THE WELCOME TABLE | Where Stories Come Alive
Food. Culture. Community.
Gathering around the table for a global celebration of story, flavor, connection, and belonging.
Oh, friends! Last Friday night, our home was FULLLLLLLL.
Like …
pull-up-an-extra-chair,
scoot-in-closer,
family-style,
beautifully-cozy full.
For the first time ever at a Seeds gathering, we even had a waitlist.
And honestly?
We’re not surprised.
Because people are hungry for spaces where they can simply come as they are.
Spaces where stories matter.
Spaces where humanity is remembered.
Spaces where strangers become neighbors.
Spaces where people don’t just hear about community …
they get to BE in it.
And wowwwww …
that’s exactly what unfolded at The Welcome Table.
A few of the many phenomenal photos taken by our sister, Lynn Townsend:
(More about Lynn’s work below…)
Over shared Ethiopian- and Somali-inspired food, people gathered around stories of migration, resilience, friendship, healing, sisterhood, survival, courage, and hope.
There was laughter.
There were tears.
There were long hugs in the kitchen.
Quiet conversations on the stairs.
People lingering late into the night.
New friendships forming across cultures, backgrounds, generations, and experiences.
And perhaps most beautifully of all?
There was room for honesty.
As Halima (one of the AHmazing storytellers) reflected:
“The Welcome Table became far more than a shared meal. It became a place where people gathered not only to eat, but to listen, connect, and remember the importance of caring for one another with sincerity and compassion.”
YES.
That.
Throughout the evening, stories became bridges.
People recognized pieces of themselves in someone else’s story.
Moments of vulnerability created unexpected warmth and connection throughout the room.
“Storytelling became more than speaking. It became a bridge between our lives.” -Halima
“People do not heal only through solutions. Sometimes they heal through being seen.” -Halima
We felt that deeply.
Because truly, one of the most powerful parts of the evening was not perfection.
It was sincerity.
It was people choosing to sit together openly.
To listen.
To share honestly.
To recognize our shared humanity beneath all the things that often divide us.
As our storytellers — Halima, Shamso, and Christa — beautifully reminded us:
“We may come from different places.
We may pray differently.
Speak differently.
Live differently.Yet the human heart longs for many of the same things:
to be seen,
to be understood,
to be valued,
to know we matter.”
Perhaps that’s where real change begins.
Not through fear or division,
but through compassion, courage, conversation, and human connection.
Deeply moving moments of the evening came through our storytellers’ open hearts and vulnerable offerings.
“In storytelling, I opened the doors of my heart without fully knowing what was still waiting for me there. And somehow, through trembling honesty, I found pieces of myself sitting quietly in the shadows of memory.
As my friend held me close through the pain, I felt something inside me soften.
And there, on the other side of that silence, the little girl I once was stood smiling back at me — as if she had been waiting all these years to be seen, to be held, to finally know she survived.” -Halima
There are moments when a room collectively holds its breath.
Over and over. And over again.
And somehow, through story, vulnerability, and shared presence, something deeply human unfolded among us.
“Sometimes change begins very quietly —
around a table,
through listening,
through ordinary people choosing to care.” -Halima
YES.
A thousand times yes.
To our storytellers — Halima, Shamso, and Christa —
thank you.
Thank you for your honesty.
Your courage.
Your tenderness.
Your wisdom.
Your vulnerability.
Your willingness to let us into your stories and lives.
And beautifully …
The Welcome Table does not end here.
EVERYday Philanthropy (Ethiopia!)
One of the beautyFULL ripples from the evening has been the opportunity to continue supporting urgent hospital needs in Ethiopia through Rahma’s Hands Foundation, led by our storyteller and friend, Halima, alongside her family who are boots-on-the-ground in Ethiopia. Halima’s sister currently works in the very hospital where these funds are being sent, helping ensure support reaches children and families facing significant need.
Right now, many children and families are facing heartbreaking levels of need — including a lack of basic nourishment while receiving medical care. Just $50 provides food for a child in the hospital for an entire month, and every gift, large or small, helps provide practical care, dignity, and hope to families navigating incredibly difficult circumstances.
