The most common comment in the visitors book is “Thank you for keeping the church open”, followed by an expression of gratitude for the friendly face of a Steward. Now that the office is staffed every weekday between 9 and 5 the focus of our stewarding is shifting away from making sure the church isn’t left empty towards being a welcoming presence for visitors. Every one has their own way of stewarding – some are more pro-active in engaging with visitors, others prefer to wait to be approached. Every visitor has his or her own reason for visiting too – some of them come for the architecture and the history, others to light a candle or sit and pray. Whatever the reason it’s nice for them to find someone in attendance.
Some of us take a book to read or some sewing or studying – any activity that doesn’t so engross you that you don’t notice the visitor who wants to talk or the man running off with the lectern! You can do it in twos – bring a friend and a coffee and sit and chat.
Why not give it a go? In an ideal world we’d have someone there all the time but for the moment I�m splitting the day into 11am – 1pm and 1pm – 3pm. Please let me know if you’d be interested in helping and I’ll send you rota details. [email protected]
Welcome to our Church
Judy East