Making Room: The Legacy of Sharon Gallagher

Your legacy is every life you have touched. — Maya Angelou
Christianity was, and still should be, the religion of the open door. — William Barclay
Hospitality means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. — Henri Nouwen

To speak of legacy is to speak of the space one leaves behind — the lives touched, the doors opened, the welcome extended. Sharon Gallagher’s legacy is nothing less than that. For over fifty years she created free spaces for strangers to become friends, and for friends to become companions in Christ. Her gift to Radix, and to so many of us, was nothing less than a living hospitality.

For those who knew Sharon, you know the laughter, courage, and faithfulness she poured into this work. For those who didn’t, we invite you to discover her story through reflections and tributes woven throughout this issue:

Before her passing, we had already chosen subversive hospitality as the theme for this issue. We smiled to realize it was a theme Sharon herself would have delighted in — hospitality not as politeness, but as a quiet act of resistance, a radical way of making space for peace. And so this issue becomes both a tribute to Sharon’s life and a reflection on the power of welcome in fractured times.

In three conversations, we hear from voices who are reimagining hospitality for our day:

Alongside these, you’ll find fiction, essays, poetry, and reflections that take up hospitality in unexpected ways — sometimes tender, sometimes unsettling, always invitational.

Fiction

Features

Columns

Reviews

Media

NCB’s Radix Live

Sharon, thank you. For every open door, for every space of peace, for every friendship you made possible. May we follow your legacy with the same courage, hospitality, and joy. — M