Hospitality
Sunday, January 19th, following worship, the congregation will gather in Fellowship Hall for a communal meal to support the efforts of our Green Team to raise funds and continue our hard work as a Green Congregation to always seek ways to practice good stewardship of God's earth.
These meals offer opportunities beyond supporting a worthy cause; they are opportunities to share the radical hospitality to which our faith calls into practice. The table is a sacred place for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It is central to our identity as Christian and the focal point of our worship. The table extends beyond our worship space, into our fellowship halls and into our own homes.
Offering hospitality is foundational to Christian life and the crux of Jesus ministry was to teach compassion, inclusion and welcome. Each time we celebrate communion in worship we emphasize the open table, Christ's radical hospitality to all, inviting them to come and eat… become one with Him through this celebratory meal.
Whenever we gather for a larger meal in the context of a Fellowship Dinner we are extending our understanding of Communion practice…come and eat with us…join the Body of Christ in this sharing of a meal.
This week, as we gather for this soup dinner, I issue a challenge to each of you…refrain from sitting with the good friends with whom you always sit and find a new face to welcome into your circle of companions. We have many new youth who would love to get to know everyone a little better…but they seem to be attached to devices that prevent them from face-to-face interactions. I've asked them, for this meal, to put away their technology and to move outside their circle to eat with people of other age demographics. Please meet them half-way and show them how eager we are to share Christ's love by Welcoming ALL God's People! Offer them a chair, a smile, and a willingness to learn more about them and to share more of yourself. And remember, when you welcome another, you welcomed Him.
Blessings,
Tracy