They Sit and Stare From a Distance

They sit and stare from a distance. Is it because they are

simply being respectful or does the culture dictate that

they keep their distance or are they just being unfriendly,

for whatever reason?

She entered into their territory.  She stood talking to some-

one from somewhere else, someone who actually walked

up to her and said hi.  She saw them speaking to each other

and then looking at her.  Am I just being

paranoid? she thought to herself.  She was an invited

guest and they weren’t being very courteous.  So, during a

lull in the chit-chat, she excused herself, made her way over

to the group and introduced

herself.  One said, “Oh, yes, I know who you are.” Another

asked where her husband was and a third just sat there staring.

Again she thought to herself, I’d get a warmer welcome from

a delegation from North Korea,

Syria or Iran. The problem is this was church.  After she

left, they sat there grousing about the significant down-

turn in worship attendance and how far they were behind in the

budget.