Week 1 | Everyday Tables

Theme: Ordinary spaces, extraordinary moments

Last week, we pulled up our first chair at The Table — together.If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been following since the prologue, the kettle’s still warm.

This week, we begin where all good things start: at home, in the middle of the everyday.

Not the “new table I just ordered from Temple & Webster” kind.I mean the real ones — the ones with old coffee stains, crumbs from yesterday, and maybe a small pile of “I’ll deal with that later.”

Those are the tables that tell the truth.

The Table That Knows You

When I was little, our kitchen table was covered in scratches, glue, and faint glitter scars from a long-forgotten school project. Mum tried to scrub it clean for years until one day she sighed and said, “It’s part of the décor now.”

That table knew us. It heard every story — the loud, the awkward, the hilarious. It held breakfasts that turned into confessions, arguments that turned into laughter, and birthday cakes that leaned slightly to the left but still tasted perfect.

Now, when I think about that table, I don’t remember the mess. I remember the warmth. The way the light fell across it in the afternoon. The way it waited, steady and patient, for us to come back to it.

I wonder what your table remembers about you.

The Problem with Everyday

Somewhere along the way, we stopped noticing.We started eating over the sink, or in the car, or in front of the laptop.The table — that place where we once slowed down — became just another surface to clear.

But here’s the thing: the table hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s still there, waiting quietly in the middle of your life, whispering,

“You’re allowed to stop for a minute.”

What If the Sacred Is Already Here?

I get it. Life is messy. But maybe — just maybe — the sacred is hiding right inside the mess.

Maybe meaning doesn’t arrive with linen napkins and deep conversation.Maybe it’s found in the morning tea ring you never wiped up, the homework corner, or that slightly wobbly leg that everyone’s learned to lean away from.

The ordinary table might just be holding more of you than you realise.

Your Invitation

This week’s creative prompt is simple:

What ordinary table in your life holds extraordinary memories?

Look around you.Where do you eat, write, dream, pay bills, have conversations, or just exhale?

Tell us about that table.What has happened there that made you laugh, cry, breathe differently, or see yourself anew?

You can:

📸 Take a photo.

📝 Write a short reflection.

🎨 Sketch or doodle it.

Then share it with us → add it to the Living Table Wall, our growing online artwork made from your stories, images, and small moments of noticing.

Every contribution becomes part of The Final Feast Exhibition on Saturday 20 December — a collective celebration of art, theatre, music, and connection, built from all the moments we’ve shared along the way.

Your story, your photo, your little scrap of reflection — it all becomes part of something bigger.

If You’d Like to Go Deeper

If this week’s prompt stirs something in you - or you'd simply to spend some time meeting some lovely people around a table while making something creative - come join me for Cuppa Connect — our small-group creative sessions where we slow down and explore these ideas through art, story, and conversation.

📍 Miss Lucy Café, 133 Central Road, Nunawading

🕙 Wednesdays 10 am – 12 pm

🗓️ Starting Wednesday 12 November💲 $25 per session (includes a $5 voucher for your cuppa of choice).

You don’t need to be “artsy.” You just need to be curious — and maybe a little bit tired of rushing. We make art, share stories, and remember what happens when we actually give ourselves permission to linger.

Here's the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1910508254619?aff=oddtdtcreator

Become Part of the Cast

And if you’re feeling that tug — the sense that you’d like to be part of this in a bigger way — there’s a seat for you too.

In the lead-up to The Final Feast on Saturday 20 December, we’re creating a community cast: kids, teens, and adults working side-by-side to bring The Table to life through theatre, music, and movement.

It’s not your average community show; it’s a living artwork woven from our stories of belonging and the art of welcome. You don’t need experience — just curiosity and a willingness to play.Beginners will be guided. Seasoned performers will be stretched. Everyone will be welcomed.

📍 The Village Well (Box Hill Baptist Church) — 3–5 Ellingworth Parade, Box Hill

🗓 Sundays 2 – 5 pm (Primary-aged children finish 3:30 pm)

🗓 Rehearsals begin Sunday 16 November

Final Feast Performance: Saturday 20 December | 6:30 – 8:30 pm

We work on a pay-what-you-can contribution model ($50 – $225 total), so everyone can take part. Five sessions. One shared feast. Endless reasons to show up. Pull up a chair — we’ve saved you a spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1957796174059?aff=oddtdtcreator

A Small Pause Before You Go

Take a moment right now.Look at the table nearest to you — even if it’s cluttered, even if it’s covered in crumbs and receipts.

That table has seen things.It’s held you when you didn’t even notice.Maybe it’s time to look back.

Maybe holiness has been hiding under the salt shaker all along.

Pull up a chair. You already belong here.