Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of TransformationRadical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of Transformation is at once a theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the transforming gifts, voices and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church. The book is based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations around the United States--in urban, suburban, and rural settings, in the Northeast, South, Midwest, West, and Pacific Northwest--asking the question, How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God's radically welcoming people? Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on and embracing change as a welcome part of community life. Additional resources and study guide available for free download at ChurchPublishing.org |
Contents
The Radical Welcome Journey | 3 |
Defining Radical Welcome | 11 |
The Theology of Radical Welcome | 27 |
Living with Arms Wide Open | 41 |
Be Not Afraid | 51 |
The Picture of Radical Welcome | 61 |
Radical Welcome Signs | 75 |
The Practice of Radical Welcome | 95 |
Check Your Reality | 121 |
Reckon with Your Fear | 135 |
Where Do We Go from Here? | 151 |
Conclusion | 159 |
An Online Companion | 165 |
Acknowledgments | 177 |
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Common terms and phrases
afraid Alban Institute Anglican anti-racist assimilation Bartholomew's Bethesda Book Carl Dudley challenging Christ Christian Church Publishing color commitment community's congregation congregation's context create cultural Diocese of Massachusetts diversity door dream embrace Episcopal Church EPISCOPAL DIOCESE Episcopal Divinity School Episcopalians evangelism fear of change feel gay and lesbian gifts God's gospel groups Harlem heart Henri Nouwen holding environment Holy Faith hope hospitality identity inculturated Industrial Areas Foundation inside inviting Jesus journey Kujawa-Holbrook language Latino lesbian LGBT listen liturgy live look marginalized Ministries and Relationships mission and vision multicultural munity neighborhood nurture Online Extra oppressed pain parish pastoral Paul's practices Prayer privilege racism radically welcoming rector Ruy Costa share social spiritual story there's things tion told tradition transformation transgender voices Website welcoming congregation words worship York