Welcome Bags

Here's a wonderful idea to welcome folks to your community and your church - sew bags and fill them with useful items and information!

Please fill your bag with "hospitality items" -- welcome letter from the church, map of the community -- and then deliver the bag to a new neighbor or unchurched person.
Some churches have gone one step further - they have decided to make the "New Neighbor Welcome Bag" an ongoing project by producing bags for their own congregational use, distributing them to visitors who sign the guest book, or to new people as they move to town.

Suggestions of things you might put in the "new neighbor welcome bags:

Sample letter from congregation or pastor, a congregational brochure, times of worship, map to church location
Outreach newsletter
Items such as pens, calendars, key chains with your church name and phone number
County and city map
Resources from the Chamber of Commerce
Business location and opportunities
Calendar of cultural events in community
Eating and lodging establishments
Homemade items (Christmas ornaments, knitted items, fishing lures, crafts)
Inexpensive calculators, Frisbees, sport bottles
ELCA emblem mousepad (may be purchased by calling Printmasters in Rice Lake: 715-234- 2711) $5.00, plus postage. A portion of the fee will be given back to the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin.
List of hospitals and clinics in the area
Map to:
Post Office
Chamber of Commerce
City and County Government Offices
Good fishing lakes, snowmobile trails, hiking trails
Newspaper:
Phone and location of local newspaper
Phone of home delivery service for the papers like:
Milwaukee Journal
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
List of:
Cable TV
Internet Provider
Garbage Pick-up Service
Electric and Utilities Services
ATM sites
School Calendar

(This is an example of the kind of letter you could insert in the Welcome Bag.) 

Welcome to our Community!

Your neighbors at Local Lutheran Church welcome you to the community. We are delighted to have you living among us now and look forward to getting to know you better.

This Welcome Bag is our gift to you. It has information about the area that we hope will be helpful to you. You will find names and phone numbers of local businesses, maps of interest, and other resources which will hopefully make your transition a little easier.

It can be helpful in the course of a move to have time to care for your spiritual health and make friends with some of your neighbors. At Local Lutheran Church we work hard at both tasks and would be honored to have you participate in that with us.

If you have not already found a church home, we invite you to worship with us at Local Lutheran Church on Sunday mornings at (list worship times). [if other worship services are offered, list those also.] The map below shows where our church is located.

Our congregation especially enjoys (list some choices ... e.g. music, visiting with each other, participating in the annual community walk-a-thon, youth activities, quilting). We have [e.g., a great Sunday School and Confirmation program for the youth in the community and a strong prayer ministry led by several of our adults.]

Again, we welcome you! If there is any way we can help further in your transition, please stop by between (list office hours) or call us at 715-xxxxxxx.

Sewing Instructions for Evangelism Bags

1 . Side seams: Right sides together, sew 1/4" - 1/2" seams on each lengthwise side.

2. Bottom corners: On wrong side (inside of bag), sew corner seams approximately 2" diagonally at bottom corners of bag.

3. Press top edge of bag 1/4" under and then again a 1 1/2" to finish edge; sew close to pressed edge.

4. Handles: Sew wrong side together 1/4" seam. Press handles with seam centered and folded flat. Top stitch raw edge with zig-zag stitch to finish. Attach to bag at side seams -- end to end.

* Alternative method: Sew right side together and turn handles before attaching to the bag. This is more time consuming, but may be the preferred look. Either method is fine!

Please fill your bag with "hospitality items" -- welcome letter from the church, map of the community -- and then deliver the bag to a new neighbor or unchurched person. Some churches have gone one step further - they have decided to make the "New Neighbor Welcome Bag" an ongoing project by producing bags for their own congregational use, distributing them to visitors who sign the guest book, or to new people as they move to town.

Scott, at Printmasters Print Company, 970 Haugen Ave., Rice Lake, Wl (715/2342711) would be glad to print this beautiful ELCA emblem on your fabric, plus the name of your church. The cost would be $0.75 apiece for the printing Oust emblem) or $1.00 apiece for the printing (emblem plus name of church). You would supply the fabric. NOTE: He cannot print on the finished bag. Please send the cut pieces before edges are sewn.