PEA RIDGE — I recently had an opportunity to take some young people from my church to Temple Shalom Jewish synagogue for a Friday night Shabbat service as part of their confirmation process.

I had spoken to the rabbi a few weeks before about the service and what we should expect. I was very excited about my first Jewish service and being able to share it with my class. When we arrived at the synagogue, I was surprised to find that the rabbi was not there and that his mother has passed away. He had gone home to be with his family for the funeral. The service was going to be led by a lay member of the congregation, and no one there that night knew we were coming. At this point I was not sure about what kind of experience this would be for the kids, and I was afraid we would be received as outsiders.

It didn’t take long for my fears to be calmed. We had been met warmly in the parking lot by some of the congregation who showed us in. We were greeted by Miriam who was to lead the service that night. The kids were very interested in the basket of yarmulkes and she invited them each to wear one for the service.

They were so thrilled that she asked them to do this, and they wore them with pride. As the service started, Miriam took time to explain each act of worship so that we could understand exactly what was going on and participate along with the congregation. Then to my surprise, she asked the congregation if it would be okay with them to use English instead of Hebrew at certain points so that we could more easily be a part of the service. The people responded gladly to her suggestion, and we had a time of worship with our new Jewish friends that made me feel very much a part of the family.

After the service we shared in the tradition of eating challah, a special bread with 12 braids for the 12 tribes of Israel and sesame seeds representing the manna provided byGod for the Israelites in the wilderness. They even sent the extra challah home with the kids.

As we left that night, I remember thinking that these people know what it means to welcome someone. I wondered to myself, “Would our church be so welcoming as to alter our service so that our guests could understand and participate fully?” I wondered if I was willing to change my own personal way of doing things every day to welcome strangers into fellowship with me and consequently be able to share my faith in God with them. I went that night to learn about Jewish customs and worship and to expose the young people to these things, but what we learned was what it means to extend a sincere welcome to a stranger in your midst.

We learned that true welcome goes beyond a hand shake and a hello. We learned that a true welcome means a willingness to change in order to make people feel at home. We learned that a true welcome means you care as much about your visitors’ comfort as you do about your own traditions and ways of doing things. I can’t help but wonder how many people have walked into our churches, our businesses, our homes and our lives and have left feeling less than welcomed because we weren’t willing to bend a little to make them feel a part of all that was going on. I learned a lot that night at Temple Shalom about Jewish customs and worship, but the most important thing I learned was what it means to truly welcome a stranger.

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Rev. Matt Daniels is the pastor of Pea Ridge and Brightwater United Methodist churches. He can be contacted at mdaniels29@ comcast.net.

Church, Pages 2 on 03/24/2010