This new church plant, called The Table, has been meeting since September 2009 in The Church of Our Lord, the oldest church in Victoria on its original foundations. They draw on the historical roots of Anglican tradition, reflected in their ancient surroundings.

The Table is an anomaly in a city with some of the lowest church attendance in Canada and where seven Anglican churches will close this year due to dwindling membership. A 2005 report to the House of Bishops predicts that, at the present rate of decline of 2 per cent a year, by 2061 there will be only one Anglican left in Canada. In a predominantly white-haired denomination, many question the relevance of tradition to the younger generation.

Nevertheless, in one year The Table has grown from five people meeting for coffee to a network of over 100 people, most of whom are in their twenties.

The Table began when Rev. Josh Wilton and Rev. Andy Withrow moved with their families to Victoria in January 2009 to plant a church under the Anglican Coalition in Canada. In their mid-thirties themselves, they have found that being relevant to the younger generation does not require losing valuable traditions.

Wilton says their goal is "to see Jesus Christ revealed in common life" by being the church outside the church walls and by loving their neighbours. "The church has generally done a bad job loving their neighbours because they don't know them".

The best way The Table has found to get to know their neighbours follows Jesus' example of eating with people.

"Something we do really well is food," says Wilton. Every Tuesday night since September a group of young adults have been eating together before their Bible studies. They take turns cooking, experimenting with everything from Indian to Polish food.

Starting in February of this year they have extended the dinner invitation to their neighbours, "anyone with an opinion and a pulse", and hosted a series of "Table Conversations"--a dinner party with a theme.

The atmosphere of the dinner parties is as warm and inviting as the people organizing them. The church hall is lit with tea lights and lamps while the hums with Sigur Ros and Mumford and Sons music and conversation at the round tables. The first eight weeks of conversations were themed around the Ten Commandments, re-entitled "The Top Ten New Year's Resolutions of All Time." Now they are discussing controversial topics from the Sermon on the Mount.

Their numbers have more than doubled and over a third of those coming regularly are not Christians . The four rules for the night are "Don't be a jerk, don't be a wuss, have grace, and eat and be merry." There are few, if any, other venues for this kind of interaction in downtown Victoria, says Wilton.

As Camden McAllister describes it , "I can't find another place in town where people discuss this openly." He affirms that the conversation nights are a safe place to hash out tough questions about life and faith, of which he has plenty. McAllister, a newly independent 20-year-old, recalls his first experience at The Table at a movie night in spring 2009. He was surprised to find his questions welcomed and discussed. "There was absolutely no pressure. That made me feel comfortable to open up and start talking to people."

A year later, and he hasn't looked back. Still seeking answers about God and Christianity, McAllister joined The Table as an appointed "inquirer". He also plays the drums for the music team and participates in film and photo shoots with his camera skills. "This is really a family," he says, and he is a member of it. "I am seeking God, but it's the community that has made me stay."

The idea of family is fundamental to The Table's vision. Wilton says they named their church after a table, not only for its ordinary implications of food and community, but because it is a symbol of communion with God. "A table is both ordinary and extraordinary, and that's how we see Christian life."

Much of The Table's activities take place around physical tables, whether in homes on weekends, at university cafes or at the Tuesday and Sunday night dinners.

They compare their church to a pomegranate: many pockets in one fruit. This model is based on the idea of community and relationship-based church that grows by staying small. "We've been called a house church, but we're not giving up the benefits of ceremony and public events."

Though The Table will launch officially in September 2010, they have hosted "preview services" at Christmas, Lent and Easter. Preparing the church for its launch is a team that meets every second Sunday afternoon for worship, study and food. Aged six months to 60 years, this team includes artists, musicians, cooks, gardeners, students and electricians, who are all passionate about impacting their city and learning to love each other and their neighbours.

The face of the Anglican church is changing in Victoria. The Table draws on a rich heritage of Anglican tradition, and is making it relevant in their community in new ways. They are living examples that spiritual change comes hand in hand with social and cultural change.

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