Return to the Lord your God,

    for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,

    and relenting from punishment.

-Joel 2:13b

 

Yesterday, I took my kids to “Meet the Teacher Night,” in some schools called “Meet, Greet, Find Your Seat” or “Back to School Night” or “Unpack Your Backpack.” Whatever the name, the idea is the same: to give kids (and parents!) the opportunity to meet or reconnect with teachers, to set up school supplies, and find their locker and classroom. Knowing what to expect on the first day of school later this week helps everyone feel more at ease.

As I walked with my kids to their classrooms and we worked our way through school supply lists and labeling instructions, I couldn’t help noticing how their demeanor changed throughout the hour at school.

At first, they had a kind of nervous excitement. Even after multiple years as students at this school, and with teachers they both already knew, it took some courage to head back into school for a new year. Coming back, even to a familiar place, was work. It was easy to tell who was new to the school, as they anxiously tried to figure out which way to go and who to even ask for help.

As I watched my kids unpack and label and arrange their supplies, I saw that they were relaxing into a familiar routine: follow the teacher’s instructions, write their names on folders, set up their desk. But then I realized that while the routine was helping them feel at ease, it wasn’t the main thing that was affecting them.

It was every time they greeted a classmate by name or were greeted in return. For the kids who were new to a teacher or new to school altogether, it was the moment when somebody introduced themselves, giving a connection and reassuring them that they weren’t alone. “Hi Luke!” “Hi Caleb!” “Hi Thea!” “Hi Mr. Logan!” “Hi Junia!” “Hi Winter!” With each interaction, however brief, the nerves settled until, by the end of the hour we spent at school, both my kids were practically peaceful. 

The end of summer is a transition for lots of people: certainly for students, teachers, and parents, as the back-to-school week hinges from summer to fall. Farmers begin to consider whether their fields are ready yet for harvest. Even industries that don’t have an official reason to follow the shifting seasons often find a different rhythm as fall begins.

Reflecting on this “back-to-school” period got me thinking about welcome and return at church. Even for the most habit-driven among us, our lives have seasons of starting and stopping, going away and coming back. While it’s not usually as clear-cut as a first and last day of school on the calendar, we do begin and end and begin again in church participation. 

Maybe you (or someone you know) stopped coming to worship every week when the kids were itty-bitty, because the worship time fell right in the middle of morning nap or breakfast routines. Or you got busy with work or friends or family or clubs and found that something had to give. Or your kid finished school and you realized you were really just coming to keep them participating. Or you got sick and couldn’t get out of bed in time on Sunday. Or you got disillusioned by hypocrisy or bickering or “we’ve always done it that way” and quietly stopped trying. 

If you see yourself reflected in any of those examples, you’re not alone. You’re also not in trouble.

You can go back and read that line again. God’s not disappointed or mad that you ended up in a season when you didn’t come to church. And I’m not, either. 

The Bible is full of stories of people who leave and come back (like Jacob, Naomi, Moses, Elijah, Peter, even Jesus). They go for different reasons and they come back for different reasons, each at their own pace. What they all have in common is that they do return, and in coming back they find God’s people in community with them.

It can be hard to come back to church. Like kids at school, we don’t know if our friends will be there, if the new people we meet will be kind to us, if we’ll get along with the leaders, if it will be like it was before. It takes the same kind of courage as a kid entering their first day at a new school to walk back into church after time away. And like teachers greeting the students at the door, the people who are already here have one job that day: to share how excited they are to see each and every person who comes.

That’s the thing: it takes so much courage and determination to come back to church that the only response anybody should get upon their return is enthusiastic welcome. Not guilt, not surprise, but plain joy.

If you’ve been away and want to come back: is now the time you’ve been waiting for? If you’re away and not sure it’s time yet: we’ll still be here when you’re ready. Just don’t wait on account of being worried how we’ll respond, because it’s all joyous welcome from God’s people just waiting to say hi.