Community life at The Table is built around a series of small group meetings, known as “Kitchen Tables,” where people meet for an hour and a half every week to talk about their faith and how they are living it out, using questions from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, who started meetings out by asking, “How is it with your soul?”
Newcomers to the church go through a six-week class called “Growing Your Faith,” which introduces people to the ideas behind the Kitchen Tables and helps them focus on their spiritual journey. Most of the people who come to The Table have often felt out of place at other churches, in part because of their more liberal social values, said Smith, or have grown up outside the church and are looking for some kind of spiritual connection. The largest demographic in the church is young families, which has made meeting together challenging during COVID-19. Before the pandemic, worship services drew just under 300 people each weekend, with about 100 people meeting in small groups.
These days, attendance at services is closer to 150 people each week, with about the same number of people taking part in the Kitchen Tables. Sunday services, which feature a mix of blues, gospel, hip-hop and jazz music, are also streamed online. The small groups take a hybrid approach, meeting most of the time online, with in-person meetings every few weeks. The church is also now starting a spiritual community around an urban micro-farm and bakery called Table Farm & Table Bread.
Smith worries that Methodists — who have been feuding for years over issues of sexuality and LGBT inclusion — have forgotten how to build community and draw people to the faith. Smith is unapologetic about his support for inclusion, but he also believes helping people grow spiritually matters. It’s a lot easier, he said, to be mad at people you disagree with from a distance than to love your neighbors or create an authentic community.
“It turns out that’s a lot harder than just feeling self-righteous about my political opinions,” Smith said.
This article originally appeared here.
