Hello Church,
It’s Simon here, back from Long Service Leave. We’re so glad to be back with our church family after a refreshing extended break and it’s been so encouraging to see and hear how God has been at work around church while we’ve been away.
In addition to having some great family time and good refreshment, Long Service Leave gave our family the chance to visit with 7 other churches in our region. It was such an encouragement to see that God is at work in a whole variety of communities as God’s people encourage each other in their love of Jesus and witness to his grace. Our visits to other churches also affirmed some of the things that we hold dear here at Trinity Brighton – partly because we were so encouraged when we experienced similar things at the churches we visited, and partly through the occasions when we didn’t!
Perhaps the thing that stood out to us the most was the massive impact that a warm welcome has. At a couple of the churches we visited no-one said hello, except perhaps the “designated welcomer” on the door. Of course, we’re Christian people who love church and are very comfortable in church, but even we felt a bit unsettled by that. In contrast, we also experienced the wonderful impact of a warm welcome at a number of the churches we visited. It definitely included a warm greeting from the person at the door (or in the car park!), but it was also the countless little things that helped us feel right at home: It was the quick “G’day” from the person in the row behind us as we found our way to our seats – they’d recognised that we were new and wanted us to feel welcome. It was the thoughtful assistance another parent offered as we looked around for where to take the kids for their program – they could see we were a bit lost and took the time to help us out. It was the simple effort to come over and initiate a conversation when we were sitting on our own during a break in the service. Almost every Sunday on the drive home Peta and I would reflect on how our experience had reminded us of just how welcoming Trinity Church Brighton is – and how thankful we are to be part of it! It has spurred us on to make sure we hang onto to something we already hold dear as a church, and to keep growing this aspect of our life together.
So, if you’re new – we’re so glad you’re with us. We’d love to get to know you a bit and help you connect with our church if you’d like to. And if you’ve been around for a bit (or a lot!), let’s keep looking for opportunities to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us.
Cheers,
Simon