We were blessed to receive a grant from the Partnership for Better Health in support of a program which we called, “A Seat Around the Table: Just for You”.
The purpose of the grant we received was to develop and implement a pilot
program that brings together our most vulnerable, displaced, and isolated neighbors around a shared experience of creating and eating a meal together at Grace Place. The hope was that through this shared experience, in an intimate setting, community
and healthy relationships would transpire.
The project served our most immediate neighbors, which includes those who reside at the CARES Family Shelter and the vulnerable population who reside at the Episcopal Square, which is a HUD project designed to meet the needs of the elderly,
impoverished, and disabled residents. The project also reached those who are unhoused, Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church parishioners, the kids and families who participate in the Think Tank after school program, and many many more who call
Shippensburg their home. In total around 2,018 people reached.
When reflecting upon our goals of the project and if/how they were achieved, we noticed the following:
- Our efforts in continuing to build the awareness of the radical welcome provided at Grace Place “This is YOUR garden” was accomplished. People know that this is a
community resource of hospitality and they are an integral part of it. - Our efforts to build bridges with those who have already grown to trust us have flourished and entered into a deeper state of relationship.. The open invitation for all to offer input about the design of this pilot program radically shaped everything. Without the invaluable input from the community, A Seat Around the Table:Just for You would not have achieved the success that it experienced nor would it have offered the paradigm shift for how we at Saint Andrew’s and Grace Place approach everything.
- By inviting our new neighbors to teach us about their lives through conversation, inviting the sharing of stories, recipes, cooking techniques, and sharing a meal, many of us have grown closer. It has opened our minds and hearts to the lived experiences of others. Hospitality shown between one another has not only enriched our collective lives, but it brought us closer together in a time when our nation can feel so divided. The lines between Saint Andrew’s, Grace Place and the community have blurred.
- The pilot program has brought about a deeper collaboration between The CARES Family Shelter with planned monthly meetings. Because of the intimate connections and trust fostered between the community, Saint Andrew’s, and Grace Place we are now able to identify persons most in need of connection to resources and support. Because of this, we are able to act as a bridge between two worlds: CARES and populations in need. Our connection to SCRC also has deepened for we continue to see our mission as one: to bring wholeness and healing to the community through partnership and collaboration. We are not alone in this. With the input of our community members we collectively have developed a pilot program with an organizational structure and system for gathering people. Those who partake have been empowered to participate in every facet: setting up, planning, preparing, and sharing a meal in community.
- While Facebook posts, newsletter communication, and notification via a yard sign happened regularly, it was through personal reminders and invitations that fueled
engagement in the program. We learned that news travels fast through word of mouth. - A regular ongoing feedback loop for all participants was provided. This happened continuously through informal conversations and group discussions. All our seating is communal with people sitting in conversation at round tables, whether outdoors or indoors. This openness and desire to collaborate allowed for the building of community and thus helped to dissipate loneliness.
Here’s what we’ve learned — and our hopes going forward—
We learned the importance and power of gathering people together. We have learned how much WE are being changed by those we meet and get to know and work beside. We are all the better for it.
We have come to realize that we are part of a broader caring community in a neighborhood whose organizations all wish for healthy outcomes and we are stronger working in collaboration, sharing resources, meeting regularly, and complementing each other’s missions.
We have learned that what we believe in – creating a safe and welcoming place, giving agency to people rather than deciding for them what is best, listening deeply to people’s stories and offering to share our own, and looking beyond stereotypes to the PERSON – does work to overcome isolation and loneliness.
It has taught us how to be better communicators and honor the gifts, perspectives, and lived experiences that each person brings. Our diversity makes us a stronger community.
We have also confirmed that we are uniquely positioned to direct people to the resources they need. We see continuing the cultivation of these links, between people in need and the assistance available to them, as the next step of our service to
Shippensburg.
We seek to build on the success of our A Seat Around the Table program by expanding the Community Missioner position that was created under this pilot program and making it a full-time position within St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. One of the roles we discovered that both Grace Place and our Community
Missioner could play is to be a liaison between populations we interact with and the organizations that could offer them assistance.
And photos speak a thousand words — photos from our times together with our community —
