{"id":6203,"date":"2020-12-17T15:59:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T20:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/?p=6203"},"modified":"2020-12-17T16:00:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T21:00:30","slug":"hospitality-in-a-covid-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/blog\/12\/17\/hospitality-in-a-covid-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospitality in a Covid World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond the physical issues that Covid has brought, less talked about spiritual, psychological, and social effects have also emerged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While I would love to address all of these at length, I merely want to address one aspect right now. One of the psychological effects is that we often feel like we\u2019re intruding, particularly when approaching someone we don\u2019t know. We assume others see us as potential vectors of transmission\u2014dangerous and hostile forces entering into their sphere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At times this may be true, but people still yearn for kindness and relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We say this, because while our church has historically been known for being welcoming, friendly and hospitable, we\u2019ve noticed many new faces are being left alone as they enter our church. Outside of a greeting team, they can be isolated from the congregation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Practical tips:<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Be friendly, but respectful<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-Watch for the other person\u2019s social cues. If their body language says they\u2019re uncomfortable, don\u2019t push it. However, if they seem eager to talk with someone, go for it!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Approach but maintain distance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-Allow our guests to reveal their own level of concern. Even more cautious individuals won\u2019t mind being greeted by a masked person from a few feet away.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>You may be bringing Life, not Death<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-Statistics have shown that with all the struggles brought by 2020, many are suffering with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Amazingly, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/327311\/americans-mental-health-ratings-sink-new-low.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0RC39pnMTrnHb6xtfE587DOFITkhSjGMvnf0a5Jz05sR-5VQlypdL6Vic\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">weekly churchgoers are the only group whose mental health has improved this year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The media can make us feel like our socializing is bringing death, we may also be bringing life to someone\u2019s dark and lonely world.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Be giving<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-Because of how isolated our lives have become, we\u2019re often eager to meet old friends once again at church. This is amazing, but take time for new faces as well. Search them out, for they may have no one.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With every challenge comes certain obstacles but also opportunities. We have an opportunity to be sources of life, kindness, and love while the world becomes more dark and isolated. These coming Sundays, let\u2019s be sure we\u2019re loving our neighbor.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/blog\/12\/17\/hospitality-in-a-covid-world\/\" class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read More\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/a>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-6203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/logo-itunes.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/feed\/podcast\/elizabeth-city-emc-podcast","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"JR6G5rZqyo\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/blog\/12\/17\/hospitality-in-a-covid-world\/\">Hospitality in a Covid World<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ecityemc.org\/resources\/blog\/12\/17\/hospitality-in-a-covid-world\/embed\/#?secret=JR6G5rZqyo\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Hospitality in a Covid World&#8221; &#8212; Elizabeth City EMC\" data-secret=\"JR6G5rZqyo\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! 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