Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of Transformation is at once a theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the transforming gifts, voices and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church.

The book is based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations around the United States--in urban, suburban, and rural settings, in the Northeast, South, Midwest, West, and Pacific Northwest--asking the question, How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God's radically welcoming people? Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on and embracing change as a welcome part of community life.

Bread for the Journey: An Online Companion to Radical Welcome: Download resources here!

Resources specifically designed to complement Radical Welcome, including downloadable 7-session book discussion study guides for leaders and participants, handouts, and resources to be used along with the book. Share with your congregation or ministry and travel even further along the road to radical welcome.

7-session Book Discussion

• The Radical Welcome Book Discussion: Leaders' Guide **
• The Radical Welcome Book Discussion: Participants' Guide **
• Session 1 Handout: Radical Welcome Defined
• Session 2 Handout: The Biblical Roots of Radical Welcome
• Session 3 Handout: Moving from Inviting to Inclusion to Radical Welcome
• Session 4 Handout: The Dream of Radical Welcome
• Session 5 Handout: How Radical is YOUR Welcome?
• Session 6 Handout: The Sound of Fear
• Session 7 Handout: Moving Ahead Together

General Resources

• Wise Words for the Road: Sermons on Radical Welcome
• Bibliography

Targeted Resources

Fear and The Other

• About "The Other"
• In Your Shoes: Exercise
• Practicing Compassionate Awareness
• Reckoning with Fear and Embracing Change: Scripture Study

Congregational Assessment and Planning

• Studying Your Reality -- Where Are We Now?
• Charting Your Dream -- Where Is God Inviting Us to Go?
  
• Building the Bridge --How Will We Get There?
• Map the Journey

Inviting, Including and Radically Welcoming

• Best Practices for the Inviting Congregation
• Best Practices for Inclusive Congregations
• The Practices of a Radically Welcoming Community

** This 7-session book discussion group replaces the 6-week and 12-week "A Welcome Change: The Radical Welcome Workshop" programs that are referred to on page 165 of the Radical Welcome book.

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The Rev. Stephanie Spellers is the Cox Fellow and Minister for Radical Welcome at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, where she founded The Crossing, an emergent worship gathering at the Cathedral by and for people usually held at the margins of mainline church life--especially young adults, seekers, the poor, gay and lesbian people and people of color. A consultant and workshop leader and a member of the Episcopal Church's Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism, she has traveled the country studying and supporting communities seeking to live into the radical welcome vision. Spellers earned her bachelor's degree in religious studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and holds master's degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the Episcopal Divinity School. Prior to her ordination, she served as a religion reporter at the Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee.