June 28, 2020
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Matthew 10:40-42[1]
We are a welcoming church. We’re pretty good at it. People
who have visited, family and friends, and newer folk who have joined have
expressed gratitude for our welcome and hospitality. The position of Greeter is
almost a formality, because a guest will see many smiling, helpful folk the
moment they come through the doors. Most of the time we have food to share,
too.
We are welcoming of all sorts of people. I say a welcome phrase
from our denomination almost every week at the beginning of worship: “No matter
who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here!” We are
an Open and Affirming congregation, and we welcome into the full life and
ministry of the church persons of every race, culture, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identification, age, physical ability, and economic status.
Some time ago I read a great welcome message from Our
Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community. It says, in part:
We extend a
special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich,
dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are
crying new-borns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds. We
welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t
carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just
woke up, or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than
the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism… We welcome
soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers,
vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still
addicted.[2]
The list goes on, but you get the gist. Imagine a few
members getting together and saying, “Let’s invite everyone to come meet
Jesus!” And then they started writing their list. And it got long. Why? Because
everyone needs Jesus. And they wanted to make sure everyone knew they were
invited.
Why is it important to be welcoming? In practical terms, hospitality
grows churches. A cold reception or a side-eye look would send a newcomer down
the road to the next place. Authentic, genuine hospitality is the easiest way
to show everyone who the church really is and how serious the church is about
following the mandate of Jesus to reach out and make disciples. “Welcome to our
church. We’re glad you’re here and we look forward to getting to know you. As
you learn about us, we hope you’ll travel with us on the journey of faith.”
It is also theologically important to be welcoming. In our
scriptures, when we see reference to people who are strangers, the affirmation
of God is to welcome, protect, and share with the stranger. God teaches us to identify
with the stranger because of the shared experience of God’s people having been
strangers themselves. From Deuteronomy: “You shall also love the stranger, for
you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”[3]
And we are called to be welcoming because we have been welcomed. As Paul wrote
to the Romans: “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed
you, for the glory of God.”[4]
Welcome is part of our mission as Christians. Jesus said: “Whoever
welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”[5]
The Mission Statement of the United Church of Christ reads: “United in Spirit
and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for
all.”[6]
The Mission Statement in the Constitution of this congregation includes the phrase:
“We seek to include in our joyous venture all who wish to find, learn of, and
love our Lord.” Welcome is part of how we live our faith. It helps us fulfill Jesus’
commandment to “love one another.”[7]
Christian hospitality differs from generic friendliness. Hospitality
is more than acceptance and affirmation of the presence of the guest. In order
to be truly hospitable, we need to understand ourselves and the distinctive
nourishment and refreshment we have to offer. We need to be able to demonstrate
the core beliefs and values which make us the people that we are, because we
are inviting the stranger to become family.
Christian hospitality is not a simple agreement to
live-and-let-live, nor is it a relativistic toleration of all ideologies and
value-systems that we encounter. We have a unique heritage which has been
passed on by our forebears in the faith. We have engaged in careful discernment
of what we respect and what we reject. We follow the teachings of Jesus the
Christ, to love God, love our neighbor, and even to love our enemy. We reject
hatred and violence and evil which harms the children of God. We welcome into
our family the same family that Jesus welcomed: “Whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”[8]
When strangers come through our doors, no matter how similar
or different they may be, Christian hospitality requires that we see them as
God sees both them and us, as creatures created in the divine image. We must
regard both them and us as worthy of love and forgiveness, recipients of the
promise of grace, and blessed by the Spirit who extends gifts of mercy, comfort,
and peace.[9]
Now, it may be some time yet before we open our doors again
to welcome friends and strangers alike. As Illinois has entered Phase 4, Church
Council will consider the new guidelines when we meet on July 21st.
We will review our Returning to Church Plan and whether we are ready to move to
our Phase C. We will need to prepare to welcome in a new way. This is a little
bit of what that will look like.
If you have symptoms of COVID, such as a cough, fever, or
difficulty breathing, we will ask that you stay home. Those who have been
unable to view the live-stream of worship will be invited to return first, if
they feel safe to do so. We’ll have to greet one another from a distance and
remain spaced apart as we worship. And we’ll have to wear our masks. In order
to be truly welcoming, we’ll provide masks, and hand-sanitizer, and guidance on
what to do about singing and communion.
Our welcoming will look different, but by showing that we
care about the health and safety of others during this pandemic, we will also
be showing that we care about the well-being of others after the pandemic. By
wearing masks and keeping our distance, we will demonstrate that the hospitality
we offer isn’t only a smile and a handshake. We will demonstrate that we value
the presence of the stranger, that the guest is as important as family, and
that we really mean it when we say, “you’re welcome here.”
As a conclusion, I’d like to offer a blessing for your face
masks, so if you have one handy, grab it now. Wearing a face mask during this
time is not only a practical consideration, but an act of love. It demonstrates
that we care enough about the health of others to protect them from any
contagion we may have. This was written by Mary Luti, a professor at the Andover-Newton
Theological Seminary. I’ll post this on Facebook if you want to bless your
masks on your own later.
Blessing for a Face Mask[10]
God of health and wholeness, of neighbor love and kindness,
bless this mask, my slight shield against great ills:
Bless the fabric that repels the drops, the ties that go
behind my ears,
the wire that fits snug against my nose, the folds that cup my chin.
Make me grateful for my mask even when it makes me hot,
even when I look funny in it, even when I’m dying to take it off.
Bless me also, and everyone who for their own and others’
sakes
put on this holy inconvenience every day, our minds made up to love.
Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2]
From: http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2012/07/how-to-welcome-people-to-your-church/.
[3] Deuteronomy
10:19.
[4] Romans
15:7.
[5]
Matthew 10:40.
[6]
Mission Statement of the United Church of Christ, affirmed by the UCC Board of
Directors, October 20-22, 2016. From: https://www.ucc.org/about-us_purpose_vision_and_mission.
[7] John
13:34-35.
[8]
Mark 3:35.
[9] Adapted
from a letter by The Steering Committee of Confessing Christ, May 2005. From: https://www.ucc.org/god-is-still-speaking_church-resources_hospitality.
[10] Mary Luti, Emerge: Blessings & Rituals for Unsheltering (Pilgrim Press, 2020).
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