During the introduction of our strategic planning framework, questions arose about preemptive radical hospitality. Where did it come from? What does it mean? How do we do it? It’s not mere jargon; it’s the basis for our membership strategy. Here are some thoughts from your membership team:

Unitarian Universalists draw from many sources — Christian, Hebrew, humanist, Earth-centered traditions and more. Across them all runs a common thread: the sacred worth and dignity of every person. At our church, that belief comes alive in how we practice welcoming.

Hospitality is one of the oldest religious practices. In sacred text and in other traditions, offering food, shelter and comfort to the stranger was considered holy work. Over time, UUs began to ask: What if we don’t just welcome people who walk through our doors, but prepare for them before they arrive?

That is the heart of preemptive radical hospitality — a way of living out our values by removing barriers, anticipating needs and celebrating diversity before anyone even steps inside our church.

What It Means

• Hospitality: Creating spaces where people feel truly at ease and at home.
• Radical: Going beyond politeness to offer a bold, deep, transformative welcome — one that doesn’t just tolerate difference but rejoices in it.
• Preemptive: Preparing now. Instead of taking a chance that exclusion might happen, we anticipate who might feel left out and make changes ahead of their arrival.

Qualities of Preemptive Radical Hospitality

• Proactive: We don’t just say, “All are welcome.” We look carefully at our words, spaces and traditions, asking: Who might feel unseen here? Who is missing? And then, we make changes before people arrive.
• Transformative: Radical hospitality changes not only the visitor but also the community. New voices reshape our worship, leadership and shared life.
• Inclusive and Liberating: This isn’t friendliness alone. It’s a commitment to dismantling barriers of race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and culture so that people can belong — not just visit.
• Rooted in Love: At its core, this practice flows from love: the conviction that every human being deserves to be fully seen, honored and embraced into our circle. 

Why It Matters

Since Unitarian Universalism has no creed and no single dogma, we are bound together by relationship, belonging and shared values. Practicing preemptive radical hospitality is how we live out our deepest values: Justice, Equity, Pluralism, Transformation, Interdependence, Generosity and Love.

Preemptive radical hospitality isn’t about being polite hosts. It’s about building a spiritual home where every person knows they are valued before they even arrive.

The Invitation

Preemptive radical hospitality calls us to act with courage and imagination. It asks us to prepare, to open, to celebrate and to love — before the knock comes at the door. When we do, our community becomes not only welcoming but also transformed into the kind of sanctuary the world is longing for.

Here, folks already belong.