lol

Lately, I've been discussing with several people who go to our church how my least favorite time of the service is the, "take a few minutes and greet someone around you" part. Now, I'm all for being friendly and welcoming, but I just don't see the point. It's not like you have enough time to really get to know anyone, usually you don't even get their first name... And it's unlikely you'd remember that name even if you did get it, by the end of the service. And as a "visitor" at one time or another, I never found this to make me feel more "welcomed" than if it had been omitted.

Obviously, I'm not alone in this thinking. In yesterday's Dear Abby, someone wrote in with that exact same issue. I don't think I'd ever write Dear Abby about it (so, to answer your question, no it wasn't me. :) but I found it amusing that someone else did. We're one of those families who will show up late to avoid having to do it (usually this isn't intentional, as it's tough to get there, put Jeremiah in his class and be seated by 9 am on a Sunday morning.)

Ah well, what're ya gonna do... I suppose if it makes one person feel welcomed, maybe someone who hadn't stepped in a church ever, or at least a while, then it's worth whatever annoyance it may cause on our end. I just hope it never has the opposite affect (someone who thought about coming to church and then changed their mind after having to shake hands with a bunch of strangers who won't remember their name... I know there's no way I'd know if someone next to me was new or not... nothing personal, it's just a big church, and not so easy to keep track of everyone.)