Every person on this earth has once, at least, been a stranger. In church communities, it can be difficult to figure out just what visitors, strangers at first, need on their first encounter with a new congregation. There are countless books, seminars, websites, commentary, etc on how to welcome the stranger, on how to change one’s thinking to better accomodate new faces.

But sometimes, what matters is a little, seemingly insignificant thing. Like a cup of coffee and a smile. Rev. Erika Hewitt, serving the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Goleta, California, preached on this very subject a few weeks back.

For consideration: What do you expect from the first time you walk in to a church community? What steps does your congregation take to welcome visitors, and are they effective? How does your faith call you to practice hospitality?

Hospitality: Not Just a Cup of Coffee

by the Rev. Erika Hewitt

The Universe tested me a few weeks ago.

I didn’t know that the Universe was testing me until it was all over – it’s not like a man in an “Official of the Universe” uniform approached me with a clipboard and a number 2 pencil.

It’s just that I found myself – in that mysterious, wily way that we all find ourselves, from time to time – at the butt of a giant but gentle joke that no one but God herself could have orchestrated. And by “God,” I don’t mean that man-with-a-clipboard-in-the-sky; I mean the wise, twinkly-eyed Auntie who chuckles us into good spirits and knows how to bonk us over the head in the most loving, nurturing ways when we need it most. That’s the God who set up this test, I’m pretty sure, the subject of which was hospitality, and which I passed, I’m absolutely sure, but not with flying colors.

If the Universe is keeping track on a clipboard somewhere, I think I probably earned a B+ on the test. But I’d like you to be the judge, and give me a grade yourself.

(Read on … )

I had the privilege of getting to know the Rev. Dr. Lyn Oglesby at Meadville Lombard Theological School, where she was working on her M.Div. degree a year ahead of my husband. She’s brilliant, an absolute hoot, and great fun at the poker table.

She also writes really wonderful things for her congregation, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. This meditation is just a small example:

Meditation for February 26, 2006

Rev. Dr. Lyn Oglesby

Spirit of love and giver of life, we bring our love and gratitude for our lives and for the opportunity to be ourselves and to be with others in peace and friendship. We know that full understanding is beyond us, but let us continue to search for truth and to create meaning in our lives through continuous learning, working together in harmony, playful times, and loving times with family.

As we mourn for those we and other have lost, as we hope for speedy recoveries of those who are ill and in pain, we pause to speak the names of those who are in our hearts and minds….

Every day bring us new challenges and new opportunities. Let us work toward transforming those challenges into greater opportunities.

Let us pause to appreciate our good fortunes, and to think of ways to help those who are not as fortunate as we. For the smallest gesture or helping hand often can make a huge difference in the life of someone who is suffering.

Let us always smile when we greet little children, listen genuinely to the ideas and feelings of adolescents. Let us remember to say important things to people we love. Let us not regret when someone is gone that we have not told him how much he or she meant to us, or what we appreciate and loved about him. Let us live in such a way that we have no regrets when we get ready to cross that final river.

And let us be together in this church -– be together in love and laughter, in good works and service to our fellows. Let us always remember to welcome the stranger, not because that stranger might be the Buddha or Jesus in disguise, but because to welcome anyone is to generate more fellowship, more collegiality, more love. “For I was a stranger, and you took me in.” Let no one leave this place feeling like a stranger, but welcomed from the depths of our hearts. For loneliness can be hard to bear, and the welcoming smile can help to overcome pain that we might never know lay lurking below the surface of someone’s countenance.

Let us begin this week anew, with fresh outlooks, with delight in nature, with appreciation of friends and family, with new energy for our work, and with commitment to make the world a better place for more people.

Source: Meditation for February 26, 2006 (PDF), Rev. Dr. Lyn Oglesby, serving the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana.