A little over 10 years ago, Don & I moved to Butler and rented a little one bedroom house on Carrington Avenue. Shortly after moving in, a friendly neighbor dropped by and presented us with a "Welcome Basket". Inside were gift certificates for local restaurants, hair salons, a map of Butler and places of interest, as well as a variety of flyers and brochures. (Not to mention the homemade goodies!) The Welcome Basket made us both feel so good. We were fairly new to Butler as we didn't grow up around here and only met while attending Slippery Rock University. This Welcome Basket made us feel at home in our new place, and welcome in our new neighborhood.
I look back on that Welcome Basket and think if only everyone were always that nice to others. What if we gave a "Welcome Basket" to people that came to our church (visitors and members alike)? I'm not talking a real basket full of gift certificates and homemade goodies, but a Welcome Basket of Love. A basket filled with joy and happiness. A basket filled with an open invitation to experience the love of a community of God's children. A basket that lets people know we are interested in getting to know them, and sharing our community of faith. A basket to let people know that we are "Loving People, Loving God". Imagine if you were to receive a Welcome Basket of Love every time you walked into church or a restaurant, or a department store, or or or...
