This week, and for the next few weeks, I do not have a copy
of a sermon that I can share on this blog. Instead I will be sharing some of
the thoughts I have had about how the church can be a truly welcoming
community.
Walking into a church on a Sunday morning can be quite
intimidating for a new person. Approaching and entering a strange building that
is filled with people who know one another takes a great deal of courage. One
must be highly motivated to cross that threshold. There must be a longing of
some kind, a need or a hope that drives one into the personal space of an
unknown community. This is a vulnerable position heightened by a fear of doing
or saying something wrong because one doesn’t know the social norms, the
language or the expectations of the community. It is not unlike disembarking
alone off an airplane in a country where you know no one and don’t speak the
language.
After twenty years of active ministry as an Episcopal priest
I am having an opportunity to experience what it feels like to be the stranger.
I have begun my retirement traveling around the country visiting friends, relatives
and national parks in my RV. During these months on the road I look for a
church each Sunday. Wherever I am on Saturday night I take out my smart phone
and search for a nearby Episcopal Church. I then go to the website or call the
office of nearby churches and see which one to attend. Sometimes I get a sense
to either explore or ignore a church based on its website. Usually I chose the
church by location and time of services.
Even though I have been a part of the Episcopal Church in
one way or another throughout my entire life, at these congregations I am a
stranger. My church visiting experiences are varied. There were places where I
feel a warm welcome and that I am immediately a part of the community. More
often I feel ignored, tolerated or downright unwelcome. All that I have learned
at church growth seminars, all that I have tried to incorporate into the worship
of the churches where I have served, takes on a new meaning as I live the role
of the stranger.
After some months on the road I came to have a longing for a
home. Not a longing for a physical home, but for a church home. I realized that
something deep in my soul longed for a spiritual community. I came to realize
that when someone walks into a gathering of a spiritual community, they are
consciously or unconsciously longing to come home to the divine.
From these experiences I have come to a new understanding of
the great spiritual importance of the role welcome within the spiritual
community. I could even say that the primary purpose of a spiritual community
is to welcome the stranger home to a relationship with the divine.
My posts for the next few weeks will be exploring what that
means and how a community can be truly welcoming.
