In a world that has never been so connected, we have never been so disconnected.
Yes, we have all the ways of connecting online, but I know for me and many others I speak to there is a want, a desire, a need for something deeper.
A real conversation without a ping or a ding interrupting it. An opportunity to head out and potentially sit beside people we may not otherwise meet. An event where the main purpose is to weave the golden thread through community again.
That is the beauty of the Long Table.
Long table events are built around a simple idea, bringing people together around one table, sharing a meal and making space for genuine connection.
There is no hierarchy, no cliques, no top table. True community is often built in the small, quiet moments…
It is built when someone steps outside their comfort zone, arrives alone and is welcomed in.
When strangers find they have more in common than they thought (At the last dinner I was sat next to someone who grew up ten minutes up the road from me in the UK!)
When there is laughter. buzz, magic in the air.
When a reconnection happens after however many years (Another story from our last event, someone ended up sat next to the brother of their friend who they had spent childhood holidays with!)
When a simple question, or maybe one of the prompts, becomes a meaningful conversation.
When we have been so present, that it is only when we are getting up to leave that we realise we haven’t checked our phone all that time!
Recently, I asked for a show of hands from those who have ever felt lonely in their life. Many, many hands went up. I have absolutely had and have these times, and with top values of belonging and community, love creating opportunities to gather and bring friends and ‘potential friends’ together.
Hosting at home recently, a friend turned and said “Liz, will you please pipe down and let the rest of us get a word in!” She was having me on, because I was barely saying a word, a) because I was quietly celebrating the fact that as someone who has not been confident in the kitchen, I had pulled this dinner together out of nowhere, at short notice, and that it was all ready at the same time! But more importantly I was quiet because of b) I was in my happy place. I had provided a slightly random opportunity for people to come together and I just love being absorbed in that buzz of belonging!
Anyhoo!
More Than a Meal
A Long Table Event is, of course, an opportunity to enjoy delicious food, wholesome company, and support a good cause, but it is also an invitation to slow down and be present.
We spend so much of our lives moving quickly – from work to home, from one commitment to the next, always meaning to catch up with people ‘soon.’ These events offer a little interruption to that rhythm and offer something else, a reminder.
A reminder that connection does not have to be complicated. That sometimes, it begins with simply by taking a seat, by pulling out a chair at the table.
A Table With Purpose
What makes these gatherings even more meaningful is that every dollar raised goes to Taranaki Retreat.
So, when you join us at the table, you are not only choosing a time of connection, you are contributing to something beyond yourself. Your seat helps create support and continue ongoing support for those that need it.
It is community in action.
A shared meal can be more than a meal. It can become a way to give back, to gather with purpose, and to be part of a collective effort that ripples further than the room, further than just that particular event…
Come As You Are
You do not need to know everyone and you do not need to bring anyone.
You are welcome exactly as you are.
Come with a friend, bring someone you love, or arrive solo. (Some are saying the events as a great opportunity to make that much-promised catch up happen!)
Bring your curiosity, your appetite and a willingness to be part of the room. The magic of the Long Table is not created by one person, it is co-created by everyone who chooses to take a seat.
Held at Waimanako, (The Tasman Club), why not join us for the next Long Table Event – a beautiful spread of food, conversation, community and giving back. With every dollar going to such an important cause, every place at the table helps make a difference.
I would really love to welcome you into this beautiful movement!
Next event – Long Table Brunch – 1st September 10am $25 a head.
