Miscellaneous Blog Entry Title #1

Today as Jordan and I were driving into the church parking lot, I noticed a man and woman pushing a shopping cart into the lot as well. After we had parked and were entering the building, we saw them "park" the cart with the parking attendants (who quite gallantly put orange traffic cones in front and back of it). We followed the couple into church (watching the woman adjust her pants at the side of the path while the man impatiently waited for her). We then entered the sanctuary and I decided that I wanted to sit near them. This was partly out of curiosity (I admit it) and partly because I saw it as a chance to be accepting of people different than me. I remember growing up and seeing people come into church that were poorer, dirtier, different than me and I would avoid them, so I now try to consciously not avoid them. They were a bit disruptive during the service. The man was a little more into it than the woman, he would nod his head at various times when the pastor said something he agreed with, he filled out the visitor information card (bringing it down to the usher and handing it to him in the middle of the service) and he was careful to fill in the blanks in the sermon notes. The woman was in and out of the church, finally leaving during communion to smoke outside. It was also apparent that they hadn't showered in a while and while the smell wasn't overpowering, it was there.
Shortly after we entered, Jordan got something in her eye and went to the restroom and in that time, a guy (youngish, cutish) came in and asked if he could sit by me which of course I said yes to. He sat down and then Jordan came back. The guy sat there for maybe 10 or 15 minutes before he got up and moved to the other side of the church.

Now here's what I'm wondering and what I would love to ask him (but never will of course). Did he leave because Jordan returned and he now found himself seated next to a single mother, or did he leave because he couldn't handle the couple in front of us (I guess he could have left because he saw friends of his, but as he moved to a seat behind us and made no indication of searching the church, I am more inclined towards my other 2 options) Neither reason is blame-free on his part, but I'm more curious about the 2nd option. We want church to be a place where people can come and worship, right? Our pastor even scolded people last month for leaving the service early to get out of the parking lot quicker because it interrupts the work of the H.S. We also want to be an open place where anyone can come to find God, regardless of where they come from. So what do we do with people who obviously haven't been to church in a while, or this one ever, and who don't understand the church "culture?" People who are that disrupting presence but maybe need God more than others. It seems obvious that we should welcome them and provide a safe space for them to learn, but is it obvious? How do we deal with this? Do we provide a safe climate in our churches for others to come and learn? Just a few questions to ponder. I'm off to dreamland now!