Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices

November 2018

Hospitality and Outreach

Diez señales de una congregación acogedora
By Sandra Montes
Este año decidí visitar una iglesia diferente cada domingo y bloguear sobre mis experiencias. Ese esfuerzo duró unos tres meses hasta que, como ocurre a menudo, la vida intervino. Durante ese tiempo aprendí mucho sobre lo que pueden hacer las iglesias para ser acogedoras, amorosas, liberadoras y vivificantes.
Editor's Letter December 2018
By Charis Bhagianathan
Addressing the issue of hospitality in our churches requires us to first look outside our doors and begin these important conversations with our community and neighborhood. In this issue we share ideas on how to invite those around us into relationship by asking is what needed and prayerfully seeking ways to make true welcome both our mission and ministry.
Editor's Letter November 2018
By Charis Bhagianathan
What does practicing Christ-like hospitality look like? How can we work on improving our ability to provide a genuine welcome and invitation to all? Welcome that not only allows people to feel comfortable and cared for, but also allows them to see that this place or community could be their home, a place where they could thrive, love and truly belong. In this issue, we share ideas on radical hospitality, welcome and outreach.
Four Steps to a Public Health Ministry
By Joshua Rodriguez-Hobbs
How do health and hospitality overlap? In Four Steps to a Public Health Ministry, Joshua Rodriguez-Hobbs lists how parishes can lean on and build up their spiritual gifts by supporting physical healing programs in and through their communities.
Let the Children Come To Me
By Jamie Martin Currie
Is your parish a place where children are welcome? In Let the Children Come to Me, Jamie Martin Currie explains why it is important to provide intentional hospitality to children, and describes how paying attention to the needs of both parents and children can make the church the vibrant and welcoming place it should be.
Mission-Based Budgeting: A Loving, Liberating, Life-Giving Process
By Phyllis Jones
Placing mission at the heart of our budgeting can drastically alter the way we use the resources entrusted to us for others. In Mission-based budgeting: A Loving, Liberating, Life-Giving Practice, Phyllis Jones raises some critical questions around the types of mission-focused budgets and changing our mindset to view hospitality as an investment rather than an expense.
Sharing the Bounty of God’s Garden
By Bill Eakins
When the members of St John’s, West Hartford, planted a vegetable garden last year they thought they were simply growing vegetables. In Sharing the Bounty of God’s Garden, Bill Eakins tells the story of how their humble garden has grown into so much more – a place for the community to meet, share and support each other.
Taking Church Out into the Community
By David Rice and Anna Carmichael
What does it look like when a diocese decides to take hospitality seriously? In Taking Church out Into the Community, Bishop David Rice and Anna Carmichael share their experience of focusing on community, outreach and welcome and what it means to begin to see the face of Jesus in “the other.”
Ten Signs of a Welcoming Congregation
By Sandra Montes
What makes a church welcoming to a first-time visitor? In Ten Signs of a Welcoming Congregation, Sandra Montes provides ideas from her travels to various churches across the country, listing qualities she found to be common in parishes that make visitors feel at home and truly welcome. This article is available in English and Spanish.
The Vital Outreach and Evangelism Connection
By Frank Logue
We’ve often been told that actions speak louder than words, but sometimes saying the words is necessary. In The Vital Outreach and Evangelism Connection, Frank Logue shares personal experiences that illuminate why it’s important to be explicit in our invitation and welcome to others, and in sharing the ‘why’ of our belief.
Welcoming Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
By Sarah Barton
As we strive to serve all our neighbors in the love of Christ, upholding the dignity of every human being, may our lives be blessed by people with IDD as we together affirm boldly and faithfully: “I will, with God’s help!”