus’ face, smiling at people, giving them hope, making them feel good. That is one of the things I try to do — keep a smile on my face. That is a reflection of Jesus, being His face on earth.”
