Every liturgical minister needs to be a person of hospitality and welcome. I know people who can sit down and start up a conversation with anybody. Not everyone can do so, but everyone can be friendly. We can notice strangers and welcome them. It is natural to gravitate toward friends. We need to be looking for those who seem isolated or unsure. “Welcome,” We’re glad you’re here,” “Can I help you?” are easy ways to assure people their presence is accepted and wanted.
Ministers of Hospitality set a tone when people first enter the church, giving them a warm welcome and helping them feel that they belong here. There are many tasks in this ministry including greeting, distributing handouts, answering questions, giving directions, seating, taking up the collection, aiding people who are ill or living with challenges/limitations, and straightening up entryways and other areas. However, the main task is fostering community. We meet as the Body of Christ, united in our desire to give praise and thanksgiving to God. Feeling like we have “come home” when we enter the church promotes unity.
Liturgy forms us for how we are to act the rest of the week. Every act of hospitality we perform at Mass teaches us how to be hospitable during the week; every act of hospitality or inhospitality we experience during the week teaches us about being welcoming at Mass.
We’ve helped people find seating at Mass. Can we then cut them off in the parking lot in a mad dash to get home? What if someone we’ve greeted at Mass sees us displaying road rage, or butting into a line at the post office, or being rude to a salesperson? The simple acts of kindness we’ve done for others in church can translate into doing other acts of kindness in any situation.
The Mass has a lot to teach us about equality. We don’t seat the biggest donors in the front row. We don’t categorize people and treat them differently. We don’t distinguish by class or race. What are we learning here about discrimination? What are we learning about reaching out to strangers? What are we learning about the assumptions we make about people from their appearance or from one encounter?
If we feel called to be an usher or a greeter at church, how might that ministry influence our actions and attitudes as we try to be the hands, feet, and voice of Christ in the world?
