Day 38, A Place of Welcome, Fellowship and Acceptance – Julie Northrip
“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NRSV.)
Most people have places where when they enter, they instantly feel welcomed and included. The narthex at St. Mark is one of those places for me. As soon as you walk through the doors of the church you enter a large open space that’s warm and inviting. When it’s filled with people on a Sunday morning or for special fellowship activities, you feel part of that community. When it’s quiet and empty, it’s a calm place to sit and reflect or just be still.
For our family it has been an essential part of our worship experience. When Vivi got restless or too vocal, one of us, usually John, would leave the sanctuary and go to the narthex. There, Vivi was free to walk around while John was still able to listen to the service and look through the large window and see the whole sanctuary. To have this space for this purpose was, and still is, a true blessing.
Each time I’m in the narthex, no matter the day or the occasion, I feel a sense of acceptance and community. It is the people of St. Mark, the ones who fill this narthex, who foster this community by welcoming newcomers, providing spiritual and fellowship opportunities, offering help and support, accepting others as they are, and genuinely caring for each other.
“Dear LORD, may the love, welcome, and acceptance we show each other at church extend to people beyond our building, the strangers we encounter daily, our coworkers, neighbors, and those people we may never see but can still support and encourage.”
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