Sacred Invites in the Ordinary

Posted on July 21, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback

Tonight I took a break from cleaning and went to a local coffee shop just to sit and pray. As I ordered a drink, the barista and I got to talking. In the course of conversation, she mentioned she had grown up Lutheran. I asked her if she attended a church currently to which she replied yes, but is also looking to get back to something more similar to her upbringing. I mentioned I worked at a Lutheran Church and asked her what she was hoping to find in a church that is different from where she is currently attending. She said she hoped to find a place where she’d be known by name and welcomed as she entered the door, a place where she felt she belonged. I invited her to church and will seek to connect again.

When I think of what it means to invite others to experience faithful community, I think of moments like this, in an over the counter exchange. These are the moments in life we might be tempted to brush off as ordinary, but I’ve come to learn they’re anything but ordinary. And if God doesn’t take breaks from stirring up faithful conversations, it stands to reason if we’re open to it, sacred invites are always in the ordinary.