Welcome
Visitors to a church in France found this notice as they entered. It's headed "WELCOME". Underneath, it says: "In the house of God, please show your respect by keeping quiet in this place of prayer and contemplation." This is followed by some "thou-shalt-not" images that appear to be telling you that you are:
Not to bring your dog (or your cat, it seems)
Not to eat or drink
Not to talk
Not to wear hats, specifically baseball caps
And, most importantly, not to hold hands
We want you to know that at pub church, we don't say we welcome everyone but then insist on certain conditions. At our Sunday meetings, you are encouraged:
To bring your dog
To drink and eat whatever our landlord serves
To talk, especially in response to the sermon (we really want to know your thoughts and views)
To wear a gaudy-coloured sombrero if that's your thing
To know that you're in an affirming space
Please just come as you are. We want to get to know the real and authentic version of each other. That's the version Jesus sees anyway. And at his table, we are all equally loved and accepted.
"To affirm a person is to see the good in them that they cannot see in themselves and to repeat it in spite of appearances to the contrary."
Brennan Manning