This week I had an interesting conversation with a young woman that has been attending our church for quite awhile. It left me saddened, frustrated and motivated because she told me, with an edge in her voice, that no one has invited her to join First Church. She also wondered why an invitation wasn’t given as part of worship. Of course, I immediately wanted to offer all sorts of reasons (excuses) as to why she felt that she had not been invited. But, I listened to her thoughts and offered an apology and tried to assure her that she was invited to join us.
Too often we are offended by honest comments and fail to see them as an invitation to us to examine what we do and to make changes if needed. It is very easy to blame others as to why newcomers might not feel invited to join, but we have to question our own roles in this. Perhaps, as a Christian educator I should provide a learning experience for this congregation about offering an invitation. Certainly, I will address this matter with our Council on Ministries. As a staff member, I can help analyze our process for inviting persons to join. As a disciple, I need to be more intentional about extending personal invitations to join us
In this season of Advent, we witness to the Christ child’s coming through our acts of love and caring. In addition, we need also to make sure that we are inviting others to join us as we journey to Bethlehem. It would seem that we too often leave them to be spectators only.
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Sometimes in the "Buzz" of Sunday's pre-processional Sanctuary a visitor
might go undiscovered and relegated to the realm of the uninvited, but if they ever get as deep into First Church as the Open Fellowship Sunday School class, I can assure you that they will be sought out and informed of our "class policy". If you come to this class three times, you will be placed on a committee, assigned responsibilities and invited to the parties because you are considered a member. I have heard the faithful Open Fellowshippers recruiting efforts many times. The first time I heard it, they were using it on me. The second and third time I heard it, they were using it on me too. There is a power in those eager, persuasive faces that makes you not want to disappoint them. I try not to. I don't always succeed, but the failures help you to raise your standards. Maybe the spirit of invitation that our smaller, more informal Sunday School classes offer could apply to our formal church service. One way that might help get it started would be for the congregation to still their hearts a little sooner. Use some of the time that we visit with those most familiar to seek out those unfamiliar and set our sights on an opportunity to welcome and invite. I am almost embarrassed to bring this up since I am usually the choir member standing at the back still visiting when the processional hymn starts. I will try to still myself at the next service.
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