God looked down and saw his sadness
And He said, “Son, don’t despair.
Just because you weren’t made welcome,
When you tried to worship there.”

“They are a very pious bunch,
And careful of whom they let in.
They’ve no love or room for sinners,
They’re always quick to judge one’s sin.”

“Oh, they don’t stop you at the door
To say that you aren’t welcome there.
But no one comes to shake your hand,
Or try to let you know they care.”

“One other thing I must tell you,
Before you shed more needless tears.
I‘m not welcome there myself.
I’ve not been asked inside for years.”

Let’s hope that little poem isn’t about your church. Ruth and I have visited churches where no one seemed to know that we were first time visitors or, at least, no one cared. Larger churches have people assigned as greeters; some are even given training. Maybe it would be good if we all took a course in being nice to people. God has been shut out of our public schools, our public buildings and our parks. He’s still allowed in our churches and synagogues, but whether He feels welcome or not is up to us. Maybe you should put this little poem in your church bulletin about once a year.