Radical Hospitality

Celebrating the Beatitudes Team on Labor Day

Mon, September 6, 2021 Published by Michelle Just

On Monday, we will celebrate Labor Day, a day that pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. Labor Day was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day weekend also symbolizes the end of summer and is often a time of celebration.

On this Labor Day, I want to celebrate each of the Beatitudes team members—not just for the individual and unique strengths they bring for the collective good of Beatitudes Campus, but for their dedication to the campus mission. They are the backbone of the campus. If we achieve anything, it’s because of the passion and dedication shared by our staff to a common cause – to inspire purpose and vibrancy among our residents in whatever they do.

I know that our staff have made many sacrifices to keep our Beatitudes community engaging and safe, particularly during the past 18 months. I am incredibly grateful for each member of the Beatitudes Strong team. Their amazing talent and limitless energy continue to be focused on the shared goals of the campus. We would not be the community we are without their commitment and effort.

On this Labor Day weekend, I ask that you take a moment to reflect on the countless contributions of our Beatitudes team members. They ensure our community is an engaging place to live. When you are out taking a walk, eating a meal, or just sitting enjoying the view, please take a moment to thank the staff for their hard work and dedication. Tell them they have made a difference. I guarantee you will make their day.

Have a good and safe Labor Day weekend.

Sun, March 31, 2019 Published by Rev. David Ragan, Sr. VP Resident Services

Radical: “out of the ordinary,” “revolutionary”, favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions. Hospitality: generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests. Put them together and you are part of a movement that began a few years back but is still every bit of who we are as a community.

What does it mean for us to have someone we have never met and has no relationship to us – in other words, a stranger – being treated by every single one of us at Beatitudes Campus with not just politeness, but overwhelming “revolutionary” generosity? It is radical!

Back when I served a church, I had a relationship with a Samoan United Church of Christ Congregation where I was invited to preach. I did not realize at the time that, in their culture, the minister was considered the descendent of what once was the Chief of all of Samoa. Consequently, ministers are treated like royalty today. That was a new experience for me to be sure. I am not saying I have been mistreated as a clergyperson – except for some hate mail now and then from some justice issues I stood for. Being treated like royalty, though, was not an experience I was accustomed to in the American church. But at this church I was showered with a plate of food so big that it was a weeks’ worth in one sitting. (After a stomach ache later, I learned that it is permissible to take some home.) I was given gift after gift including every member and child giving dollar bills or more to me as I was seated in front of them – and not just once but numerous times by each. It was an experience that I will never forget and a people I will always cherish.

What was amazing to me was how authentic and heartfelt it was; it was their culture but it was also them. There was such a deep feeling of sincerity in their gestures that it moved me deeply. It was the most radical of all hospitality experiences I have ever happened upon.

I want you to feel that way here at Beatitudes Campus. I want to feel that way. I want all staff to feel that same way when they are around you and me. I want every guest, volunteer, visitor, prospective resident, family member or stranger to have a radical hospitality experience. There is not a person in the community, from any faith, any race, any sexual orientation, any gender who is not worthy of our most radical of all welcomes. It is how everybody deserves to feel when they walk into our Beatitudes Community. It is a spiritual experience when it happens, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to make sure it does here (ok, minus the money—no tipping policy, you know).