Tales from the Team

  • 24 November 2021
  • Alison Keene
Welcoming and Integration

We are settling into our ‘hybrid services’ now – some of us are back at physical church, and others of us are online.  And I think it’s going beautifully!  In both settings, we are consciously being welcoming and hospitable to each other, and specially to newcomers.  This isn’t always easy – there seems to be a feeling in the general community sometimes that we should be wary of strangers.  But shouldn’t church communities do the opposite, and look out for and welcome strangers? 
I was reading a helpful article about how to be a welcoming community in our church.  It was interesting to be reminded about how much the bible talks about being welcoming and hospitable – particularly to strangers.  For example, the book of Hebrews, chapter 13 says: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers”.  And in Peter’s first letter to a group of Christians, he tells them to “be hospitable to one another without complaining”.   And there’s no room to quote it all here, but have a look at Acts, chapters 16, 21 and 28; so much welcoming going on! 
The article I was reading had some good practical advice on this – I’ll share some of that next time!  Meanwhile, let’s all carry on welcoming each other and being hospitable on screen, in church, at the coffee shop, or wherever we are.