Welcome The Stranger

Welcome the Stranger

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.

Leviticus 19:34 (ESV)

How would you like to attend an Amish church service? My friend Amy had a chance to do that, and here are some of her observations:

Janet and I sat in the back of the barn with the grandmothers when the service began at 9 a.m. The service started with the congregation singing hymns very slowly in German. A male song leader began the first syllable of each line, and then the rest of the congregation joined in.

The married men sat on one side of the barn, facing the married women. Young unmarried men and women sat in separate sections, as well. Many of the youth were gone during the hymn singing while they met with the bishop for their baptism class.

Since the barn doors were open, it was like having church with nature. Pigeons roosted in the rafters, and their musical cooing filled the barn. A cow wandered by mooing loudly. A barn cat also came to visit, and since I’m a cat lover, I gestured for the feline to come to me. I rubbed its chin before it continued to the back of the barn to take a leisurely bath before falling asleep in a warm sunbeam. Later in the service, a dog joined us and fell asleep at Janet’s feet.

What an impression the community made on Amy and her friend Janet. It reminds me of the impact we can have on the strangers who live among us. My daughter Leslie attends a conversation club for international college students. She once told me that most of these students never enter an American home, even though they may attend college in the United States for many years. In the past we’ve opened our home to students, and we’re looking forward to doing so again in the future. We never know what impact we’ll have on others when we allow them to enter our world and hear about the God we serve.

Dear heavenly Father, for so many years I’ve supported those who’ve gone out to spread the Good News of Jesus around the world. Forgive me for ignoring the “foreigners” in my own community.