HOSPITALITY

This evening I am the Grace Host. Something I signed on for over a year ago. Sometimes I have to make myself get to church on a Thursday evening after work in the rush hour traffic on I95. It is worth it. It really is worth the effort.

Being a "host" entails just being here. I sit in the office. I bring my computer so that there is work to accomplish when I am not 'hosting.' I greet everyone with a wave and a friendly hello. It took a while for some of them to accept that a friendly wave was just that, a friendly wave and that I was here consistently the second and fourth Thursdays of every month. And then when they got used to my being here, some of them started stopping and exchanging a little small talk. Now I am familiar enough that sometimes they share confidences.

It is hospitality. There are a lot of groups that meet at our church. There are three AA groups, a manic/depressive group, Literacy volunteers, a local symphony orchestra, it goes on. And that is besides the two other congregations that worship here. How wonderful it would be if there were a host available to meet and greet all of these groups as they arrive for their meetings. So far it hasn't worked out -- for one reason or another. I feel that we need to look at this ministry again and see if we can't figure out how to make it a really important part of how we interact with the community. It isn't being "church," it is being hospitable. It is being human. It is offering a face of caring and acceptance.