First and foremost it must be noted that for the Christian disciple, hospitality is a mandated and tangible outworking of the Gospel.

In the Old Testament, hospitality is rooted in the character of God and the history of Israel as a "sojourning" people.

Abraham is the primary example of OT hospitality. In Genesis 18, he welcomes three strangers, offering them water, rest, and a "sumptuous feast". This teaches that hospitality transforms the stranger into a guest, often resulting in an encounter with God for both.

Later in their history God commanded Israel to love the "alien" or resident stranger as themselves, explicitly grounding this in their own history: "for you were aliens in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34).

Isaiah 58:6-7 even defines true fasting not as ritual but as "sharing your bread with the hungry" and "bringing the homeless poor into your house".

All this rests in the recognition of the Image of God in every person and that because of this each one is worthy of respect and hospitality.

In the New Testament Jesus practiced what could be described as radical hospitality by eating with tax collectors and outcasts and in so doing breaking the strict social and religious barriers of His time.

In the New Testament Church hospitality was a non-negotiable requirement for leaders (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).

The NT letters also frequently command all believers to "seek to show hospitality" (Romans 12:13) and to do so "without grumbling" (1 Peter 4:9).

What connections could I imagine in my own context as a result?

For me as a conservative evangelical Christian disciple, hospitality has two main contextual benefits:

It can be used for missional / evangelistic purposes in that it provides a prepared ground for the sowing of the Gospel. By opening our homes and lives, we create a space where God’s love can be seen and shared with the outsider.

Also, practicing hospitality can have a sanctifying effect making us more Christ-like in that it takes us out of the self-centeredness of our own lives.

Christian hospitality is often uncomfortable, sometimes painful and always requires sacrifice.  Abraham, for example, rushed out to greet his guests in the hottest part of the day when he was probably still in pain from being circumcised as a sign of God's covenant (Gen 18:1-2). Sadly, though, sacrifice is one of the main barriers to hospitality, but Peter admonishes us ‘to be hospitable without complaint’ (1 Pet. 4:9) and that includes ‘inner’ grumbling because, as the writer of Proverbs says ‘“Better is a dish of vegetables where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” (Prov. 15:17).

 Hospitality is about giving the best of ourselves willingly and freely and from a place of pure love just as Jesus did throughout His life and on the cross.

Abraham gave his guests the best of himself and everything he possessed with a good heart and, as a result, the guests (God incarnate) became the hosts by giving Abraham the amazing news that he and Sarah would have a son (Gen 18: 10). In fact, I believe that God blesses all those who offer generous hospitality, Christian or otherwise, and uses it as an opportunity for transformation. When Paul and his companions were shipwrecked on the island of Malta, the islanders welcomed them openly and the chief official, Publius, invited them into his home and showed them generous hospitality for three days. The hospitality from the islanders enabled Paul to become their host through his acts of healing and the opportunities that were created to share the Good News (Acts 28: 1-10).

My link church is one of the most hospitable places I know. Hardly a day goes past when there isn’t a coffee morning, a fellowship lunch, a drop-in centre or some other welcoming event. This offers those who attend a safe space and enables them to join in with God’s work without, necessarily, joining in with a scheduled service. However, there are so many people who are unable to get to these events because they work, are housebound or for many other reasons, so they are excluded.  I envisage the next stage on our journey, therefore, will be to extend our hospitality further afield

From A short history of Christian hospitality, I have learned that Hospitality, once a central Christian moral practice, gradually declined in the Western Church, especially by the eighteenth century.

Although care for strangers continued, it was no longer described or understood as hospitality, and the term became associated mainly with entertaining friends or commercial services like inns and hotels.

Hospitality, Service, Proclamation encourages reflection on how Christians should relate to people of other faiths. It asks readers to consider the attitudes, challenges, and examples found when God’s people interact with those of different beliefs. The story of Book of Ruth challenges Christians to rethink how they view people inside and outside their faith community. I have learned that faithfulness to God can sometimes be found in unexpected people, while those who should know better may fail to live according to God’s commands, that Christian discipleship is about engaging positively with others rather than judging. In my current parish, our sister church includes many worshippers attending who are from outside the UK. During the Service we use an online translation service, as English is not their first language, and the Church provides free meals after Sunday services for anyone, regardless of religious belief or church attendance. Christians are called by Jesus to love all people, including those of different faiths.

