Musings from Mother Jenny 07.12.2024

To vacation at Capon Springs in West Virginia is to step back in time where window box fans substitute for air-conditioning; shuffle board, badminton, horse shoes, board games and bingo are pastimes. Hammocks, rocking chairs, a spring fed swimming pool, and fishing pond make for relaxation. Three meals a day served family style are filling. Naps are plentiful.

 

Families, as we discover in conversations, have been returning to Capon Springs the same week for generations. We, on the other hand, are the newcomers. We don’t know anyone and yet feel welcomed from day one. People are friendly, not pushy. They introduce themselves, maybe ask where we were from and let it go at that.

 

Announcements about activities are made at every meal, with sign-up sheets to easily join in if that’s what we want to do. The old-timers share tidbits we wouldn’t have known otherwise, like snacks are available every evening at 9pm in the lodge and the best sunset views are up at the golf course.

 

Being newcomers last week to Capon Springs, makes me wonder how visitors might be experiencing Grace Church for their first time or even the second or third time. Do we introduce ourselves by name and ask a friendly follow up question out of interest? During the announcements each Sunday, is it clear where to sign-up for an event or how to volunteer for a ministry? Are we intentional about acclimating newcomers to Grace, sharing our history and answering questions?

 

Years ago, I read that August is the prime month to expect visitors in worship. The reason being that many rectors take their vacations in August and parishioners who don’t want their rector to know they are church shopping, will visit other parishes when their rector is away so they won’t be missed from their pew.

 

Who knows if this is true. Nonetheless, let’s be on the lookout for visitors and make them feel welcome. And, by the way, I now know where most of you sit on Sundays. See you in church!

 

Gratefully,

Mother Jenny+