Community Calendar
Become a Member of The Table
If you’ve been hanging around The Table for a while but have yet to take the next step with us, now is your chance. First, head over to our Membership page to learn more about what becoming a member entails and fill out the form at the bottom of that page.
If you’re interested in learning more about membership, plan to sit down with board members on Sunday, April 28 before worship. You’ll have the opportunity to talk through your questions at that meeting. If you decide to make it official, we’ll welcome all new members in the service on May 5.
Sunday Night Worship
On Sunday evenings, our in-person worship rhythm is singing with Christian, hearing from Debbie and the rest of the team, sharing communion, and ending with our community benediction. We’d love to have you join us!
Kids begin the service with their parents; read more about check-in and Table Kids programming here. Communion is served at the front of the church after the sermon. As you’re ready, we invite you to come forward, take a piece of gluten-free bread and dip it into the cup of juice as you receive the words, “the body of Christ, broken for you; the blood of Christ shed for you.”
If you’re not able to or don’t feel ready to join us in person, we post the sermon to our Recent Messages page the following Monday, or you can listen via your favorite podcast provider.
We continue to follow the guidelines set by the CDC, in keeping with Bethlehem Lutheran, whose building we share. Masks are no longer required in the building, but masks are still welcome.
Table Softball
We’re playing softball together in the Minneapolis rec league! We’ve got enough people for the regular team, but we welcome anyone to come watch and cheer!
All games are Mondays at Bryn Mawr Meadows Park. Below is the schedule:
April 29: 6:15pm
May 6: 7:15pm
May 13: 8:15pm
May 20: 8:15pm
June 3: 9:15pm
June 10: 9:15pm
June 17: 9:15pm
June 24: 8:15pm
July 8: 7:15pm
July 15: 7:15pm
July 22: 6:15pm
July 29: 6:15pm
Questions? Talk to Bradley Smith.
Annual Meeting
The annual meeting is a time to gather and talk through some family business. This year, we will welcome a new board member alongside new members, and vote to approve a budget. The meeting will begin right after the service and kids will receive a snack in their classrooms.
Worship at Center of Belonging
Five times a year, our host church Bethlehem uses the Sanctuary on Sunday nights for their Music Series. This year, we are deepening our partnership with Flourish Placemaking Collective by worshiping at the Center of Belonging just a few blocks north of Bethlehem. Think of it as church as usual, just in a different location!
We will worship in their Sanctuary and utilize their kids’ spaces as well. The church building is at the corner of 35th and Aldrich. Street parking is available and you are encouraged to use the drop-off zone along Aldrich as needed.
The Table at The Bandshell
Grab your people and your people’s people and join us for worship in the most picturesque spot in Minneapolis: the Lake Harriet Bandshell. We’ll bring chalk for the kids—bring a picnic (or support Bread & Pickle) and stick around afterwards to enjoy lunch together!
Women at The Table For Men
All guys are welcome to hang out over drinks and food at the Giovanellis’ house!
Table Kids: VBS
Table kids are invited to participate in Bethlehem’s summer VBS: Water Works!
The Table at Pride
Save the date—we’ll be at Pride all weekend!
We will need volunteers to staff the booth, greeting visitors, and letting folks know there’s a safe space to be queer and a Christian. Specifically, we’ll be looking for straight allies to volunteer so that our queer community members can enjoy the festival. Signups to follow.
Middle School Parent Meeting
Calling all parents of current and rising middle schoolers! We’re gathering at the Goods’ home to hear a bit about what we’ve done so far to prepare a structure for middle school as well as to hear about your ideas, hopes, and concerns you might have about this new program.
Youth aren’t required to attend but are welcome. Please let Jae know if at least one adult from your household is able to attend!
Good Friday at Center of Belonging
This service of lament is mournful and contemplative and suitable for older kids.
Women at The Table
Come to our gathering at the home Kathy Pope! We’ll connect with each other over drinks, snacks, and conversation.
Women at The Table creates a sacred space where joy is had and community happens. It’s a low-stakes way to get to know people and invite others, too. We hope to see you!
Worship at Center of Belonging
Five times a year, our host church Bethlehem uses the Sanctuary on Sunday nights for their Music Series. This year, we are deepening our partnership with Flourish Placemaking Collective by worshiping at the Center of Belonging just a few blocks north of Bethlehem. Think of it as church as usual, just in a different location!
We will worship in their Sanctuary and utilize their kids’ spaces as well. The church building is at the corner of 35th and Aldrich. Street parking is available and you are encouraged to use the drop-off zone along Aldrich as needed.
