Hospitality—The Sacred Art

Rev. Nanette Sawyer is founding pastor of Wicker Park Grace, an innovative Christian community in Chicago that holds hospitality as a core value. An ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church (USA), she serves as a representative on the Interfaith Relations Commission of the National Council of Churches USA.Rev. Dirk Ficca is the executive director of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and moderator of Chicago Presbytery's Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations.

• ForewordIntroduction: Hospitality as Transformation1 Hospitality to God: Welcoming God's Welcome2 Hospitality to Self: Inviting the Authentic Self3 Hospitality to Family: Offering Full Presence to Those Closest to Us4 Hospitality to Neighbors: Becoming the Merciful Neighbor5 Hospitality to Strangers: Pursuing Kinship Rather than Estrangement6 Hospitality to Enemies: Extending Generosity through Non-Retaliation7 Hospitality to Creation: Knowing Creation RelationallyAcknowledgmentsNotesSuggestions for Further ReadingIndex of Exercises and Practices

"A lovely book! This wise and wonderful guide is required reading for leaders of any congregation seeking to create a warm ambience of welcoming. Highly recommended."—Dr. Ron Wolfson, author, The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into a Sacred Community“Gently voiced and clear ... adds wonderful thoughtfulness and depth to the practices of a truly spiritual life.... Will help people navigate the complexity of life with love and welcome for [all] living things.”—Rev. Clare Butterfield, director, Faith in Place“Turns your black-and-white understanding [of hospitality] into a spiritual practice that will transform you, your relationships, and your experience of God.... [Offers an] experience of awareness, acceptance and action that is both profoundly human and divine.”—Thomas Ryan, CSP, author, The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice“A must-read.... Illustrates how simple gestures [of invitation and welcome] can transform us into spiritual adepts.”—Nancy Corcoran, CSJ, author, Secrets of Prayer: A Multifaith Guide to Creating Personal Prayer in Your Life“This interfaith meditation on an essential spiritual discipline is written with a wonderfully deft touch.”—Tony Jones, national coordinator, Emergent Village; author, The New Christians