An Update from Jess
It has been a minute! To be more accurate, we’ ve gone pretty radio silent for about six months…
There are times when you need to go inward for clarity, and we’ve been moving through such a period. We’ve spent the last few months in a space of deep discernment and expansive conversations about our mission and values and how we are being invited to show up in the world. We are grateful for the community that supports us, and for your patience and encouragement as we’ve moved through this chrysalis period. We are excited for what is emerging and eager to invite you on this path of ongoing healing and transformation.
Our beautiful Easter Extravaganza reiterated that Every Table is offering something necessary for this moment. In the midst of increasing violence towards the communities we are called to serve, people need opportunities to connect with one another in fellowship that nourishes both body and spirit. Much of our time the last six months has also been spent with people navigating a shifting landscape, offering opportunities that serve as buoys during this turbulent season, and continually evaluating the ways we are showing up to help meet the needs of our expanding community.
I’ve said often lately that all of my eggs are in the magic basket. Every part of me is committed to the knowing that as old forms fall away, something new and profound is being born. This moment is inviting us to see how powerful we are when we create spaces that enable us to be the fullest versions of ourselves. From this perspective, we recognize that each and every one of us is necessary to the whole - not as we were told to be, but as we know ourselves to be. We are learning to find authenticity within ourselves and to dance together, not only with one another, but with Creation herself. As we do so, we are finding both our rhythm and each finding our space within the whole.
As we co-create spaces together, we are experiencing the abundance made manifest when we live from a space of solidarity and love. It’s been exciting to see new organizations pop up around Richmond, each doing their part contributing to a new world we are building together as the structures around us fall. Every Table offers spaces to incorporate spiritual connection into this emerging reality. When we gather in the simplicity of a meal, grounded in rituals connecting us to the indestructible cord binding us all, something new takes form.
Many of our discussions over the last six months have been about sustainability to not only continue this work, but also to expand it. From our conversations emerged The Clearing Space: a yoga studio that will also serve as a spiritual hub for the community. We’ve been talking for almost two years about needing a space that functions as both a yoga studio and a hub for Every Table as part of the community. We’d originally envisioned this as a part of Every Table, but as we’ve discussed it, forming The Clearing Space as its own organization makes sense for a number of reasons, including expanding both our funding opportunities and the ways we can show up in community. We will send out another email in the coming weeks with more information about The Clearing Space, including the unique offerings we are making available for individuals and the community in this moment of transformation.
Every Table and The Clearing Space will function as ideological siblings, working together towards the same vision of communal healing and wholeness. Charles and I have spent a lot of time discussing our respective roles at each organization and it’s been clear from the start of this conversation that The Clearing Space is Charles’s brainchild. They’ve been hard at work developing the Business Plan and sequencing methodology that will be the backbone of the practice at The Clearing Space. I will be taking on the visionary leadership of Every Table, in collaboration with Charles, our Board, and invested community members.
We are in a moment of radical transformation that I believe is leading to a collective awakening unparalleled in our recorded history. And still. . . we’ve gotta get through this moment. In moments of overwhelm lately, I’ve been buffered by the reminder that wherever we are going, we are headed there together. Healing work is communal, interconnected and exponential. Time and again I have found that my healing comes hand-in-hand with my willingness to lean into community. Through the dance of reciprocity and mutual vulnerability, we are learning what it feels like to come home to our truest selves and to see that awakening in one another. We need each other, now more than ever, and I am excited to see the ways we gather will lead to our collective transformation in the coming weeks, months, and years.