It’s a simple but powerful way to continue extending the love and compassion shared around The Welcome Table far beyond one evening together.
These photos were taken by Halima earlier this year, while visiting the hospital where funds will be sent, offering a glimpse into both the beauty and the very real needs present within the community her family continues to live and serve.
Ways to support:
Venmo: @Halima-8157
(If prompted, the last four digits are 1610.)
PayPal: @HalmaAhmed
All funds donated go directly to Halima and her community in Ethiopia.
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, reach out to Seeds for details.
Shamso’s Book | The Jungle Didn’t Kill Me
“No mother. No map. Just me — surviving 11 countries.” -Shamso
One of the many gifts shared around the table that evening was Shamso Abdullahi Ahmed’s extraordinary memoir, The Jungle Didn’t Kill Me — a powerful true story of survival, migration, resilience, courage, and hope.
After losing her mother during the civil war in Somalia, Shamso began an unimaginable journey in search of safety, belonging, and a new beginning. Orphaned at a young age, she traveled first to Kenya, then South Africa, where betrayal forced her to continue forward once again. From there, her path led through Brazil and across South and Central America — often on foot — until she finally reached the United States in search of peace, freedom, and home.
This is not fiction.
This is a true story.
And somehow, even in the midst of profound hardship, Shamso carries and shares her story with honesty, courage, humor, tenderness, and humanity.
For those who were present Friday night, you already know:
Shamso carries a rare ability to tell hard truths with honesty, humanity, humor, and heart.
After everything she has endured and overcome, Shamso’s encouragement to others remains beautifully simple:
“Don’t give up!” -Shamso
Shamso has also generously offered to donate proceeds from upcoming book sales to help support the Ethiopia hospital initiative. We’ll keep you posted on ways to purchase signed books directly from her in the future — opportunities that will also help provide nourishment and care for hospitalized children and families in Ethiopia.
If you’d like to order a copy:
• Friends outside Denver can order through Amazon.
• And if you’ve already read the book, writing a review on Amazon would be such a meaningful way to help more people discover Shamso’s story.
And perhaps one of the sweetest reflections Shamso shared after the gathering was this:
“Thank you. You’ll always have a place in my heart.” -Shamso
Ohhhh how we feel the same.
Stories have a way of continuing the conversation long after a gathering ends.
And this book absolutely does that.
Extending the Table
We’ve also begun dreaming together about future storytelling gatherings, book signings, and community conversations — both locally and virtually.
So if you’d ever like to host a storytelling evening, shared meal, book gathering, fundraiser, or Zoom conversation with your community, our storytellers would truly LOVE to hear from you. We can imagine beautyFULL evenings centered around meaningful dialogue, Shamso sharing from her book, and Halima and Christa sharing stories of friendship, resilience, healing, migration, and hope — all while helping support children and families connected to the Ethiopia hospital initiative through Rahma’s Hands Foundation.
It could be such a meaningful way to build connection, raise awareness, support the fundraiser, share Shamso’s story (and books!), and continue extending the table far beyond one evening in Denver. Contact Seeds and we’ll connect you with the storytellers.
A Writing Ripple (thanks to Donna, with Writing with Donna)
Speaking of stories and books … this invitation is for all y’all who have a story in YOU to write. (Yes, you!) One of the sweetest ideas to emerge after the gathering came from our beloved editor and longtime Seeds friend, Donna Mazzitelli. What if a space to gather, write, share stories, encourage one another, and continue building meaningful community together emerged out of this gathering?
Honestly? We LOVE this idea.
Donna already hosts a beautiful monthly virtual writing gathering and has offered to explore creating an in-person Seeds writing circle here in Colorado as well. If writing has been tugging at your heart — whether journaling, storytelling, poetry, blogging, processing life, or perhaps even a future book — she’d absolutely love to invite you to join!
What a beautiful ripple this could become.
