Guests and hosts in each other’s faith

This was one of the experiences I had during my participation in the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Interreligious Studies at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey this summer. I loved it!

You hear languages you don’t understand. You witness customs, rhythms, and rules that are unfamiliar. And yet, perhaps later – when you stay a little longer – something begins to change. Not because everything becomes the same, but because you begin to belong. Because you choose to stay.

I’ve felt that way before. I grew up in Groruddalen, a diverse neighborhood in Oslo, Norway, rich in religious and cultural variety. I was active in the church, but often alone in that. Around me lived people of other faiths, but we rarely spoke about it.

As a teenager, I joined two dialogue groups. In one, I met women from the neighborhood. In the other, youth from across the city. What united us was that we believed. Not necessarily in the same way, but in God – and in something greater than ourselves. In my experience, Norwegian society is a blend of secular values and Christian traditions so deeply woven into everyday life that they are not always recognized as Christian by everyone. Many people hesitate to define themselves within a faith tradition, even if they are members of the church. In meeting people of different faiths, I discovered I wasn’t alone in believing. Many of those I met also knew what it felt like to be misunderstood or met with prejudice.

These encounters were transformative for me – not only as a person, but as a believer. I found a space where I could both listen and share. Where faith didn’t need to be defended, but was taken seriously – even when it was different.

This summer, during the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Interreligious Studies, all of this was both recognized and challenged anew. We gathered to listen, learn, and live together for a few weeks.

One important practice in the program was reading sacred texts from our different traditions together. This was perhaps my favorite part of the course. These conversations were deep, respectful, and meaningful. We met in the texts – as both guests and hosts. To be a guest is to enter someone else’s sacred space with humility and openness. To be a host is to offer your own tradition generously, without demanding agreement. In these moments, we created a shared space where difference was not erased, but honored.

In encounters with other believers, especially in conversations about the sacred, I feel the need for a language that combines conviction with openness. For me, this is about theological hospitality.

As a Christian, I believe I am called to recognize the image of God in others and to meet them with compassion and hospitality. 

I work for Sjømannskirken – Norwegian Church Abroad—as a pastor and general manager, and I live in Berlin, though I serve a Norwegian organization. 

Sjømannskirken is often a church on the margins. We meet people outside traditional church buildings – in prisons, on ships, offshore, at universities, in cafés, bars, and on walks. We meet people in transition, on the move, or alone.

I’ve been invited into many lives I would never otherwise have encountered. In these meetings, I am both guest and host. I step into someone’s everyday life, and at the same time, I carry something with me: a language of faith and hope. I do not come to define the space, but to be part of it.

And this – to meet with an open heart, while remaining faithful to oneself – is, for me, theological hospitality. I don’t need to agree in order to listen. I don’t need to fully understand to remain in dialogue. But I must be willing to be touched.

Hospitality is a choice.

Not a one-time decision, but one that must be made again and again. It is a choice to meet the other with curiosity instead of fear. A choice to keep the conversation open, even when it stirs discomfort. A choice to receive – and at the same time be present with what I believe.

It is also a choice to be changed – not by letting go of what is sacred to me, but by allowing the sacred to expand. I do not believe in a faith that must be protected from the unfamiliar – but in a faith that thrives in meeting it.

I do not wish to live in a society where we withdraw from conversations about faith and worldview out of fear of being judged – or of judging. I want to be part of a society where we dare to meet one another as believers – not despite, but through what we believe.

How can you be both guest and host in encountering another’s faith?

Perhaps it begins with listening.
With daring to be touched.
With daring to be both guest and host – in each other’s faith.

Message of Bossey graduates: “we are called to welcome migrants, refugees, and strangers as human beings created in the image of God” (WCC news release, 21 July 2025)