What does "Welcome" look like?

We have been at the new appointment for a little over 24 hours.  It is now the evening of the 4th of July, and we just finished our first cookout on the back deck of the new parsonage.  It is an evening to give thanks...and to ponder what "Welcome" looks like...

  • It is a lawn full of cars of folks who came to help unload a moving truck on a warm afternoon (warm is being generous based on the sweltering heat).
  • It is a refrigerator and counter full of food that is easy to prepare and eat during the first few days in a new home.  
  • A check that covers the difference between the standard moving allowance and the actual cost of hiring a moving company to handle the major portion of the move.
  • A kitchen full of folks helping unpack dishes and household items and taking directions from someone they just met.
  • A parsonage committee that did a bang-up job of preparing a house for occupancy.  After many moves over the years, I have never seen a parsonage file so detailed and comprehensive.  It is impressive 
  • Easy conversation about things like baseball, golf, fishing, the weather in your first hours in town.  I have moved to places where I was grilled on my theological positions, church politics and other serious matters before the first box was unpacked.  Laughter and lighthearted talk is so much better.
  • Serious hospitality to the professional movers who were just doing their job. To hear a couple of guys who were being paid by the hour say that they had never felt so welcomed by a group they were moving is a testimony in itself.
  • A great dinner at a restaurant on the lake with key leaders after the truck was empty and the majority of boxes were placed in the house.
  • An invitation to a 4th of July breakfast at another United Methodist Church on the day after the move. We got to meet more folks from the church, a few pastors from the area, and a great start to a holiday.
  • Being left alone for the rest of the day to take care of business in making a parsonage a home.
I will bet that others can testify to what a warm welcome looks like.

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