MIKE ETIE - WELCOMING GUESTS TO FUMC

Jan. 15, 2008

Cheryl and I just returned from Cleburne last night after attending the funeral service for her beloved grandfather Pete Moore aka PawPaw. After the funeral service was over we all went to the church next door for a reception. The lunch was prepared by the members of the church, and Pete’s brothers from the local Elk’s Lodge.

It was a wonderful spread of food. Homemade fried chicken, meatloaf, all kinds of veggies and a dessert table laden with tempting sweets everything I would have expected to see at any covered dish supper my family would frequently attend when I was growing up in Houston years ago. There is nothing like homemade cooking to sooth a ragged soul. The members of the church were all standing at -the -ready to serve the guests, many of which, like me they will probably never see again. It was a wonderful testament to hospitality which I readily accepted.

Their were some guests there yesterday who may not have given much thought to the effort necessary to prepare, plan and execute such a meal. This was a perfect and generous demonstration of Christian love and sharing of Calvery Baptist Church's gifts. The meal, the presentation, the feeling of welcome, the hospitality after a funeral was so beautiful. We all needed a good meal and it was right on time! This to me, this is one of the aspects of great hospitality. The hosts made it look easy, almost effortless. We didn’t feel obligated because we were their guests. Although I was a stranger, they welcomed me, my family and everybody who was there to celebrate the life of Pete Moore.

This is the kind of welcoming hospitality I see for our church too. We need to be generous, loving, and natural. The Evangelism Team is working this year to learn how to make our hospitality look a little more effortless, too. Your help is needed. We want to invite everyone in our congregation to join together as evangelists and as hosts to all the guests God sends to our little house here in Downtown Austin. Let’s go in the kitchen, put on the apron, polish the silver, and put more wood on the fire. I think I can hear company coming over right now!

Look at this month’s Beacon and notice the number of welcoming opportunities our church is offering to the all the guests God is sending our way. During Lent there will be many opportunities to welcome others including the Bring A Friend to Church Barbeque lunch on Palm Sunday, March 16th. All of these events need hosts and helpers. One thing I have learned, “You can’t ever have too much help!” So, pick a place, call the church and plug in.