Pastoral Message: “Initial Reflections on Engaging Our Visitors” Week of the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost August 16, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Initial Reflections on Engaging Our Visitors”
Week of the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 16, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
It’s been gratifying to me that we have been blessed by the presence of visitors with some regularity at our Sunday worship services both in English and in Spanish. How best might we be a blessing to our visitors? That’s a question I wish to begin to address in this week’s message. Hispanic and Anglo cultures may differ in terms of how visitors might most fittingly be engaged. Pastora Veronica has particular ways of welcoming newcomers, so she could best speak to that. Today, I will address in particular how we might seek to offer welcome to visitors at our 9:00 am service in English which attracts at this point people primarily of European descent.
And here’s the challenge that I see: for those who visit, what’s the sweet spot between too much and too little attention? We don’t want to overwhelm visitors or be too pushy. At the same time, we don’t want to ignore those who visit our worship services. Some people are seekers trying out spiritual things and may wish to remain fairly anonymous. When I visited churches on my Sundays off in New York City, I would generally go in and go out without really engaging with anyone. Seeking other exits, I’d generally avoid the lines at the door where clergy would greet people. Giving too much attention can be off-putting for some, especially for introverted types. Moreover, lavishing lots and lots of attention on visitors can unwittingly reveal our anxious desire for new members to help our congregation thrive. If the desire for new members is the driving force in our offering welcome to newcomers, then our visitors become means to another end, namely support of our congregation and its needs. Such an approach misses the mark, and doesn’t honor our visitors and their needs and desires.
On the other hand, we want to meaningfully engage those who visit with us, going beyond a brief greeting at the door – though that’s hard to do when the line is long and people are eager to move along. So again, what’s the sweet spot of just enough attention on newcomers to make them feel welcome, but not to overwhelm them? That’s what we need to address when I will soon convene a group to brainstorm about team efforts at engaging our visitors.
For here’s the thing, and a matter of significant concern to me: we’ve had a number of people visit at 9:00 am and come for a few Sundays, but then they don’t return. I would love for there to be a way of learning from them about their experience. I would covet opportunity to hear from them their honest assessment of their experiences in our worship and in our community. Alas, many such visitors have not had occasion or means to offer their contact information so that we can stay in touch to learn from them. We can brainstorm together about practical ways to keep lines of communication open to the extent that people desire that.
But I also think that what is called for is a paradigm shift in what have been typical approaches to evangelism. Often, evangelistic efforts have focused on telling people what the church has to offer to them. And with such a perspective, the focus is on the church and not the visitor. The shift called for is to focus on the visitor and engage them wherever they are on their spiritual and life journeys. Moreover, and quite significant theologically speaking, we are called to see Christ in those otherwise unknown to us who visit our worship services, “for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). In Benedictine monasteries, visitors are always regarded as Christ himself, and thus are offered significant hospitality. We are called to do likewise, affirming that our visitors may have more to offer us in surprising and unexpected ways than we have to offer them.
As I’ve written before in my little series reflecting on the future of Faith-La Fe, I’ve made it clear that people today are generally not seeking to become members of organizations or associations like churches. Rather people today more typically are on a personal quest – for meaning, for transcendence, for healing, for connection, for community, for God. So, the better focus for engaging visitors is not “let me tell you about our church.” Rather, I believe the focus should be “tell me more about yourself, your hopes and dreams.” It’s to engage them at a spiritual level, to accompany them on their journey, wherever they happen to be. And if that accompaniment may result at some point in deeper discipleship and future membership in our congregation, so be it. But our accompaniment of visitors on their journeys is best seen as an end in itself. Then our visitors are not means to another end, and we can engage them for whoever they are as beloved children of God in whom we see the face of Christ.
So, these are some initial musings on the theme of engaging our visitors. I would love to hear more from you as well. Kindly reach out to me with your creative ideas about welcoming visitors. Let’s be in conversation. And if you feel drawn to be part of a brainstorming group about all of this, do let me know! I’ll be convening that group soon.
Prayerfully in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Thrivent Volunteers put on Pancake Breakfast for the Homeless
From set up to clean-up, 20 Faith Lutheran Thrivent volunteers combined teamwork, fun, and culinary skills to produce an appetizing Pancake Breakfast for more than 150 homeless persons at Grace Lutheran Church downtown on the first Sunday morning in August. 176 plates each with three pancakes, two sausages (along with butter, syrup, coffee, water, and soft drinks) were served with a chorus of cheery “Good mornings.” From the other side came grateful “Thank You’s” along with a few “Where are the biscuits and gravy?” (perhaps from Navy veterans?) and one “I’m blessed, not stressed.” Maybe that person summed up our goal to provide a brief and nourishing break from hot and challenging lives. Our team had both veterans and rookies. Alma and Deana Cortes from Faith’s Pre-school were two of the hardest working and most effective rookies. Our volunteers distributed the syrup; mixed the batter; worked the hot griddle in teams; harvested the sausages from the oven; assembled, handed out, and counted the food-filled plates; supplied the Tang and coffee; and washed pots, pans, and dishes. There was also plenty of time for conversation. Chris Jacobson, who can speak some 20 languages, was able to converse in Swahili, with one of Grace’s ministers who is from Kenya. Several days earlier, four Thrivent volunteers shopped Costco with a $250 Thrivent Action team grant to replenish Grace’s food and supply inventory. Various groups do the Pancake Breakfast every Sunday. Special thanks to this year’s Faith volunteers: Scott, Ulmer, Alma and Deana Cortes, Jeff and Diane Havir, Carly Chamberlain, Jan and Lucy Flaaten, Fred Cowley, Barbara Andrew, John and Suzanne Johnstonbaugh, Sean Ross, Paul Bott, Heidi and Calvin Boldway, Ronny Blackwell, Chris Jacobson, and John and Francisca Shaw. See photos of this happening below!
