June 2022
Using biblical hospitality to build community, provide hope, and share love with those around us.
A Call to Biblical Hospitality

As promised when we first announced the creation of The Ivy Table, we have been holding our plans very loosely in order to allow God room to direct us. As we continue prayerfully moving forward with this ministry, it has become very clear to us that our original mission statement was a bit too limiting. The original mission read...
"Using food to build community, provide hope, and share love with those around us"
Although gathering people around a table will always be a part of what we do, our ultimate goal is to feed faith, hope, and love using biblical, Christ-like hospitality.
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Biblical hospitality is about more than just serving a meal, and goes far beyond simply meeting a person's physical needs. It was modeled to us over and over again by Jesus himself, and it challenges us to
  • welcome those who may be different than we are
  • treat strangers as if they are family
  • give selflessly, generously, and joyfully to those in need
  • make everyone feel seen, cared for, and valued
  • be constant examples of God's love, forgiveness, and grace

As we pursue a brick and mortar building of our own, we would like for it to offer more than just a delicious meal or a beautiful space to gather. God is reveling to us a picture of The Ivy Table as a "haven of hospitality' for Livingston County. We see a place where believers and non-believers alike can share in fellowship, where the affluent and the impoverished are invited to feast together (using a pay-what-you-can café model), where refreshment and restoration is felt by every person who walks through the door, and where the love of Christ is on full display for all to experience. As a result, we believe that a more accurate mission statement for The Ivy Table moving forward reads...
"Using biblical hospitality to build community, provide hope, and share love with those around us" 
Learn more about biblical hospitality
  • Leviticus 19:34
  • Proverbs 31:20
  • Matthew 25:35
  • Matthew 25:40
  • Luke 14:8-11
  • Luke 14:12-14
  • Hebrews 13:2
  • Romans 12:13
  • Acts 16:34
  • Titus 1:8
  • Job 31:32
  • 1 Timothy 5:10
  • 1 Peter 4:8-9
Feeding Thailand X 2
Our involvement in Thailand continues. Last month, we were able to fund two large food distributions in two separate areas of the country.

2- FOOD HAND OUTS IN PATTTAYA
In collaboration with the Mercy Pattaya charity, the Mayor of Pattaya's office, and the Pattaya City Social Welfare Department, we were able to provide bags of rice, dried goods, and fresh eggs to over 300 of the cities most needy (seniors, widows, and the disabled).
2- FOOD DONATIONS AT REFUGEE CAMP IN MAE SOT
Again, in collaboration with the Mercy Pattaya charity, we were able to bless over 100 children at a school in a refugee camp on the Thailand- Myanmar/ Burma border (about 9 hours north of Pattaya). The school offers free protection, housing, education, and food to orphaned and abandoned refugee children from Myanmar. We delivered a pick-up truck full of rice, eggs, cooking oil, dried fish, tuna, soybeans, onions, garlic, and chicken. The school director told us it was the largest food donation they had ever received, and enough to feed their students for several weeks. They even planned to share some of it with local refugee families that lived nearby.
Jessica and her husband Dan will be personally visiting the refugee camp and school this weekend (June 17) in order to help replace the roof on one of the buildings and deliver another large food donation on behalf of The Ivy Table's very generous donors. Watch our Facebook page for photos.
Project 2535 is a fundraising initiative to help support our next big food distribution in Thailand (currently scheduled for July 8). The number 2535 has significant meaning us and to this project.
  1. It represents the bible verse that our charity was founded upon (Matthew 25:35)
  2. It represents the approximate cost of this food distribution ($2353)
  3. It represents what we are asking each of you to consider donating ($25.35)

In Thailand, $25.35 is enough for us to bless 4 families with food (each receiving 6 lbs of rice, fresh eggs, and a bag full of pantry essentials). Over the next 25 days, if 100 people could each contribute just $25.35 to the Ivy Table, we would reach to our goal of feeding 400 hungry families in Thailand. Can you help???

