I am currently working on the program for our annual Celtic retreat. Feeling a little drained out after a hectic season of meetings and hospitality though so I am not really able to concentrate. It is at times like this that I most appreciate the resources that others have put together so I thought that you too might appreciate this list of sites I have found with good litanies, prayers and liturgical resources. I apologize however for the fact that they are not listed in any particular order. Since I suspect some of you may like to repost this I have added my own website to the list.
- The Text This Week
- Liturgy – Worship that Works
- Sacredise
- The Work of the People
- Godspace
- Laughing Bird Liturgical Resources
- ChurchNext.TV
- Call to Worship
- The Worship Well
- Evensong
- WorshipHouse Media
- Reformed Worship
- Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnody
- Long and Winding Road
- Leading in Worship
- Igniter Media
- The Billabong
- Starters for Sunday
- His Company
- Lectionary Liturgies
- Sermon Spice
- Friends of Art
- Nailscars
- Hope Publishing Online Hymnody
- sustain:if:able kiwi
- RESOUNDWorship.org
- The Jubilate Group
- Engage Worship
- Rev-o-lution
- Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre
- Bible Gateway
- spirited & singing
- Wellsprings
- LiturgyLink
- Jonny Baker Worship Tricks
- Experiential Worship
- Digital Orthodoxy
- RevGalBlogPals
- Liturgy Outside the Box
- Biblical Art on the www
- The Open Sourcebook
- Mustard Seeds
- United Methodist Church
- If you have others that you think should be added to the list please let me know
Hospitality is the act of the recklessly generous heart.
Sister Joan Chittister
What can you do if your circumstances, through illness for example, currently don’t allow you to meet with many people face to face, when being housebound means you do not meet the stranger, and when you yourself are at present reliant on the service of others for your basic needs of being fed and watered?
In order not to spend our lives constantly thinking of what we are not, cannot do, in order to follow the wonderful example of Mustard Seed House for example, we need to broaden our definitions of hospitality.
For me, hospitality begins with the need and desire to cultivate the spirit of openness amongst and for others; that same spirit which we have been given ourselves. A definition of openness? Being present with all that you are and that you have been given; paying full attention and focus to what or who is immediately before you, for as long as it or they need; and being prepared to give to that exchange whatever it costs, without hesitation, giving freely, as you have been given. It is creating a space where soul can meet soul.
Living a solitary life by choice, necessity or force means that in order to be prepared to be open to others whenever the occasional opportunity arises, it is even more important that we must first be hospitable to ourselves – all of our selves. ‘This human being is a guesthouse’ the poet Rumi says. Even though this might include ‘a joy, a depression, a meanness’ the result is that we can be visited by ‘some momentary awareness’. So we need to ‘treat each guest honourably’, being
grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent
As a guide from beyond.
I am just beginning to recognise and welcome by name some of my inner ‘Kate’s’ who come waltzing by – most especially when they choose to visit when I am trying to be silent and meditate. Instead of shutting them out and shutting them up, and keeping them out by a sheer act of will power, I am learning to do the opposite. I welcome in ‘Kate the constant commentator’, ask her sit awhile and wait until I can give her my full attention. When ‘Kate the perfect planner’ shows up, I ask her in, to sit beside me, until I can give her desire to control the future my full attention. You get the idea.
My model for this is to attempt to show myself the same Grace I have been shown. Because I am slowly learning too that unless I am embarked on this journey of Love towards myself as part of my daily discipline, I have no chance of fulfilling God’s primary commandment for humanity:
Love The Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbour as you love yourself.
My self is rightly last in the queue. But unless I show equal compassion to myself, how do I have any understanding of how to show compassion to whatever neighbour shows up? If I do not allow Grace to do her work in me, how can my soul be an effective witness in each chance or planned event?; how may she show that the Kingdom transforms all who are introduced to it?
I repeatedly pray my heart will be opened to God, to others, to myself in order that ‘Thy will be done’ this day. So that the trickle of Grace will then find her way through every text, every email, every Facebook post, every encounter, by what ever means, I have this day. By this, I am learning to trust that God is at work in me, however ill or distant or distracted I may feel.
And if God is at work, then when I join in with this community’s prayer, along side the whole Church: ‘Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven’, then I am practising hospitality without even being aware of it.
That is Grace to the stranger indeed.
Kate Kennington Steer is a writer and photographer with a deep abiding passion for contemplative photography and spirituality. She writes about these things on her shot at ten paces blog (http://shotattenpaces.blogspot.co.uk).
