The Rev. Carlton Pearson, a former Pentecostal bishop who has embraced Universalism, preached at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa in September 2008. His family and many members of his former congregation have joined All Souls.

Alice Brown sent this link

For a wonderful article on radical hospitality. check out this link.  Amazing story!  Would we be so open and welcoming?

Using “Radical Hospitality” to Reach Beyond North Church’s Walls

When the Stewardship Campaign Steering Committee first began to discuss the idea of ‘radical hospitality,’ most of our conversation centered around ways that North Church can – and does – welcome people into our building, or into our worship community. And we do a lot of those things very well.

We welcome our neighbors with Bread and Bowl, a wide range of musical concerts, and presentations by The Shepherd Center.

In recent years, the church has added some bells and whistles to those efforts. Now, members who miss Kevin’s message on a Sunday can listen to it in the form of a podcast on Monday.

Those are the easy forms of hospitality, which don’t take us out of our ‘comfort zone.

Now, we’re being challenged in this Stewardship Campaign to think another way, about how to extend that hospitality in new directions. We can’t just keep inviting people INTO North Church. We have to find ways to meet them where they are. And in today’s climate, that means we need to become a part of what’s called ‘social networking.’

This isn’t an either-or choice: Bread and Bowl OR Facebook.

This is a both-AND situation.

There are some neighbors who will still only come to North when a friend picks up the phone and invites them. But there are others – and who knows how many? – who might become curious about what’s going on here all week long by reading about North Church on our website, or in an online discussion group about this week’s sermon topic, or even while volunteering at another non-profit that is tied to North through common interests.

The social networks that are already out there – such as Twitter and MySpace and the rest – are creating a ‘cloud’ of contacts which enable people to be in touch more often, and more easily, than ever before.  And what those who do this work regularly have learned is that it’s not a question of starting new conversations about faith and community as much as it is jumping into some discussions that are already underway.

North Church could benefit from that kind of energy and ferment.

Especially if we want our hospitality truly to be ‘radical.’

One means to that end is this new North Church blog about “radical hospitality.”

As we talk about stewardship and the future of North Church, we believe it is our job to find ways to speak to people who are comfortable in cyberspace, and those for whom it is still unfamiliar territory.

Now that you have logged on, we encourage you to post your own ideas about how radical hospitality can transform North Church, its members, its guests and its neighbors.

Listen to this presentation from the weekly podcast

When Rev. Kevin Armstrong first began talking about the book “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations,” several members of the Stewardship Campaign Steering Committee said they thought North Church could already serve as a model for the kinds of church ‘habits’ that Robert Schnase talks about.

That may sound a little bit smug, but as you walk around this church just about any day – and  many nights –you’ll see examples of the first practice Schnase talks about: the notion of ‘radical hospitality.’

We all know in our bones what ‘hospitality’ is.

• It’s making people feel welcome.
• It’s bringing out-siders IN-side.
• Extending ourselves, whether it’s through Eatin’ Meetin’s, or IHN overnight stays…or just wearing our nametags during Sunday worship.

And that’s a good start.

What’s exciting about the practice of RADICAL hospitality is that it challenges us to go beyond what’s easy and comfortable.

I’m sure I’m not the only one in this congregation who was reared to be somewhat suspicious of the term ‘radical.’

It’s even a little scary. And that’s a good thing.

In the next few weeks, leading up to Stewardship Sunday in late October, members of the Steering Committee are going to be talking about what truly “radical hospitality” might look like at North Church.

The goal is to begin searching for how North can adopt some of those “practices”…. and commit to KEEP “practicing” them until we get them right.

• It’ll mean being hospitable in new ways and new places, with people who haven’t been inside this church before.
• More young people. Members of the gay and lesbian communities. People with a range of mental or physical disabilities.
• Radical hospitality involves using new techniques to reach people (although Kevin hopes you won’t start ‘tweeting’ during his sermons).
• It also includes incorporating new ways to share that essence of hospitality – food – with each other with our neighbors around North Church and around the world.
• Plus, it will involve considering how North Church can use its magnificent facility to be hospitable — which means taking care of the legacy that the founders of North Church bequeathed to us.

If you have ideas on how North can expand its hospitality, please write them on a slip of paper and include it in next week’s offering, or add to the blog posts at this site.

This is a time to be brave – and even a little radical!

Jessica White defined Radical Hospitality as it applies to North Church’s mission and stewardship. This is the beginning of several weeks to take this concept and figure how we can apply it to North Church. RadicalHospitality audio from service

We will post the text of this audio soon.

Click the word “Definition” at the top of the page to get a full overview of what Radical Hospitality means and how North Church plans to carry it out.

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