A LDERSGATE U NITED M ETHODIST C HURCH
Experience M AY 2016
C ONTENTS
HOSPITALITY GENESIS 18:1-8; MATTHEW 10:40-42 Henri Nouwen, the great spiritual writer, was going to a monastery for a retreat. The monks observed vows of silence and the retreat was to be meditative and prayerful. Nouwen was delayed and was late getting to the monastery on that miserable, rainy night. He rang the bell, well after bedtime, and was met at the door by one of the brothers. The brother warmly greeted him, took his wet coat, brought him to the kitchen and made him a cup of tea. They chatted in the late night hours and Nouwen began to relax and feel ready for the retreat. But he knew this monk was supposed to observe silence, so he finally asked him, "Why are you willing to sit and talk with me?" The monk replied "Of all the duties of the Christian faith and the rules of my order, none is higher than hospitality." This is a good word to those of us who live at a fast pace. Hospitality is often thought of as a quaint country tradition. It is what we expect when we visit one of North Carolina’s small towns and stay at the family- owned "Bed and Breakfast." Many of us don’t think of hospitality as a Christian duty, but here Jesus is talking about receiving guests. Many of the stories
from and about Jesus speak to the issue of hospitality. Hospitality is an important biblical theme as is evidenced also in our reading from Genesis, in which Abraham goes far beyond the required measure of hospitality when three unexpected guests arrive at his camp. Matthew’s passage also promises that we will share in the reward of those whose ministry we enable. Christ encourages us all to be ministers for His Kingdom. When we show hospitality toward each other, we enable all to do God’s will, and we become a part of the good that is accomplished through the Church. Aldersgate UMC is a wonderful gift from God, and I thank God for each of you. You have blessed me with your warmth and care. It has made me want to “go and do likewise” for others that I meet. Let us all continue to share His hospitality in our world. God Bless You, Pastor Homer
Birthdays Thank You Children’s Ministry Stephen Ministry Share Your Christmas Caring for the Caregiver Durham Bull UMM High School Grads Families Moving Forward General Conference Andrew’s Blog Prayer Beads Thank You Urban Ministries CONDUIT Music & Arts Camp Music Notes Sunday Worship Veteran’s Celebration Dine Out/Help Out Parent’s Night Out Mom Morning Out Summer Camps Sharing God’s Gifts Ways to Give May Lay Assistants Nursery/Acolyte/ Altar Guild/Trustees
2 2 3-4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 7 8 8 8 9 10 11 11 12 12 12 13 14 14 15 16 16