The Feast - Community Pt. 2 (1/17/16)

Happy January 14th, friends of The Table community,

It was good to see old friends and meet new ones Sunday night. Everyone is always welcome to the table. We sincerely mean this, amigos… We missed a few regulars the other night, and hope to see everyone this coming Sunday as we continue to dive into The Table’s values: Community, Nourishment & Grace. We’ll feast in potluck style… bring a dish to share with the community (Note: We arrive at 5pm to help set up the feast, and begin the procession to the tables at 5:30pm)! There will be singing, scripture reading, partaking in the Eucharist, a time for reflection and great dialogue. Ryan Miller will be doing a teaching on the benefits of community this weekend (short blurb and questions, below). Craig & Jeanine will be having fun and teaching the kids during that time. They will link the blessing of authentic community with prayer, and will be making community prayer pails to send home. If you’d like to get involved in the rotation of childcare, please let us know. Also, if you have any prayer requests, concerns or you’d like to share a blessing, don’t hesitate to contact us. Invite a friend and don’t forget to RSVP on our MeetUp site. 

Thanks.

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Most people have been blessed to know the feeling of being a part of a tribe. Maybe you felt that feeling on someone’s wedding day. Perhaps you’ve experienced this during a sports season when your team wins the championship and everyone wearing your team’s colors is giving hugs and high fives (shameless plug for Craig’s KC Royals!). This could have happened during a yoga class you’ve taken, or maybe it’s the feeling you’ve had from being in a supper club or a personal interest group. By nature, we are tribal creatures. And now that we live in a post-tribal world where we can work at home and live isolated lives, many people are depressed, disconnected and spiritually lost – even within the local church world. What might it look like to revisit the timeless benefits and the sheer blessing of being a part of the local and universal church – the community of Christ’s body – in a dynamic, life-giving way?

Questions during meal time

*Last Sunday, Craig talked about his family’s nightly tradition around the dinner table, asking one another, “What was your BEST today?” as an example to rejoice in one another’s celebrations. In order for us to begin celebrating with one another around this table tonight, what was your BEST this week?

* Think back to when you were a child. Where did you find community and a sense of belonging? What did community look like to you growing up?

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Post message questions

* To achieve the benefits of community, you and others around you have to be devoted to one another and have a cause worth fighting for (like the early church). Looking back at the communal benefits laid out in Acts 2, where do you yourself and our community succeeding and lacking? How? Give examples.

* Prolific author, farmer and activist, Wendell Berry, states, “Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation.” Talk about a time in your life when you came to this realization and allowed genuine community to help heal you &/or your family/ friends…

* What are some things you (and your family/ friends) can do that would help bless & benefit others in your community (‘hood, school, work, etc.) and this Table community in Denver? How we can best hold one another accountable (in grace and truth) to be a blessing in our community?

Week 3 - "Give More" (12/13/15)

Hey Feasters!

It’s time to get our Feast ON again this Sunday as we dive into Week 3 of our Advent Conspiracy - "Give More!"

5pm  - Come join the community in the kitchen & setting up the worship space. Around 5:40pm, we will process to the tables with food, wine and candles in hand… Jeanine Broek will be hosting this week. After the feast and the Eucharist, Allie Card will be teaching (notes and questions, below). Ryan and Lauren Miller will be hanging with the children. The kids will be making "bags of kindness" with goodies of love to hand out to homeless people at intersections during the holiday season. This goes along with our ongoing themes to "Worship Fully," "Spend Less," "Give More" & "Love All!"

Big reminder… as we spend less on frivolous & joyless gifts this year, be praying and thinking about what you and your family will be able to donate toward Living Water International the following week (12/20) as we do our small part this season to help bring clean water to the 663 million people around the world who need this tangible act of grace! We will end the Advent season with a Winter Solstice celebration and commitment to bring love to 1 out of 12 people in our world who need water!

Please, remember to RSVP on our MeetUp site and spread the word. Find us on Twitter (@denverthetable), Instagram (@denverthetable) and “like” on Facebook.

P.S. We would love to hear all kinds of feedback throughout the year… Blessings, prayers, requests, concerns, etc. Don’t hesitate to contact us via email, phone, social media, etc. Also, if you would like to serve in our developing children’s ministry or if you have any other gifts to bring the “the table,” don’t hesitate to let The Table know… it’s a round table kinda community, indeed!

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Advent Conspiracy – Week 3 “Give More”

We are a very giving country, often with slanted intentions. Giving can easily become a competition or an obligation. So how can we show people we love and care about them without giving for the sake of it? God's greatest present to us was his presence on earth, in Christ. God invites us into this presence, as we learn to give to things beyond ourselves. So, instead of giving more presents this season, perhaps we can offer more presence. 

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Questions

During the meal:

1. Everyone makes jokes about the infamous fruitcake, that sweater you'd never wear in public, or any number of other gifts that didn't really have you in mind when they were given. Without naming names or getting in trouble with anyone in your group, what's the most impersonal gift you've been given? How about the most impersonal gift you have given?

2. We live in a material world, for better or for worse. What are some of the dangers when we associate love solely with the giving of material objects? What are some other ways that we can give that clearly communicate love?

After the message:

1. The incarnation is the ultimate gift from God, making himself known to us in a whole new way. What aspects of the incarnation will you remember this Advent?

2. As you consider what it means to give of yourself relationally, what is excites you most? What part of this kind of giving will be the biggest challenge for you? What's the biggest risk?

3. How can you give to causes and missions beyond yourself? What is one mission/organization/local effort that you can give to this holiday season?

Week 1 - Worship Fully (11/29/15)

Feasting friends!

On behalf of The Table, I whole-heartedly welcome all of you to our new worship gathering in the basement of Platt Park Church, beginning weekly on November 29 at 5pm. The Table exists to engage our neighbors and communities with the tangible grace of Jesus, and the feast is simply an expression of worship where grace is shared around the table with a participatory meal, teaching, conversation, and opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual expression. During the season of Advent (4 weeks before Christmas), we will journey through an amazing curriculum called Advent Conspiracy together. Week 1 theme: Worship Fully!

Here’s a snippet from AC Week 1…

The Christmas season has seemingly morphed into one extended shopping season. The idea that this time of year could possibly be about something more than the buying and giving of stuff has been buried beneath a pile of credit card debt and anxiety. And yet, none of the things we've bought has ever brought lasting joy, meaning, and satisfaction to us. The conspiracy of Advent (which simply means, "the coming") is that there is something much deeper and much more satisfying at the heart of this season than the pursuit of the best Black Friday doorbuster event. Not even Cyber Monday can offer the same promise as Isaiah when he told us about the one who would be born on Christmas Day: "Immanuel, which means, God is with us". This Sunday we will gather to encourage and challenge one another to reorient our hearts and the Christmas season around the gift of a person - Jesus - who is truly worthy of our hearts.

Once you arrive in the basement at PPC at 5pm, I will personally greet you at the door, give you a name tag and you’ll be guided to either the kitchen with Damon Card or the worship space with Allie Card to help set up. We believe this to be a much better way of getting to know the person next you before we start talking around the table…  Like I said, it’s a participatory gathering, indeed! A little after 5:30pm everyone will gather back together, and we’ll read some Scripture aloud, participate in responsive readings, sing some songs and partake in the Eucharist/ Communion during the course of the meal. After the meal, the children will be dismissed, and Craig Broek will provide a short teaching. This week, Jeanine Broek and Sharon Withers will have a blast with the children doing everything from the Hokey Pokey to dancing, singing and doing a craft that goes along with the theme of the night.

Below, you will find the questions we will use as a guide for intentional conversation during the meal…

1.) Most of us have very specific memories about the Christmas season, both positive and negative. What are some of those positive memories? How would you describe the best Christmas you ever had as a child? What made it special?

2.) Do you still look forward to the Christmas season? If so, what do you enjoy about the season? If you no longer look forward to Christmas, why not? What word would best describe what you want to experience this year during the Christmas season?

These are the questions that will guide the table conversations after Craig’s teaching….

1.) One of the names used to describe the one God would be sending is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” God coming to earth to be with us is a huge gift and deserving of our worship. What are some of the other names used to describe the one God would be sending? What do they mean?

2.) Shepherds of Jesus day were considered outcasts and had the reputation as “unsavory characters” yet they were the ones to whom the angels first announced the birth of Jesus. What does this tell you about the heart of God? How do the shepherds respond to this news? In what ways does the worship of the shepherds differ from our celebration of Christmas?

3.) At Christmas in stores, on TV, on the internet, we are confronted by the worship of things. In what ways might we worship things? How might we reorient ourselves to remembering that Christmas is about worshiping Jesus? What practical choices do you need to make to ensure this happens as an individual? As a family? As a community?

We will end the night with a final song, blessing, some announcements and a ‘lil thing called clean up!

Invite a friend or come alone… you’ll make friends either way. Looking forward to it.

Peace,

Ryan Miller