Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

This month we offer five resources to help your congregation with hospitality. Please share this digest with new members of your vestry and extend an invitation to subscribe to ECF Vital Practices to receive Vestry Papers and the monthly digest.

1. Especially relevant in today’s political climate, Canon Stephanie Spellers paints a beautiful picture of radical welcome and hospitality in Radical Welcome: Embracing the Other. How do you and your congregation include and embrace “The Other” within your midst?

2. Millennials are the largest generational cohort in the workforce today and many of them have never balanced a checkbook. In Digital Giving: A Practice of Hospitality, Kyle Oliver claims that if your church isn’t offering online giving options, you may be limiting your ability to further your church’s mission.

3. In Amp Up Your Hospitality, Kathy Copas shares some great ideas on helping your congregation be more welcoming to guests. Have you ever considered having a “mystery shopper” visit your worship service and give feedback about their experience? Read on for more ideas.

4. Judith Doran, in her Living Hospitality article, shares a heart-felt story, honoring Alan—a ninety-year old man. What is your church doing to ensure the physical space of your church buildings are welcoming and hospitable to all…not just the able-bodied?

5. In Easier Hospitality, Jeremiah Sierra reflects upon his experience attending St. Lydia’s, a small 20-30 person worshipping community. Perhaps extending hospitality is more about the small and kind gestures. It’s not complicated, and it’s appropriate—even for larger churches.