Mid-year Church Life Update

Brothers and sisters of The Table, I thought you might appreciate a mid-year update on our church life.

The first half of 2019 has been rich.

In worship

We have been learning as a church to inhabit our Sunday liturgy in deeper ways. I’m excited to continue to grow in the practice of learning to worship together as a church with the church in heaven and on earth by entrusting ourselves to the worship tradition we have received, while we also pay attention to the unique ways God is at work among us each Sunday.

In mission

During Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany we “remembered the poor” by assembling hygiene kits for immigrants and refugees on our southern border and sent them to our friends at Trinity on the Border for distribution.

During Lent (and beyond) we hosted a class on mistakes the church has made regarding issues of race, politics, and justice in the US. We examined the history of these mistakes and where we see their reverberations in our culture and in our lives, and explored ways we can practically repent of these mistakes to create space for God’s kingdom to come more fully in our midst.

In spiritual formation and discipleship

We have been learning to pay attention to how God is at work in our everyday lives through DNA Groups. The stories of quiet transformation that are emerging are beautiful examples of the wonderful work God is doing in our midst. The regular rhythm of Table Groups has also been providing space for relationships to steadily deepen over time.

In giving

Thank you for the way you have made all this possible with your prayer, service, and giving. At The Table, we’ve been blessed to meet our budget in the first few years of our life together as a church.

However, we are running a bit behind our normal pace of giving this year so far, and we are looking for ways to bring our budget into better alignment with our giving. During the second half of the year, you can help in these specific ways:

1. If you’ve never given financially, we invite you to prayerfully consider it. Click here to read about how we think about giving at The Table, and to learn how you can partner with us financially.
2. If you haven’t made your giving regular by setting up an automatic donation, we invite you to do so. This is what Deb and I do, and it makes our giving intentional and consistent (and we don’t have to remember to bring the checkbook to church!).
3. Perhaps you need to update your giving: you may have set up regular donations a year or two ago, and since then, your circumstances have changed; you may be able to give more (or you may need to reduce your giving).

More goodness to come!

The second half of the year promises much goodness! We will be baptizing four children soon (and perhaps more?). This fall we will be starting new DNA Groups and Table Groups in conjunction with a series of classes and sermons on 7 paradigms (core ways of seeing the world) that form the foundation of our life and work as a church.

We will be expanding our leadership core by commissioning a Vestry this fall to help us discern how we can continue to join God in his mission as a community. We also hope to host a visit from our Bishop Todd Hunter, where we’ll do more confirmations, etc.

Watch for more information coming soon on how you can participate in all of these things, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns. I’m so glad we get to participate in this life together at The Table, learning to encounter, embody, and extend the hospitable presence of Jesus.

Grace and peace,
Fr. Ben