The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism
Charitable Hospitality
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
THE ABRAHAMIC MODEL OF
HOSPITALITY
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
“He (Abraham) looked up, and there he saw
three men standing near him. As soon as he
saw them, he ran from the entrance of the
tent to greet them, and bowed to the ground.
‘My lord,’ he said, ‘if I find favour with
you, please do not pass your servant by. Let
me have a little water brought, and you can
wash your feet and have a rest under the
tree. Let me fetch a little bread and you can
refresh yourselves before going further, now
that you have come in your servant’s
direction. They replied, ‘Do as you say’.
Abraham hurried to the tent and said to Sarah, ‘Quick, knead three measures
of best flour and make loaves.’ Then, running to the herd, Abraham took a
fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then
taking curds, milk and the calf which had been prepared, he laid all before
them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree.”
(Genesis 18:2-8)
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Hospitality of Abraham
 In the story of Abraham, there is the classic hospitality event.
 Abraham saw three simple nomads in the distance, he ran towards
them to offer his hospitality.
 When he ‘bowed to the ground’, he was not making a gesture of
religious adoration, but simply a mark of respect. At first,
Abraham sees his guests as humans, as their superhuman
character is only gradually revealed.
 He welcomes them warmly and invites them into his tent, to rest a
bit and to eat a little. When they followed him home, however,
Abraham had a full course banquet prepared for them.
 Yet as great as Abraham’s hospitality might have been, he had to
contend with a society that was literally the antithesis of
everything he represented.
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Hospitality and Society
 Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were infamous for their cruelty
and greed.
 When the angels journeyed to Sodom and Gomorrah, in search of
a righteous man, only Lot and his family were set apart to be
saved. Lot was deemed righteous, by the fact that he alone
imitated Abraham’s behaviour of hospitality
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Hospitality and Society cont’d
Numerous legends about Sodom and Gomorrah:
 In relation to hospitality, there is the legend: The people of
the city had a special bed which they would offer to guests.
When the guests were too tall for the bed, they would cut off
their feet and when they were too short, they would stretch
their limbs
 According to another legend, their ruins lay under the
brackish waters of the Dead Sea; to the Arabs, the Sea of
Lot, was raised up by the Creator to engulf these perverse
cities.
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Evolution of Charitable
Hospitality
 Emperor Julian when attempting to suppress the Christian
faith, emphasised the importance of preserving and adapting
for use by the state the Christian institutions of charitable
hospitality.
 Emperor Justinian had been forced to give legal status to
beggars and travellers because of the protection that they
received through the same institutions of hospitality.
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Evolution of Charitable
Hospitality cont’d
 The Protestant reformers of the Late Middle Ages moved
them out of religious control into the secular realm of
society just as Julian had attempted to do 1100 years earlier.
 In the early stages, any medical treatment was hard to come
by as the old xenodochia were converted into monastic
houses that only treated their own.
 As the Arab-Islamic influences became more recognised in
the West, medicine advanced further with the importance of
anatomy and surgery becoming more apparent.
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
HOSPITALITY TO THOSE IN
NECESSITUDINE
Case Study: The Mungo Foundation
Further Reading: O'Gorman, Kevin D. and Conti,
Archbishop M.J. and McAlpine, D. (2008)
Hospitality in necessitudine: hospices, hostels and
hospitals. Hospitality Review, 10 (2). pp. 28-35.
http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/6393/1/strathprints00
6393.pdf
For full details of the project:
http://www.themungofoundation.org.uk/
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
The Mungo Foundation: Overview
 Established by the Archbishop of Glasgow in 2002 with a mission to “… to
promote welfare, relieve poverty and advance education for the public benefit
by the provision of wide-ranging social services”
 Run by a Board of Trustees, an operational staff of around 700, income of
approximately £14m p.a.
 Supports over 1,000 people in its community based care and support services
 Responsible for own marketing and fundraising strategies
 Depends on the efforts of staff, volunteers and families who raise funds to
support local work.
 Depends on donations from the wider community and remains committed to
its founding values of life, justice and community.
 Much of the work of The Foundation in Scotland is now funded by local
authorities.
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
The Mungo Foundation: Operational Areas
Supports people of all creeds and none
with a wide variety of issues:
 Learning disabilities
 Sensory impairment
 Dementia
 People affected by drug and alcohol
misuse
 People with a Mental Health Problem
 Young homeless people
 Asylum seekers
 Refugees
 Older People
 Young Single Mothers
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Hospitality Projects?
Name
Stravaig
Purpose of the Project
Immediate access to a safe environment to
young homeless people with chaotic lives
Annandale Offers support to older people with mental
Street
problems (other than dementia)
Red Tower Provides a 12-month programme for those
suffering with drug abuse to gain recovery
(different from other projects as people
contribute to the cost of treatment)
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
THE EVOLVING BUT UNCHANGED
ESSENCE OF CHARITABLE
HOSPITALITY
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Evolving but unchanging
 Even when religion is attacked there has always been recognition
of the importance of hospitality in necessitudine.
 Recently, instead of trying to subsume charitable hospitality,
governments generally chose to support and partially fund the
religious efforts.
 The influence of the underpinning ethos remains, even although
the governance of the institutions may have changed.
 Despite the continually evolving practice, the Abrahamic Model
of Hospitality, and St Paul’s mandate of hospitable behaviour, is
still being interpreted and followed.
 As people’s needs continue to change, it remains the various
religion faiths and orders, and now for society in general, to care
for those needs in a practical and compassionate manner.
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Your thoughts…
 Are we as hospitality professionals interested in this area…
 Hospitality management graduates… role to play?
 How could we with our skills and knowledge base help to
support this type of work?
 What do we need to learn?
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010
Further Reading
 O'Gorman, Kevin D. and Conti, Archbishop M.J.
and McAlpine, D. (2008) Hospitality in
necessitudine: hospices, hostels and hospitals.
Hospitality Review, 10 (2). pp. 28-35.
http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/6393/1/strathprints00
6393.pdf
O’Gorman, The Origins of Hospitality and Tourism, Goodfellow Publishing © 2010