Strategy Update

Hospitality - Creating Communities of Belonging

I want you to think of the last time you visited a different church. Would you return? What was your experience like? Were you made to feel welcome? Did you feel safe? Were people friendly? Or did you feel uncomfortable? Invisible?

Now think about your home church. Think of it through the eyes of a visitor. How likely are they to return? Would they be made welcome? Feel safe? Would they experience warmth? Have you, as a church, left a favourable impression on them?

People may come to church to follow Christ, but they may stay or leave a local church because of the people. Both belief and belonging matter. Sometimes people need to belong before they can truly believe.

In a hospitable church, hospitality is more than just a greeting, but an opportunity to belong.

In a world where social isolation is rife, with the marketplace reducing us to producers and consumers, the church can offer a profoundly different experience, of an alternative, authentic community, in and through Jesus.

Two Examples of Hospitality from our Parishes:

Parish of Waipaoa: Making Room for the Stranger

A Van of seven Ni-Vanuatu arrived at church with a guitar, and they made my day, and the day of my congregation. They sang, leading us into worship (I canned the opening hymn, didn’t need it), and also sang during communion, and of course enjoyed morning tea with us. Some are going home in a few weeks and coming back next February, and some are here till January.

The grin on my face this morning when that van arrived was evidence of my joy. We started the service singing the song that was sung at my farewell in Te Puke… the one Te Puke church knew so well. I got today's congregation singing the chorus, which is in English. The locals made them feel so welcome. We are already talking about a Sunday night service next year for them. 

 - Rev Ruth Dewdney

Parish of Tauranga: Building Community One Meal at a Time

This year, we have been encouraging hospitality in our church family at Holy Trinity. We have called this Table for Eight. We see inviting others into our homes and sharing our tables as an essential part of a healthy community.  Over the last six months, many of us have enjoyed meals in different homes. It has been a wonderful time of welcome, hospitality, and getting to know others from our church community better. The evenings have been enjoyed by many.

  - Marg Barsanti