Open That Door!

Like me, many of you have been curious about the red door that found a home next to the gazebo at Glasgow Square. I have no clue as to what it is about, but curiosity has led to speculation on my part.

These doors seem to be popping up everywhere, so it is a movement intended to pique interest.

I am reminded of the fact that we walk past ordinary beautiful things every day, taking them for granted. Opening our minds like we open the front door, seeking something, anticipating the view, or the person on the other side, we might more readily appreciate the things we already have. We think we know all about what our community holds, but there are many things still undiscovered, as close as our front door.

Seeing the beauty that surrounds us, as if for the first time, allows us to imagine fresh possibilities.

“Open doors” are a sign of hospitality and welcome. Can you remember a time when you arrived to visit a relative or friend and they stood in the open door, arms extended toward you, so that you would instantly know your arrival had been warmly awaited?

Churches are working hard to overcome the idea that theirs is a place for a select group; that you have to be a certain way to be part of a congregation. Before we worried about vandalism, church doors were always open. Sanctuaries were meant to invite people into a spiritual space. Though our buildings are now more secure, the idea of radical hospitality has perhaps never been as important. Opening that door is the first step in feeling that welcome.

As a church leader, I would invite you to not only imagine what happens behind the door, what undiscovered mystery awaits, but invite you to open the door. Possibly, the doors you drive past every day open to a world of beauty and opportunity, community and belonging. Possibly, what is on the other side of that door is not what you imagined. Not judgement or reprimand, but unconditional love, generosity and abundant hope. That is at the heart of the Christian message.

In a time when we are exposed daily to stories of violence and hate, fear and oppression, we might want to open a door to love. It could seriously be what saves us, individually and communally. If the message of Jesus means anything, it must mean that all are welcome. To be welcomed is to open the door to belonging, and that is a way into faith for today!

Rev. Donna Tourneur ministers among the people of Trinity United Church.