From the Rector…
When asked what your church is known for, many Episcopal churches would cite hospitality. Hospitality is something we strive to excel at—and we generally do—but often our approach to hospitality is misguided.
For most of us, hospitality on a Sunday morning typically involves taking a moment to speak to newcomers or visitors, usually after church. If it is the early service, we might not only talk to them, but also invite them to breakfast as a way of welcoming them and getting to know them better. This seems hospitable enough; it certainly meets the basic expectation of reaching out and welcoming the stranger. However, if this is where our efforts end, our approach might be more akin to rush than true hospitality.
Rush is a term used in fraternities and sororities to describe the period when members get to know potential new members just enough to decide whether they might fit in. If a person is deemed worthy after a brief, informal conversation, they might receive a second look. If they are found wanting, we remain polite and friendly but quickly move on. Rush involves judging people based on first impressions. While it may be useful for determining membership in a club, it is rarely effective in a church setting. If our understanding of hospitality is shaped by a “rush” mentality, we might miss out on deeper engaging with the broader body of Christ.
True hospitality is rooted in invitation, inclusion, and empowerment. It not only invites a visitor to breakfast but also seeks to understand what that person is looking for and helps integrate them into the community. Although the interaction may begin as a one-on-one conversation, true hospitality broadens this interaction by including the stranger in other conversations, introducing them to more people, and working toward places of commonality. Invitation and inclusion are not enough though. Empowerment is crucial to hospitality.
Empowerment acknowledges and respects the other person’s agency. It is nice to be invited to something and great to feel included, but empowering someone honors them and demonstrates respect. This is hospitality at its core, as it honors the individual, their past, and their future, thereby honoring humanity itself.
Rush doesn’t honor humanity—it judges it. When our practice of hospitality resembles rush more than a generous spirit of invitation, inclusion, and empowerment, we are probably not living into our Baptismal Covenant to respect the dignity of every human being.
Genesis 18 provides one of the quintessential biblical stories of hospitality. Abraham and Sarah entertain three divine visitors. They don’t merely offer them sustenance; they invite them into their home, feast with them, and laugh. Abraham and Sarah essentially include and empower these visitors, who then bless them with the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and grains of sand on the beach. That is the essence of true hospitality—it transforms lives.
The Catechism tells us that the mission of the church is to partner with God and one another. To fulfill this mission, we must always seek ways to invite, include, and empower one another as our primary work of hospitality. In so doing, we, like Abraham and Sarah, are entertaining angels and allowing our lives to be transformed.
Light and Life
Candice+