And this is the confidence we have in God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. –1 Jn. 5:13-21

We get a fair amount of visitors and newcomers to our parish which is a great blessing.  But last week I got a call that I knew was going to be a ‘drive-by.’  My cell rang on Saturday at 4pm. ‘Can we see the church?’ they asked. No “hello”, no “how are you,” no relationship with me desired.  I said my name, asked for her name and invited this young couple to worship and fellowship the next morning.  ‘No that’s ok, thanks anyway.’  No relationship with church desired. That Monday, I looked up the person on Facebook and saw their selfies in front of our church.  Were they using the church for Armenian pride?  To make their relationship feel more legitimate?  To show family they were near a church, though far from being in it? I have no idea. But I felt the way I felt when people call asking for help from the church, who can’t come to the church when I invite them, and sometimes can’t even remember which church they called!