As communities across the country re-launch 100 Tables for 2026, Shakshi Paul looks back on a transformative summer
Last summer, Kamloops United Church was one of the over 100 United Church communities of faith that participated in the nationwide 100 Tables initiative launched as part of A Place at the Table. We picked up our picnic table from RONA, which would become an outward sign of our hospitality, and got started on planning our welcome to the community.
Our community of faith’s building suffered partial fire damage in August 2024, and over the past year, has been going through a lengthy restoration and rebuild process. We were excited to take on something new with this picnic table.
Under the supervision of our lead minister, a welcome team consisting of myself and Joe Robinson designed a week of welcoming conversations for the Kamloops community, from June 30 to July 4. We placed the picnic table right in front of our church, amidst all the church construction.
We organized about 12 volunteers to participate in the project. Our church community was invited to stop by during the days the picnic table was set up and come engage in conversations. We painted our picnic table a beautiful shade of red, so it could be easily spotted.
In the picture above, you will see there is empty space on the table—a visual representation that there is always room at our table for more to join. Our volunteers provided homemade baked goods and drinks to passersby, and engaged folks from downtown Kamloops in conversation around the church rebuild and the A Place at the Table picture. They told them a bit about our church hospitality, or just wished them a good day.
Over the course of a week, we were able to engage in diverse conversations surrounding how people were connected to our church. People shared stories of being baptised at the church, or knowing a family member who was married in the church, or how glad they were about the meals served every Sunday as part of our community’s food sustainability program.
Our main learning from this experience has been to hear what a difference our community of faith has made in people’s lives, and in the community. It was also heartwarming to hear that people could not wait for our church reopening. We decided to take our beloved picnic table with us to our newly renovated space when we open, to use as a children’s corner during worship.
We also provided each member with a build-your-own and easy-to-assemble picnic table kit, which encouraged members to build picnic tables with friends and family.
The process of creating our table, and watching our community members create their own, allowed us to reflect on resilience and rebuilding in a period where it was most needed for our community.
After over a year of loss and the long journey towards renewal, we returned to our home and started worshipping together on December 7, 2025. Our church building now stands restored, filled with love and the promise of new beginnings.
The journey back has been one of deep faith. We walked together as a community through uncertainty, but held onto hope together in moments like our 100 Tables gatherings. Even without our building, the church never stopped being the church. We worshipped in a leased space and gathered in living rooms and halls, and we discovered that God’s presence cannot be confined by walls.
Now, as we step across the threshold of our rebuilt sanctuary, we do so with gratitude and awe. We are reminded of the value of perseverance, and of God’s unwavering faithfulness. With our return to a physical space, we feel a renewal of spirit and mission.
As Welcome Coordinator, I’ve learned that a community is stronger than any disaster. That faith grows when tested by fire. And that our calling is not just to rebuild what was, but to reimagine what can be.
As we embrace this new chapter with open hearts, Kamloops United again commits to being a place of welcome, healing, and hope for all. The fire changed our building, but it also allowed us to gather outside the doors of the church, giving us new perspective on where faith really lives.
—Shakshi Paul is Welcome Coordinator at Kamloops United Church in British Columbia, and was featured as a disciple in The United Church of Canada’s A Place at the Table project in 2026.
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The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.