Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

Friday, July 10, 2020

Roaming Catholic Unitarian Univeralists: The Carl and Louise Story

Elderly Couple Clip Art - Royalty Free - GoGraph

Carl and Louise were both looking for a new church. They were in their late 50s, both had been raised Catholic, and had raised their 4 children as Catholic, but after the kids were grown and out of the house, their church attendance had slowly dwindled to nothing.

They used birth control to limit the size of their family after the birth of their last child when Louise was 34 which they knew was against the teachings of the church. And the pedophilia scandal hit and it became embarassing to explain to their non Catholic friends how the church covered it up transferring child abusing priests from parish to parish.

Carl and Louise struggled as parents to explain the virgin birth to their children and the ideas about venial and mortal sins never made much sense to either one of them let alone explain it to their children and now their little grandchildren.

Their children had not continued in their Catholic faith and two of them, now married, had not married in the church and had no intention of having their children baptized.

Carl and Louise though, did miss a faith community, and often, especially around the major holidays like Christmas and Easter, felt the desire to share some sense of religious reverence with a group of like minded people.

When they met Bob and Carol they learned about Unitarian Universalism and they referred them to the Unitarian Universalism: A Way Of Life Blog. Carl and Louise started reading the blog and learned that UU is a covenantal religion which is based on seven principles all of which they deeply appreciated and resonated with. They both experienced a sense of peace and new found joy in their lives and sought out a local congregation which they could visit.

When they visited and learned that these people celebrated love beyond belief and that people need not think alike to love alike, they felt as if this church was too good to be true.

Now when people ask if they have a church and a faith tradition, Carl and Louise laugh and say, “Yes, we’re Roamin Catholic Unitarian Universalists.”

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Church management, Welcoming statements

9 Elements of an Effective Marketing Plan - Ally Marketing

I have been researching welcoming statements designed to attract people to joining their organziation.

Here is one I found:

Our ogranization is an independent, non-creedal, and theologically diverse community that “makes integrity of life its first aim and leaves thought free,” in the words of our 1878 Bond of Union. We enjoy a well-earned reputation for inclusiveness, hospitality, and excellence in programming.
From its world-class architecture to its innovative and age-appropriate children’s education classes, from workshops and classes that draw from the wisdom of the world’s greatest teachers to social justice work that works, this is a  community that seeks to make a difference in the world.
No matter your age, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, or religious background you will find kindred spirits  here. We are, in the end, a community of seekers, people with more questions than answers who view life as an open-ended quest for deeper understanding and more meaningful connection. Join Us!
This is a welcoming statement for
  1. Rotary
  2. Americans for a better society
  3. Youth for America
  4. A UU church.
For the correct answer check the comments.

Further questions:
What is the purpose of this organization?
What is this organization's mission?
What would a person benefit from joining?
What is the function this organization serves in its community and the broader society?
Who would be eligible for membership?
Does this welcoming statement inspire you to want to learn more about the organization?
How successful is such a statement in attracting people? Engaging them?
To what extent is this statement ambiguously vague vs clearly inspiring to action?

If you are interested in other topics of good church managment let me know at davidgmarkham@gmail.com.
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