Board Nominations
We are now accepting nominations for our advisory board. We invite you to nominate someone (perhaps yourself) who has the capacity, competency, character, and commitment to help take our story further. All nominees are interviewed by current board members on Monday, April 8 (if that date doesn’t work, nominees must coordinate an alternative with President Molly Hough).
Please read all the information before completing the form on our Board Nomination page:
I have more questions; who do I ask?
Our goal is for full transparency in the nomination process; we never want it to feel mysterious or secretive. We want our board members to be a known presence in our community. Questions about this process can be directed to current president Molly Hough.
Worship at Center of Belonging
Five times a year, our host church Bethlehem uses the Sanctuary on Sunday nights for their Music Series. This year, we are deepening our partnership with Flourish Placemaking Collective by worshiping at the Center of Belonging just a few blocks north of Bethlehem. Think of it as church as usual, just in a different location!
We will worship in their Sanctuary and utilize their kids’ spaces as well. The church building is at the corner of 35th and Aldrich. Street parking is available and you are encouraged to use the drop-off zone along Aldrich as needed.
Ash Wednesday Worship
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, the Church season of the 40 days leading up to Easter. We mark the day by marking ourselves with ashes and the reminder that we will one day return to dust. As in past years, we join Bethlehem Lutheran for their service.
No Worship: Super Bowl Sunday
Though not all of us are football fans, we still want to be people who are culturally engaged and community-oriented. To that end, we encourage you to spend the evening of the big game gathered with others, eating something delicious, maybe even watching the game! We’ll be back together at the Center of Belonging on Sunday, February 18 at 5pm.
No Worship New Year's Eve
We won’t be meeting on New Year’s Eve, but we hope you’re ringing in the new year with your people! We’ll be back together for in-person worship on January 7.
Christmas Offering
It is our tradition to send our Christmas Offering to benefit another organization. This year, we’ve chosen to support House of Hope, an organization run by Palestinian Christians doing peacemaking work in the region. Their funding has dried up as Americans have become fearful of supporting Palestinian-led organizations—even though the founders Milad and Manar are Christians. Learn more about their work. Click below to give online (choose Christmas Offering from the dropdown).
Year-End Giving to The Table
It takes many hands to hold The Table up and we are grateful for all the ways you keep it running week after week. We hold that gratitude alongside the realization that we’re walking into 2024 with a shortfall of about $24,000. We rely on your year-end gifts to help us make up the budget difference. Thank you for your help!
Christmas Store Toy Drive
Our partner, The Park Place, hosts their annual Christmas store for Minneapolis families on December 21. Churches like ours donate toys to the store, and families gather at The Park Place for a potluck while parents shop for toys at great discount. This model preserves dignity for everyone involved.
To streamline the process, The Park Place has put together an Amazon wishlist for the store—including shipping directly to The Park Place. They’ve requested that gift givers include their names and addresses—they like to send thank you notes!
Kids Advent Devotional
Pastor Jae has written an Advent devotional of activities and discussions for families around the themes of Advent: Hope, Joy, Peace, Love. Download the devotional below.
All Saints' Weekend
Historically in the church, All Saints’ Weekend is a time to remember the people we have loved and lost. At The Table, we dedicate time in the service to remember the names and photos of those who have passed away this past year.
If you would like us to remember your loved one this All Saints’, please email Patti by November 1 with the following information:
Your name
Their name
Their relationship to you
Their photo
Halloween Costume Parade
We love to celebrate the fun of Halloween at The Table. On the Sunday before Halloween, everyone is welcome to dress up—even adults! There will be a parade through the Sanctuary in worship so everyone can see and admire your costumes—there will also be treats afterwards.
As you choose your costumes, Pastor Jae would like you to please keep the following in mind:
Full-face masks are okay, but we ask you to remove them during the service.
Please do not bring accessories that look like realistic guns (other weapons like swords, staffs, etc. are okay—use your best judgment).
We can’t wait to see everyone!
Peacemaking Actions for Israel Palestine
We’ve heard from so many of you that you want to take peacemaking action against the war and genocide in Israel/Gaza, but you’re not sure where to start. Here are some action steps you can do today:
Interfaith Prayer Gathering: Tuesday, October 24 at 5pm at Wayzata Community Church.
Email members of Congress and urge them to declare a ceasefire. Churches for Middle East Peace has an interactive form and prompts to make it simple.
