There are people who tend to be on the fringes in church: the unhoused, those with mental illness, teens and kids, single people, those with dementia, and those with no family. But all of these folks are in the center of church life at St James the Less, Pimlico, in London.

Today we’ll speak with the rector, the Rev. Lis Goddard, about how this came about, and how it works.

This is a conversation about radical hospitality. We’ll be talking about open doors and open homes, as well as the boundaries and practical policies that make radical hospitality possible, and invite God's whole family to a deeper sense of security. 

The Rev. Lis Goddard has been Vicar of St James the Less, Pimlico (London), since September 2010. Other ministry roles have included university chaplain and Tutor for Ministerial Formation at Wycliffe Hall, and Assistant Minister at St Andrew’s Church in North Oxford. She leads missions, mentoring, and spiritual direction initatives, and was the Chair of Awesome/The Junia Network, a network of ordained women evangelicals. She is now Cochair of the Church of England Evangelical Council and is co-author of The Gender Agenda, a book of charitable debate on women’s ordination.

Listen to the episode now.