An Open Door in Old Town Clovis

How did Gathering Table end up with a spot at the Collective 103 shop in Old Town Clovis? In this post you get to hear the full story about how God opened an exciting door for Gathering Table during the fall of last year... a door that has been a lot of fun and a BIG blessing for the ministry.

In case you don't know, the heartbeat of what Gathering Table does is to host community dinners that "pop up" throughout our community. The purpose of these Pop-Up Dinners is to bring the community together around one common table, to listen to each other's life stories and build empathy. We believe that these dinners are a God-send for the times in which we live. When our world is divided against one another and hatred is so easily kindled, God is at work sharing his love in Christ, a love that crosses all barriers and divides and differences.

So the story of how we ended up at the Collective Shop in Old Town Clovis begins right in the middle of us being faithful doing what God has asked us to do in hosting these Pop-Up Dinners...

Photo: One of our volunteers, Andrea Dunnington, helping at the Collective 103 for Gathering Table during the holidays.

Last August, we were hosting the Summer Night Delights Dinner in Old Town Clovis "after hours" at our favorite go-to location, Papa's Place. This was probably our 4th or 5th dinner there. The evening before the dinner, I went to the Friday Night Old Town Clovis Farmer's Market to pick up some fresh local produce from one of the farms there, so that we could fill up farm bags to give to each guest that attended the dinner the next day.

As I was walking down the streets of Old Town Clovis, a sign caught the corner of my eye. The sign said "Permanent Jewelry sold here". It caught my eye because my wife, Kristy, loves permanent jewelry. If you're not familiar with what permanent jewelry is, it is jewelry such as a necklace or bracelet where the ends are soldered together creating a seamless and "permanent" loop. They are actually really cool! So when I got home shortly after that, I mentioned to my wife that I saw that sign, and that it was out front of one of the shops in the same breezeway as Papa's Place.

Fast forward to about 4pm the following day, which was on Saturday evening. We had completely set the table and everything was ready for the Summer Night Delights Dinner at Papa's Place, which was planned for 5pm. This was unusual for us to be done that early, because usually we are scrambling to get everything ready up to the last minute as guests are starting to arrive! With all that extra time, Kristy decided to take a stroll down the breezeway to check out the shop I mentioned that sells permanent jewelry, while I stayed back in case anyone showed up early.

Photos: The table set up for the Summer Nights Delight dinner in August 2024 hosted "after hours" at Papa's Place in Old Town Clovis.

Kristy walked over to the shop, which (you guessed it) was the Collective 103. Quick side note about the Collective shop. It is called the Collective 103 because it is located at 453 Pollasky Ave, Suite 103 in Old Town Clovis and it is a collective effort of small, local businesses and ministries who each sell their own unique products and gift items. What is really cool about this shop is that each vendor has their own purpose and vision for why they do what they do. And the shop is completely run by the vendors (each vendor takes a day of the week to manage the shop, Gathering Table's day is Fridays). If you've never been to the Collective 103, you've got to check it out! The shop is open everyday from 11am-5pm.

Back to the story... The person running the shop that Saturday happened to be Mary, who is the vendor who makes the permanent jewelry. Kristy chatted with her a bit about the jewelry, and then Mary asked what she was up to, so Kristy shared about Gathering Table and the Pop-Up Dinner being held at Papa's Place that evening. Mary found out in that conversation that Kristy makes Spoon Rings for selling at the Farmer's Market to help raise funds for doing the Pop-Up Dinners. Mary then told Kristy that there was an open spot at the Collective shop and that maybe we could sell the Spoon Rings there! They exchanged information, and Mary said she would talk to the manager of the shop to see if Gathering Table might be a good fit for the open spot.

After the dinner that night, Kristy shared with me about her conversation with Mary. We were both very excited about the possibility of having a spot in Old Town Clovis to sell our Spoon Rings as a way to fundraise for the ministry.

About a week later we heard from the manager of the shop. She found out about our bee hives and how we also were starting to sell honey to support the ministry, and she asked if we would like to sell our honey in addition to the Spoon Rings! Our answer was absolutely! Kristy and I both felt that this was God opening a door for the Gathering Table ministry, to not only sell Spoon Rings and Honey to support it but also as an important way for us to invite the community to the Pop-Up Dinners by having information about the dinners at our spot at the shop.

Photos: Our Spoon Rings are hand-made from classic and antique spoons by cutting the spoons, sanding and bending them using a custom ring bender. We also have a small arbor press to hand stamp letters and words on the inside or outside of the rings.

Within 3 weeks from me seeing the sign for permanent jewelry in August 2024, Kristy and I were setting up our spot for Gathering Table at the Collective 103 at the beginning of September. Talk about an open door! We did nothing to make it happen. We were just being faithful in what God had asked us to do, and recognized when God was opening a door.

The spot at the shop has been a huge blessing for the ministry. Our goal is that in the near future, the honey and spoon ring sales will completely fund the Pop-Up Dinners. After 9 months of being at the shop we are about half way to achieving that goal! And who knows what other things God has planned next!

For me, and I hope for you too, this is an encouraging testimony of God's faithfulness. If he opened this small door for us, what might he do, not only in the future for Gathering Table, but also in each of our lives as we remain faithful in doing what he has put before us to do! When you remain faithful in doing what God has asked you to do now, who knows what "sign" might catch the corner of your eye as he opens a door that is part of his plans for your future.

Blessings,

Jeff