Over the past few months the Grace community has been thinking about hospitality. We've run three services on the hospitality theme, read a book together, discussed and chatted. And we've written a short report, that you can download as a PDF below.
We started thinking that we need to be more hospitable, and have begun to understand that hospitality must become part of the fabric of our community life. Our thinking has led us to a list of actions. Some of them we do already, others are vague ideas. So the list is very much a work in progress...
1. Maintain a calendar of regular social events, and publicise them beyond the community via the web site and email list. Strike a balance between socials in peoples’ houses and socials held in public space.
2. Expand the list of entry points to the community, especially ‘easy’ points.
3. Reflect on the group identity of Grace. What unspoken aspects of our life do we consider central to who we are? How could we be more explicit about these things, especially to newcomers?
4. Include a ‘how to get involved’ piece in the newsletter and on the website from time to time.
5. Publicise planning meetings in the newsletter and on the website.
6. Publicise who is curating the service next month, so that people can contact the curator if they want to join the planning team.
7. Run a ‘service from scratch’ day.
8. Tell the story(ies) of Grace in a pub.
9. Offer hospitality to migrant workers and international students in Ealing.
10. Complete a ‘History of Grace’ on the website.
But don't just look at this list, read the report below.