Bishop's letters: September 04 +James SERVICE PLEASE …

Not long ago, I travelled first class by train from Birmingham to Oxenholme (- not my normal practice: it just happened to be cheaper than second class on this occasion, for some arcane reason I didn’t fully understand!). It was quite an experience.

For a start, the train was apparently ‘the wrong one’, which meant that none of the advance seat bookings applied. Then the lavishly advertised ‘complementary snack’ and free drinks never materialised. When challenged by other (increasingly irate) passengers, the Train Manager sarcastically replied that he didn’t own the train, he just worked on it. Listening to the exchange, I reflected on what a poor advertisement it was for a rail company struggling to shake off its reputation for inefficiency and discomfort. This was hardly the way to boost customer satisfaction. Even my normally tepid blood was beginning to boil!

Life duly moved on, and I forgot about that incident until a couple who have recently moved to Cumbria told me about their attempt to settle in to a church. As so many people do nowadays, they ‘tried out’ several in their area before finally committing themselves to the fourth they visited. I asked about their reasons for rejecting the first three. It transpired that there was really only one reason, which had little or nothing to do with the style of worship, or churchmanship, or music, or even range of ages in the congregation. The reason why they settled where they did was simply because they were made to feel welcome. Nothing more complicated – or unachievable – than that.

Interestingly, that conversation confirmed some research that has been done in churches around the world. Making people feel welcome is one of the most important ingredients in any recipe for building up a congregation – and that applies even more to ‘newcomers’ than it does to existing Christians. At least the couple I met went on trying. Dozens don’t. Sometimes they get the impression that we’re like the staff on my train: not really concerned about them, and unable to deliver what we promise, which is nothing less than a relationship with God.

That’s why I hope that one of the ‘objectives’ parishes may consider as part of the ‘Diocesan Plan’ will be ‘improving our welcome’. It’s nothing new. Banks and other organisations have endless questionnaires about it, and most of us discussed it as part of the ‘Healthy Churches Exercise’. But it is crucial.

That’s because it not only helps people to feel good about themselves and about the Church, but it also tells them something important about God, “Come to me”, said Jesus on more than one occasion: - come to me everyone, and I won’t turn you away, whoever you are and whatever you’ve been or done. And, as we know from Psalm 23, he prepares a table before us which is laden with rather more than an aircraft-style snack.

So making people feel welcome involves more than just a friendly smile at the door, important though that is. It means all of us caring deeply about every visitor to our church, and offering them the sort of ‘service’ which is so fundamental to our faith.



James Newcome