October 2026
My friends,
I had the pleasure of working the door during our annual Stagecoach Day pie giveaway, and it was a lovely experience. I held the door open for people as they came and went, welcomed them, answered questions, made small talk, and thanked them for stopping by when they left. It’s not necessarily the easiest role for an introvert who probably would be more comfortable washing dishes in the kitchen! Despite the challenge it posed to my social-battery, I found the experience to be heart-warming, in the best Wesleyan sense of the phrase. It was wonderful to see strange faces walking through the door of the church, happy to be here, and eager to receive what we had to give. There were so many people who joined us that day. Many were clearly first-timers who saw the sign and made their way into the building, enticed by the promise of free pie, while others told me they looked forward to this time every year.
Later this month I’ll be resuming a similar role at our Fall Supper, as we welcome even more people into our doors for this much beloved tradition. I was floored last year to see how many people come to this event, and how many come every single year without fail. They come for the delicious food that you all prepare, but they also come for the incredible hospitality that you display in welcoming people into our space. This warm hospitality is something that you, as a church, specialize in. The Fall Supper becomes a chance to put that hospitality on display for all to see.
Hospitality is a deeply felt value in our faith as Christians, a theme which runs from the Old Testament through the New Testament scriptures. They were values that were near and dear to the heart of Jesus and central to his ministry. From the demand in both the Mosaic law and in the New Testament that we welcome and show hospitality to the strangers amongst us, not mistreating them but loving them as ourselves (Lev. 19:33-34, Heb. 13:2) to the practice of radical table fellowship that was so central to Jesus’ ministry, his willingness to sit down and share food with anyone, even the ‘wrong kinds of people’ – hospitality and generosity are deeply felt values that matter to God. The prophet Isaiah identifies hospitality as a crucial element of the good life, of a life that is pleasing to God, of a life that reflects the unbounded generosity and love of our creator. “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday… You shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Isa. 58:10-11) As you get opportunities like this to practice hospitality, to embody the ministry and fellowship of Jesus Christ to the community, may you feel like a watered garden – full of abundant life.
Grace and Peace,
– Pastor Jeff