The Ministry of Hospitality

Barbara Day and Mary Schoenfeld, Hospitality Co-chairs

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Hebrews 13:1-2

Welcoming Prayer

Holy Spirit living within us, guide our hearts and minds as we welcome today all those who worship with us at Chapel of the Cross. Give us discerning hearts so that every one who crosses our threshold feels welcomed in the spirit of your love. Help us to recognize each person as an individual sent by you who will enrich our lives. And most of all, O God, let this be a place of love and acceptance of all your children; in the name of your Child, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(From Women's Uncommon Prayers, Elizabeth Geitz et al., Editors, Morehouse
Publishing, prayer by Valecia Harriman.)

Hospitality is our intended way of life at the Chapel of the Cross; we must be intentional about remembering and sharing it within our Christian community. We are Anglicans, and a part of the Anglican community, held together through the maintaining of relationships locally, on the diocesan level, and worldwide. As a communion we interact when we come together. We participate together as we worship and at the table. Relationships are fundamental in the Anglican Communion and they enrich the life of the church. We need each other not only in being Anglicans but in being the Body of Christ as well. Under the wise spiritual counsel of our rector [See the reprint of his August 2004 sermon, beginning on p. 2]we are embarking on a renewed and retraditioning emphasis on "loving one another" within the sacred space of the Chapel of the Cross.

In reclaiming a vision for a vibrant and vital Christian community, the noted theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in Life Together, describes the Christian practices important to life in a community of faith. These practices include daily worship, confession, care, study, prophetic witness, and hospitality. In the Christian journey at the Chapel of the Cross we embody faith and experience the Spirit's call through the ministry of hospitality in loving and caring for each other. Practicing "holy habits" as a way of life in our parish is what a Christian community practicing faith together is all about. This is where we understand ourselves "as being part of the one, holy, catholic Christian church, where it shares actively and passively in the sufferings and struggles and promise of the whole church." (Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 1954, New York: Harper & Row. p. 37.)

The Episcopal National Church has asked us to examine ourselves in relation to where we are in "Hospitality Top 10?" Let's take a look:

1. Preach and teach the biblical perspectives on hospitality regularly. Our clergy and staff are excellent in this regard. A notable example is Stephen's sermon on August 29, 2004 titled, "Showing Hospitality."

2. Discuss hospitality as a lay ministry for the entire congregation, not one committee. We are undertaking new initiatives and we fully realize that our hospitality comes from each person reaching out in an engaging, open, and loving way to one another. The "coffee hour" provides a great opportunity for this. The Loaves and Fishes Guild has done a fine job through the years. We are now trying to have coffee with refreshments after both the 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services. The senior choir has taken the lead in helping with this after the 11:15 a.m. service. Many others have joined in. We notice an increase in attendance and lingering a bit longer when there is food along with good coffee.

3. Host an "Invite a Friend Sunday" twice a year. This is something we have done in previous years and we are exploring it as a possibility for our parish in the near future.

4. Post hospitality ministers at every door before and after the services. We do have greeters who warmly welcome attendees and give particular emphasis to newcomers. Our goal is to have them before and after every service. At a recent gathering, where we published an invitation to attend, additional new volunteers "signed up" to become greeters.

5. Make your worship bulletin as user friendly as possible. Our service bulletins are quite comprehensive and beautiful as well; we do continue to use both the Book of Common Prayer and The Hymnal with very clear directions given in the bulletins.

6. Say the Welcoming Prayer each Sunday. We are saying this prayer at many meetings and gatherings in our parish; it is also available in the parish house in the tract rack and on the newcomers' table each Sunday.

7. Use a friendship tablet in every pew to obtain everyone's name and address. We are working on a welcome card for the pews; currently newcomers are greeted and encouraged to complete a "welcome card" in the parish house at the welcome table. Folders have been made especially for newcomers with information about all of the many wonderful parish ministries (including those highlighted in this issue). A personal follow-up letter is sent by the rector during the first week and a phone call is made as well. In addition, inquirers' sessions are provided for newcomers and for confirmation
preparation.

8. Deliver bread and information to newcomers' homes on the day they attend. A newcomers welcome group lovingly delivers home-baked bread; the goal is to deliver it within the first week after newcomers attend church and fill out the welcome card.

9. Do not stay for a visit. Motto: Be bright; be brief; be gone! This is the general proposed way; however, it is the intent to be perceptive and respond as needed.

10. Assign shepherds to new people and integrate them into the life of the congregation. This new hospitality ministry is now in place with seven shepherds offering loving care to newcomers. Additionally, we offer special sessions for newcomers outlining church programs and offering as well guidelines helpful for becoming a member of our parish. Our shepherds are working to integrate new members into small groups (i.e., foyer dinners, adult forums on Sundays and during the week) and to keep them aware of continuing church activities and events. We have invited newcomers to meet with the hospitality group for their feedback regarding their experiences within the congregation. Dinners are being planned for new members. The intent is to "welcome every newcomer as an angel sent by God." A shepherd sharing her story with us recently about how she was welcomed into the church 15 years ago said: "I felt so warmly cared for by Lucy and Ron Davis who first invited me along with other newcomers, all of whom sat around the dining room table, enjoyed a meal together, and got to know each other. From then on, the Davis' greeted me most Sundays, introduced me to others, and always updated me with upcoming church activities. My faith journey was enhanced by their warm and loving hospitality." We are experiencing the Spirit's call to love and care for and serve each other. The goal is for newcomers to participate fully in our everyday faith practices as did the early Christian communities: "But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be God's private property, so that you may announce the virtues of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

As we journey together in faith, let us continue to be intentional in our hospitality, inviting everyone to come in and find God and the Holy Spirit at work in our lives and in the sacred space of the Chapel of the Cross. In our many Christian practices, prayer, spiritual formation, studying the Word of God, ministry, mission, healing, inclusion, social justice, stewardship, let us engage the practice of hospitality with love and compassion for all God's people.

We are reminded that everyone has gifts and we must identify and nurture those gifts, "Jesus began His public ministry with a clear and somewhat narrow view of what it encompassed. He ended it with an awareness of the Father's love for all humanity, not just the Jews. If we are truly about God's business, loving souls and mending broken hearts, what we have to offer will only be expanded by what we receive from those whom God sends to us." (Episcopal Church Foundation, 2004.)

We have prayed for over 150 years in this holy place. It has so very much to offer each and every one on a pilgrimage of faith. Let us offer it with open arms, love, and peace.

"Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes." (Isaiah 54:2)

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© 2005 The Chapel of the Cross