The Tent

Living in community with twenty others all of one religion different than mine, and all but one from fifteen countries on five continents other than mine, I find an unexpected gift. I have been questioned with interest (sometimes challenged aggressively) about what I, my church, and my country stand for. It has given me the opportunity to go deeper into my own beliefs and relationships. I find in this also a new experience of presence in mission. I have been welcomed into this global community of tradition that is unfamiliar. I have been invited to the Table with hospitality and curiosity. On this journey, I continue to find myself the "stranger" being welcomed into the tent. I accept this not as a coincidence, rather as an invitation to understanding and discovery. The extension and the acceptance of hospitality.