“What if we knew our neighbors and had relationships with them so that we could love them?”
RJ Stillwell, senior social work major, asked herself this question in Fall 2024 upon returning to campus after studying abroad the previous spring.
Her attempt to answer this question would eventually inspire The Table.
The Table is a student-led ministry that hosts meals open to both Taylor students and the surrounding community. According to The Table’s website, they hope to serve as “a point of connection.”
Dinners start at 6 p.m. at the Upland Community Center. The Table’s next meal will take place March 23.
The Table has operated since last spring, though the concept for the ministry tracks back further.
Stillwell, founder of the ministry, studied abroad in Uganda during her sophomore spring semester. After returning to Taylor the following fall, she was flooded with all kinds of emotions. On top of readjusting to American culture, she returned to a campus rife with changes, updates and construction zones.
Having spent her spring in a different atmosphere and then returning to Taylor, she was put off by the campus expansions and lack of connection with the surrounding community. Frustrated, she initially didn’t know how to handle these emotions. But in his kindness, God shaped that frustration into passion, she said.
Stillwell spoke with Greg Dyson, campus pastor and vice president for spiritual life and intercultural leadership. She also talked with Andrea Masvero, executive director of 1846 Enterprises, about how to initiate connections between Taylor and the surrounding community, she said.
Eventually she had the idea: meals. Meals not only bring people together, they also meet a physical need, she said.
“Being a social work major, I knew that food insecurity is a real challenge,” Stillwell said. “Especially three blocks down, they don’t have that plastic card that gets them all the food they want in the world. They don't get to put a half-eaten plate of food on the conveyor belt. That’s not their reality.”
Mary Fletcher, Upland clerk-treasurer, fully supported the students who approached her with their idea to host meals for the community. Fletcher helped the student leaders get access to the Upland Community building free of charge.
From her perspective as a community member, she could attest The Table could help fill needs: a physical need for free meals and an emotional need to bridge the gap between Taylor and the Upland community.
“I just am really impressed with this group of students that started this and that have taken the initiative,” Fletcher said. “ … I just appreciate their hard work and their desire to reach the community for Jesus.”
Stillwell partnered with community members like Fletcher and other Taylor students who shared her vision, she said. By Spring 2025, The Table started hosting its first meals.
As the ministry approaches its first anniversary, this spring attests to the rapport they’ve built, Stillwell said.
“There's now a core group who we know to almost expect to come to our meals,” she said. “And when they don't, we're like, ‘Oh, where's this family?,’ ‘Where's this lady?’”
Additionally, Stillwell used to cook the meals by herself. However, as The Table grew, cooking became a group effort. They now use a spreadsheet where people can sign up to bring certain parts of the meal, she said.
The connectivity she sought through the ministry is on full display on meal nights: parents are talking, Taylor students are playing with kids in the community and children are laughing. Stillwell loves when the “hum of the room is loud” from the conversation and connection happening.
“Their spirit’s being fed as much as their stomachs,” Fletcher said.
As Stillwell prepares to graduate this spring, she’s grateful The Table has grown to be bigger than her. It has become sustainable.
Brooke Davidson, sophomore film major, was a freshman when Stillwell asked her to help start The Table. The current cabinet is made up of every class and both genders. They hope to keep the ministry alive, continuing to involve new people along the way, she said.
Davidson and the other cabinet members dedicate a lot of time to The Table. Hours go into cooking, grocery shopping, cabinet meetings and hosting. Running a ministry as a student can sometimes feel hectic. But when the night of the meal comes and everybody is gathered together, this chaos is overcome by one thought:
“Oh, this is more important than anything else. Like this is what really matters — knowing people and providing a need,” Davidson said.
If people want to get involved with The Table, Stillwell and Davidson encourage them to visit their website: sites.google.com/view/thetable-upland/home. People can also reach out to cabinet members: Stillwell, Davidson, Nathan Frady, Sophia Sterken or Avery Friedberg.
Volunteers are always welcome, but Davidson also encourages people to attend one of their meals and experience the connectedness firsthand.
“It’s so much more than just a meal,” Stillwell said.
