Radical Hospitality

  

I really thought I would be doing my blogging in regards to this class decently and in order, like any good Presbyterian Seminarian student.  But alas, my true self isn't always in agreement with how my mind wishes I was.  

So here we go.  

I thought I would be documenting this journey chronologically in regards to the places, faces, and likes we are immersed in, but at least for this moment, I find myself needing to reflect on something I continually feel. 

HOSPITALITY. 

Specifically, 

RADICAL HOSPITALITY.

Let's break it down. 

rad·i·cal

  [rad-i-kuh l]  Show IPA

adjective

1.

of or going to the root or origin; fundamental: a radical difference.

2.

thoroughgoing or extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms: a radical change in the policy of a company.

3.

favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms: radical ideas; radical and anarchistic ideologues.

4.

forming a basis or foundation.

5.

existing inherently in a thing or person: radical defects of character.

hos·pi·tal·i·ty

  [hos-pi-tal-i-tee]  Show IPA

noun, plural hos·pi·tal·i·ties.

1.

the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.

2.

the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.

You might remember the term, "Radical Hospitality" from a movement of sorts a few years back.  Ok, maybe it is not a movement, but personally, there was a time a few years back and I kind of felt like many churches were talking about this term.  My church back home did a study of a book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, and "radical hospitality" is #1 in the book. (Great book by the way, and they have components to use with youth! Bonus!)

Anyways, the author of the book, Robert Schnase, defines "radical hospitality" like this:

 Congregations that practice Radical Hospitality demonstrate an active desire to invite, welcome, receive, and care for those who are strangers so that they find a spiritual home and discover for themselves the unending richness of life in Christ. Radical describes that which is drastically different from ordinary practices, outside the normal, that which exceeds expectations and goes the second mile.

Key words in that definition that stand out to me include: 

INVITE,

 WELCOME, 

RECEIVE, 

and 

CARE.

My class has been invited to a variety of places.

We have been welcomed.

We have been received. 

We have been cared for. 

Today we attended a prayer service at a mosque in a pretty diverse part of Atlanta, technically it was Clarkston, GA.  The community surrounding this mosque is represented by numerous nationalities due to immigrants and refugees settling here.  As one of the Imam's shared with us, we were in the "United Nations" of Atlanta.  Even now, hours after reflecting on the experience, I am still smiling and thinking fondly on how generously welcomed we were into their space.  Upon entering the women's space, my peers and I were immediately welcomed with smiles and handshakes that were so authentic.  These women were so glad we, female students of Christianity, were attending prayers with them. Our first greeter said, "My God, your God - we praise God.  We are blessed." 

 The space we were in filled up with so many beautiful faces of women and children, all different from the other.  As one woman from Kenya put it, "We speak so many different languages but share 'salam' (peace) with each other and our Arabic prayers".  Another woman, originally from Haiti, sat near us and walked through the prayers, the language, the customs of the service with us and was open to any questions we had.  It wasn't that I didn't expect hospitality from these brothers and sisters, but it was radical.  It was "going the second mile" and "exceeded expectation". 

Despite the differences in our faiths, I feel as if I discovered for myself the unending richness of life in Christ through the women I met this afternoon.

Today I experienced "Radical Hospitality": 

the willingness to invite questions to dispel myths and provide the truth,

 the willingness to invite 'others' to sit at the table in order to grow, 

the willingness to welcome learning beyond what is expected of us, 

the willingness to welcome diversity in a worship space: diversity in color of skin, religious beliefs, age, or job

the willingness to receive in love

the willingness to care for the stranger among you

and

the willingness to care about the community beyond your doors.

"Salam"

Until next time, look for radical hospitality.  Maybe it will surprise you or take you off guard.  Maybe it won't come so nicely packaged up.  Maybe it will exceed your expectations.  Maybe you won't realize it until later in the day. 

But look for it. 

 Or better yet, be it.

Show radical hospitality. 

Welcoming 2013

Happy New Year Friends!  Since I last checked in, I have made it though finals, the Advent season, the CTS Christmas Banquet, a wonderful trip back home, holidays spent with family, a trip back to Atlanta early so that I could preach, and that included some wonderful visitors who were able to share in that special time as well (such as my parents!).  Phew.  I'm tired just even looking at it all written out...and yes, there is probably much missing.  

But! Here we are! 2013!  Some anticipated highlights for this year include the welcoming of another nephew and another niece.  This summer brings the possibility of new internships in new places (maybe even at a hospital near you!)  2013 marks the 10th anniversary of my graduating from high school This year will mark my half way mark through my degree programs (notice the plural there!?!?).  2013 will contain my "golden" birthday as well: I turn 29 on 9.29 - exciting right?  

Bear (nephew puppy) &  Mr. Darcy.

Already 2013 has found me obsessed with:

• Books: I've been on a short story kick and seriously have devoured 4 books already.  If you have suggestions of collections, please let me know!
• Mr. Darcy. The Walters' (ok...mom & dad) added the aptly named kitty, Fitzwilliam Darcy to the household.  
• Taking better care of myself. 
• The movie Pitch Perfect.  (Google it. Watch it. Quote it. Sing it. May not be award worthy, but this ex-choir nerd LOVES it.)
• Downton Abbey. (And drinking tea.)
• Classes, specifically, the one I am in right now. 

Our Middler year has us taking a class entitled, Explorations:Alternative Context, and there are multiple choices (choices = context = cities) to choose from. The basic description of this course says, "The course is designed to be an academic and experiential exploration of a significantly different cultural context and the church's mission, to deepen one's experience and understanding of the church and its ministry in a significantly different socio-cultural context so that, consequently, students gain clearer insight into the mission of the church in their own context. The course seeks to provide opportunities, through the challenges of an alternative social context, for social analysis, theological reflection, and a deepening of commitments to the Gospel.

The goal of Explorations is to understand, critically, the life and mission of the church in a culture other than one's own, so as to be able to understand, critically, the life and mission of the church in one's own culture. 

By the end of the course, it is expected that participants will be able to: 

1. Experience a new sense of being linked to Christians across social, cultural, and national barriers.
2. Utilize approaches (e.g., sector analysis, cultural analysis, etc.) for understanding the complexities of socio-cultural realities in a given context. 
3. Engage effectively in theological reflection regarding a context of ministry, relating personal experiences and cultural realities to Scripture and other parts of one's theological tradition. (A significant part of this outcome involves an expanded awareness of the way that culture and theology shape one another.)
4. In light of the journey into a different culture, interpret an emerging understanding of how culture shapes the life and thought of the church and state the implications of that understanding for the public and ecclesial action of congregations in the global context.

(Good for you if you actually read through that all.  I applaud you!)

Mine is entitled, Atlanta Immigrant, and yep, you guessed it, we're here in Atlanta immersing ourselves in immigrant experiences ranging from meals, guest lectures, worship services, tours of Atlanta, and more. 

I'm working on some journal entries for the experiences we have been having - so stay tuned!  

Here's one last pic of 2012 - The Walters!

Taken after the hustle & bustle of the holidays on my last night in town. *love*

Open Unto Me

Whenever I feel there just aren't enough hours in the day, or minutes in the hour, I am constantly amazed at how time is made and I am proven wrong.  It boils down to this word,  ,selah , סֶלָה a breath.  It can literally be translated as, "stop and listen" or "pause and breathe".  I love those definitions.  In the Psalms, selah is used within the psalms, allowing time for breath.  These moments, this selah, sneaks up on me and appears in numerous manners.   

The other day was a crazy rushed day full of surprises that weren't necessarily the best kind (think puppy + room full of things to be chewed...like crayons, tape, boxes of matches, napkins, etc...) and I was all set to be angry and frustrated and skip yoga to pout.  But I went to yoga and was challenged in poses, pushed to stretch my limits, and found my breath.  

Selah. 

Some weekday mornings are full of class, full of work study in the refectory, or full of submitting papers.  But then I get a break to do something so simple as make a cup of coffee and shower.  And sometimes, it is the best thing I can be doing during that time. 

Selah.

Then there are times said "shower and coffee time" take too long and I am rushed into the next lecture feeling all sorts of out of place.  And then my professor takes time to open our class in prayer and while I am sitting in class, in silence, I am able to breathe. 

Selah.  

I wanted to share the prayer my professor used this morning for class.  It is by Howard Thurman and is entitled, "Lord, Open Unto Me".  This time of prayer really felt like a pause in my day and the words really spoke to me; it could be the repetitious nature of the poem, that I was actually sitting still for a moment, or that the Holy Spirit was just at work!  I've been looking for a new prayer to memorize and this might be it.  I hope you are able to pause and breathe while reading this. 

Lord, open unto me

Open unto me — light for my darkness.
Open unto me — courage for my fear.
Open unto me — hope for my despair.
Open unto me — peace for my turmoil.
Open unto me — joy for my sorrow.
Open unto me — strength for my weakness.
Open unto me — wisdom for my confession.
Open unto me — forgiveness for my sins.
Open unto me — love for my hates.
Open unto me — thy Self for my self.

