welcoming

Q and A: How to increase Facebook views

Q. I’ve taken many of the suggestions about doing church Facebook better (InterConnections, March 1, 2014) but am very frustrated by the rate of views allowed by Facebook algorithms. Last year I regularly got 100 views, sometimes 1,000 or more, and now they are very small. Someone told me that about one in five posts get through to the news feeds, more likely the ones with videos. I always have a photo. I can see the content is not reaching my own news feed. What can we do to change that? I changed the option on my website to receive notifications from the church website, but still am not getting all the posts.

—Sara Morrison Neil, membership program director, First Parish, Framingham, Mass.

A. Facebook changes privacy controls, news feed algorithms, et al. per its own business needs, not per the user’s needs. Only when user needs tie directly to its bottom line will Facebook suit UU needs, let alone any special interest group.

Sara’s not getting the traffic because she has no control, not only over what Facebook does but over how friends or followers to her page set their Facebook accounts. Unless everyone on both sides of the dialogue identifies each other as “close friends” or “followers,” there’s no way for her content to be viewed consistently by those she’s trying to reach. And therein lies the crux of the Facebook problem. Forget about covenant because the technology works against it. Even with the setting of “followers,” there’s no guarantee people will see her posts.

—June Herold, former executive of AOL, member of the UU Church of Arlington, Va., and author of REACH: A Digital Ministry Program.

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Growth

Church tips found through social media

For a look at how some Sunday morning guests might see us, read the account of a Texas blogger on her first visit to a UU church. She wrote of her visit:

“I’m not sure what to think of this service. I expected something a bit more like Unity, Church of Religious Science or Divine Science. I didn’t hear any mention of Jesus Christ and only found the word ‘God’ in a few of the hymns. Most songs were about the clouds, community and beauty, etc.

 

Though I’ve never been to a Native American service, I would think it would have the same general feel.

 

I’d call this church a true ‘feel good’ church. While I didn’t get much from it, I’m glad there are denominations like this that are welcoming to gay, lesbian and transgender people, who often find it difficult to worship openly with their partner in an environment filled with judgment.

The comments to her blog entry by church members are useful reading as well.

Over on Facebook, an item notes a new book, Real Good Church, How our church came back from the dead, and yours can, too, by a United Church of Christ minister in Somerville, Mass. The church grew from 30 to 150 members. The Rev. Molly Phinney Baskette writes, “It wasn’t one thing (that made us grow). It was 200 things: about signage, about stewardship, about advertising, about staffing, about creative worship.”

A few excerpts:

“Don’t privilege the people who have been at your church over the people outside your community who don’t even know about you yet.”

“Your work, as a pastor or lay leader, is to build up your own tolerance for disappointing people. Learn how to evaluate criticism for what it can teach you, don’t take it personally, and don’t let it slow you down or hijack God’s work.”

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Growth

Tips from Facebook on doing church

Congregationally-relevant articles that people like you have posted on Facebook in recent weeks include the following:

• How Many Staff Do You Need, from the Ministry Matters website.

• Why Worship Shouldn’t Feel Like Family, Ministry Matters

• Why Are Fewer People in Church? It’s the Economy, Stupid, from the website Gestating a Church.

• Cabaret Church – On The VUU, a weekly webcast discussion sponsored by the Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Rev. Sean Parker Dennison explains his proposal for “Cabaret Church,” (Aug. 29 webcast) which would be centered around music, art, resistance, and community. He notes that cabarets were a response in the thirties to Fascism and they might well be useful tools today in bringing a religious perspective to contemporary culture and world politics. Cabaret Church also has its own page on Facebook and on Tumblr.

The Facebook page Growing Unitarian Universalism recommends the article “Are Your Church Facilities an Obstacle to Growth? about the ways first-time guests see your building.

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Growth, Uncategorized

Avoid acronyms on Sunday morning

When you make announcements on Sunday morning, do abbreviations come out of your mouth before you know it? Do you speak of “RE” and “UUA” and “GA”?

Do you roll past “CUUPS” and “CLF” and “SRI?” It’s easy to do. But keep in mind that every Sunday there are guests who won’t have any idea what you’re talking about. The use of UU acronyms and abbreviations is insider language that is not as welcoming as it could be. So even though it takes longer, try to remember to speak of “religious education,” the “Unitarian Universalist Association,” “General Assembly,” the “Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans,” “Church of the Larger Fellowship,” and “socially responsible investing.” It’s the inclusive thing to do.

And if you are ever confused about UU abbreviations, there’s a page on UUA.org with a complete listing of UU programs, resources, and organizations.

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Growth

Let your building speak for you

Congregations interested in clearly communicating their values and mission to guests and others will want to  read a recent post by the Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein on her blog, PeaceBang. Weinstein describes a visit to the Countryside UU Congregation in Palatine, Ill.

Starting with prominent exterior signage, neatly arranged informative bulletin boards, and interior signs that make it clear where people need to go, Weinstein congratulates the congregation on ably communicating “congregational vitality and purpose.” She writes that, without speaking to anyone, she “learned a ton about the congregation’s values and general health. The building itself communicated the congregation’s purpose in existing.”

