The Church and Its People

“Here is the church and here is its steeple; open the doors and see all the people.”

I was never good at memorizing Bible scripture in Sunday School—too many thee’s, thou’s and thine’s for my brain to retain—but simple poems such as this one stuck with me. I was reminded of it this week when I opened my mailbox.

My husband is about one month into a four-month deployment overseas. The first month was full of challenges for the four of us charged with keeping the home fires burning—a broken down van, four cases of strep throat, a rogue thumbnail that’s simply too gross to explain here. Nothing major—thank God, nothing major—but certainly challenging, nonetheless.

Fortunately I’ve had friends and family nearby to lend a helping hand when needed, and church friends and family nearby to listen and offer words of support.

And today, a card in the mail. A card filled with names, packed with names, covered inside AND OUT with names. Too many names to count.

Some of the names I recognized as our pastoral staff, individuals with whom I’ve served on committees or friends I’ve made through my children’s activities. Some, however, were names I did not recognize. They were strangers. And yet they were not.

Like those tiny little clasped hands opening up to peer inside the church, I saw inside our church when I opened that card. I saw all the people. And they were all family.

It’s through these simple actions—a moment to offer support to a friend, or even a stranger—that we share and even spread God’s love. We lift one another up, just as we are called to do. We open the doors of our church and spill out into the world around us.

Thank you for your generosity, and for welcoming my family into yours.