« All quiet in the blogosphere... | Main | Moving house! »

Comments

Olive Morgan

Yes, I have always found that 'leavers' have some real problem they are keeping to themselves and so they need special care. For instance, someone I didn't know particularly well was missing from church. I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to ring him up and I found that he had had to go to work one morning with instructions from his employer that he was to sack himself and all his staff and close the place down. The shock resulted in his having to have treatment. I'm afraid that the church weren't there for him - just when he needed it!
When I addressed Conference in Wolverhampton on the subject of 'Domestic Violence and the Methodist Church', I said that if it was noticed that someone's behaviour had changed and they were not coming so regularly or not doing their church work as well as usual, please don't berate them for it. You might be adding to the problem if there is domestic violence.
People who suffer this go to great lengths to hide it, feeling that they have failed in the Christian life.

I could give many more instances of 'leavers' who had hidden problems, like a motorcyclist who feels that God has let him down because a bad accident put an end to his nursing career that he loved so much. We need to show that we care and are there for the 'leavers', perhaps for years, until they are ready to return to our fellowship.

The comments to this entry are closed.