Last week, we began using a camera doorbell at the church’s Kent Street entrance. This may have brought up questions or internal struggle for you: how to reconcile this development with St. John’s longstanding ethos to be “the church of the open door”? Executive Administrator Sarah Dull also had these questions, and shares a spiritual reflection of how she came to find understanding.
by Sarah Dull
“The Church of the Open Door” has been St. John’s tagline since 1881. Each generation has lived into this ethos in their own way. Our current congregation enthusiastically invites and welcomes all into our church and community. We have just exceeded a Capital Campaign goal to refurbish part of our building to better accommodate our ministries and neighborhood groups. As a result of this hospitality, St. John’s has been bucking national church trends by growing in participation and vitality.
Open Door implies free or unrestricted means of admission or access. Spiritually, an open door usually symbolizes divine opportunity; new ministries to begin, or personal growth that God orchestrates. Mystics often interpret an open door as an opening in your mind, will, or emotions that accepts, tolerates or entertains a thought, a feeling or a choice. You can open doors to goodness in your life by inviting good things to come to you; good relationships, good thoughts, and of course God’s love. You can also open doors to the opposite of goodness – fear, hate, dark thoughts and feelings, death, chaos, and confusion. It is important for us to discern what we invite in. As Spider-man’s uncle would say, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Perhaps the most common misunderstanding about open doors is the assumption that an open door won’t be accompanied by opposition—that everything will fall neatly into place. Each of the three times Paul mentions open doors, hardship is there as well. In 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul writes that he wants to stay around in Ephesus “There is a real opportunity here for great and worthwhile work,” but immediately adds, “even though there are many opponents.” When Paul writes that a door was open in Troas for him to preach Christ’s gospel, he painfully recalls that he couldn’t find rest in his spirit because Titus wasn’t with him (2 Cor 2:12). And when he asks the Colossians to pray that God would “will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ” he is in prison, probably awaiting trial and death in Rome (Col 4:3). Just because a door is open doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy, and not all open doors lead to good.
So how do we discern when an open door is good and when an open door poses a danger? Vigilance is a common theme in scripture and seems like a good response: “Be alert, be on the watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). And while the bible emphasizes God as the ultimate protector, we are encouraged to fight for those we love: “Don’t be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and terrifying the Lord is, and fight for your fellow-countrymen, your children, your wives, and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:14).
In Nehemiah, locking the city doors was a crucial, strategic action for security and religious obedience. Nehemiah 13:19-22 records him ordering the Jerusalem city gates shut during Sabbath to stop merchants from selling goods, thereby keeping the Sabbath holy. He stationed his servants at the gates to prevent loads from being brought in and to protect the city from external threats. The rebuilding of the walls (Nehemiah 3) included setting up doors, bolts, and bars, which symbolized the restoration of divine protection and order. The acts of locking in Nehemiah represent a firm, intentional effort to protect the community from both physical danger and spiritual compromise.
It seems to me that the overall theme from scripture is a balance of active, loving responsibility for the physical and spiritual safety of the community, combined with reliance on God’s protection. Over the last year, St. John’s leadership has been wrestling with these questions and discerning the right balance for this time in our history.
Based on advice from security consultants, legal counsel, and a request from our partners at Big Wonder Child Care Center, we have installed a camera doorbell outside the Kent Street entrance. During the week the glass doors will be locked, and visitors will need to press the buzzer to be admitted. The doors will remain open on Sundays unless there is an explicit threat.
At this time, when danger seems to be all around, the system will allow us to be vigilant and alert and to live up to our responsibility to do our best to protect those in our community and in our building. At the same time we are committed to continuing St. John’s legacy of open invitation and welcome to all who mean no harm.
I must confess, during this project I have felt recurring episodes of grief; I am mourning the loss of the physical open door that I so strongly associate with St. John’s. However, I have come to believe that this is still a place of divine opportunity, where metaphorical doors are always open to new goodness and growth. I am hopeful that increasing the sense of security inside our building will allow us to be more spiritually open so we can hear and respond to the Spirit’s calling.
To be able to still welcome visitors to our building during the week it will be important that the system is continuously monitored during office hours, so no one is left outside with no response. We will need volunteers to help us cover lunch breaks, meetings, and backup to cover time off and unexpected illness. Read more about the help needed in last week’s announcement. Please let Sarah know if you can help continue St. John’s legacy of enthusiastic invitation and welcome while keeping each other safe.