My wife and I had a brief time away together over Mother's Day weekend. Saturday morning we are at a regional farmer's market. Among the observations I made as I sat in one location waiting for my wife to have plenty of time to circulate were these:
- There was plenty of produce. Nothing seemed to be in short supply.
- The costs, however, were higher and it appeared that the primary reason was the cost of transportation.
- A large number of people where looking around and making purchases.
- The primary vender I observed was seeking to make eye and voice contact with everyone who lingered at his stand--but not bothering people just walking by.
- When he was not at his stand, his co-workers did not do near as good a job, and a larger percentage of people passed on by.
What are the implications of this for congregations in terms of the services they provide and the way they encounter guests?
This has certainly been a lesson for us in our inner city neighbourhood. There are many pan-handlers asking for spare change. Regardless of whether I give them money or not (and I rarely do because I rarely have any money on me), I always, ALWAYS look them in the eye and respond with a sentence (as opposed to just a word or two). The impact is clear. When people are given the dignity of our time and attention, it changes them. Good observations, George!
Peace,
Jamie
Posted by: Jamie Arpin-Ricci | May 23, 2008 at 09:46 AM