It happened again. I was visiting a church on a recent Sunday morning and apparently parked in the “wrong” parking lot. You know the one, it looks like it’s near the main entrance, but the main entrance isn’t really the main entrance (because “everyone” knows that “everyone” enters through the side entrance on Third Street).

But I was a nobody. Just a visitor that didn’t know what “everyone” knew … so I was left out in the cold. Literally.

I parked.

I got out of my car.

I headed toward the nearest door.

It was locked.

And worse, there was no sign directing me anywhere else. 

Okay, I’m a church geek professional, so I wasn’t terribly surprised nor upset. Mine wasn’t the only car in the parking lot, so I knew there were others in the building. I was just at the wrong door.

I walked around the building, found the unlocked “front door” that led into the Fellowship Hall and was warmly greeted by “everyone.”

BUT … if I was a None or a Done filled with trepidation about going to church in the first place, who knows what I would have done. People have turned away from the church for less.

Word to the wise: Put signs on ALL your doors that either welcomes people or at least tells them where to find an open door.