One of the things that is really great about a new ministry, is that since you are not used to "the way things are done" here, you spend an awful lot of time observing. You see things in ways that the people who have been there for a long time might not have noticed as they developed over the long arch of God's leading of that congregation. I find myself doing just that sort of observation.
This past Sunday, from the vantage point of the presider's chair, I was offered the opportunity to look out across the Cathedral congregation and observe a bit of the life of the congregation. First, because I make a point of being at the entrance to greet God's people as they arrive for worship, (A lesson I learned in Youth ministry: you need to greet youth as they arrive so that they feel welcomed, appreciated and loved) i have the chance to find out a little about the people who come to worship, and to hear a little of their story. St. George's has a great variety of people who form the worship community, and because of it's age, its beauty, and its status as a Cathedral, it almost never fails to have visitors arrive for worship. St. George's has a strong contingent of University faculty and teachers as one would expect from a major church in a University town, but owing to its position in the core of the city, it also has people coming in off the streets, who have connected through programs like Lunch by George. I am impressed and pleased to say that All get a warm welcome.
The thing that surprised me in my observation this week though, has more to do with the constant run of tourists who come to the Cathedral. Our Cathedral tour guides at most times are there answering questions, filling in information, and giving the gift of hospitality, but what I saw were tourists that wandered in in the midst of worship. Seemingly unaware of the fact that the Christian church might be busy at worship at 10:30 in the morning on a Sunday, they came in they wandered, they looked around, and often they left only a few moments later. In one case, even as I preached the sermon, one group came down the side aisle, to a spot right beside the pulpit, and proceeded to light candles there.
It would be easy to simply term this group that come through the doors as "nuisance visitors." It would be easy to get annoyed at their intrusion into our holy time with God, but that is not what I observed from my seat in the presider's chair. What I saw was that every person who entered through the doors, whether they came in before, during, or after worship; whether they stayed and prayed, or just looked around and left again, each one was treated with respect and hospitality. Every person through those doors was seen as someone worthy of respect; worthy of a welcome.
It very much put me in mind of words from the letter to the Hebrews. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." I would have to say that my first impression of the ministry of Holy Hospitality at St. George's is very positive. We are not called to judge those that come through the doors. None of us knows for what reason God has brought them to this place today. It is only our call to do the best we can to offer them a chance to encounter our risen Lord in whatever time they manage to spend with us. May God continue to challenge us with the gift of visitors, and may we not neglect to show hospitality, that perhaps we might entertain angels without knowing it.
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