Info about the in-person writing circle, head HERE or email us at Seeds
Info about the next 4th Friday Zoom gathering, head HERE
Photo Gallery (thanks to Lynn, with Illumine Photography)
Our dear friend Lynn Townsend captured such beautyFULL moments from the evening.
To view the gallery:
- Visit Illumine Photography
- Click “Client Portal”
- Open: “Seeds of Exchange ~ The Welcome Table”
Lynn shared afterward:
“Being together in such a warm and safe space is exactly what my heart longs for. Thank you for bringing all of our beautiful cultures, languages and beliefs together so that we can be ONE, as we are meant to be.”
Through Illumine Photography, Lynn creates sacred photography experiences for women reconnecting with their essence and beauty. She and her husband also photograph weddings, families, businesses, and more through David Lynn Photography.
If sharing photos from the evening, please credit: Web/Printed: Lynn Townsend | Social: @LynnTownsendPhotographer
Annnndddddd … Thank You
Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for listening well.
Thank you for caring for one another.
Thank you for helping create spaces where people can exhale, connect, and remember our shared humanity.
As our storytellers shared:
“What could happen if more people remembered that we truly belong to one another?
What healing could begin if kindness became part of our everyday human experience?
What bridges could be built if listening replaced fear?”
Ohhhhh …
we are stronger together.
Thank you to every single person who helped make the evening possible:
those who cooked, cleaned, moved chairs, greeted guests, donated food, hauled tables, refilled drinks, stayed late, prayed, listened, encouraged, hugged, photographed, and helped create beauty behind the scenes.
SO much goodness because of SO many hands.
Special thanks to:
• Red Bird Farms and Josh Deaner (Christa’s brother-in-law!) for generously donating the chicken for our feast.
• Azeb Haile of Nile Ethiopian Restaurant for donating the delicious lentils for the meal.
• Abdukader for the Ethiopian bread. (If you’re in Colorado, contact Seeds to order from Abdu for your next gathering or dinner party!)
• Maz and Papa Ali’s Olive Oil from Jerusalem Restaurant.
• Lynn Townsend of Illumine Photography for beautifully capturing the evening through photographs.
• And to Brandon, our kiddos, and our entire Seeds family for helping transform our home into a table of welcome.
One of our favorite quotes — shared that evening — comes from Margaret Wheatley:
“I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again. Simple, honest, human conversation.”
And perhaps some of the most meaningful movements begins exactly like this:
around tables,
through stories,
through ordinary people choosing to care.
Let’s keep extending the table.
xoxo, -Sarah DT
PS | Come Gather with Us
Hey you!
People don’t just need to hear about community.
They need to BE in it.
Join us! Head to our Seeds Events page to explore what’s unfolding both in Colorado and virtually — gatherings you can join from ANYwhere in the world — through our mighty community of many walks of life, cultures, and faith traditions, as well as through ROOTED in Jesus, the faith-centered branch of Seeds.
A few upcoming gatherings:
Local Colorado Gatherings
Profound Purpose | Hikes, Paddleboarding + Community Gatherings (Next up: Hike! June 6)
Join Tonya Krueger and the women of Profound Purpose for mountain hikes, paddleboard mornings, sunset walks, brunches, and meaningful community throughout the summer.
Sunday Salmon | Taco Tuesday + Community Connection (June 2)
A joy-filled evening of organic tacos, connection, nourishment, and belonging as Sunday Salmon launches their new Wednesday Wheels initiative serving vulnerable communities across Castle Rock, CO.
Gather Supper (June 1) (Part of the ROOTED in Jesus branch of Seeds)
A shared table, meaningful conversation, encouragement, prayer, and authentic community centered around Jesus.
Virtual Gatherings
Thursday Prayer Gatherings | via Zoom (Part of the ROOTED in Jesus branch of Seeds)
Devotions + Prayer | 8:30–9:00 AM MT / Every Thursday (next: June 4)
A gentle space for reflection, prayer, encouragement, and connection.
Contend + Connect | 9:00–9:40 AM MT / Every Thursday except the 1st Thursday of the month (Next: June 11)
Stories that spark faith, build belonging, and ignite love.
