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Advance Praise for Radical Welcome

When the drafters of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer began the work of reshaping the church’s worship experience, one of the first principles they addressed was the need to have the whole community present at the Eucharist. They were clear that adults, elders, and children all needed a place at the table. Perhaps this example from the mid-1940s is the beginning of our church’s on-going struggle with the question of diversity.

Today, addressing the issue of diversity in the life of the church calls us to encounter questions of inclusivity in terms of age, race, culture, sexuality, and class. Because we who by accident of birth enjoy a place of privilege in the life of the church are mostly blind to the expectations we maintain that exclude those not like us, we need the assistance of others to be truly inviting, welcoming, even radically welcoming congregations.

In Radical Welcome, from the perspective of one who has struggled to gain entry, Stephanie Spellers identifies barriers to inclusivity and offers a path for those who would transform their vision of the church as a gathering of all God’s children.

The Rev. Dr. Clayton L. Morris

Liturgical Officer, Episcopal Church Center

Author, Holy Hospitality: Worship and the Baptismal Covenant

In this book, Spellers provides thoughtful scholarship, wise counsel, and in-depth analysis of rigorous qualitative research. Her ability to define “radical welcome” in both theological and sociological terms, while avoiding off-putting jargon and cliché, makes Radical Welcome a unique resource. This book would be a wise choice for any minister, congregational leader, or Christian who wishes to understand—on both the most practical and the most ephemeral levels—what is required of the community that seeks to live into Christ’s call that “all may be one.”

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Birmingham Drummond,

M.Div., Ph.D.

Director of Field Education and Assistant

Professor of Ministerial Leadership

Andover Newton Theological School