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 PrintableVersion A cup of cold waterHospitality suiteA CUP OF COLD WATER This short book is all about hospitality: how to go about it, how to avoid the pitfalls and, most of all, how we should get on with it and have a go. Julia Jones instructs from the Bible as to why it is something that should not be neglected by Christians and goes on to give personal experiences and practical examples of how it can be undertaken. It is full of helpful bits of advice on issues such as how to manage hospitality (receiving as well as giving) with a young family, and how to exercise hospitality with sensitivity. She challenges our cultural equating of hospitality (or ‘entertaining’ — a term she likes less) with showing off, which has often given us the impression that hospitality should only be attempted by people with nice houses, formidable culinary skills and extrovert personalities. She also encourages us to persist in hospitality in our ‘drawbridge mentality’ culture which shies away from sharing our home space with strangers. When hospitality is neglected, Julia Jones argues, we miss out on the very great blessings that come with fellowship. Hospitality is for everyone! This is a very timely little book as we see this grace being exercised less and less in churches. I grew up in a church and, as a child, it seemed to be the norm for everyone to either be going somewhere or having someone round on a Sunday afternoon or during the week. Nowadays, in many churches, this has become far more rare. Reading this book has encouraged me to be a bit braver and have a go! G. McGee,
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