Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. – 1 Peter 4:9-10
It seems as if radical and graceful hospitality goes hand-in-hand with our rural church ministry. When we say that the doors of our church are open, we mean it spiritually and physically. Like Peter advises, we share hospitality without grumbling, but with a faithfulness that comes with being servants of God.
Recently, we swung open the doors of our church and our hearts to a family of seven that moved from New Jersey. After the death of their oldest child, the biracial couple and their five children moved to North Carolina to be nearer to some family members. The church’s pastor, youth coordinator, and some of the parents reached out to this family and invited them to join us in our church Youth Summer Camp. That was just the beginning. The invitation to become a part of the Piney Grove UMC family was also extended to the parents, and now they all know the blessing of our hospitality. This type of hospitality is new to this northern family, who shared that they had never met such friendly people. It encompasses more than just extending an invitation but includes purchasing all of the Christmas toys/clothes that the children desired and providing transportation to worship services, our after-school literacy program, youth activities, and other church events.
We extend grace to everyone even when they hesitate to receive our hospitality. Along with grace and graceful hospitality comes patience, and we share it with people of all races in our community. We are humbled to be used by God to reach out and touch somebody’s hand and make this world a better place because we know that we can.
Loving and graceful God, we thank you for continuously offering your hospitality to us when we hear the familiar words, “Christ our Lord invites to His table all who love him…” Please forever remind us that just like your table is prepared with love and grace, our hearts should be adorned with the same as we seek to invite others into our community of faith and into the Body of Christ. We give you thanks for using us for your Glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rev. Gypsie Murdaugh serves as the pastor of Piney Grove UMC in Maxton, NC.
Our theme for this year’s Lenten reflections is Graceful Hospitality. 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the Ten Dollar Club, now known as the New Room Society. We give thanks for our Conference’s ongoing commitment to co-creating new places for new people to gather in communion with Jesus Christ and extending graceful hospitality to all of God’s children.