The challenge of hospitality: marking remembrance as an Anglican in a multifaith parish

Abstract

ABSTRACT For a century Church of England vicars have had a role to play in helping local communities to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day on 11th November with an act of remembrance, but what does that look like in a context where most parishioners are adherents of faiths other than Christianity? Beginning with a particular experience of trying to ‘de-centre’ the church from the community's act of remembrance in a Leicester suburb, I will reflect on some of the complexities within the guest/host relationship with the help of Jacques Derrida and Christian interfaith specialists. The practice of hospitality is strongly advocated by many in the interfaith field and the theological concept forms the basis of the Anglican Communion 2008 report on interfaith relations, Generous Love. My own experiences of Remembrance 2019 will provide a critical lens through which to examine the idea of hospitality as a distinctively Anglican approach to interfaith relations. Returning to my practice, I will argue for more effort to be put into being ‘guest’ rather than ‘host’ as well as identifying and nurturing threshold spaces as dynamic places of encounter.