The Longest Night service offers a space of quiet reflection and comfort. Through prayer, music, and contemplation, we create a sacred space to find peace and hope. Join us this Sunday, December 22 from 5:30-7:00 PM for a potluck dinner and contemplative service. Please bring a dish to share.

Christmas is God's revolution of love and the season of Advent is our time to get ready for it, to participate in it, to sing with Mary - loud and proud - of a God who turns everything upside down! Join us Sunday, December 8 from 5:30-7:00 PM, as we reflect on Mary’s Magnificat and the themes of Advent.

Are you ready to dive deeper into the meaning of peace? Join us for a thought-provoking workshop where we'll explore the multifaceted nature of peace and the individuals who embody these ideals. You can expect engaging discussion, inspiring stories, and practical reflections. Tony Beyer, a former resident of the Open Table and commissioned pastor at New Springs Community, will be leading the discussion. Tony attended Chicago Theological seminary where his emphasis was on liberation theology and queer theology. Today he focuses on storytelling as a way of organizing and building community as well as intersectional liberation.

BAD FAITH reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.

We will be watching the first half of the documentary followed by discussion on October 13 and the second half of the documentary followed by discussion on October 27.

BAD FAITH reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.

We will be watching the first half of the documentary followed by discussion on October 13 and the second half of the documentary followed by discussion on October 27.

The Open Table has entered a time of transition and we want to hear from you! Please join us this Sunday as we take some time for processing and discussion about the past and future of The Open Table while we share a meal together. We will be having chili for dinner. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

Please also take a few minutes to fill out our questionnaire. Click HERE or copy and past this link: 
https://forms.gle/opf17TziE1NakXgy6

Every quarter at The Open Table we like to slow down, take a deep breath and recenter ourselves. Join us on September 8 at 5:30 pm for a refreshing, contemplative gathering in the spirit of the Taizé community. It is an intentional time devoted to silence, healing, chants and songs.

It’s Rev. Dr. Letiah’s last Sunday at The Open Table. Join us on Sunday, August 25th, from 5:30 to 7 PM to celebrate good times and have a party. Come prepared to share well wishes, eat cake, and dance. Celebration is the spiritual practice of cultivating joy. Bring your favorite party snack to share.

KC Mothers in Charge cares for Kansas City families who have lost a loved one to homicide, providing victim and family services, education and advocacy. Join us at The Open Table for a conversation with Founder Rosilyn Temple and Core Mother Latrice Murray.

This Pride Month, Freedom Church of the Poor services will be led by queer and trans leaders from our network to strengthen our power, skill, and the unity of our movement to end the system that’s killing us, while also strengthening our own spiritual leadership and moral authority. We will be engaging with the Battle for the Bible by uplifting scriptures that honor our dignity, and wrestle with the heretical interpretations perpetuated by White Christian Nationalism, while also analyzing the roots of anti-queer and anti-trans political violence. We will be demanding an end to the war on the poor globally, knowing that our struggles are deeply interconnected with the struggles of our brothers, sisters, and siblings from every part of the country to around the world - from Cuba to Palestine! We are clear that there will be no queer liberation without ending the system that is killing us all.

On June 23 @5:30-7PM, we will join in on this discussion with the larger freedom, church network and then debrief.

Wear Orange weekend is June 7-9. Every year thousands of people wear the color orange on Wear Orange weekend to honor and raise awareness for the more than 43,000 Americans killed with guns and approximately 76,000 more who are shot and wounded every year. Join us on Sunday, June 9th, as Stephenie Godfroy shares about Wear Orange, gun violence awareness, ways to honor victims and survivors, and actions you can take to prevent gun violence.

The divine can be encountered everywhere and anyway. We will spend time in Mother Nature and with one another on Sunday, May 26 @ 5:30-7 PM. We will gather at the Hollis Renewal Center for a potluck and outdoor exploration.

The address to the Hollis Center is11414 Kansas Ave, Kansas City, KS 66111. We will meet at the parking/picnic area.Bring a lawn chair. Walking and exploring is optional.

On Mother’s Day, with its joys, sorrows and complexities, join us on May 12th from 5:30-7PM on a reflective walk on the Trolley Trail. As we walk we will read and contemplate the Divine Feminine through the lens of a children’s book entitled, “Mother God” written by Teresa Kim Pecinovsky and Illustrated by Khoa Le.We will gather at The Open Table and walk across the street to the trail together.

Event Cover Photo Credit: A page from the book “Mother God”written by Teresa Kim Pecinovsky and Illustrated by Khoa Le.

The 1968 Poor People’s Campaign included a six-week encampment on the National Mall called Resurrection City. As we continue in this season of Eastertide, join us on Sunday April 28th@ 5:30-7PM to learn about Resurrection City, the theology of movement building of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, and what it means for organizing to end poverty today. Rev. . Jessica and Rev. Letiah will be facilitating the discussion

Art as resistance recognizes that when things seem bleak that is when we must begin the work of creating and imagining. Art is the work of pursuing hope rather than becoming despondent. Join us on Sunday, April 14th from 5:30-7:00 PM as Rev. Dr. Levi Jones facilitates this time discussion.

Event Cover Photo Credit: Rev. Dr. Levi Jones

Every quarter at The Open Table we like to slow down, take a deep breath and recenter ourselves. Join us on March 10th at 5:30 pm for a refreshing, contemplative gathering in the spirit of the Taizé community. It is an intentional time devoted to silence, healing, chants and songs based on Scripture. We’ll be having a Salad bar for dinner. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

During the season of Lent many choose to give up things like alcohol or chocolate. We are choosing to engage in a season of resistance. We will be learning how rest is a tactical strategy against the Empire and practicing ways to rest. Join us on Sunday, February 25th from 5:30-7PM as Rev. Letiah Fraser, Rev. Jessica Williams and Cecilia Ananya facilitate this time of discussion and practice.

We are NOT Machines! In our industrialized capitalist society we have to both be aware of the ways the system is structured to program humans into non-thinking machines and learn ways to reclaim our humanity. Join us on Sunday, January 28th from 5:30-7PM as Rev. Letiah Fraser and Rev. Jessica Williams facilitate this discussion.

As we begin a new year, we want to take the opportunity to reflect on the previous year and set our intentions for the coming year. What went well? What challenges did you face? What are you hopeful for this year? Setting intentions directs the mind and gives us purpose. Join us VIRTUALLY on Sunday, January 14th @ 5:30-7 PM as Eric and Stephenie Godfroy lead us in exercises to help us look back and look ahead for the new year.

Please note, due to the forecasted potential winter storm, we will be meeting virtually, on Zoom. Click here to join the gathering.

In the busyness of the holiday season, you are invited to spend an hour on Christmas Eve to slow down, sing some Christmas Carols, sip some Cocoa and eat some holiday cookies. It’s a simple way to reset your body, mind and spirit in preparation for the holidays and the New Year. We will meet on Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th from 4-5PM

Sugar & Spice Holiday Cookie Decorating is a fundraising event on December from 6:00-8:00 PM benefitting The Open Table! There’s no tastier way to show your support than an icing bag in one hand and a drink in the other! It’s the perfect date night, friend hang or solo learning experience. Feel free to bring snacks to share with your table. The event will take place at 318 E 55th St KCMO. Please enter through the north door near the playground, which is also an accessible entrance.

Single tickets can NOW be purchased for $55 each. OR Reserve a whole table of 6 for $300 and invite your friends. Each table seats 6 people. Tables will be reserved under the purchaser's name. Your ticket includes entry, all supplies, a dozen cookies to decorate and take home, and one drink ticket. Additional beverages will be available for a suggested donation of $5 at the event. You can also purchase extra kits to take home to share with family and friends. Take home kits can be purchased for $30. All tickets and kits must be purchased by December 11 to ensure we have enough supplies for everyone.

Click here to purchase your ticket, table, or take home kit.

The holidays can bring a range of emotions, including grief, sadness, and loneliness. This service of contemplation and music offers a space for inward reflection and hope to be found.

