By: fwschmidt

fwschmidt — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Glen you are right. The first thing that occurs to me is that all hospitality and all community for that matter depends upon ritualized, as well as spontaneous gestures and words. We are prone to think that the former is dispensable and the latter is the sign of genuine care. But, in fact, for a group of people to sustain true community both are needed and both can be genuine vehicles for caring….just as contracts, covenants, and constitutions “formalize” a relationship, but their vitality and reliability depends upon the informal efforts to fulfill those goals. We wish you had been there!

By: Glen

Glen — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:37:57 +0000

Fred,
An interesting metaphor here and expectations for the church… It is also fascinating to think of what is expected of the customers in a sushi restaurant. There are responses, specific vocabulary (actually vocabulary that varies by venue with some words used only in a sushi shop), phrases like prayers that are uttered before one partakes, a phrase after finishing eating, a phrase to ask for the check, and then a phrase as one leaves the restaurant. These are pretty much all predetermined. Then there are the pleasantries and ad-lib conversations that are common with the cooks in the open kitchen. These are learned in childhood and flow naturally in most adults. Phrases vary slightly by region and between sexes. Interesting to think about this in the context of your analogy…

Comments on: What you can learn eating Sushi

By: fwschmidt

By: Glen