Well, it’s been a good week here so far in St. Patrick Parish. I’m finally over my cold, it seems, and the voice has returned. So hopefully, you can hear me this week.
Summers in Alaska are always fun. Summer is when we go outside to play, and stay up way too late talking because it’s still light out.
Right now, my mom’s house if full of out of family and out-of-town guests. It’s a part of the joyful chaos that is summer in Alaska.
We Alaskans are particularly good at hospitality, I think, don’t you? We are always welcoming guests and showing guests around and taking them fishing and playing tour guide. For many of us, it’s the only way we get to see certain things in our own state. I don’t know about you, but the only time I ever go to Denali National Park is when I have guests in town.
So I would imagine that most of us can identify quite well with Abraham and Sarah and Martha and Mary as they demonstrate for us in today’s reading the value of hospitality as a religious virtue
I’d like to spend a few minutes reflecting on Christian Hospitality as a hallmark of the good disciple and of the good Catholic parish.
It was Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, in 1825, who said:
To welcome a guest is to be answerable for his or her happiness so long as he is beneath your roof.
To help us do exactly that I think we all need to be aware of at least these seven attributes of remarkable hospitality. This is true in our homes and in our parish:
In short, Good hospitality:
- Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
- Is knowledgeable
- Is efficient
- Is flexible
- Is consistent
- Communicates effectively
- Exceeds expectations
Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
First impressions matter.
Are people greeted as they come through the door?
Are there designated and trained greeters and/or ushers?
Are they well dressed and groomed?
Are people with special needs accommodated in architecture and design?
Do ushers/greeters and parishioners smile?
Is knowledgeable
Where is the first aid kit?
Where is the defibrillator?
Are ushers trained in its use?
Are there gluten free hosts available? If so, where are they?
Do greeters/ushers know who the medical personnel in the parish are?
Is efficient
Are people greeted immediately at the door? In the narthex?
Are there enough ushers to seat people expeditiously?
Is the collection taken with a smile and without wasted effort?
(Second Collection after the first.)
Are major announcements done BEFORE Mass?
Is flexible
- Are all parishioners trained in the basics?
- Can they change their routine to accommodate the guest?
[‘YOU’RE SITTING IN MY SEAT!!]
- Are parents with children accommodated with courtesy?
Is consistent
People may come to our church for many reasons, but they will return for only one
…They like it!
Consistency can make the difference.
Communicates Effectively
- Does signage and posted placards help people find their way to the restroom, parish hall or office?
- Are the fire extinguishers well marked?
- Is the information desk/rack easily accessible?
- Do ushers/greeters give clear, concise information and instructions?
Exceeds expectations
- Are people asked their name and place of
origin? Are these announced by the
Presider?
- Are birthdays, anniversaries or other significant events noted in the bulletin, monitors and pulpit?
- Are returning guests remembered?
- Are new families welcomed and given information
about the parish?
- Welcoming breakfasts/luncheons?
In short, Good hospitality:
- Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
- Is knowledgeable
- Is efficient
- Is flexible
- Is consistent
- Communicates effectively
- Exceeds expectations
Hospitality comes easily to us Alaskans because it literally comes with the territory. By and large, as a parish, I think we do a pretty fair job, at least this newcomer’s first impression is pretty good. Nevertheless, there are many things I think we can do that would set us in a class by ourselves.
Good hospitality is not only an act of kindness, it is one of the primary Christian virtues. To welcome the stranger it is a corporal work of mercy. As a parish family, may we be the heart and the arms and the hands of Christ, reaching out in welcome to those come to our doors, so that they may indeed encounter Risen Christ within these walls and return to the world refreshed, renewed, and better for the experience.