Hospitality has always been important for Tom and I, which has led to some interesting encounters and the founding of some wonderful friendships.
Once, about five years ago we had two young men arrive at our front door. Mormons we thought at first, then realized they were too scruffily dressed.
“Can we tent camp in your backyard?” they asked. They needed a place to stay for a few nights and had come across the Mustard Seed House while looking for intentional communities in Seattle. We invited them in and learned that they had just spent a year at the Sojourners’ community in San Francisco after graduating from Lipscomb University in Nashville Tennessee. They wanted to join a community in Canada but the Canadians didn’t want them to cross the border.
“You can’t tent camp in our backyard but you can sleep in our basement apartment.” we told them. When tenants moved into the apartment a few weeks later they transferred to our prayer room where they slept on the floor. A few weeks became months and then a year. By now they we close friends. They helped around the house and garden, becoming a vital part of our community.
Our angels unaware we called them reminders of Paul’s words: Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (Hebrews 13:2 NIV)
They arrived just as Tom was starting to repaint our living room, a job that he thought he could do alone in 4 days – it took Tom, our two new friends and another helper 4 days together to do the job. how easily we could have missed God’s provision for completing this task.
On another occasion we returned from a trip to Australia to find they had stripped and refinished our dining room table – a special 60th birthday blessing for me.
The previous year a family of friends arrived from England without a place to say. The husband was ill and could not hold down a job. They move into our hospitality room and ended up living there for a year. They too helped around the house and garden. Build a children’s fort in the backyard that fifteen years later is still a special place for kids to play.
“Doesn’t having strangers in the house bother you?” we are often asked. “Isn’t it risky?” “Have you ever been scared?”
These are the questions that all of us worry about when we open our homes and our lives to be hospitable to strangers. And of course we all need to be careful, listening to the prompting of the spirit, and to the advice of friends, trying to discern when to say yes and when to say no. Sometimes we do make mistakes, conflict happens. Sometimes it is more stressful than we expect and we close our doors for a season. Sometimes we have to ask people to leave. Establishing appropriate boundaries is sometimes a slow and painful learning experience, but in the process we learn a lot about ourselves and about what it means to be the people of God. Slowly we are transformed into the inclusive, loving community of God’s kingdom.
In Reaching Out, Henri Nouwen reminds us that: Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. And it is not just those we invite in who are changed. We are transformed too.
Ironically the hardest guest we have had live with us was Tom’s schizophrenic son Wes. He moved into our basement after spending several years on the streets, refused to take meds and slowly sank into depression. Asking him to leave was one of the hardest things we ever did. Yet it was the best for both him and for us. He now has a small place of his own and we have established the best relationship we have had in years.
Wes taught me a lot about the strange and sometimes challenging messengers that God seems to take delight in using. Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, in fact all God’s prophets heard voices and saw visions that would quickly have them labelled as schizophrenic today. Francis of Assisi too would be given short shift in our society. He not only spoke to animals, he took off his clothes, and gave away his money.
Being hospitable is not always easy, and it is not always safe, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages and it is I believe a doorway to the kingdom. Take the risk and like us you might find that you are entertaining angels unawares.
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This post is part of the series Hospitality – Opening Doorways to the Kingdom which will run until the end of August. If you would like to contribute a post please do not hesitate to contact me.
This morning’s post on hospitality is written by my good friend and mentor of many years Fay Williams. Fay and her husband Alan were an important part of the leadership team on board the ship M/V Anastasis.
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In 1978 our Williams Family of five had just completed three years on a pioneering team on the Kona coast on the Big Islands of Hawaii. The task-to resurrect the old derelictPacific Empress hotel into a campus of Youth With A Mission. (YWAM), taming the tropical overgrowth and refurbishing the 99 rooms while eradicating rats, mice, centipedes and spiders was all part of our daily life for the first two years and now by the end of the third it was taking shape. Later to become University Of The Nations.
Time had now come for our family of five to reconnect to our home nation of New Zealand for a short time then make our way to Italy for another challenging pioneering venture in YWAM. This time an old passenger liner called the Victoria was to be transformed into a hospital ship to serve the poor of many nations.
A surprise was coming. My husband Alan who had a weeks teaching assignment at a Discipleship Training School (DTS ) in Salem Oregon, prayed about taking our whole family along including a trip to Disneyland. Believing it to be right Joy 16, Samuel 13and Stephen 111/2 and I joined Alan for a faith venture since we did not have the funds. However by the time we left Kona generous gifts came to cover the trip.
