Don't Invite Me To Your Church (By: Janette Buhl)

Don’t invite me to your church,

If belonging to a certain political party is a sign of faithfulness.

Don’t send me a link to the church livestream,

Then call me a coward for respecting the risks of a pandemic.

Don’t refer me to your food pantry,

Then call me lazy.

Don’t send the Visitation Pastor to my hospital bed,

If care of the sick is only for the employed.

Don’t tell me of the love of Jesus,

When it is conditional . . . on how I behave, speak, look, or love.

Don’t invite me to your confidential Bible study,

But hit share on social media before gossip and misleading information is vetted. 

Don’t tell me of God’s passion for all nations,

While supporting using unaccompanied children of other nations as pawns in our security.

Don’t ask for my story,

If only the narratives that fit your worldview can be true.

Don’t ask me to choose,

Between the born and unborn

Don’t pray for my healing,

And refuse to prevent the illness.

Don’t tell me my color or gender does not matter,

When life experiences of racial insensitivity, fear, and gender platitudes abound.

Don’t preach the importance transformative lives,

When the end justifies the means is the rallying cry.

Don’t invite me to your church,

Until you are the Church.

(Janette Buhl. 2020 October. Facebook)