Are your church pews half-empty? In my experience, having worshipped in many different parishes across Canada, a sincere and spontaneous salutation, recognizing and acknowledging the resident, traveller, tourist and the dispossessed is tantamount to ensuring a brim-full congregation, especially in rural and remote areas. All newcomers appreciate an escort to a pew, an invitation to coffee and a personal introduction to the priest. Finally, the tact of the attentive greeter will readily, and lovingly, accommodate the animal-guided, the disabled and the challenged. Simple solutions are requisite, and most cherished, by the potential Anglican parishioner.
John Morphet, MD
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
