Visitors: Welcoming the Stranger among Us

After a prolonged absence over the summer, I attended church last week and noticed something odd. At the beginning of the service, where we usually ask visitors or people who have returned after a long absence to stand and tell us who they are, the speaker announced that we were doing something different this year. Visitors were asked to stand; they were not invited to identify themselves. A couple of people stood up and looked around. My sense was that they weren’t sure what they should do. My first reaction was: how rude! I wondered how I would feel if I were in that situation.

Today, the same thing happened in church. A few people stood up, and this time one of them spoke up, introducing himself and explaining that he was a member briefly, moved away for a short time, and has now returned.

I’m not sure what went into this decision ask our visitors to remain silent, but in my opinion, it was a not a good one one. What are we telling our visitors when we ask them to stand but not tell us who they are? Do we not care enough to ask them? Some people work up a lot of courage when they come to an unknown church for the first time, and may at least hope that they will be welcomed and that people will want to know something about them.

Ironically, later in the service, radical hospitality was mentioned. I don’t think that this is even basic hospitality. I think that we need to seriously re-consider this decision. I think we can do better.