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2018 Workshops
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Brent Owens
The Role of Spiritual Gifts in Connecting
Mary MacGregor
Greeting is More Than Hello
Mary MacGregor
Are you Ready?
Matt Holcombe
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Building an Inclusive Teen LGBTQ+ Church Community
The Rev. Kelly Demo By The Rev. Kelly Demo St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church Overland Park, Kansas For several years the leader of the Pride Alliance group at our church has been bugging me about getting teens to volunteer at our welcome booths at local Pride festivals. But our youth are super busy! Supportive as they are of their LGBTQ siblings, my teens find it hard to volunteer for yet another thing in their schedules. However, this year there were two young people
Oct 163 min read
From Stuttgart with Gratitude: How a German Baptist Congregation Made Invite Welcome Connect Its Own
Bethelkirche, a German Baptist congregation in Stuttgart, Germany, has been deeply shaped by Invite Welcome Connect An Unexpected Email from Germany Every so often, a message arrives that reminds us why we do this ministry. Earlier this year, an email landed in the Invite Welcome Connect inbox from a pastor we had never met, writing from a congregation we had never heard of, in a country far from the Episcopal churches where Invite Welcome Connect began. Pastor Meredith Forss
Oct 169 min read
VIDEO: The Power of an Invite Welcome Connect Workshop
Prof. David Zynda, a parishioner at St. Michaels & All Angels in Tucson, reflects on the surprising power of an Invite Welcome Connect workshop with Founder Mary Foster Parmer Prof. David Zynda, a parishioner at St. Michaels & All Angels in Tucson, reflects on the surprising power of an Invite Welcome Connect workshop with Founder Mary Foster Parmer Hello, I'm David. I'm a member of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona, and I recently participated in
Oct 161 min read
Invite Welcome Connect Receives $15,000 Grant from St. Christopher Legacy Fund to Build a New Website
We are delighted to announce that the Legacy Fund of St. Christopher Episcopal Church in League City, Texas, has awarded Invite Welcome Connect a $15,000 grant to design and build a new, purpose-built website. The grant agreement was signed this month, and the one-year grant term began October 1, 2026. “The Vision of St. Christopher Episcopal Church is an inviting and welcoming community of Jesus’ followers who love and serve all people.” To the trustees of the Legacy Fund an
Oct 134 min read
Storytelling, Listening, and Welcome: A Conversation on LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Church
How listening to people's stories transforms congregations into truly welcoming spaces On September 17, 2026, Invite Welcome Connect hosted a webinar on storytelling and LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church. Four remarkable panelists—Liz Dyer (Real Mama Bears), Sara Cunningham (Free Mom Hugs), John Pfannes (St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church), and Maddy Bishop (Diocese of Kansas)—shared their experiences, insights, and practical guidance for congregations seeking to move from
Sep 227 min read
The Holy Habit of Storytelling
What we learned at the first Invite Welcome Connect Round Table
Aug 2811 min read
Fearless Faith: A Sermon on Living Out Loud
Evangelism is supposed to be a gentle sharing of faith. Not an argument, not coercion, certainly not a political movement. It’s a sharing of part of ourselves, the stories of our lives, what moves us and what motivates us about our faith in Christ.
Aug 126 min read
The Story You've Never Told
Most people have a moment when God felt close — and most have never said it out loud. On August 26, three storytellers join us to talk about how congregations can change that.
Aug 123 min read
The Obstacle Is the Opening: Revitalizing Your Invite Welcome Connect Ministry This Fall
It is human nature to gravitate toward the familiar. But the ministry of Invite Welcome Connect calls us to something more—to see the stranger in the room as Christ himself, and to make sure that every person who walks through our doors experiences belonging, not just a pleasant smile on the way out.
