Faith is a welcoming community…

What does this mean?

Faith is committed to something we are beginning to call Holy Hospitality.

Holy

Holy Hospitality at Faith begins with God welcoming and loving you, just as you are. In Christ you have been made holy: created, named, and claimed as a precious child of God. This is not your doing. This is God’s doing. God loves and welcomes YOU—first.

One way we all experience God’s unconditional welcome is in Holy Communion. All are invited to share the sacrament of Holy Communion at Faith because God is the host. This practice of open communion has been Faith’s practice for decades.

“Come, for the table is ready…”

wholly

Faith affirms that every person we meet is God’s handiwork (Ephesians 2:10), a precious child of God (Galatians 3:26), created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27).

In response to God’s mercy, obedience to God’s command, and gratitude for God’s grace toward us, this congregation practices Wholly Hospitality: welcoming God’s whole family, welcoming the whole person, as Christ has wholly welcomed us (Romans 15:7). When we wholeheartedly welcome others, we welcome Christ himself (Matthew 25:40).

hole-y

We are holy. We are also, well, “hole-y.” Every one of us is created good and in God’s image, and every one of us is a hot mess. The Lutheran tradition calls this tension “simul:” simultaneously saint and sinner.

Hole-y Hospitality recognizes that “all have sinned and fall short…and all are justified freely by God’s grace…” (Romans 3:23-24). Trying harder doesn’t help. It is the Holy Spirit who heals us, transforms us, fills the God-sized hole in our lives, and equips us to share the love of God with a hurting world.

And, frankly, hole-y hospitality admits that this congregation’s efforts to welcome (and lots of other things) will most certainly fall short. So we will listen well, take responsibility, apologize sincerely, forgive, and do better.

GRACE. PERIOD.

The fact is, a lot of places—including churches—SAY that everyone is welcome, but, it turns out, not really. New people get a sort of “grace period” to learn the rules and how to fit in. But eventually…

Other places may say they welcome everyone, but getting to the meeting requires going up a flight of stairs or finding the right door.

Faith is commited to GRACE. PERIOD. There is no expiration date on God’s mercy. No political or social litmus tests, period. We welcome EVERYBODY, just as God first welcomes each one of us.

Faith is committed to creating a culture AND a campus that demonstrates and extends God’s welcome. That is what we mean by Holy Hospitality.

A Statement of Welcome (2024)

Faith welcomes all people in the name of Christ Jesus.

Faith welcomes all because God welcomes all, regardless of our ethnicity or language, race or culture, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or relationship status (Galatians 3:26-28).

Faith welcomes all regardless of our addictions or abilities, physical or mental health, imprisonment, socio-economic circumstances, or anything else that might divide us, because our unity is in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:14).

Holy Hospitality: Bienvenidos a la casa de Dios

One of the cool things that God is doing around Faith these days is introducing us to our Guatemalan and Spanish-speaking neighbors. Faith’s campus is home to the Mason County office of CIELO—a non-profit agency that works with Central American immigrants, especially from Guatemala. We also host two non-ELCA Spanish-speaking congregations.

Faith is committed to welcoming our vecinos (neighbors) en Cristo, and is working to make our campus more hospitable to people whose primary language is not English.

Holy Hospitality: on Campus

All programing at Faith is on ground level. We have recently remodeled an ADA accessible, all gender bathroom. In worship, we offer hearing assist devices and flexible seating to accomodate wheelchair access.

Coming soon, we will install ADA automatic doors and update our campus signs to include both English and Spanish. We are committed to continuing to look for new and effective ways to demonstrate and extend holy hospitality in the years to come.

Holy Hospitality: Faith and Community Partners

Faith also welcomes and partners with other local community helping agencies, like NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), and Catholic Community Services.

Faith hosts and supports 12 Step and drug rehabilitation groups.

Faith offers weekly Grief Support groups, resources for widows (Good Grief), and is a proud supporter and partner with local service agencies such as Community Lifeline, Sound Learning, and Love, INC.

These partnerships and others are ways that Faith practices Holy Hospitality beyond our church walls.