To all who are weary and need rest,
To all who are friendless and desire friendship,
To all who believe in God and wish to worship Him,
To all who are grateful and would give thanks,
To all who hunger for prayer and wish to pray,
To all who know sin and need a Saviour.
This church opens wide its doors and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ bids you welcome.
When I am walking on pilgrimage, I often come across words of welcome in the many churches that I am able to visit. However, it was when I was near Llandrindod Wells in Welsh county of Powys that I came across this very warm and unguarded greeting. Making my way from Lichfield in the midlands of England to Llandeilo in west Wales, I drank in the loving acceptance that this invitation spoke of.
That sunny morning, having already been on the road for several weeks, I was definitely weary and probably in need of friendship too; I was also well aware that my wayward soul needed a Saviour and I was certainly hungry for prayer.
And yet, at the same time my heart was full of grateful thanks and, in that very special place, I was ready to quietly worship.
Like many of us most of the time, I was all the things that the invitation spoke of.
At this time of Lent, we are encouraged to look afresh at our lives in the light of God’s goodness and mercy to us all; in what is, traditionally, a season of penitence we can allow ourselves to be reminded that we are always in need not only of His grace but so much more besides.
What are your needs this Lent? Perhaps you need a Saviour and friend? Or maybe you need rest and the comfort of prayer or you long to worship and give thanks?
At this time, let us accept the loving invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ and everything he so freely offers us.