Book is basis of information for Welcoming Committee class at St Andrew's Church 2018

With the support of a National Clergy Renewal Program grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., Henry G. Brinton recently took a three-month sabbatical from his work as senior pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and visited communities of faith in the United States and Europe that are attempting to be uncommon Christian communities—congregations where people of diverse opinions and perspectives may gather, worship, talk, and debate. From the Iona Community in Scotland, Californian Saddleback Church led by Rick Warren, German Reconciliation Parish, a church that has been rebuilt on what was once “no man’s land” near the Berlin Wall and Washington National Cathedral Brinton returns home to his Fairfax Presbyterian Church to make up his mind, apply and reform.

The first part of The Welcoming Congregation, Roots and Fruits of Christian Hospitality, "The Roots of Hospitality," contains five chapters: Biblical and Historical Roots of Christian Hospitality, Sites, Worship, Meals, and Small Groups. The book’s second part, "The Fruits of Hospitality," describes how congregations rooted in hospitality are able to grow in reconciliation, outreach, and ever-broadening perceptions of God.
How do these various denominations around the world shape and colour the ministry of welcoming unchurched or seekers to their congregations? Hospitality is the front door. "Every time people sit down to eat and drink together, there is the possibility that community will grow and people will be reconciled to one another. This is good news for a fractured and polarized world, and a strong sign of the importance of being a welcoming congregation that embraces all people with God's love and grace." from the introduction. Whether it's the common meals and Coram Deum worship experiences at the Iona Community or The Refinery in Rick Warren's Saddleback megachurch, the roots are the same. Include people that are looking for belonging, please care about believing and behaving later. Remove barriers, for some churches in this book the grey-haired ushers not able to do anything else then silently pass you an order of service on paper, for others profiling political points of views or endorsements for Republican or Democrat (candidate) presidents. This poses a challenge for welcoming congregations that want to be houses of prayer “for all peoples.” Uncomfortable with being identified with either end of the political spectrum, these moderate congregations strive to maintain a creative tension between time-honored truths and new theological insights— between conservative and liberal, if you like— and try to root their ministries in both tradition and innovation.
Citing biblical examples, such as the widow of Zarephath, Abraham and Sarah, and Jesus himself, and coupled with the instructions of the apostle Paul and other New Testament writers, Brinton not only weaves a compelling argument for hospitality but does so in a way that is easy to read and full of ideas for practical adaptation in one’s own congregation. Some stories are taken from his 2006 book Balancing Acts: Obligation, Liberation, and Contemporary Christian Conflicts. Whether or not you're at ease with hosting McDonald's or other restaurants at your church perimeters, really need traffic assistants for thousands of cars navigating your campus, or specifically have to deal with homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders attenders, polarization debates right on spot, it's up to you to shape and mold the biblical roots of Christian hospitality to your church. Who's welcome at Comuninion? Who will speak to you on your first visit? Will you need strict rules on the amounts and ways to track and contact newbies? How will you transfer seekers to believers? “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,” says the Lord through the prophet Isaiah (56:7). What a challenge! ( )