Thank You, A Message from The Rev. Eric L. Miller+

Saints of John,

My family and I were overcome with how welcome you made us feel on August 4th. We were ecstatic to witness so many in attendance, both for worship and during the beautiful reception put on by Brian Hamra and friends. We appreciated that you wore nametags; that was tremendously helpful.

I want to invite you to continue wearing nametags each Sunday. For one, I assure you I don't have all the names and faces down in my mind yet. Regardless of my memorization, though, we want to continue being as welcoming as possible for anyone new to our beloved St. John's community. My hope and expectation is that we receive and welcome newcomers every Sunday. Notice I wrote, "newcomer," and not, "visitor." I visitor comes and goes. A newcomer is new for a bit but then stays as part of the thriving community. Part of what makes newcomers feel welcome is getting to know others, and a great way to meet and remember folks is with nametags.

I'll be the first to admit I don't have the full knowledge of how nametags have worked out historically here. In every parish I've served some like stick-on name tags, some with pins that go through the fabric ( personally, I never understood that one), some like a clip-on, and some like a lanyard style. The point isn't to get caught up on the type of nametag, but that nametags are used.

I hope you'll join me in donning a nametag each week to welcome our newcomers to make them feel as at home at St. John's as you helped my family feel. And, if we need a different type/approach to nametags, I'm sure we can figure out what works best for most folks.

I look forward to seeing you in the pews and on the streets!

In God's Grace,

Eric L. Miller+

Rector

St. John's Episcopal Church

he/him