{"id":24057,"date":"2024-07-07T16:54:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T16:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/?p=24057"},"modified":"2025-03-28T15:34:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T19:34:33","slug":"welcome-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/welcome-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"24057\" class=\"elementor elementor-24057\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-753c9104 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default sc_fly_static\" data-id=\"753c9104\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-extended\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5572eb67 sc_inner_width_none sc_content_align_inherit sc_layouts_column_icons_position_left sc_fly_static\" data-id=\"5572eb67\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69a45bc2 sc_fly_static elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"69a45bc2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Welcome<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Our objective is to welcome visitors to the Parish, help them \u201cfeel at home\u201d during the worship service, provide them with information about Orthodoxy and the Parish, invite them to Parish activities, and connect them to people of like interest. We provide one of the first impression to new visitors\/members which can leave a permanent impression of Holy Trinity.\u00a0 Our goal is to be warm, embracing, loving and caring with continuity and follow through.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Although the Welcoming Ministry Team consists of Greeters and Cart Drivers, in truth all parishioners of Holy Trinity and Church Organizations are members of our Welcoming Ministry. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Holy Trinity Greeters Are<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Friendly, warm and welcoming individuals<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Attend Liturgy on a regular basis<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">For the most part, know our parishioners and can identify visitors to our church<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Are eager to help service our visitors, guide and answer questions they may have<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Understand general information about our Orthodox faith<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Can provide visitors with literature and other information as needed such as our Welcome Packet, Visitor Bio cards, signing Guest book<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Be a friendly face at Coffee Hour or Parish activities<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Follow up with new members to help with their transition into our community<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Would you like to join our Welcoming Ministry?\u00a0 Please call Jeanette at the church office 727-799-4605<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Here is an excerpt from a parishioner regarding our Welcoming Ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">\u201cI drive to church seeking a connection: with God, with the community who worships there, and with the Greek culture with which I want to be joined.\u00a0 I also seek peace of mind in these troubled times. My soul becomes troubled, and it needs renewal and restoration. It is this rejuvenation of positive energy that I once experienced at church, and I need to fuel that spiritual engine that God has created within each of us so beautifully. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">From the moment I enter the church I search for that connection. A kindly face that recognizes a kindred spirit, the outstretched hand of a possible friend, the whisper of my name or at least an interest in knowing who I am or where I am from all give me hope that I might feel included and accepted at Holy Trinity&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2><strong>Welcome Ministry News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><em>\u201cI was a stranger and you welcomed me.\u201d \u00a0-Matthew 25:35<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">The Welcoming Ministry is an essential part of a church\u2019s effort to reach out to visitors and new members. It provides the first impression to a visitor which can leave an indelible impression of the parish. At Holy Trinity we have a dedicated team of Greeters and Cart Drivers who each Sunday act as a representative of Christ greeting His people with love and care as they gather to worship. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Yet, here at Holy Trinity we are\u00a0<b>all\u00a0<\/b>called to be ambassadors not just our Welcoming Ministry. Here are some ways you can be a part of our ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">During the Liturgy as someone enters your row greet them with a warm welcoming smile acknowledging their entrance into God\u2019s House.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Coffee Fellowship is a wonderful opportunity to extend hospitality. \u00a0We often only greet people we know but each Sunday Holy Trinity host visitors, new members, Snowbirds, and\/or those who are hoping to return to their Orthodox roots. Reach out to the people you do not know by introducing yourself and inviting them to join your table when possible or helping them to connect with other parishioners.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Personally invite new members to participate in our many ministries such as Bible Studies, Philoptochos, Goya, Hope, Joy, Church School, Choir, etc. Sometimes it just takes a phone call to encourage someone to join.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Let the office or Priests know when you have family members visiting \u00a0\u00a0and take time to introduce them to our Holy Trinity community. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Our objective is to welcome visitors to our Parish, help them feel \u201cat home\u201d during worship service, provide them with information about Orthodoxy and the Parish, invite them to Parish activities, introduce them to people of like interests, invite them back, follow up thanking them for visiting us, and<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Identifying ways, we can help them in the future. We want everyone who comes to Holy Trinity to feel welcomed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7151f2a sc_fly_static elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"7151f2a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-md\" href=\"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/all-ministries-sign-up-sheet\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">All Ministries Sign Up<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome Our objective is to welcome visitors to the Parish, help them \u201cfeel at home\u201d during the worship service, provide them with information about Orthodoxy and the Parish, invite them&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[219],"tags":[222],"class_list":["post-24057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministries","tag-ministries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24057"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26828,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24057\/revisions\/26828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htclearwater.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}