| Hospitality theme of Laity Sunday BY CALVIN WILLIAMS Welcome the Stranger is the theme for Laity Day, Oct. 20. Websters dictionary describes a stranger as a visitor or guest. Harper Collins Bible Dictionary describes a stranger as a sojourner or alien who is not a member of a particular social group. For example, in Genesis, Abraham was a stranger among the Hittites. A visitor or guest seems to me to fit what the stranger means to us as United Methodists. Not only on Laity Sunday, but every time our church doors are open we should have our human welcome mat in action. In our Igniting Ministry campaign, we say  that our minds, our hearts and our doors are open, but do we really mean it? Do we block the aisles to the pews, and if a stranger slips by the block of stares, frowns and mealy handshakes and makes it to the pew, do we slide over so he or she can be seated comfortably? Do we offer up pleasant smiles, firm hand shakes, point out the hymn books and pew Bibles, help them find Scripture passages, rituals and hymns, or do we have them crawl over us to be seated because where we are seated is our favorite place to sit? Do we get up and move because we dont want to sit next to a person who does not have the same color of skin we have, is not dressed like we think they should be, is of a different culture than we are, or maybe lives in a section of town that we believe is beneath us? Abraham looked up and saw three strange men standing at the entrance to his tent. He ran out to meet them, bowed to them and asked them not to pass by his home without stopping. He told them he was there to serve them. He offered water to wash their feet, shade beneath his tree so they could rest, food to give them strength. He served them himself and they ate. We should be like Abraham, welcoming the stranger. Do not mistreat them when they come to our churches. Treat them as you would a loved one. Love them as you love yourself. It is the Christian way to act. Remember you could be a stranger someplace, sometime, somewhere. How would you have others welcome you in Gods house? Calvin Williams is lay leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. | 
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