This Sunday we enter the season of Advent.  This Sunday, we also kick off the study of Dr. Christine Pohl’s book, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition.  I am thrilled that the church is providing the Study Guides to this book for FREE to all who want to participate in this 8-week study (while supplies last)!  Get your copy at the Welcome Desk on Sunday mornings or by contacting Caroline in the church office during the week.  The study guides are awesome because they help us think deeply about the spiritual practice of hospitality as we process the content in the longer book.  There are two ways you can access the content of the longer book: 1 – Buy (or check-out) the book.  Making Room, by Christine Pohl.  It’s available on online and in the public library. 2 – Listen to the podcasts 3 – Both!In the podcasts, we will talk through the content of each chapter and highlight some of the more significant (in our opinion) questions that each chapter raises for us as we work through the material.  As you follow along in the study guides, read through the questions and spend time with each one.  You might want to read the scripture for each chapter every day of the week and then really sit with one of the questions for the whole day.  Go slow!  This is a really big topic that is absolutely counter-cultural.  So if you take your time with the questions, you stand to experience profound spiritual growth as you work through the book.  We think all podcasts and blogs are better when there are comments.  I know it’s a little scary to write out your soul and post it online for the whole world to see.  But, I look at our viewership and I can promise you, the whole world is not reading the blog.  More seriously, almost 100% of the time, you’re not along in your thoughts, vulnerability or questions.  Your courage to post might inspire someone else who is participating in the study to share her/his thoughts as well.  And every post makes the experience better for everyone!  All that being said, here’s episode 1.  In this episode we break down the content from the first chapter and consider the ways that the evolution of our culture has shaped our understanding of hospitality.  And, we look at the chasm that exists between cultural hospitality (i.e. the hospitality industry) and the ancient spiritual practice of Christian hospitality.