Memorial Services

We are a small lay-led fellowship in Bowling Green, Kentucky. As some of us get older, we think about who would "do" a funeral/memorial service for us. We are pretty far from other Unitarian churches who have ministers, and besides it would be nicer if it were someone who knew us. I am thinking about leading a Sunday morning program on this subject. Have you any ideas from other fellowships in the same boat? It has occured to me that if one of our members died, we could put together a meaningful and lovely service ourselves. I would appreciate any input on this subject. Thank you very much and your InterConnections publication is truly invaluable to congregations like ours.

Susie Likes
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Bowling Green, KY (36 members)

Integrating Newcomers

We have taken a proactive stance in integrating newcomers. It goes like this:

All newcomers who fill out a request to get on the mailing list are  invited to two events (by mail and follow-up call): 1) a monthly newcomer dessert at a member's home where they share about themselves and we share about the church and let them know how to get more involved. 2) Every other month the minister does an introduction to UUism. We invite them three times until they've attended both events or we're clear they're not interested.

Those who complete both sessions, and/or seem involved at church but haven't yet joined are sent a letter a month before each "Ingathering Ceremony" (what we call our new member ritual) and are asked if they wish to join at that time. (Privileges and responsibilities of membership are spelled out in that letter). We include a response postcard with checkboxes (Yes, I'll be there; No, ask me next time; Not interested in joining). We get a good sense of where "friends" stand.

Finally, we're beginning to recognize that for many people, joining a church is a momentous event. We've acted like it's no big deal when all we asked was that they sign the book. Now we combine the signing as part of the member welcome ritual in front of the whole congregation, and both the new members and the rest of the congregation seem to find this deeply satisfying.

Joy Overstreet
Michael Servetus UUF
Vancouver, WA (227)

Simple Meeting Rules

As a meetings-wonk of long standing, I have adopted the practice of summarizing essential rules at the start of meetings in order to promote better procedure. I believe that officers, trustees, and members alike can benefit from succinct presentation of the essentials without having to go to the books. Church by-laws, of course, are the starting point in any case.

A. William Larson, Church Parliamentarian
First Unit. Church of Palm Beach County
North Palm Beach, FL (253)

Alternative Rules

I'm a big advocate of Alice Sturgis' Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, (McGraw Hill, 1996 $12.95). In my opinion it's more easily understood than Robert's Rules. We've even written the Sturgis book into our bylaws.

Tom Boehme, Former President
Live Oak UU Church
Austin, TX (85)