The Power of Invitation

One of the things I have been thinking about recently is the power of invitation. Invitations can lead us in both positive and negative directions.

During my second curacy, where I served as an assistant in a busy parish in Dublin, my boss used to impress upon us the importance of inviting people to a whole range of things.

He was very conscious that people have different personalities, and different activities will resonate more easily with particular people. He set up the parish in such a way that there were all sorts of activities on offer. There was stuff for children, teenagers and adults. There were activities that were more physically active and some that were more cerebral or reflective. There were constant invitations to volunteer and to assist as people got involved. He had a sense of space and place so, rather intentionally in the parish centre, he placed a coffee shop right in the foyer. It was a bright and airy space and you could put tables together very easily when you had a larger group, like after the midweek communion service. There were also quiet and discreet tables where people could have private and deeper conversations one to one, if that was necessary.

He saw the parish magazine as a tool to invite people into the life of the parish so, even though its over 25 years ago since I served there, I remember these glossy publications that came out maybe six times a year. He wanted it to be something people looked forward to receiving and something they might pass on to their neighbours and friends, and so he invested in getting it professionally printed with high quality photographs which set it apart all those years ago as a beautiful production. He kept a stash of them at all the entrances to the church and encouraged us as the curates to hand them out to anyone visiting, anyone who was new.

He saw it as a simple, non-threatening way into people’s consciousness, and ensured there were teams who would deliver them into every household who was on the register as having any connection with the place no matter how tenuous.

One Sunday, when he was away, I was greeting people going out the door. I saw some first time visitors and gave them some copies with an invitation to come back and, if there was anything they saw in the magazine that was of interest, they would be welcome. A young woman mentioned that she was searching for accommodation and asked me to let her know if we heard of anything coming up.

I noticed on my way through the parish centre on the notice board someone had posted an advertisement looking for someone to share a rented accommodation, so I thought I would go around with this information that evening. When I went around and passed on the advertisement, we got talking and ended up going out for a drink and, about 5 months later, I found myself issuing a much more significant invitation when I asked her to marry me!

In some of the podcasts I have recorded in our weekly show Bitesize Chunks of Faith, I have asked guests to share something of their journey of faith. More often than not, people have invited them to church events, or their parents and grandparents shared Bible stories and prayers, and these invitations to enter the sacred story of scripture have stuck with them. Friends maybe prayed for them or led Bible studies and invited them along to come and see, and a new world of faith has opened up to them.

Invitations can have a dark side, and I have spoken to those who were persuaded by peers or colleagues to try drugs or alcohol in an environment that was unhelpful, and who went on to develop dependency issues. People have been invited to join paramilitary organisations and got sucked into the realm of violence and misinformation. It can be hard and, indeed, rather frightening, trying to extricate oneself from such groups.

In the past week or so, members of the church have delivered around 1000 invitations to our community fun day on Saturday from 2-4pm, in the local streets. Some who come will already be familiar with the church but, for others, it will be their first time crossing the threshold. There will be all sorts of attractions from a petting zoo to bouncy castles and barbecue, and ice cream to tea and coffee. There will be a ukulele band, games, and the opportunity to visit our beautiful church, see the stained glass and try to work out the answers to our intriguing quiz. There will be information available about our programmes and activities and organisations. Some people will be nervous about coming, others will be curious and, as someone said to me recently, who had been away from church for a while, it felt like coming home.

For some, it may be a most significant invitation and may open the door to pursuing a relationship with God, or restoring that relationship, if He hasn’t been a part of your thinking in some time.

If you are not connected anywhere else, why don’t you come and join us for worship at one of our services on Sunday at 9am, 11am or 7pm?

We just want you to know He is there, He loves you and you would be welcome.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

Listen to the latest episode of ‘Bitesize Chunks of Faith’