Call members of Congress. The TELOS group has a script for those who wish to call. We encourage you to do both!
Listen to the Everyday Peacemakers podcast from our friends Osheta and Jer at Global Immersion.
Read Jer’s article on Red Letter Christians: “Our Onesideism about Israel is Lethal”
Member Meeting
All members are encouraged to stay after the service for 15 minutes on October 15 to hear from Matt and Debbie. Kids can stay in their classrooms until after the meeting.
Sign up to Serve at The Table
Everybody wants a revolution, but nobody wants to do the dishes. - Dorothy Day
There are dishes to be done in this community. We’re small but we’re committed, and it takes a team to bring this thing to fruition every week. As you become not just a consumer, but a participant in the life of this church, how might you be particularly gifted?
We’ll have signups out every week in September representing the different ministry areas that need volunteer power in order to happen. Choose from: Table Kids, Small Groups, Greeting, Community Meals, Music, Setup, Teardown, Sound/Tech.
Table Kids Volunteer Training
If you’re a new volunteer in one of our kids’ classrooms or missed our previous orientation, attend our training prior to worship on September 17. Contact Jae with any questions.
Welcome Back Sunday
Come back to church on Sundays this fall! Worship begins at 5pm, afterwards we’ll gather in the parking lot for pizza from Lion’s Fire wood-fired pizza and a bouncy house for the kids.
During the service, we’ll have kids’ programming for preschool and up; the nursery will be open for babies and toddlers.
No Worship: Labor Day Weekend
We won’t be meeting for weekly worship on Labor Day Weekend. We’ll see you next weekend for our “Welcome Back to Church on Sunday Nights” kickoff!
Wednesday Worship in August
This August, we’re temporarily shifting our worship time from Sundays to Wednesdays! We remain committed to exploring new ways of doing church and holding it all loosely, including our meeting time. We first experimented with this last August, and received good feedback from several demographic groups—so we’re trying it again!
Pizza will be available for donation starting at 5:30pm, and service starts at 6:15pm.
We hope you’re able to join us Wednesdays beginning August 2. We will return to Sunday evenings at 5pm with our big fall kick-off on Sunday, September 10!
Table Kids Summer Break
We’re taking a break from Table Kids classes on three Wednesdays: August 16, 23, 30. Nursery will still be available for kids up to age 3-4. We’ll provide some activity bags with limited supplies (but feel free to bring your own), plus a kids’ seating area in the Sanctuary with in-worship volunteers. This break allows our staff and volunteers to regroup and gear up for the fall!
Table Family Pool Party
Table Kids and their families: come cool off at the Kellers’ pool in the Powderhorn neighborhood! We’ll be out all afternoon, so come when you can, leave when you must. Bring an extra chair or blanket and a dish to share.
Backpack Drive
Backstory: our partner for the annual backpack drive is now The Park Place. Ace in the City is now Flourish Placemaking Collective and has passed this torch on to The Park Place, a youth development organization in the same neighborhood.
Donate new backpacks stuffed with a $20 to get back-to-school supplies to kids in the Powderhorn neighborhood. These backpacks are sold to families at greatly reduced cost—an approach that maintains each family’s dignity and gives them a sense of ownership.
Please donate only new, unused backpacks: for younger students, choose cartoon/character/playful designs; for older students, choose high-quality brands like Jansport, Columbia, Wildkin (picture what you would want if you were/had a high schooler!). Stuff each backpack with $20 cash or check. Thank you for your generosity!
Last collection day is August 9. We’ll get them to The Park Place in time for distribution in mid-August.
If backpack shopping isn’t feasible, you can donate directly to Park Place’s Back to School Bash fund below:
Pride Night at The Table
On Pride Night, we devote our service to the celebration of queer and trans flourishing—and our belief that God promises the abundant life to all of us. When we uphold LGBTQ+ joy, this is our protest against the queer/transphobia in our present day.
This is a night for everyone—LGBTQ+ and allies alike, and we anticipate welcoming visitors who we met at Pride over the weekend! Please be with us for this special service.
Volunteer at Flourish Food Market
Volunteer to staff Flourish Food Market at the Center of Belonging on the first Wednesday of the month.
Summer Series Book Groups: Dancing in the Darkness
This summer, we’re reading Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times by Otis Moss III. We’ll be centering our weekly sermons on it AND reading it together in book groups. We encourage you to pick up a copy (Amazon link below) and join a group for deeper conversation with a smaller group of people (link to email Debbie below).