Lord, Lord, open unto me!

Amen.

Coming Out

Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?

Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?

Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,

through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me.

-The Summons

Today has been one of those "go, go, go" days.  Tuesday and Thursdays tend to be that way, seeing as majority of my classes take place on these days.  While it can be wonderfully filling, it is also full of motion.  Going here, then there, then back here.  You get the picture, right?

There were two times in my busy day where I was just sitting and as I like to say, "being".  The first was at Morning Prayers which was part of the Smyth Lectures being held here on campus.  (Justo Gonzalez was our guest lecturer and AMAZING.  He's worth a google.  Seriously.) The second time I was able to just sit and be was at the Imago Dei Coming Out Day Worship Service.  

Today, October 11, is National Coming Out Day.  It is a day to promote a safe world for LGBT individuals to live truthfully and openly.   Imago Dei is our LGBT alliance group here on campus, and I am honored to serve as a co-moderator for this group.  I feel blessed also to serve as an ally to the LGBT community.   

We are pilgrims on the journey
We are siblings on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load
- Servant Song

Being an ally isn't just in my nature, it's in my heart.  The pride and admiration I feel for friends who are LGBT isn't only because they are awesome and amazing individuals, but for their boldness in rejoicing who they are.  I am proud to walk along side them in seeking equality - in the working world, in the home, and in the church. I am not only an ally on days full of sunshine and rainbows, but I am an ally on the days when there seems to be no light shining at all.

I will hold the Christ light for you

In the night time of your fear

I will hold my hand out to you

Speak the the peace you long to hear.

- Servant Song

Regardless of where you stand - to the right or to the left, the aisle in between leads to the table that welcomes ALL.   I was reminded of this tonight at worship when the bread was broken, the cup poured out, and the blessing made.  Christ invited everyone to that table.  The table is not a place to hide behind nor is it to be used as a weapon of discrimination. 

I was reminded tonight. 

Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

From sorrow, toil and pain,

And sin, we shall be free,

And perfect love and friendship reign

Through all eternity.

All are welcomed at the table.  

Good Mourning and Holy Saturday's

I give much thanks to the imagination of the artist who had a sense of humor and the talent to create a sparsely-haired child who exclaimed, "good grief!" at various times of difficulty in his life.  This lovable little boy seemed to have the wisdom of the ages (or maybe it was the burden of the world?) that no one in his life could ever understand.

I've been mulling over these words for some time now,  "good grief" and what exactly does good grief mean?  What does it look like?  Does it exist beyond this exclamation from a fictional character? 
In playing with these words, I also was struck by the irony of the phrase, "good mourning".  Can mourning ever be a good thing?    

Loss is all around us - loss of a job, a relationship, a pet, or a person.  You can lose your home, or there is the loss of a life we used to know.  Something I've been struggling with it seems for a long time has been this idea of grief, this theme of loss.  This is not to say I walk around thinking of everything that has gone missing in  my life, but I do emotionally give credit where credit is due, so to speak.   These past few months have given me what seems loss after loss - from a relationship, of a beloved pet, and of dear friends.  

In Pastoral Care a few weeks ago, we mentioned the importance of sitting through Holy Saturday. This is the idea of being in the "not-knowing" part of Easter Weekend.  You can kind of guess what the followers of Christ were feeling on Good Friday - the devastating loss of Jesus.  Then we can maybe imagine the astonishment and relief that came in the Resurrection on Sunday.  So what was Saturday like for them?  They were still sitting in the grief of losing Jesus. It wasn't as if they just jumped to the "alleluia's" of Easter morning. 

A very wise friend of mine here at CTS put it another way in a note to me regarding some stuff that was weighing heavy on my heart this past spring.  She said, "It's hard to let things die, but sometimes we have to.  No matter what happens, know that you are a witness to life.  When we let things die, the death often overshadows life and that's okay.  Sit with the death for a while.  Indeed, Saturday was a very gloomy day after Jesus' death; but sit through Saturday with hope for Sunday and the news of the resurrection.  With hope for new life, you'll be a better witness to the life."

Many months later, I am able to read her words and see the hope that comes in that wonderful Sunday morning.  Maybe "good grief" and "good mourning" are not words to express the grief we live with; but better used  to express are sitting with the loss and addressing how we feel.  While there is much I don't know and probably never will when it comes to loss and grief, I do know that sitting in the space of Holy Saturday allows me to still mourn my friend a year later. And I recognize that the feeling of loss is indeed a true thing to explore and mull over.  And I feel ever so blessed to have a community to sit with during those Saturday's. 



