Hospitality for the Coming Age

This is my “ministry metaphor.” I would love feedback on this!

We love having people over to our house, but there’s no way to get in without climbing stairs. The first five stairs don’t even have a railing. So it’s not at all accessible for people with any of many physical disabilities. When we know someone is coming we can help people up the stairs, but [...]

23 September 2008
I had such a lovely time with Ron, Annetta and Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, Laura Ellis and Holly Dehner. Conversation was warm and energetic, and it was great to get to know Holly and Laura!
I had initially planned on soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, since I know I loved grilled cheese at six, and [...]

Accessibility is one of the most fundamental aspects of hospitality – right up there with a warm, genuine smile.
I’ve been working on food accessibility – having whole, nutritious and tasty food for everyone, regardless of allergies and other dietary needs. I’m vegetarian already, and have been vegan at very times, so those are pretty easy [...]

22 September 2008
The podcast project StoryCorps is beautiful in both theory and practice. Offering 40 minutes of interview time (free or for donation), usually to couples, family members or friends, StoryCorps believes that the real stories of those we love are far more interesting and important than the lives of celebrities and fictional characters.
Usually edited [...]

Eating seasonally is all about being resourceful. Churches are one great place to share the overwhelming amount of zucchini we get in August, or bumper crops of tomatoes in September.
And when a huge storm blows a bunch of peaches down, it’s time to share! Thanks to Esther for bringing these peaches to church.
They made the [...]

Crock-pots are a host’s best friend. Prepping food the day before and serving piping hot (not reheated) food – it’s brilliant!
I haven’t figured out a good schedule for using a crock-pot at lunchtime, since many dishes suggest 8 hours of slow cooking (and I don’t want to turn the crock-pot on at 4am). And most [...]

18 September 2008
We had a fabulous dinner at Beth and Scott’s house. I didn’t want to bug everyone with the flash, so I never ended up getting a usable picture of our delicious main dish – garbanzo, spinach and feta casserole. But the salad and bread was fantastic too!

17 September 2008
I got to try out a presentation about Sharing in the Midst of Scarcity for Earlham’s sustainability teach-in. We talked about local food, food preservation, the cooperative model, and more. I brought some of my favorite books, which I highly recommend.
Eating locally starts with eating seasonally, so cookbooks like Simply in Season and [...]

One of the best things about having a dining room is being able to set the table ahead of time. There are so many things to do at the last minute with food – the spices that have to be added at the very last minute, the things that need to be really cold, or [...]