Radical Welcome

This past weekend, our Vestry spent time in “appreciative inquiry” looking at the core practices of our parish life: radical welcome, engaging worship, intentional discipleship, risk-taking mission and service, and willing generosity.  These are practices embedded in our common life.  We do some well and there are others we need to relearn and deepen to close the gap between what we “wish” and what we “do.”  One of those we have identified is the practice of radical welcome, a term I first ran into at a leadership conference entitled “Reinventing Church” at St. Bartholomew’s in New York City.  The Rector, Bill Tully, reminded us that radical welcome is a sentence taken from the Rule of St. Benedict. Benedict instructed his monks that “All those who present themselves as guests shall be welcomed as Christ.” The practice of radical welcome involves working hard to offer the gracious invitation and reception of Christ’s wisdom and love to others and to receive their needs and gifts as well.

Radical welcome means that we cultivate an increased awareness of the person who is not present, the neighbors, friends and co-workers who have no connection to a community of faith.  It means the conscious attempt to meet people within our own congregations who we do not know well, it means pitching our ministry to the next person who walks through our door, not overwhelming them, but letting them know they are most welcome and providing opportunities for them to connect more deeply with the congregation if they choose to do so.  The truth is there are countless people out there, (and within the Church) who long for an expression of the Christian faith that reconciles mind and heart, that offers a positive engaging spirituality which is also committed to grappling honestly with difficult questions, and which longs to make the world a better place.  They wonder if the Church is place where such an expression of faith and community can be found, and many, sadly, walk away feeling disillusioned by what they see.  Are we prepared to welcome, radically welcome, people as they are and where they are in their quest for faith?

In my sermon this past Sunday, I shared with the congregation that we were witnessing the practice of radical welcome in Barack Obama’s initial plans for his inaugural and his administration.  His is a story of radical welcome, a desire to invite, welcome, and include every American in the pursuit of progress in our great democracy.  Obama has made it clear that this is how he desires to govern, to be more inclusive, to bring more people around the table, to share his hope and determination to help Americans make real progress on the serious challenges of the 21st century.   I suggested that perhaps we might take a cue from our new president’s example as we seek to make progress on the adaptive challenges facing the mainline church.  You can  listen to the sermon below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.