"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." 
2 Corinthians 4: 8-10

Master of Greek

Well friends...in case you hadn't heard - I survived Greek School at Columbia.  

Candid "Study Session Photo Shoot"

I made it through 40 days and 40 nights of learning another ancient language. 

And I came out on top. 

Saturday Morning Study Session

I've never been one too overly concerned with grades, but when you work really hard on something, it is kind of nice to have something to show for it.  

(Besides the Lisa Frank "You did it" stickers on my quizzes from my TA...)

Wonderful women along the journey!

Many thanks to all of you who kept me in your prayers as I went along the journey.  I am very grateful for the kind notes, the prayers said, the phone calls, and the texts that helped me remember that while yes, learning Greek is indeed important, so was remembering I'm a beloved child of God, despite if I can pronounce/translate/parse the following phrase:

χαιρετε εν κυριω παντοτε παλιν ερω χαιρετε (Philippians 4:4). 

Our shirts translate to mean, "I rule".

(which I can indeed pronounce/translate/parse.)

On completing Greek School,  I was able to go home for a few weeks to spend time with family and for my best friend's wedding - stay tuned for a picture post to come!  

Fall semester has started and I came back and hit the ground running - would you expect anything else? I do plan on continuing to blog as I continue on this journey of discernment. I pray you will follow along in my musings and observations, "Concerning the Call". 

χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
(Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.)
~Katy

What's In A Name?

The other night while feasting on delicious desserts at our professor's house, the conversation starting revolving around names, and more specifically, nicknames.  We'd been talking about family nicknames and how they come about and why.  The funny part was, most of us couldn't remember!  My family is big on nicknames just like any other family and encompassed in those nicknames are more than just words - but love, affection, and identity.

It led me to think - what's in a name?  Of course I was reminded of the quote from  Romeo and Juliet and then I kept thinking of other names. 

Have you ever played that game where you say a word and then speak aloud the first word that comes to mind?

For example...

Up......

.........down!

In.......

........out!

Austin....

......College!  (Go Roos!)

Texas....

..........Longhorns!

And with names:

Michael....

........Jackson!

Jesus......
.......Christ!

Queen....
......Elizabeth!

A silly game I know, but you should try playing it with small children.  It is great fun!  The word association can be ridiculous, but also really meaningful.  

If you know me at all, you know I'm a bit particular when it comes to names - specifically, mine. I'm an elitist when it comes to spelling, pronouncing, and overall knowing my name.  My name is a part of my identity!  I'm named after someone meaningful to my family.  

I am a Kathryn.  Not a Catherine or Katherine, but a Kathryn.  The biggest difference lies in the pronunciation - Kath-ryn verses Kath-ER-rine.  Minor to some, but major to me.  

And thinking beyond my given name, I'm even MORE particular about the name I use most - Katy.  I am not a Catie, Katie, Caty, Caddy, Kady - it's K.A.T.Y.  There are only a few nicknames I accept.  My family calls me "Kat", I have some aunts who are allowed to call me "Kate", and then small children who struggle with "K" can say "Taty". 

Back to the word association game from earlier, in college, there was a plethora of "Katy's" on my campus.  Not all were spelled the same, but it could become highly confusing to many.  Our Chaplain's son, being quite young at the time and not recognizing letters quite yet, came up with his own unique way to distinguish us.  He "nicknamed" us.  

My nickname? 

LOUD Katy.  

Maybe not the nickname I would choose for myself, but it was indeed accurate. And it was said out of affection, love, and one that does indeed speak to my identity (I am a loud person...).

A few weeks ago as I was leaving a birthday party for a child I have the honor to babysit for, I was standing outside with the older brother.  This little man was in a fully induced sugar coma brought on by delicious cupcakes and also wiped from swimming diligently for the previous hours.  I was saying goodbye to the little guy and some of the other adults were trying to encourage him to say goodbye back with a "Goodbye Miss Katy".  This child was being a bit stubborn so I just gave him a hug and headed to my car.  As I'm about to get in, I hear him shout, 

"BYE MY KATY!"

I cannot even put into words how that made my heart feel!  
A nickname that claims me. 

A nickname filled with affection.  

A nickname filled with love. 

The verse from Isaiah reminds me of that idea of being claimed - being called - being loved:

But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
 -Isaiah 43:1

I have called YOU BY NAME.  You are MINE.  

Pretty simple words that are ever so powerful.  Our God creates us - our God claims us, our God calls us in affection and love.

Can I get an amen for the identity we find in that claiming?