12/30/2023
Dear friends of Open Table,
As I write this letter on a cloudy Pacific Northwest afternoon at the end of December I am sending you peace and ease. In the church world, this week between Christmas and New Years has a sense of in-between. Of course, there is the deep breath after Christmas, but it is also the ending of one year and the beginning of the next.
This in-between week feels fitting because, as you may have noticed, Open Table has been in something of an in-between lull as well. There are many reasons: lack of capacity, shifting denominational dynamics, evolving needs, a pandemic. In early fall of 2011, a group gathered in the Fry Miller living room and dreamt of a denomination where each person would be safe, treated with respect, and their gifts celebrated.
From that gathering we endeavored to create a strong, vibrant, inclusive body that energized and empowered us to action. Leading, worshiping, serving, and growing together as we join in God’s work in the world as faithful Christ-followers, steadily, lovingly, and radically working for peace, justice, and equality. Over 12 years we lived into this vision through gatherings, conferences, worship, book discussions, and more. We recognized the importance of Young Adult voices and leadership and used inter-generational relationships to lift up young leaders. Each summer we raised a glass and said a prayer for Annual Conference at our Mix & Mingle gathering.
In the last few years, fellow board member Matt Rittle and I have observed and celebrated that much of the work that Open Table set out to do has been adopted by other progressive Brethren organizations with far greater resources and capacity. As one example, we have noticed and celebrated the expanded inclusion of young adult voices at tables of leadership. We are proud of having set the example on this front.
Open Table was initiated to platform young adult voices. A movement led by young adults, but young adults aren’t young for very long. Over the last several years, a vision has been articulated by the next generation of young adults, a vision that encourages us to move forward in creative and new ways. Rather than expect them to step into what was created by other young adults before them, we are glad to mark the conclusion of Open Table’s work knowing that the work is in excellent hands.
As we consider blessing the work of Open Table Cooperative into a legacy, we pause to reflect on what remains in front of Open Table to finish. As we seek to close our financial books and administrative details, we humbly request one last financial contribution to Open Table. Our historically loved Mix and Mingle event in post-COVID 2022 Annual Conference was not well attended and the cost of the gathering was greater than the sponsoring contributions. We desire to finish everything we started with integrity and move into our legacy with the full knowledge that we have accomplished all we could in our time together, caring for every necessary detail. We are so thankful for all of our generous donors along the way and ask you, for the last time, to consider a gift to the closing and legacy of Open Table Cooperative.
You can donate through PayPal, paypal.me/opentablecoop
or via check addressed to Open Table and mailed to:
Open Table Coop c/o
Arlington Church of the Brethren
300 North Montague Street Arlington, VA 22203
We offer emphatic gratitude for those who support us in this moment, emphatic gratitude for all who have supported us these last 12 years, and emphatic gratitude for all who shared their time, gifts, and heart by serving on the Open Table board. We offer a deep appreciation to those who supported Open Table Cooperative in any and every way, and deep appreciation for those young adults continuing the parallel work today.
Open Table cannot take credit for the movement our denomination has made towards our shared vision but I know it has been an honor to walk and work together. May we carry on with that same spirit of bold, visionary, inclusive love.
Blessings,
Elizabeth Ullery Swenson & Matt Rittle
