Hospitality-The Sacred Art: Discovering the Hidden Spiritual Power of Invitation and Welcome / Edition 1

by Nanette Sawyer, Dirk Ficca

Overview

Learn how this ancient spiritual practice can transform your relationship with yourself, with others and with God.

"The practice of deep hospitality can help us step into a more vital, vibrant embrace of this great adventure we call life—which includes our relationship with God, however you might define God.... It is an invitation to walk through life with a liberating posture of receptivity, reverence, and generosity."
—from the Introduction

We may think of hospitality as merely being polite to guests, but the ancients understood the profound potential hospitality holds for building and transforming lasting relationships—for binding families together, making strangers into friends, even turning enemies into neighbors.

This practical book provides you with the tools you need to cultivate the spiritual power of invitation and welcome in your life. Guided by Rev. Nanette Sawyer, you will discover the qualities of hospitality—receptivity, reverence and generosity—and how these qualities can significantly deepen your self-understanding as well as your relationships with others and with God. Drawing from sacred texts and spiritual practitioners from all faiths, this book also addresses the major stumbling blocks that prevent you from becoming truly hospitable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594732287
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	11/01/2007
Series:	The Art of Spiritual Living
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	2.17(w) x 3.35(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction: Hospitality as Transformation

1 Hospitality to God: Welcoming God's Welcome
2 Hospitality to Self: Inviting the Authentic Self
3 Hospitality to Family: Offering Full Presence to Those Closest to Us
4 Hospitality to Neighbors: Becoming the Merciful Neighbor
5 Hospitality to Strangers: Pursuing Kinship Rather than Estrangement
6 Hospitality to Enemies: Extending Generosity through Non-Retaliation
7 Hospitality to Creation: Knowing Creation Relationally

Acknowledgments
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index of Exercises and Practices

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher