Mending The Foundation
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Consider how a strong foundation determines the integrity of a house for generations to come.
The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty.
- Zig Ziglar
John 9:6-9
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “sent”). So, the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
Matthew 7:24-25
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Food for Thought
Growing up, my parents were very involved in my hometown community – my father as an attorney and city councilman, my mother as a choir director and active club member. Both made a habit of giving their time, energy, talents, and knowledge to making our community more beautiful and just. Through their living, I got a glimpse of what it looks like to foster community. They invested patience, discipline, and love into the world around them.
As members of a community, I believe it is our duty to lift up those in need of our help, to lead with integrity, to hold one another accountable, and to leave better what we find. But fostering a healthy community is much like building a home – you must start with a strong and steady foundation. A structure is only as dependable as that which it is built upon, and it is much harder to repair damage to a foundation once the house has been built. When we are willing to bring a helping hand, integrity, and trust to relationships, we ensure that we are starting off strong.
But what happens when those values are not upheld – when there’s a crack in the foundation of a community that goes unchecked? Perhaps nothing will happen – the crack remains as it is. But without mending, it’s always there, waiting, threatening to deteriorate – forever making the foundation a little less sure, and folks in the community skeptical of its value and worth. Or, perhaps the crack does grow, and what was once a hairline fracture becomes a deep chasm, creating division, fear, and uncertainty.
To some degree or another, we have all borne witness to the unfolding of this. From international struggles and national politics to our own families and social groups. When respect and care are replaced with selfishness and misplaced pride, things break – trust, hearts, souls…
How do we go about mending what has been broken – how do we restore the foundation?
In John, when Jesus offers healing to the man born blind, he did so with mud made from dirt and his own saliva, then he told the man to go wash it away. Afterward, some who had known the man for years didn’t even recognize him!
Jesus started with the foundation – the earth – and he gave something of himself.
Perhaps we are to do the same. Perhaps to restore the foundation, we must return to the foundation – the things that bring our community together; and then, we must give something of ourselves – our time, our effort, our resources. When we restore the foundation of our communities in this way, we mend the fractures in a way that allows us to withstand further damage.
We cannot be afraid of discovering the places where the foundation has cracked. We owe this to ourselves and to the community – to acknowledge those places, and to then do the work of restoring them together through investing in one another, fostering community with one another, and extending trust to one another.
As we look carefully at our own communities, may we not be too afraid to see what is broken. For it is in our seeing the fracture that we might then begin doing the hard work of mending. After which, we can wash ourselves of what once was so that the new may burst forth – miraculous, unrecognizable even.
Fostering community looks different for each of us. What might it look like for you to lean into your community a little more in your own way? Is it taking a step out to volunteer in an organization or a local non-profit? If you are already involved, perhaps you could invite someone new to join you. Look for creative ways to extend the circle of your community!
The goal of this series is to take small steps toward inviting others into deeper community with you. One way might be inviting others to join in for a little Table Talk. Here is a printable version of today's Table Talk, Mending The Foundation, that we hope you will use in whatever way is helpful in your journey!
Blessing
God of community,
Help us to invest in one another –
to seek ways to grow closer together,
to lend a helping hand to one another,
and to open our hearts with integrity and trust to one another
in ways that create a more beautiful world.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Have you ever experienced a crack in the foundation of a community you were a part of? Share about that experience.
Have you been a part of a strong community? What was it that made that community stand out to you?
Brainstorm two or three practical ways that we can each contribute to the strong foundation of the community around us.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Talk together about what a foundation is. What is its purpose? Why is it important?
Share with your kiddos Jesus' story about the man who built his house on the rock. Ask them to share what they would choose for their foundation and why? (Allow them to be creative.)
Maybe try a fun craft to illustrate this principle. Build two little houses out of paper, blocks, or whatever you have handy – one on a solid rock foundation, the other on sand or dirt. Add a little water to the two foundations and see which house remains standing tall.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
June Dare Bunce is a native North Carolinian and one of the founders of The Welcome Table. Outside of TWT, she’s been a professional actor for the past fourteen years and has had the honor and pleasure of working as a drama instructor for organizations such as The Harlem Children’s Zone and the YMCA. When she’s not working on a script or at the office, you can either find her at the gym or on the yoga mat, walking around her adorable hometown, or working on the art of relaxing at home (it really is a skill).
To hear more from June throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!