As seen in the story of Ruth, the call to hospitality and discipleship challenges Christians to rethink how they view people inside and outside their faith community.

Kindness is a part of discipleship but is kindness alone enough? What is its meaning, just been kind, doing something nice, a gesture or is it encompassing love, fruit of the spirit, own beliefs and values in a way of being, within. Like hospitality it can start at home sitting for a family meal, setting example.  Christine Pohl talks about Christian tradition of hospitality and recovering this.  She describes a “deep human longing to belong, willingness, being valued” and God’s grace and reflecting Gods graciousness”.

Other examples of hospitality were visiting a green space in London, an area of derivation, poverty and mental health, a project was supported to grow food as a resource for community to share meals.  Meals were made from what could be grown and volunteers would make meals for people to give access to food and social space.  It showed resourcefulness of people and not judging, all welcome to receive or to contribute in any way.

At Queens we leave our phones and bags when we go in for lunch to encourage conversation at tables.  Tables large enough to encourage groups to have time together and these memories will hold in our hearts from the time we have had and conversations, the ups and downs. We also shared an evening meal in the early days of getting to know each other, we arranged a bring and share and were fortunate to have a retreat room.  It was a dark winters evening, candles lit and a coal fire for warmth. It was very special and we talked about our faith journeys.  Something I will never forget so what we do when we share as Christians leaves a lasting effect on us.

Whilst hospitality is all around us and an important part of life, pubs, high streets, theme parks and should be encouraged. Christian hospitality is deeper biblically and theologically. More significant at the heart is gathering, strengthening faith and blessing.

I could give lots of examples of shared humble Christmas dinners, lent lunches, sharing across benefice. Hospitality is part of discipleship; it can open the church up to community.  Church can know a lot of what’s going on in community, but community may not know what’s going on in church. Familiarity needs to go wider, or it does not grow. Shifting focus from doing to being, scripture calls us on that journey, its beyond welcoming.

Kindness is a part of discipleship but is kindness alone enough? What is its meaning, just been kind, doing something nice, a gesture or is it encompassing love, fruit of the spirit, own beliefs and values in a way of being, within. Like hospitality it can start at home sitting for a family meal, setting example.  Christine Pohl talks about Christian tradition of hospitality and recovering this.  She describes a “deep human longing to belong, willingness, being valued” and God’s grace and reflecting Gods graciousness”.

Other examples of hospitality were visiting a green space in London, an area of derivation, poverty and mental health, a project was supported to grow food as a resource for community to share meals.  Meals were made from what could be grown and volunteers would make meals for people to give access to food and social space.  It showed resourcefulness of people and not judging, all welcome to receive or to contribute in any way.

At Queens we leave our phones and bags when we go in for lunch to encourage conversation at tables.  Tables large enough to encourage groups to have time together and these memories will hold in our hearts from the time we have had and conversations, the ups and downs. We also shared an evening meal in the early days of getting to know each other, we arranged a bring and share and were fortunate to have a retreat room.  It was a dark winters evening, candles lit and a coal fire for warmth. It was very special and we talked about our faith journeys.  Something I will never forget so what we do when we share as Christians leaves a lasting effect on us.

Whilst hospitality is all around us and an important part of life, pubs, high streets, theme parks and should be encouraged. Christian hospitality is deeper biblically and theologically. More significant at the heart is gathering, strengthening faith and blessing.

I could give lots of examples of shared humble Christmas dinners, lent lunches, sharing across benefice. Hospitality is part of discipleship; it can open the church up to community.  Church can know a lot of what’s going on in community, but community may not know what’s going on in church. Familiarity needs to go wider, or it does not grow. Shifting focus from doing to being, scripture calls us on that journey, its beyond welcoming.