On Sunday, September 18, we invite you to bring a friend to our service.

We Unitarian Universalists are generally uncomfortable with proselytizing. We dislike it when others come knocking at our door, and we get annoyed when we find flyers tucked under our windshield wipers. We don’t want to be coerced about religion.

But for most of us, this congregation and the religious values it stands for are dear to us. The UUYO community is an important part of our life. We do want others to know about this wonderful place, but how do we talk about it without sounding like we’re either proselytizing or desperate or just plain weird?

We might change the tone of what we’re trying to say. We might say, for example to a friend, something like this:

“As you probably know, the UU church in Youngstown is very important to me. It is a place where I feel at home. Since you are someone who is also important to me, I want to invite you to see the place and meet other people who I also value. On September 18, our minister will speak on the topic of breadth of belief, and we’ll have beverages and light snacks after the service.  Would you accept an invitation to visit on Sunday, September 18?”

The important distinction I want to make is that we are not trying to convert anyone to Unitarian Universalism, we are simply asking people to experience something that is important to us. (Of course, it would be lovely if some folks do decide check us out more thoroughly, maybe even joining us, or telling their friends about us, but that is a side effect, not our primary goal.) We are simply asking people in a straightforward way, without any pleading or coercing. They have the right and opportunity to say ‘no’ without any consequences or diminishing our relationship.

I hope that through Bring a Friend to Church Sunday, we can all grow in the challenge of talking about religion with friends, and make genuine dialog and invitation a part of how we interact with others.

Matt