SUM’s Welcoming Statement

Introducing SUM’s new Welcoming Statement:

Welcome to Simsbury United Methodist Church, God's house and your home. No matter who you are, whom you love, where you're from, how you identify, or whether you question or seek - you belong here. Your ideas, beliefs, hopes, concerns, and abilities, big or small, will strengthen our safe and welcoming community of faith. Together, we will worship, learn, and grow in God's love.

A few months ago, Pastor Gene and Deacon Deb commissioned a Burst Team and asked me to take the lead in drafting a Welcoming Statement for SUM. Their vision for the Welcoming Statement was that it would expand on our Purpose and Guiding Principles to make clear our values and beliefs regarding “All Our Welcome.” The statement was meant to inform anyone considering visiting SUM that they are welcome in God’s house. Sue Lemke, Barbara Vasquenza, Leslie Lahue, Eileen Brogan, Nolan Mueller, and I set to work and went through a series of drafts until we finally landed on a statement that we all felt good about. It won’t surprise anyone that both Deacon Deb and Pastor Gene offered some great feedback on our draft and helped us finalize the statement.

The Welcoming Statement was ratified at the Church Council meeting on October 13, 2024. It will be published everywhere our Purpose Statement and Guiding Principles exist and used similarly to guide our decisions, communications, messaging, and behavior. I hope that everyone likes it.

Glenn Knight