Today I got to be a whānau support person in court for the very first time. I can see why it's important to have support as the whole experience was confusing and at times infuriating. Let's just say in my previous dealings with organisations within the justice system, I have not found them to be centres of administrative excellence, or timely in their provision of information. The customer experience is not a high priority. Files are misplaced, appointments are wrongly recorded, things move slowly. Today was a brand new experience, and anxiously frustrating because of lost paperwork.
Yet today amid the confusion, we experienced kindness. Kindness was received from a security guard, the duty Police sergeant and the duty lawyer. Good advice came along with it. Kindness was important today because of the cold, confusing unfamiliarity of the environment.
What would people with no experience of church think when they come through our doors for the first time? Would they be confused by the specific culture we inevitably exhibit? Would the way we do things make them anxious or reluctant to return? Possibly on occasion...
I think one of the ways new folk relax when they show up to church is that kindness is extended to them. Someone invites them out to lunch or takes an interest in their story. So even if church seems odd and a bit chaotic at times, they settle down because people who've been around a while longer take the time to include them. It was FW Faber who said; 'Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence or learning.' Quite.
I'm not sure if kindness is a superpower, but it is certainly one of the fruits of the Spirit, against which 'there is no law.' Kindness made me feel more at ease and in control today, more optimistic. I know kindness makes people feel more at home when they turn up to Forrest Hill, even getting them thinking it could be a place to belong to God's family.