Our next hospitality story comes from Amanda Mosallam:
Having grown up in a Catholic church, I was no stranger to the reverent beauty of ancient hymns, the honoring of the saints, or the eucharist. So by the time I found myself walking into an Orthodox church for the first time in my late twenties, you’d think that I’d have felt more or less right at home. Not quite. As I met with the overwhelming sights, sounds, and smells of my first liturgy, utterly unsure what to do with myself, I realized in that moment that I had done zero research. It was one of those what should I do with my hands? moments. In the blink of an eye, I’d left the outside world I was so accustomed to and entered into an unknown realm.
As dazed and confused as I clearly was in that moment, I was about to experience the first of many simple acts of love and welcoming within the church. As the choir chanted on and little children scurried about, a radiant woman with a crown of glorious white hair hurriedly approached me. I noticed her walking toward me with a warm smile and assumed she was looking at someone behind me. To my surprise, she walked right up to me and wrapped her arms around me, embracing me in a hug that I could only describe as motherly. It was as if she was a lifelong friend who hadn’t seen me in years, despite us never having met before.
The kind elder who hugged me that day, we’ll call her Mrs. Sylvia, would go on to make the candles for my chrismation and wedding. I’ll always cherish those candles, as well as the memories of kindness and warmth offered to me from the very beginning. Despite being unsure if Orthodoxy was even for me, there was never a time I wondered if I was loved and wanted in the church. From the first moment I knew I was. It was this sense of love and belonging that kept me in the church during moments when I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue in Orthodoxy or return to my Catholic roots.
And now, as I’ve found my place and calling within the body, I’m able, through God’s grace, to be an encouraging presence for inquirers and new converts. I think about all the eager hands that embraced me and gave me blessed bread before I was able to receive the eucharist, and I know that I have a duty to do the same for people who are in the position I was in. Perhaps they’re nervous, uncertain, or simply curious, and perhaps a warm embrace will make the difference in their choice to stay.
There really aren’t words to express my gratitude for the many folks who endured alongside me during the messy process of becoming an Orthodox Christian. From that first hug from Mrs. Sylvia to all the patient answers to my many questions, Christ was working through it all to show me that hospitality is the heart and soul of the church. It’s how we sustain and give life to a growing body full of individuals and families, all seeking to encounter Christ. I’ve learned that, often, that encounter comes in the form of a loving neighbor doing a simple act of kindness, planting a seed in us that flourishes as we grow in faith. May Christ continue to reveal these truths through the deeply necessary ministry of hospitality, for the purpose of His glory and honor.
Amanda Mosallam is an author and freelance writer based in rural Georgia. She's a wife, homemaker, and Orthodox convert who loves to write about all things faith, womanhood, and traditional living.
