A Vision for Hospitality
at Fourth Presbyterian Church

Grounded in our Christian faith and framed by the Fourth Church mission statement

Reflecting the inclusive love of God and affirming the worth of all, Fourth Presbyterian Church strives to be a welcoming, serving community.

As the body of Christ in the world, we are called to extend God’s open-armed welcome to all of God’s children.

In all whom we meet, we see the face of God and recognize each as a child of God’s miraculous making.

We invite those we encounter into community; we listen to and are shaped by their story; we embrace friend and stranger alike and share with them God’s love.

Here in this place we offer a home and a belonging space, a safe haven of refuge, and a peaceful resting place along life’s journey, for we believe that this is God’s house, not ours, and we are but caretakers of it.

We also believe that our spiritual practice of hospitality is not limited to who we are in the place we call Fourth Church but also shapes how we live in God’s amazing world.

We acknowledge that this can be hard work and accept the challenge, as disciples of Christ, to live out this outrageous hospitality shown in Jesus — hospitality expressed in sitting at table with the outcast, offering a cup of water to the least of these, loving our neighbor as ourself, knowing and calling by name the children of God.

In everything we do we are guided by this respect for all and a commitment to providing sanctuary — ensuring that there is a place where people feel safe, valued, and embraced by the love of God that is each of ours to share.