Jul 228 min read
Back to Church: How Your Invite Welcome Connect Team Can Plan Now for a Transformative September
Summer is still in full swing, but September is closer than it feels. Once Labor Day passes, schedules will fill back in, programs will ramp back up, and Sundays will start filling in again. For many congregations, fall is the single most important season for welcoming newcomers—and your Invite Welcome Connect team will be at the center of making it count. The weeks between Labor Day and All Saints' Day represent a remarkable window of opportunity. People who have been away—w
Jul 146 min read
A Summer Reading List from Invite Welcome Connect
Five books for the slower season—classic and new thinking on evangelism, hospitality, and belonging Summer gives congregations a little more breathing room, which makes it a good season to fill the shared shelf in the church office (or your own nightstand) with fresh thinking. Below is Invite Welcome Connect's own foundational text, alongside four newer titles from Church Publishing and Forward Movement, written by Episcopal and mainline leaders wrestling with exactly the que
Jun 183 min read
A Season of Listening: A Quantitative & Qualitative Research Study on the Christian Practices of Evangelism, Hospitality, and Belonging
Request a download of the full report What do Episcopalians and mainline Protestants really believe about evangelism, hospitality, and belonging—and how does what they believe compare to what their congregations actually practice? Invite Welcome Connect spent a season of listening to find out. The full report is now available for download at invitewelcomeconnect.com. The gap, it turns out, is significant—and instructive. Across more than 700 survey responses and five facili
May 75 min read
Invite Welcome Connect with Pride: A Safe Haven When the World Feels Less Safe
By Steve Welch, Executive Director Creator God, Holy one, Maker of love and source of joy: We give you thanks for the infinite variety of your creation. We bless you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that we are your beloved rainbow tribe. Grant us the courage to tell our truth, to honor ourselves, to love our neighbors, and to share your grace with a world aching for healing. We pray because of Jesus, who shows us the way. Amen. —From “Pride Sunday Prayers of t
May 76 min read
Intergenerational Prayer Partners: Where Kids and Elders Connect!
By the Rev. Chris Harris, Sr. Associate Rector, Christ Church Cranbrook, Mich.; Invite Welcome Connect Board member If your congregation longs for deeper connection across the generations, here is a simple, no-cost, scalable practice that is powerful: pair children with older adults as prayer partners. Intergenerational Prayer Partners embody the heart of Invite Welcome Connect by creating natural pathways of belonging across age groups—the very kind of relationships resear
May 74 min read
Listening Together: Shaping the Future of Invite Welcome Connect
We're listening to you In every season of ministry, there comes a moment to pause, to listen, and to lean more deeply into the wisdom of the community we serve. This is one of those moments. At Invite Welcome Connect, we believe that the work of hospitality, belonging, and evangelism is never finished—and never done alone. It grows and deepens through shared experience, honest reflection, and faithful imagination. That’s why we’re inviting you to be part of an upcoming series
Mar 261 min read
The Sacred Threshold: Why Greeting Is the Heart of Welcome
There are many good ideas in the life of a church. Many experiments. Many approaches.
But greeting?Greeting is not optional. It is one of the few true constants in the ministry of Invite Welcome Connect.
Greeting is where welcome becomes real.
Mar 264 min read
Bring the Welcome to Life: Workshops with Invite Welcome Connect Founder Mary Foster Parmer
Across the country, something quietly transformative is happening in congregations of every size. It doesn’t arrive with fanfare or flashy programs. It begins with a shift in culture, a reimagining of what it means not just to open the doors—but to truly invite, welcome, and connect.
At the heart of this movement is Mary Foster Parmer, founder of Invite Welcome Connect, who is currently facilitating immersive workshops in communities nationwide. Mary is helping churches buil
Mar 263 min read
Pulling Up a Chair: Reflections from the March 10 Invite Welcome Connect Webinar
On March 10, church leaders from across the country gathered online for an Invite Welcome Connect webinar hosted by Executive Director Steve Welch. The conversation centered on how congregations can deepen their ministries of invitation, hospitality, and belonging, and it featured an inspiring story from St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which used Invite Welcome Connect principles to develop a vibrant bilingual ministry, La Mesa.
Mar 134 min read
Invite Welcome Connect Launches Free Online Assessment Tools to Support Congregational Growth and Discernment
The free, online assessment tools from Invite Welcome Connect help congregations gauge the strength of their ministries in real time. Invite Welcome Connect has announced the availability of a suite of free, online assessment tools designed to help congregations strengthen their ministries of invitation, hospitality, and connection. The Invite Welcome Connect Assessment Tools provide congregational leaders with practical, accessible resources for reflecting on how their churc
Feb 182 min read
Connecting with Newcomers as a Lenten Devotion
We are sometimes so wrapped up in the beauty and holiness of Lent that we may take these seekers for granted.
Feb 173 min read
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