What does your church receptionist say about your parish?
Everyone who works at a church should spend an hour answering phones and the doors at the main office every month. It would be fantastic if everyone who belonged to the parish could spend an hour doing this.
The first impression that most people have when they want to schedule wedding, a sacrament, is to meet the receptionist. If that person doesn't love people more than they love their private time then it is going to show.
If that person does not believe in the leadership of the parish and the direction of the parish then it is going to show.
If that person does not think that what they are doing is the most important job in that church on that day then it is going to show.
I am fascinated whenever I visit a parish or a ministry and there is a person who so obviously hates their job or ministry they might as well be wearing the T-shirt to advertise atheism. What is the point?
What is the point of continuing in that ministry?
What is the point of continuing in that job?
What is the point of continuing to drive away people through our inability to tell people the truth, which is that their lack of joy and enthusiasm about the Creator of the Universe is as contagious.
Sometimes we hang on to these people because we want to give them a better chance and we don't know if we will be able to fill the spot, we don't know what the reaction will be if we let this person go.
If you are that person, do yourself and your church a favor and find the original reason you got into ministry, into church work in the first place. If you can't do that, then quit.
We aren't fooling anyone and we are either authentically joyful, or authentically not.