As an added bonus, Whisk and Ivy will award one lucky donor with a FREE dinner party for 10 (your house or ours) valued at over $400. Winner to be announced on July 5. Learn more here.

Help us feed the people of Thailand
It's official...
The Ivy Table is now an approved 501(c)(3)


This designation adds a level of accountability and transparency to our organization, but it also provides many great benefits including

  • All past and future contributions to The Ivy Table are now tax-deductible with the IRS

  • The Ivy Table is now a part of PayPal's Approved Charity Giving Fund, which reduces the fees for credit card donations to us. (If you already have signed up for a monthly re-occurring donation, you should notice next month a reduction in the added processing fee)

  • We are eligible to apply for grants and other funding opportunities


Partner with us to feed faith, hope, and love!
Donations to The Ivy Table can be made by PayPal or major credit card. In addition to a one time gift, there is also an option to set up a reoccurring monthly giving amount.
Two exciting new partnerships!
We continue making connections with other like-minded ministries in the community. Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with the directors of two great local charities to investigate new ways in which The Ivy Table can support the great work they are doing. We look forward to seeing how God uses and grows these relationships in the months and years to come.
Love INC (Love In the Name of Christ) is an international charity committed to meeting basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, and transportation to those in crisis. In addition to providing short-term help, they work closely with those in need to help bring about long-term change. Their New Creation Ministry is a transformative program that helps educate and empower participants to discover his/her God-given potential and break the cycle of poverty.

Every Thursday this summer, The Ivy Table will be providing weekly dinners for their New Creation Ministry. Not only will this give each of the participants an opportunity to enjoy a healthy and delicious meal before their Thursday night classes, but it will also give our volunteers the chance to eat with, build relationships with, and provide encouragement to each individual participating in the program.

Last week was our first meal. Thanks to all the incredible volunteers (below) who made it possible.
Joy in the City is an outreach program of Community Bible Church that is ministering to some of the most underprivileged neighborhoods in our area.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, when they were unable to host their community BBQ each week, we had the opportunity to partner with them (thanks to Whisk and Ivy) and provide individually packaged dinners for the families in these neighborhoods that could be safely distributed at a distance.

After our recent meeting with Allison, the program director, we have learned that their ministry continues to grow and would benefit greatly from receiving additional food.

With the help of Joy in The City volunteers, we believe God may be opening the door for our dream of having a "Free Meal Fridge". This fridge would make free individually packaged meals (using event leftovers that too often go to waste) available to families experiencing food scarcity in The Brighton Village and The Kensington Inn.

We are also pursuing the possibility of partnering with CBC for a pop-up meal in mid-August, where the vision for The Ivy Table will be put on full display with a pay-what-you-can style community meal. Everyone in the area will be invited to fellowship together for lunch. Those who can afford to pay will help cover the cost of those who cannot. Stay tuned!
Upcoming Events
  • Every Thursday New Creation Dinners for Love INC. Howell
  • June 10-July 5 Project 2535 Fundraising Drive
  • June 17-21 Food distribution to refugee orphans at Mae Sot Refugee Camp, Thailand
  • June 29 Food distribution to families of 50 Mercy Pattaya scholarship students, Thailand
  • July 8 Community food distribution to hundreds of Pattaya families in need, Thailand
  • August 13 (Tentative) Pop-up meal in Brighton
JOIN US IN PRAYER

Please pray regarding:
  • God's plans for The Ivy Table would continue to be unveiled
  • Clear direction as we explore new ministry partnerships and giving opportunities
  • Safety for Jessica and her team as they travel to Mae Sot June 17-20
  • The success of Project 2535 to raise enough money for July's food distribution in Thailand
  • Planning details for our Pop-up meal in August
  • Guidance and we consider the addition of a prayer/steering team

In His name,
Barb, Jessica, and Sandy
Founding Directors

The Ivy Table
Feeding Faith, Hope, and Love
PHONE: 810-295-1925
"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in" - Matthew 25:35