A Culture of Hospitality

During our first meeting as a Transition Team, we spoke about what it is about Rockdale that keeps us here and devoted to this church. Many of the people in attendance highlighted the welcoming and caring atmosphere of our little church, and I shared how this church has been another home to me as I have grown. I have served many gatherings, church suppers, and funeral luncheons in this church alongside my congregational family, and one thing stands out in my memory – our collective hospitality.

In my interactions with national and global teams in my line of work, I am often amazed when other teams express surprise when they experience our hospitality which is so second nature to those of us from the Midwest. We take care of each other with what we have – it is our nature and culture here. There are significant compounding cultural and geographical influences that create this phenomena which I hoped may be of interest to you.

Cultures that live in extremes tend to create large family groups that support each other in a community out of necessity in order to survive. The main demographic of our area includes Germanic and Scandinavian influences, and the seasonal reminder of our cold-hardy heritage perpetuates the community support during hard winters. Koselig is the Norwegian word that is used to describe this warmth and intimacy with friends and mutual coziness in uncomfortable times, such as inclement weather.

Interestingly, Midwestern hospitality also ties in closely Christian values, which makes me think that the perpetuation of this culture throughout technological advances has much to do with faith and the Final Commandment: love one another. As Christians and Midwesterners, there is a collective longing to help one another with what we have to give. Rockdale has given us a space to do that, and I love the culture of welcoming that we have become known for. As the fear from the pandemic begins to subside, perhaps we can lean into that feeling once again and repair the damage that time away from each other has done.

Prayers for comfort among us, you and yours as we rebuild our congregation.

-          Hannah