Mark Your Calendars Now – Celebrating Our Preschool 40th Anniversary
On Sunday afternoon, October 1 from 2:00 – 5:00, our Faith Lutheran Preschool will celebrate its 40th Anniversary. Current students and their families, alumni, staff and members of the congregation are invited to join in the festivities, details about which will be included in future announcements. But mark your calendars now and plan to join us for this important celebration in the life of our preschool and our congregation.
Autumn Rummage Sale
Mark your calendars because the date has been set! Faith/La Fe will be holding its next rummage sale on Saturday, October 21. You may bring your donations beginning Sunday, August 20. Please coordinate larger and weekday drop offs with Carly Chamberlain at 269-267-4899. For any other questions about the upcoming sale, please contact Carly and/or Jan Hulin.
Faith-La Fe Continues to Support Heat Respite Ministry at Grace Church Downtown – Especially Needed and Crucial During this Heatwave!
As a part of the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network, Chris Jacobson and Gail Turner are heading up efforts at Faith/La Fe to gather food and other items to support the Heat Respite Program at Grace Lutheran Church downtown Phoenix this Summer until August 20th.
Throughout the summer, there will be bins in the breeze way each week where worshipers may drop off their offerings of items for Grace’s guests experiencing homelessness, such as:
· bottled water, any size
· packaged snacks (“grab & go”)
· being aware that many people do not have teeth: individual cans or cups of fruits, puddings, potted meats are good for that reason
· small jars (or individual) peanut butter
Other items needed:
· Shoes for men and women
· Socks for men and women
· gently used clothing for men and women
· backpacks
· blankets
· tents, and collapsible umbrellas
· small personal hygiene items (travel size or bring from your hotel stays)
· tooth brushes & small tooth paste
Also, volunteer opportunities abound, call Grace at 602-258-3787 to learn more.
Thank you for your compassion and generosity!
Chris Jacobson and Gail Turner
Lutheran Books of Worship Available to You
Now that the green Lutheran Books of Worship have been replaced in our pews with the cranberry-colored Evangelical Lutheran Worship, copies of LBW are available to you to take home, especially for those whose family members are honored on memorial plates in the fronts of the books. Look for the LBW’s on tables in the library end of the parish hall. They will be organized alphabetically by last name so that you will have an easier time of identifying books you or your family might have donated to honor loved ones. So, we invite you to look through the books and take home those which memorialize your family. Once family members have had a chance to look through the books, remaining LBW’s will be available to anyone who wants a copy or more as a keepsake.
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Special Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion
Upcoming Saturday Quiet Days at Faith-La Fe in 2023
Saturday, September 30 – on this day, close to the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, we will explore Franciscan Spirituality and what it might mean for Lutherans in ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
Saturday, October 28 – as we approach Reformation Sunday, this will be a day devoted to revealing key features of specifically Lutheran Spirituality, or Christian spirituality with Lutheran accents. We will discover that there’s a lot to draw from in our own tradition to take us ever more deeply into the spiritual life.
Saturday, November 18 – this day will be devoted to spending our time together in our beautiful nave doing “Stations of Our Stained Glass Windows,” a series of visual meditations on our stained-glass windows and the miracles and parables of Jesus they depict. We’ll explore in conversation the bible stories the windows are based on, and then look carefully at the windows to see features of the story which the stained-glass art highlights. Each station will feature a hymn before we move on to the next window.
The excitement is building! With just over two months to go before the Just Love Gathering kicks off, now is the time to prepare for in-kind giving.
Providing in-kind support for the people of our host city is always a major component of any triennial gathering. It will be true in Phoenix too. There are three primary ways to support in-kind giving: through quilts, knitted knockers, and particular items needed by local service agencies. Check out the full details at https://www.womenoftheelca.org/new-triennial-event-page/inkind and download the fact sheet. A copy of the fact sheet is attached for your convenience. Make copies of the fact sheet and invite the women of your congregational unit to contribute. Why stop there? Invite your whole congregation! Invite your family and neighbors!