We often see ourselves as martyrs in a world where people exclude us from their activities, yet, sometimes we may be excluding others from our activities for reasons we don’t fully understand.
At our Pride Booth we held ourselves up as a place where everyone is accepted. While I was at the booth, that phrase was often mentioned to people stopping by. I fully recognize our desire
for this, and our continually moving toward it, however I think it is fair to say that other people’s temperament or mannerisms sometimes challenge us. I think that it is good to remember, in
general and in particular situations, that we want to try to bear one another’s burdens. Especially another’s burden which causes them isolation. At our best, we must remember that it
takes patience and some tolerance on our part in challenging situations.

The best remedy I would recommend, if I can at the moment a disturbance is occurring, is to remember my regular old “this too shall pass.” If I can do that in the moment…if…it works
wonders. It is amazing to consider how quickly we get over something, or not even remember something that caused us a disturbance in the past. As I mentioned in a recent pulpit, when
someone’s car alarm is going off, eventually it ends. And where does it go to? How long is it remembered? The frustration remains for only as long as I allow it to, yet the actual alarm noise
is in the past, not the present. If we can let go of the frustration, it can sometimes be almost as if it never happened.

More presently, we may need to consider what to do when, from our space of comfort and predictability, we are confronted with someone who doesn’t behave just as we would have them.
How do we react or respond? Someone who disturbs me in my space and time. For many of us a first reaction might be to draw a line. If one is offended, I would suggest a quiet, one on one
discussion to express the concern. Maybe I could learn there is more to it than I originally knew. Knowing the full story about something or the reason behind the behavior often allows us to
change our perspective. I think it is a good idea to try to find an accommodation, which in most instances is within reach.

I think of the people who experience Tourette’s syndrome? Would they be excluded from our worship services or gatherings? I would hope not, but if we “draw the line” they could be, quite intentionally or unintentionally. We live in a difficult world where many people are trying to find their place. We often say we are a place they can find sanctuary. I hope that would be true.

As well as anyone else, I often overreact from impatience, or being disturbed, or even jolted out of a frame of mind I’m seeking or have found. How often is this being disturbed by another
person unintentional though? or so subconscious to them or me it is beyond their or my individual control?

We say that everyone is welcome at our church. I would imagine almost all churches say that, but then to continue to come, there are rules that need to be followed, sometimes creeds. Since
we don’t have a creed, the best thing to do is to try to work out that which seems to bother us on a base by base, incident by incident, case. With time and patience, we may come to better
achieve our ideal of being welcoming to everyone, or at least do our best to try to be.