Table Beyond Table
As a church community, we gather every Sunday to remember God’s blessing of abundance, to remember our design to bless the Divine through worship, and to remember our vocation to be a blessing in the world. These reminders of blessing happen through liturgy, being with one another, singing and praying, conversing with God’s word, and participating in Eucharist - The Lord’s Table. While these acts of blessing and being blessed are rehearsed corporately once a week, they are also meant to be lived out the other six days of the week.
As a way of honing our SET Table practice, we are trying out a new summery experiment: Table Beyond Table (TBT). TBT will happen on July 3rd. On this day, we will not corporately gather as a church. Instead, we will seek to extend the Table beyond the Table and bless other people with the blessing we have received.
Table Beyond Table is our congregation reframing what it means to be the Church in this “post-pandemic” world by extending Christ’s presence; TBT is not an instance of us canceling church.
Although any action that serves to bless others and ourselves is at the heart of TBT, below are a few suggestions to help us integrate this rhythm into our formational beats.
Here are some practical ways to extend the Table blessing:
Create some picnic table space and invite neighbors to go on a walk or to share brunch or toss the frisbee in a park with a group or enjoy a sacramental snack on the beach. Better yet, invite some Coastal fam members to join you in being with neighbors.
Research one of our SET Mission Partners and identify one tangible way you can join with them.
Write and deliver an old school note to encourage a neighbor, teacher, or someone who might need.
Lastly, we ask that you would consider reflecting on your TBT in some fashion. Consider journaling or taking a picture and then answering questions like, “Where did I notice the presence of Christ?” or “What activity/inactivity might Christ be inviting me/us into as a result of this encounter?” “To what person or people might God be inviting me/us to extend the Table?” During our Second Sunday meal on July 10, we hope to highlight some of the ways we received blessing or extending blessing to our community.