A show of friendship to strangers

Church NotesBy Joanna JacobsSuperintendent minister of the Lowestoft and East Suffolk circuit.WHAT makes a good holiday - the weather, the food, the view?They all help, but none of them really matter, as long as the company is good.

Church Notes

By Joanna Jacobs

Superintendent minister of the Lowestoft and East Suffolk circuit.

WHAT makes a good holiday - the weather, the food, the view?

They all help, but none of them really matter, as long as the company is good.

These companions are not only the ones we choose to go on holiday with, but also those we might meet.

The way we are received by our hotel or B and B, the friendly service we get from our holiday rep, the people we meet on the beach, or in a caf�, the folk in the next-door caravan, all help to make or mar a holiday. We know what sort of welcome we like to receive, but do we always extend it to visitors in our holiday area?

We are all ambassadors for this beautiful, often forgotten part of the British Isles.

Visitors to our area bring with them wealth, interest and employment, and a good experience will encourage them to return - and tell others how hospitable we are in Lowestoft and beyond.

So we can all be helpful to the tourist who can't find the Post Office, or who can't make sense of the bus timetable; after all we are advised 'not to neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.'

Which brings me to churches and the welcome we extend to our visitors.

I have returned from a holiday in the Isle of Wight. We received a cheerful greeting as we entered a Methodist Church for Sunday worship, but nobody enquired as to where we were from, etc.

Whilst I didn't want to be overwhelmed with conversation it would have been nice to have been acknowledged. I left feeling a little sad, and hoping that the visitors to our local churches will leave, not only feeling that they have met with God, but met some friendly folk too.