Open Hearts and Open Doors: Radical Hospitality in the UU Church

We are welcoming congregations. We say so on our church buildings, on our banners, in our sermons, and on our websites but does that message really ring true for visitors and newcomers to our faith and our worship services? Sometimes the building and the things and people inside that building can send a different message. What happens to a guest after they step inside is as important to the practice of hospitality as is the initial welcome. To be truly welcoming to people of all identities, backgrounds, and characteristics, a guest is not asked to conform to standardizations but is invited to bring their full self-just as they are-into a process of continuous transformation. Radical hospitality involves both an invitation for all to come together and a commitment to constantly reshape ourselves into the multicultural and beautifully diverse beloved community of the future.We are welcoming congregations. We say so on our church buildings, on our banners, in our sermons, and on our websites but does that message really ring true for visitors and newcomers to our faith and our worship services? Sometimes the building and the things and people inside that building can send a different message. What happens to a guest after they step inside is as important to the practice of hospitality as is the initial welcome. To be truly welcoming to people of all identities, backgrounds, and characteristics, a guest is not asked to conform to standardizations but is invited to bring their full self-just as they are-into a process of continuous transformation. Radical hospitality involves both an invitation for all to come together and a commitment to constantly reshape ourselves into the multicultural and beautifully diverse beloved community of the future.