Replies

It would very likely be worthwhile to talk to some of those people and find out why they stopped attending. Maybe you could find a way to get them to come back!

IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH? Please tell me you were kidding?

I left a Church after being left-handedly insulted from the pulpit by the new Rector who wanted to get the point across that "we", the congregation should not continue to invite the former Rector back. I had not. I had merely requested that he do something "else", like Commission the Communion Rail Kneelers in memory of my Mom who actually knew him and not the new guy.

I did not know at the time that the "new" guy had already given the former Rector the pulpit because he thought HE was going to do the Commissioning!

My Mom died before he ever showed up and she loved the former Rector dearly. But apparently, without telling me that he was insulted, he (new guy) was HIGHLY insulted.

But that didn't stop the new guy from getting all huffy and few people didn't get the inference since the Commissioning service had been the previous Sunday.

I never went back. I had just given a 5-digit gift in memory of my Mom, and I didn't even get the chance to see them at the Communion Rail for more than 2 Sundays.

I had been a member at that Church for 13 years. My Mom had been a member with me, for 8 of those years.

NOT ONE person called me. Not one.

OTOH, I left a small parish, to go back to a previous Church (which "previous" 2000-person Church had also never wanted to find out why I left) and someone called me to find out if I was all right. I nearly fainted when I asked her to repeat her question because I was positive I was hallucinating! Note, it was NOT the Rector but a loving, caring parishioner who I had worked with on many Alpha classes, who wanted to make sure I wasn't ill or something.

Shoot, they don't do "Every Member Canvass" where every member on the roster was visited, with the idea of adding/deleting/correcting the roster for the family, as well as being a visible hint for a weekly/monthly/annual donation to the Church.

If ever there was a time when the "official roster" could have been corrected, it was when they did those. But to my knowledge they gave up on them some time in the late 70's.

Guys, I'm a freeper and I'm not derelict.

When I first got to GS I made calls to everyone on the rolls for whom I could find contact info in order to greet them. I’m not sure exactly, but I would say about 90% of those were unreachable (their info had changed etc. Those I could reach I left contact info and never heard back.

Should I then have swept them off the rolls? Undoubtedly. But in my first months I was not about to do that nor did I know why I should. They had been there long before me.

Should I sweep the rolls tomorrow? Perhaps. But I teach 5 bible studies one Christian Ed class a week aside from leading services etc. So, I do indeed have more important things to do.

Moreover, and I’ll be frank here, the last thing you want to do (and this is not something I’m making up) is spend time and energy getting old long departed members back. They left and stayed away for a reason. If they know leadership has changed and they still do not come, then spending energy trying to change there mind is more effort than it’s worth.

My responsibility is NOT primarily to reach out to those who have heard the gospel and for one reason or another decided to leave the parish long ago. My primary responsibility is to carry out the great commission. That is done by seeking those who have yet to hear the message and proclaim it.