Weinstein especially noted the presence of major areas of ministry—worship, study, foundations (stewardship and legacy), and kinship—communicated through prominent wall displays. She writes that “the visual consistency across the space announces that these areas of programmatic interest are all elements within one integrated system. That’s important and impressive.”

 

 

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Growth

What not to say to young adults

So, you know that it’s the right thing to do to talk to young adults when you see them on Sunday morning, correct? But what should you say? To help with that, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries has created a list of what not to say.

Don’t ask “How old are you?” “What do you do?” “What year are you in school?” or  “Are you new here?” says Carey McDonald, office director. “Age is just not important,” he adds. “Asking about work is also tricky because so many people are unemployed or underemployed. And asking about school implies that someone is a certain age.”

Instead, ask “What did you think of the service?” Or give them an opening like “I don’t think we’ve met, my name is . . .”

Rather than saying, “We need more young people,” say, “Great to meet you!” says McDonald. “Like everyone else, young adults want to be seen for who they are rather than as a token for their age group. And rather than asking, ‘Have you met our other young adult?’ say ,’May I introduce you to my friend?’ Don’t assume they only want to know other young adults.”

These questions and others are on a flyer, Coffee Hour Caution, which can be posted at your congregation. It might even serve as an opening for conversation. McDonald discusses the flyer further on the Youth and Young Adult Ministries blog Blue Boat.

 

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Growth, Resources

Congregational exit interviews help us see ourselves

As fall comes on and we look around on Sunday mornings and notice that a few folks who were regulars last spring aren’t coming around anymore, it might be time to think about doing some exit interviews. Having someone call those no-shows will hopefully let you know why they quit coming.

Here are three sources of information about exit interviews, including the exit process formerly used by the UU Church of Berkeley in Kensington, Calif. The final document includes formats for exit interviews by letter and by phone:

Church Exit Interviews Measure Programs, Appeal

Doing Exit Interviews

Exit Interview Processes

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Growth

Why Unitarian Universalism is right for Generation Y

The Rev. Renee Ruchotzke writes about Generation Y—the Millennials—on the UUA blog Growing Vital Leaders. Ruchotzke is Regional Leadership Development consultant for the Central East Regional Group of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

In a blog post from June 28 titled “To Be ‘Bona Fide,’” she quotes sociologist Robert Putnam, who notes in his book, American Grace, that the Millennials—born from the late ’70s to early 2000s—are less likely to have been raised in a particular religion than any previous generation and are less likely to believe that any one religion holds exclusive access to the “truth.” Millennials yearn for authenticity, she says, adding:

I believe this is good news for Unitarian Universalism. The promise of our faith is the promise of a living tradition, not the dry bones of old, irrelevant texts. The promise of our faith is the promise of personal wholeness; from our identity-based ministries to our antiracism, antioppression, and multicultural work. And the promise of our faith is the promise of being connected to something greater than ourselves . . .

The best gift we can give each generation is to embody that promise, to invite each new generation to join us, to nurture them as they become a part of our communities and grow in their own faith and commitment, and—most importantly—to step back and allow them to transform our living tradition as generations before have done.

Ruchotzke also recommends David Kinnaman’s book, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church . . . and Rethinking Faith.

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Growth

Checklist for the new church year

As late summer approaches so does the surge of church shoppers that many congregations experience. Here are tips to make sure your facilities and programs are prepared for them.

• Many of us can still remember the name of the person who greeted us on our first visit to a UU congregation. Go over greeting practices with greeters. Hold a role-play practice if necessary. Visit other congregations in the area and see what you can learn from them.

•  Can visitors easily identify which door to enter from the parking lot? If not, add some signage. Also consider posting a greeter in the parking area or on the sidewalk outside the front door.

• Make sure your bathrooms pass the smell test. Add a basket with a few band-aids, feminine products, safety pins, diapers, and baby wipes.

• Check out the sound system, making sure it works properly. If you offer electronic aids for those who need hearing assistance, make sure that they have fresh batteries and that someone knows how to operate them.

• For Coffee hour, give one or two people the job of monitoring the room to make sure that visitors are connecting with members and to facilitate that process. Set up a laptop or other device that will continually show a brief video of congregational activities. It will give introverted visitors something to do if they are overwhelmed by conversation.

• Think about providing milk or half-and-half for the coffee rather than the powdered dairy substitute.

• Be prepared with a list of small groups and upcoming programs that guests can connect with as a next step.

• Have guests fill out an information sheet so that when they return next Sunday you can call them by name. Remember that most of them will have already checked the congregation out online and are already prepared to like you.

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Growth

A broader definition of membership

The Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley, the UUA’s director of Congregational Life, writes on her blog “Learn Out Loud” about changing perceptions of membership in our congregations. Using the example of a young adult friend who is very involved and considers herself UU, but has not “signed the book,” Cooley asks, “What do we have to learn from her story? Perhaps the future of Unitarian Universalism does not depend upon more people ‘signing the book.’ Perhaps it depends upon us adjusting our understanding of what connection and commitment are.”

Cooley also writes about encouraging congregations to focus outwardly rather than simply being satisfied with creating communities of like-minded people. “What if we move from the (perhaps arrogant) statement of being ‘like-minded’ to seeing ourselves as ‘like-hearted’—coming together to offer our gifts to the world?”

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Resources