Tourists and Pilgrims
by Catherine Dafoe Hall
Many places in this diocese are popular with tourists, some in both winter and summer. We become accustomed to giving directions and acting in ways that are helpful; in some places the economy is quite dependent on tourists. But we seldom welcome them into our homes and we rarely encourage them to make our community their home. Sometimes the church is like that too.
There is a deep spiritual hunger in the world around us. Many people have already written off the church as a place for spiritual searching and there are many good reasons why that is so. But occasionally someone who is searching will venture into church. Often people who step into a church to look around have little or no experience of Christianity — they don’t even know the basic stories of our faith. These are spiritual tourists and they need the same things that other tourists need, and they need more if they are ever to stop being tourists and become pilgrims.
Like any tourist they need directions and information, they need to be treated with dignity and respect. They need to be offered opportunities that will benefit them rather than opportunities that will benefit the church. So we in the church need to think about what we have to offer to tourists rather than what we hope they will do — such as taking envelopes and teaching Sunday school. Yes, once I was a spiritual tourist and within a couple of weeks I was asked to teach Sunday school, and when I protested my ignorance was assured that I would "learn along with the children." The consequence of that was that I missed out on the sermons and opportunities to worship with the others. The church need was being met (barely) but my needs were not.
When we serve the spiritual needs of the spiritual tourists that they become pilgrims and join us on our journey — that is the appropriate time for them to take envelopes and accept responsibility for ministry.
Diana Butler Bass says that a church that is vital is a place where transformation happens. Where people can testify that they have grown and learned and changed because of what they have learned and experienced. It would be good for church committees to conduct an audit to see what opportunities are available for the spiritual tourists. Programs like Education for Ministry, Cursillo, and other educational opportunities are important, but equally important is being invited home for lunch to a parishioner's house and experiencing genuine deep welcome to join the pilgrimage.
