You are walking down the corridor of a church on Sunday
morning. A member of the congregation is
coming toward you and you see him bend down and pick up a discarded candy
wrapper off the floor. He puts it in his
pocket, continues walking toward you and says, “Good morning.”
What’s with this guy?
Is he obsessive-compulsive, a former custodian, or just a neat
freak? In reality, this may be his way
of exercising the gift of hospitality.
When it comes to welcoming guests to the congregation, we
usually think about providing a warm greeting, clear directional signs, good
childcare, clean restrooms, and convenient parking. These are all important but the person in our
story is sensitive to the little things like a neat building that make people
feel comfortable.
This is the same person who will go out of his way to help a
newcomer find a seat at worship or give away his worship bulletin to someone
who failed to pick one up at the door. This
may not be radical hospitality but it is a good beginning point.
Why does someone do these things? I think it is because they care about being
welcoming. We can talk about
hospitality, train greeters, and make it a staff priority, but hospitality
becomes real when each congregant sees it as their responsibility and
privilege.
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