Hospitality Committee
The Hospitality Hour following 10:15 a.m. service on Sunday sets Bristol Hall buzzing. Everyone has the opportunity to greet newcomers or chat with parish family members they haven’t seen during the week.
Coffee, juice, baked goods, and the occasional breakfast casserole or sandwiches are provided by a group of volunteers dedicated to our Hospitality ministry. Their offerings have become even more delightful and delicious as the cooks and bakers gained a spacious commercial-grade kitchen as a result of our expansion project in the early 2000s.
Hospitality Hour took on special significance to our parish family during our time in exile at St. Mary’s-by-the-Sea in Point Pleasant Beach. During those 14 months, parishioners crowded into the parish hall there to reunite with friends displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Many who were living in Bay Head, Mantoloking, and Point Pleasant immediately following the storm did not have a fully operational kitchen in their own homes, so Hospitality Hour gave them not only a chance to savor some hot coffee or a cold drink along with various tasty treats but also to find comfort and emotional support from parish family members.
All guests who arrive should be received as Christ, for he himself will say, “I was a stranger and you took me in.” The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 53: The Reception of Guests
