Elul 19: A Home-Made Welcome by Donald Davis

Each summer my wife, Merle, and I host storytelling workshops at our North Carolina home. About two-dozen people are with us for these events. Attendees are people who have followed me as a performing storyteller and are coming in hopes of discovering personal stories of their own.

As we planned the first of these events seventeen years ago, our first task was to decide how to initially welcome these guests to our home. This was especially important as the indication was that, for many of the people, this week was the high point of their year. We decided to have them at our home for dinner. In addition, we decided that truly welcoming them was not about what we could buy for them, but about what we could do for them.

So, on their arrival night they came to our home for a meal that had several important dimensions: we planned and cooked all of the food from bread to dessert. It was a meal in which we served them totally, from wine through appetizers through the main course and on to coffee in the end. And, it was a meal in which we gathered the dishes and did all of the clean up after we sent them off to sweet dreams on their first night with us.

Our experience is that, after we welcomed our guests in this way, and every year since, they knew that we truly wanted them to be with us. It is no longer a business deal but a meaningful personal engagement. We also find that this dinner opens those who come to be present personally with us for the week. What happens is, in fact, we are welcomed by them into their hearts. No amount of work is worth more than what happens through our opening, and very home-made, “welcoming meal.”


Donald Davis tells original stories that come from his growing up in the Southern Mountains of North Carolina. www.ddavisstoryteller.com