As parents we delighted in our children being blest after three years of pioneering. They were as much a part of it as us. Enduring plain, sometimes unappetizing food, including myriad amounts of peanut butter sandwiches, and spending many Saturday mornings working physically hard beside us without complaint we wanted them blest. Little did we know how rich that blessing would be.
Flying to the YWAM base in Salem, the leaders Marty & Mindy Berry friends of ours, made sure the normal hospitality for a YWAM speaker included our whole family. Artistically arranged bowls of fruit and delicious snacks met us as we entered our tastefully arranged rooms. Every time we ate a piece of fruit or snack it was replaced. So much so that one of our kids said in awe, “I can’t wait to grow up and be a YWAM speaker.” We laughed out loud. Staff workers came daily to take our children out and about Salem while Alan and I were in the DTS.
Not yet having exact plans to get to Disneyland we decided to rent a van to drive the picturesque route down the West coast. But before we did, the Salem base happened to need a new van so Marty bought one in time for us to drive it all the way to San Diego where a YWAM staff member would drive it back to LA for our flight and then back to Salem. So our journey down the West coast began. A day stop at San Francisco, two nights at the home of Marty Berry’s parents who lived near Disneyland. Warmly welcomed byMr & Mrs Berry, she took us all to a large supermarket telling our children to buy whatever you wanted to eat. I was embarrassed at such amazing generosity since she didn’t know us personally. I was also thankful my kids were well mannered and self controlled, asking about items and of course ice cream. Our host so joyfully paid at the check out and later cooked and served us a wonderful meal after which she handed us five tickets to Disneyland. Gasp! Assuring us we could help ourselves to anything we wanted in the fridge while she and her husband would be at work the next day we were awestruck. They would not accept any payment for our stay though we offered.
We enjoyed our great time at Disneyland the next morning we set of on the last stretch to San Diego where we needed to visit a family on a small boat with whom we were connected in ministry. While there we met a man so interested in the small boat ministry who insisted we all go out to lunch with him. There he handed us free tickets for the famous Sea World. Finally flying out to New Zealand we thought back on a remarkable experience we’d enjoyed on our first trip to the mainland USA. I noted that the Americans we had met had a special gift of generosity.
This story intertwines both financial provision and the gift of hospitality together. While you can give cup of cold water to someone and it be a gift of hospitality, usually it involves more than that. Hospitality involves giving, whether finances, goods and always, time. God who is overwhelmingly generosity by nature loves to use us as His channels.
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FAY WILLIAMS originally from New Zealand, has 38 years experience as a missionary with Youth With A Mission. She and her late husband Alan were missionaries in the Cook Islands from 1965-68 Later with their three children Joy, Samuel and Stephen, they, joined Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Kona Hawaii in 1975 to pioneer University of The Nations (U of N) 1975-78. In 1979-1988 they pioneered another work in (YWAM) called Mercy Ships where they worked on two vessels. (This is no longer part of YWAM)
Alan went home to be with the Lord in March 1988 and since that time Fay has resided in Kona Hawaii, while traveling to help pioneer and teach in the Pacific Islands, and teaches in DTS schools on campus in Hawaii. She also teaches Art to the staff children in their school on campus.
In 1995 Fay published her autobiography about her family’s experience in missions including their travels to many nations, called, “The World In Our Hearts” available from Williams Publishing 75-5851 Kuakini Hwy #48 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96740
Enquiries or requests can also be sent to: faywilliamshawaii@gmail.com
Fay and Alan’s three adult children are married and all serving the Lord along with their spouses and children in different capacities. There are now seven grandchildren from ages between 13-26.
She is currently writing a second book, A Memoir, called “The Journey”
As many of you know I love to write prayers which I post on the Light for the Journey Facebook page each day. The prayer above was written after the shooting at SPU and with the other shootings across the U.S. this week it has been very much on my mind. As you read it I hope that you will pray for all those impacted by these horrific acts.
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God may we today discover the good news of your kingdom,
The good news of healing, freedom, forgiveness and reconciliation.
May we taste its abundance and embrace its peace.
May it lead us to the fullness of life,
A life of sharing, caring liberating, and celebrating.
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God let the joy of your presence fill us,
Christ let the wonder of your love transform us,
Spirit let the peace of your indwelling sustain us,
This day and every day.
Amen.
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Circle us Lord,
Let your love and peace fill us.
Circle us Lord,
Let your compassion and concerns stir us.
Circle us Lord,
Let your truth and justice guide us.
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This prayer inspired by SlowChurch.com gathering at the Mustard Seed House.
Lord Jesus Christ, let us sit in your presence,
Savouring the fragrance of your love.
May we always take time for you,
And ever make space for you.
May we never be too busy to listen,
May we never be too tired to pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, let us sit in the company of friends
And enjoy sweet fellowship with you.
May we eat together of your abundance,
And share of your generosity.
May we never be too busy to listen,
May we never be too tired to pray.
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God of power and glory,
we praise your holy name!
Your Pentecostal fire
spread not from priest or king
but from ordinary lives
when through your disciples
you set this world aflame.
So fill this place, we pray,
that your Spirit’s power
might be seen
through these ordinary lives.
Re-kindle the fire in our hearts
that was lit when we first believed,
that we might become
a blessing to many.
God of power and glory,
we praise your holy name!
©John Birch, faithandworship.com
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God may your light be with us today.
Let it shine on the path ahead,
And fill us with the joy of seeing you.
Let it shine through the face of strangers,
And be revealed in the companionship of friends.
God let your light be with today,
May it bring us to the day’s end,
With thanks and gratitude.
One of the aspects of hospitality that I am grappling with these days is how to make meals that are inviting for my gluten free friends. Bread and cheese have always been staples of lunches for us and the moment the basil is ready for harvest I am making pesto, but what can I make that is equally as appetizing but acceptable to my gluten free friends?
Dried Tomato, Olive Tapenade is one possibility. Even those that don’t normally like olives love it.
I have adapted this recipe from one I found in the Australian Women’s Weekly Tomato Cookbook.
- 1 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
- 2/3 cup pecans
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
Process all ingredients until smooth. Spoon tapenade into cold sterilized jars; seal immediately or store in the refrigerator (stores 4-6 weeks).
What are your favourite gluten free recipes that you use for entertaining?
This is the second guest post from Lynne Baab in our series Hospitality and the Kingdom of God.
Lynne M. Baab is the author of numerous books on Christian spiritual practices. This article is adapted from her 2012 book, Joy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your Congregation. which has a chapter illustrating numerous ways congregations can engage in hospitality together. Lynne’s latest book will be released in June 2014: The Power of Listening: Building Skills for Mission and Ministry, and she would argue listening skills are essential in giving and receiving hospitality.
A handful of books have changed my life, and Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine D. Pohl is one of them. I read it soon after it was released in 1999, and immediately I began to see hospitality as a metaphor for ministry, a metaphor that opened my heart and changed my daily encounters with others.
I was raised by a mother with a distinct and significant gift of hospitality. My childhood memories are full of parties and dinners that my mom hosted. She is an excellent cook, and her extraverted and warm relational style helps people feel welcome in her home. As soon as I moved into my first apartment, I started having people over for meals. When I got married, my husband and I continued that tradition. I deeply enjoy hosting people for meals, and I know I learned that skill and attitude as a child from my very hospitable mother.
Before I read Making Room, the word “hospitality” meant hosting people for meals and having houseguests from time to time. Christine Pohl helped me see hospitality as something bigger, an opportunity to meet the risen Christ in the lives of others, which might involve hosting people for meals or lodging but also means meeting Jesus in conversations and encounters with others in many settings where I am not necessarily the host or a guest. I now believe that every encounter is an opportunity to show hospitality and welcome, and this has shaped my understanding of Christian ministry in all forms.
The Bible is full of commands to be hospitable and models of hospitality. (See my previous post .) However, the biblical invitation to engage in hospitality goes far beyond specific verses that command it or stories that illustrate it. The deepest invitation to engage in acts of hospitality and welcome comes from the sweep of biblical history that shows the actions of a generous and hospitable God. This history began with God’s invitation to Adam and Eve to dwell in the Garden, and to abstain from eating one particular food. Adam and Eve violated this act of hospitality on God’s part, and the rest of biblical history is the account of God’s continual invitation and welcome to the people God created in love. In the incarnation we see Jesus, who came as a stranger to earth, but showed a profound welcome to the people he encountered.
We are sent into the world in the same way Jesus was sent (John 17:18), and this means trying to be receptive to the gift inside each person we meet. To be truly hospitable is to welcome with tenderness and kindness each person we encounter as a precious reflection of the image of God, even in those moments when we need to be forthright about something important to us. Being hospitable means to learn from everyone, growing as a listener and watching for the ways God is transforming us through the lives of the people we meet. Sometimes we meet people over a meal and sometimes in another setting, but wherever it happens, God calls us to extend a warm welcome in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
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