Thirty thousand people a day try the Belief-O-Matic surveys on Beliefnet.com and thousands of them identify themselves as Quakers. That’s one reason it’s important to let the seekers in your area know about your worship group or meeting.
There are countless ways to let seekers know that Quakers exist and that we welcome visitors. Some, including meeting signs and directory listings, work around the clock with little or no additional effort on your part once they have been set up. Others, such as checking messages or greeting and following up with newcomers, require regular attention. Below are some ideas that your meeting or worship group might want to try.
Personal Contact
Personal contact is the single most effective means of outreach. Tell other people that you are a Quaker. Personally invite others to meeting for worship or other meeting activities.
Witness
When your meeting engages in peace and prayer vigils, service, or social justice projects in your community, make sure your Quaker identity is clearly indicated.
Joint Activities
Participate in activities with other houses of worship. Also look for opportunities to join activities organized by diverse groups of people in your area that are consistent with your meeting’s practice of the Quaker way.
Handouts
Create flyers about the Quaker way or Quaker testimonies to hand out at vigils or other community events, when appropriate.
News Media
Use press releases or other announcements to newspapers, radio and TV stations to publicize meeting events. You also want to think about publicizing in media geared to diverse audiences – to college students, marginalized communities, and other voices/viewpoints that are not represented in traditional media. If there is a religion column in a local newspaper or an appropriate interview show on radio or TV, look for ways to make the Quaker way visible through them by volunteering to be interviewed or sending information to them.
Quaker Activities at the Meeting House
Invite the community to activities at your meeting: simple meal fund raisers, videos, speakers, classes, forums, pancake breakfasts, pot luck suppers, parent seminars, tag or rummage sales, open houses, vigils, concerts, children’s programs, and such.
Local Newspapers
While many big city papers are losing circulation and readership, newspapers are often alive and well in smaller communities. If your worship group or meeting is located in one of those areas, take advantage of their hunger for news (and short staff!). Write a news release (who, what, when, where, and why) about your meeting. Midsize cities also have papers that are read, in print or online. Some have alternative press that will print news releases and ads. News releases to local papers are also good for letting the community know about special events.
Website
Most people searching for a congregation in their area do so via the internet. A website is a graphic way to display what you’d like people to know about your meeting. Use pictures of meeting activities and people. Make sure your meeting for worship and religious education times, physical address and contact information are on the first page. Think about what information you’d like to find easily if you were a
visitor. If your site contains time-sensitive information (such as a calendar or listing of events) make certain that it is kept up to date.
QuakerFinder
Your meeting can be included in FGC’s free QuakerFinder database. This internet service allows users seeking Friends meetings or worship groups in their area to find those groups’ contact information, address, and meeting times easily.
If Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world. It is free and easy to set up. You can list your meeting for worship (and other activities) as events on that page and invite others to them. You can also buy inexpensive ads for your page – targeting people who live in your geographic area, are interested in Quaker testimonies, and so on.
Radio
While some radio stations promote religious announcements, it is generally better to pay for an ad and choose the time it appears. Free spots run only when the station can fit them in and usually when listenership is low. Press releases regarding a peace and social justice event, however, often get featured and can reach more people than print papers.
Special Classes
Think of educational opportunities you could offer your community. Classes on the Quaker testimonies and daily life or based around expertise that your members and attenders have (photography, basket making, etc.) are ways to increase visibility in your
community.
Peace and Social Justice Events
If your group participates in vigils and/or other peace and justice activities, be certain to send news releases to local media informing them and inviting others of like-mind to join you.
Social Events
Have you ever hosted an ice cream social for your neighborhood? Or maybe a simple soup dinner open to the public is more your group’s style. Think of natural ways to invite the public to things you already do and would like to offer to others.