A Welcoming Church

A welcoming church is one that knows itself as constantly made new by confession and the comfort of God's word.
If we receive and rejoice in each other simply because of our shared history, there is no room for the newcomer.
But if we fail to receive and rejoice in each other, our churches are cold.

Many of our churches have abandoned confession, absolution and the greeting of the peace in order to make newcomers more comfortable. And it is true, newcomers probably are more comfortable with this kind of social club, but we are no longer welcoming them (or each other) into the church of God.