Our Team
Every Table is made of a diverse community of people from all faith backgrounds and walks of life, coming together to heal from the ways white supremacy and capitalism have torn us apart. We are a space where every belief belongs. We have all experienced trauma at the hands of religious institutions and the ways those institutions have aligned themselves more with a death-dealing status quo than with anything resembling healing or nourishment.
We are on the unceded land of the Powhatan people, also known as Richmond, Virginia, a city with wounds as old as this nation, and we carry within us its complex history. Yet, we also carry within us the tools to heal not only ourselves, but also this world. Our liberation is interwoven with all of creation.
Every Table is a place for those seeking home to participate in their own healing and who seek to be part of the repair of this city, commonwealth, nation, and world. We are a place of abundant welcome for everyone. Every Table is a place where every belief belongs.
About us
Charles Bolling II, Wellness Minister
(he/she/they/we)
Charles is a Yoga Teacher, Neighborhood Organizer, Healer, and Abolitionist from Churchill. They graduated from Armstrong High School in 2014 and then attended discipleship school in Humboldt County, California.
Charles is currently studying to earn their yoga therapy certification from Breathing Deeply Yoga Therapy.
By cultivating a space to explore abolition in the body, Charles helps facilitate room for authentic expression of self, allowing for presence in our collective humanity and through this process community is created.
Rev. Jess Cook, Community Chaplain
(ey/em or they/them)
Jess’s call is to help facilitate spaces where reconciliation is possible, with the acknowledgement that reconciliation is only possible if we are able to be honest with ourselves and one another about the ways in which we are broken. True reconciliation requires relationships, and relationships require trust and vulnerability. Jess sees their role as helping make spaces where that vulnerability is celebrated and trust can be built.
A native of East Texas and lifelong Presbyterian, Jess holds a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary, a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Baylor.
Jess was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament on June 29th, 2019 (the 50th anniversary of Stonewall), as the first openly trans and non-binary person ordained in the Presbyterian Church, USA.
Jess has over a decade of experience working with LGBTQIA+ youth, and working with individuals, congregations, and agencies to ensure all of God’s children are seen and affirmed in the fullness of who they are.
Jess lives with their kiddo and cat.
Dr. Tamice Spencer-Helms (they/them), Community Griot & Programs Coordinator
Tamice is a theologian, cultural analyst, educator, and creative director from Richmond, Virginia. They attended undergrad in RVA before earning two master's degrees in theology and leadership and a doctorate in Social Transformation from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, where their dissertation — Queering Student Formation — explored alternatives to conversion-based ministry models for Black students at predominantly white institutions.
With over twenty years of experience in young adult and campus ministry, Tamice's work sits at the intersection of womanist and queer liberation theologies, soulful leadership, and Black cultural production as sacred text. They confront what they call "diseased imagination" — the spiritual and social dis-ease that stifles agency, creativity, and collective flourishing — and develop practices for healing and transformation.
Tamice is a co-curator with Every Table Ministries, founder of Mixtape Praxis, and Creative Director of Black Modern Mystic and the author of Faith Unleavened: The Wilderness Between Trayvon Martin and George Floyd
Ruby Joy Garcia, (they/them), Ceremonialist and Board Secretary
Ruby Joy (they/any) is a tender of the crossroads, dedicated to providing care and nourishment on the path to collective liberation. Their work is rooted in the reclamation of ancestral connection and wisdom as a means to heal our shared humanity, foster deeper connections, and reclaim our collective power. They ground their practice in acknowledging the effects of the violent legacies of white supremacy, organized religion, and settler colonialism.
A child of the diaspora, Ruby Joy is an initiated Apetebi of Ifa, a Palero of Palo Moyombe, and a student of the Lukumi faith (Omo Oya). They have served as an abolition-based mental health provider for over a decade, serving as a crisis responder, suicide counselor, caregiver, and QTBIPOC advocate. They are currently pursuing a Master of Divinity and preparing to make Ocha.
They feel blessed and affirmed by the opportunity to join this organization as it takes shape, and are excited to support those called to the paths of liberation, healing, spirituality, and Ancestor Veneration.