This is a combined service with Second Pres and The Open Table.

Having critically explored the war in Palestine from various perspectives, Join us December 10th @ 5:30 PM as we will reflect on these critical conversations through the lens of the Christmas story which also occurred during a time of intense political conflict. The gospel birth narratives over and over announce that the birth of Jesus will mean peace on earth. These anti-imperial messages of peace were in direct contrast to the Pax Romana, the so-called peace of the Roman Empire which was actually a time of intense violence and conquest. Join us as we explore how to build the peace of the kingdom of God, not that of empires.

The ongoing confrontations in Gaza reach deeper than a mere territorial dispute. The narrative isn't about aligning with one side or the other; it's about acknowledging a history marked by colonial ambitions and grappling with a present distorted by the pervasive influence of white supremacy.

The structures of white supremacy have historically played a substantial role in shaping global relations, perpetuating a culture that both overtly and covertly manipulates conflicts, ensuring the endurance of a power dynamic that benefits the colonial frameworks and their descendants. This has had a catastrophic effect, fostering conditions that devalue the sanctity of life in the pursuit of control.

To genuinely address the implications of white supremacy and its intersection with colonialism, we must reassess our perspectives and strive for an authentic peace—a peace that does not simply mask the symptoms but seeks to heal the deep wounds inflicted by oppressive power systems.

We invite you to a critical examination of these issues on Sunday, November 26th , from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. In this session, Moe Hamid will guide our conversation, which will critically look at how the doctrines of white supremacy and the shadows of colonization continue to influence the strife between Israel and Hamas, and by extension, the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Bring your Thanksgiving leftovers to contribute to our community Thanksgiving themed dinner.

Join The Open Table for a trivia night fundraiser on November 11th at 4-6pm. There will be trivia, drinks, raffle prizes, and much more! All proceeds will support The Open Table

Single tickets can be purchased for $25 and a table of 6 is $125 ( 6th person is free) Raffle tickets will be available along with many prizes! Bring a snack to share with your table.

Tickets can be purchased online using this link: https://secondpreskc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/394/responses/new

The Myth of Manifest Destiny is deeply rooted in our country's history and narratives and is intricately connected to how white Christian nationalist ideology is spreading today. Join us on Sunday, October 22nd at 5:30-7 PM as we work to dismantle the myth of manifest destiny while exploring its impact on the poor and dispossessed throughout history and today. Rev. Jessica Williams will facilitate the conversation.

During the month of October, Indigenous Peoples Month, we are learning and listening to the REAL history. Melissa Garret, a second generation storyteller, who comes from the Cherokee, Quapaw, and Seneca Cayuga people, will weave the story of her history and her faith, taking us on a journey that her grandmother often described to her as the story of “the one drop of blood that got us through the Trail of Tears and Jesus got us through ever since.” Join us as Melissa Garrett tells her story. Sunday, October 8th @5:30-7PM

*Please note the new time of the gathering.*

Dinner will be a sandwich bar. Please bring a dessert or a side dish to share.

Photo:

This photo was taken near Melissa Garrett's tribes' land; Seneca Cayuga in Grove Oklahoma

Freedom Churches have existed throughout history as a prophetic challenge to oppressive systems, including the institutional church as a place to learn how to challenge the religion of empire, to organize and build power and community and to care for the needs of ourselves and others. Join Rev. Letiah and Rev. Jessica on Sunday, September 24th @ 6PM as we dive into our history to gain wisdom for this present moment. We will be having soup for dinner. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

Throughout history and in our present day, we have been conditioned to believe darkness is bad and evil. We will explore the goodness of darkness through a sacred story, a children’s story and through poetry. Join us on Sunday, September 10th @ 6:00PM as Rev. Letiah facilitates this discussion. We will be having salad bar for dinner. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

The process of dismantling White Supremacy Culture is both an external and internal work. Racial caucusing is one way to begin to notice and interrupt it in ourselves and in others. Join us on Sunday, August 27th @ 6 PM as John Tramel and Cecilia Belser-Patton facilitate this discussion.