Being Radically Welcoming

DearMBchurch.ca:
            While I am gratified that our church newspapers devoted whole issues to welcoming refugees in the name of Christ, (see my letter from May 25 "Giving Up Our Agenda"), I have to wonder about the timing.
           Right now every secular group in Canada is sponsoring refugees. Socially, it has become the thing to do. It’s practically an identity issue in Canada, “We are Canadian, we open our doors to refugees.”
            Jesus has always been calling us to welcome the stranger and the sojourner. Are we eager to do this only now that it has become socially acceptable? I think being the church means extending a radical welcome in the name of Jesus, and this will not always be understood by the world around us.
            Centuries ago, people used to flee when plagues would attack a city. Everyone ran away, except the Christians. They would stay and tend the sick; many died doing this ministry.
            Or centuries later, people with horrible diseases were pushed out of their towns and villages to fend for themselves. Monasteries and convents took in these sick people. This was how hospitals first began: Christians welcoming the hopelessly sick that were cast out and cast off.
            So what does welcoming mean for our church today? What if MB churches came to be known as the place where you could come when no one else would take you in? We have opened our doors to homeless refugees from Syria. Could we extend a welcome to homeless people from our own cities, many of whom struggle with mental health issues? What about extending a welcome to ex-convicts?
            We might be worried about this sort of welcome…what would it do to church growth? Would our nice middle class neighbours want to worship in a church that caters to the outcast?
            I think God is not so much interested in whether our churches are growing, so much as whether our churches are faithful. Being radically welcoming might not be popular, or draw crowds, but I think it’s the faithful thing to do.
            I belonged once to a church where people who had served time for committing sexual offences against children were welcomed as members. We took precautions for safety, but we included them. Some people felt we should exclude these people. They were worried that our church could not grow if we were this welcoming.
            Extending a welcome in Jesus’ name to the people who no one wants to be with is not a typical recipe for success. But it is a recipe for the kingdom of God.

Love, Carol Penner, Lendrum MB Church

Comments

[Gail]

Thanks for this Carol.
Gail