We extend a special welcome to all who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying newborns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing either like our music leader, or even like our pastor, who can hardly carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up, or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism, or have never been in a church ever.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but have not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome single parents, gay parents, all parents, starving artists, tree-huggers, latté-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome those who are having problems or are down in the dumps, and those who don’t like “organized religion” (we’ve been there, too).

If you blew all your offering money before you arrived, you’re  welcome here. We welcome those who think the earth is flat, who work too hard, who don’t work, can’t spell, or who are here because grandma is in town and she wanted you to go to church with her. We welcome those children who run down the aisle, those who need an arm to lean on, those who see and hear with assistance, and those who don’t miss a word or note or gesture.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both. We offer a  special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts . . . and you!                                                                                       Author  Unknown