A safe place for the house-bound

We invited two elderly neighbours, B and T to yesterday’s Sunday gathering. She never leaves the house, is afraid to. He has poor health. They said they’d like to come, so Lisa arranged to pick them up and take them home: a door-to-door service.

Then it rained and colded. I was sure they’d pull out. Wouldn’t you, in their shoes?

But they came. They came because it was Christian’s last Bible talk, he’s their neighbour and friend, and so they wanted to hear him.

I asked T afterwards how she’d found it. She made some interesting comments. I remember a few of them. She said:

I felt a bit out of it         (I think she meant she was out of practice at church services – it’s been a few decades!)

At least I didn’t pass out. I always used to, when I went to Mass. My sister would be chatting in the choir stalls, they’d hear a loud ‘clunk’, and she’d say, Oh, that’s just T again!

Everyone seemed more…human, somehow.           (compared to Mass in her childhood)

Nice.

B told me,

Last time I was in this establishment was forty years ago, at a wedding.

The great thing was that when they came, they already knew most of the people there. Because we’re all friends and neighbours anyway. So the strangeness factor was less. And of course everyone made a great fuss over making them feel welcome.

We thank God that B and T heard and saw and felt the message of Jesus.