I’m an introvert. Most people who have met me don’t believe that but it is in fact true. I’m also naturally shy. So my idea of a fun time is definitely NOT being in a large room populated almost entirely by strangers and where I have no job or duties to perform. I’m just s guy in the room. Without a doubt I want to be in the room. But they doesn’t make it any easier.
I’m about as Presbyterian as you can get (I’m at GA voluntarily for goodness sakes) but in this room of Presbyterians I’m a stranger. This is about as close as a pastor can get to knowing what it is like to be a visitor in church.
Part of our call as the church is to go out into the world but also to welcome those who come in from the world. Being a welcoming and hospitable church is about more than getting visitors to come back. It is about meeting people where they are in the world and welcoming the for who they are.
Sometimes the stranger doesn’t know church at all. Sometimes the stranger knows the hymns by heart. Sometimes the stranger is a stranger and sometimes the stranger is one of us.
In whatever guise we encounter the stranger in our midst, our call is clear. Extend a hand of friendship, share a word of welcome, and make room in the place for the stranger to become family.
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