How do we extend a welcome?
How do we like to receive a welcome?
On Sunday, November 24, 2019, the Temple Beth-El Social Action/Adult Education committee sponsored a special program entitled, “Welcome! An Interfaith Conversation.” This was the fifth year of this interreligious discussion series that brings together local community members from different faith groups to offer their insights and thoughts on a theme that is common to various traditions.
To begin the program, Daisy Maldonado (from the Southern New Mexico Islamic Center), The Rev. Carol Tuck (retired United Methodist minister), and I shared teachings from each of our faith traditions and sacred texts. Beginning with Abraham and Sarah welcoming three guests to their tent (who were messengers from God with a special promise about a child to be born to Sarah), we all focused on the centrality and necessity of offering warm and complete hospitality to guests who come our way. This notion was illustrated well by verse 2 from Chapter 13 of Hebrews in the New Testament: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
The story of Abraham and Sarah opening their tent to the three guests in Genesis Chapter 18 teaches a core set of values for showing hospitality. Be humble. Be enthusiastic. Prepare with sincerity, with speed, with an eye for presentation, and with a desire to make guests, whether expected or unexpected, feel totally comfortable and at home.
Our small group conversations during the program focused on telling stories of when we were welcomed well, and times when the welcome could have been better. Participants in each group developed a “hospitality primer,” with suggestions that can remind us how we can best greets guests with a generous spirit.
Here are some of the guidelines for hospitality that emerged from our discussions:
• A smile is the very first and easiest welcome.
• Look at guests (make eye contact) and let them know that you are glad to see them.
• Engage them and respectfully ask them questions.
• Listen to guests and become familiar with their stories and their needs
• Teach others how to be hospitable by example.
• Introduce the new person to other people.
• Feed people and have extra food available
• Show empathy and compassion (see yourself in the shoes of the guest).
• Be sensitive to food and dietary needs. Don’t assume. Ask what is needed/wanted.
• Invite the guest to participate and lead.
• Be respectful, and treat the guest as special and of high status.
• We learn from the generations
• Pay it forward: generosity makes you feel good, when you have more than you need, share it with people who are in need.
• A little gesture of kindness can change a life.
• Be open, but be careful with people who show signs of aggression. Offer them safe words. Use your instincts.
• Don’t be afraid to reach out. The risk is worth taking...or what kind of world would we have?
• In hospitality, you feel warm, happy and safe. You feel valued and spread goodness.
• When you welcome others, you get a gift.
At this time of year, filled with special celebrations, and throughout the year, may we be blessed as hosts, and as guests, who exude warmth, care, and gratitude that can bring us ever closer together.
No comments:
Post a Comment