Welcome is a way of living
‘Welcome!’ A joyful greeting that seems to be everywhere at the moment – the local pub and shops that have been closed for months, in the adverts encouraging us into restaurants and on holiday. And it is meant with real feeling and passion. Social bonds being celebrated. We’re genuinely pleased to see people.
We rightly pride ourselves on being welcoming, as a community, as a nation, and of course in Church. Most churches will have ‘welcomers’ (sometimes known as Sidespeople), who greet people at the door with a smile.
It’s a very important role as it sets the tone for both the people arriving at church, but also for the church lovingly living out the teachings of Jesus. Welcome is important.
I recently re-watched the movie Paddington, and there is a beautiful moment right at the beginning, when following an earthquake that has destroyed their home, Aunt Lucy sends Paddington off to the safety of London saying, “Once, there was a war in the explorer’s country. People in England sent their children by train with labels around their necks, so they could be taken care of by complete strangers in the countryside where it was safe. They will not have forgotten how to treat strangers.”
This is how we like to think about ourselves, however we don’t often think about the times when ‘welcome’ is a matter of life and death.
Last week, June 14-20, was Refugee Week in the UK, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees released some startling figures.
For instance did you know that 68 per cent of all refugees in the world are fleeing the horrors and hardship from just five countries: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.
73 per cent of those people are offered safety by the neighbouring countries.
So the people who reach our shores are only a tiny proportion of those who have been forced from their homes because of oppression, conflict, and human rights abuses.
Jesus himself spent time in Egypt as a refugee because of a tyrant, so understands the vital power and glowing joy of a warm welcome.
When we think about Refugee Week is worth remembering the ‘Welcome’ is always more than just words.
Welcome is about who we are, who we want to be.
Welcome is a way of living.