Table Talk brings intergenerational women together
Kelley Rose ate and listened to the five other women at her table share their emotional struggles, prayers and praises.
“We talked about different aspects of life,” recalled Rose, a 56-year-old member of the Cloverdale Church of Christ in Searcy, Ark. “We laughed a lot. We shared hard things and listened to the perspectives from different generations.”
So goes a typical Table Talk group meeting at the Cloverdale church.
Through the intergenerational ministry, small groups of six to eight women gather monthly for fellowship over a meal. In all, more than 120 women participate in the congregation’s 17 Table Talk groups.
Women in a Cloverdale Church of Christ Table Talk group pose for a photo in Searcy, Ark.
Intergenerational ministries encourage stories and wisdom from all attendees. The older women advise the younger, but the younger women also bring their experiences to the table.
“I love hearing the younger ones because they’re just in a different place of life,” said Angela Sivia, Cloverdale’s 45-year-old secretary and a Table Talk host. “No matter the age, I’ve always been encouraged by what they’ve had to share.”
Intentional and intergenerational
Intergenerational ministry is a growing conversation in Churches of Christ.
Holly Catteron Allen, a former chair of the international InterGenerate conference, said she observed churches approaching ministry with age silos.
A member of the Harpeth Hills Church of Christ in Brentwood, Tenn., Allen noticed a special connection in intergenerational small groups.
“I began to see children and teens pray with and for each other but also for their parents and for other adults. They saw the other adults doing it, and they just began to do it,” said Allen, author of books including “Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community, and Worship.”
A 2025 article by the Barna Group said churches must be intentional and understand generational differences to have a strong intergenerational ministry.
Rose began to see a need for intergenerational ministry when she took her daughter to visit colleges and nearby churches in 2014.
There was a difference in how congregations treated her family, she said. Some churches were welcoming and asked the Roses about their visit, but others were not.
The Cloverdale church’s Table Talk flyer shares details about the ministry.
When Rose returned to Cloverdale, she was intentional to connect with her church family. She talked with those in the pews around her, visitors and college students. Rose started praying in 2015 for an intergenerational ministry at the Cloverdale church that would welcome college students.
“In order for the church to grow, there has to be investment in the next generation in order to love people like God asked us to,” Rose said.
Three years later, her prayers were answered.
Rose researched women’s ministry and attended conferences in 2018. Women in her congregation helped Rose plan the small groups, and the church hosted a kickoff conference in summer 2019.
Table Talk started when college students returned that fall.
Bridging the gap
Jenna Lowe, a 28-year-old member at Cloverdale, has found intergenerational small groups provide an opportunity for Christians to step out of the comfort of being surrounded by peers of the same age.
Lowe gravitates toward people her age, but she has enjoyed participating in Table Talk for three years.
“I love how Table Talk gives us an opportunity to bridge a gap that doesn’t always feel natural to bridge,” Lowe said. “Being in a Table Talk group has helped me see and experience the rich blessing of knowing and learning from all generations.”
Like Lowe, other young adults in the church see the importance of intergenerational activities and are intentional to get involved beyond their age group.
Anna Cherry and Hope Roberson, sophomores at Harding University, chose to participate in Table Talk when they began attending Cloverdale. This year they joined Rose’s group.
Cherry said she enjoys hearing perspectives from different generations.
“I remember thinking, ‘If I decide to plug in here, I have to do (intergenerational ministry),’ because my mom had been a part of that, and I saw how she had benefited from it,” Roberson said. “I really wanted to make some relationships that weren’t just college students.”
Kelley Rose and Nishayla Roitsch hug.
Despite the busyness of life, Cloverdale’s women set aside time to gather and support one another.
Rose said her group loved Table Talk so much that none of them missed a meeting all year.
“There were so many days when I was just so stressed and so busy, and I knew I had Table Talk that night and just looked forward to it so much,” Roberson said. “I could get away from … all the things I was worried with and just sit there … just be loved on.”
The groups shift slightly each year, but some women have been constant attendees. Sivia and her co-host, Christi Reeves, have grown closer after being in the same Table Talk group for a few years. Sivia said they’ve been able to watch each others’ prayers answered over time.
“New friendships are made, and old friendships can become dearer, because of this ministry,” Reeves said. “I met several women of different ages who are now dear friends and sisters in Christ.”
“New friendships are made, and old friendships can become dearer, because of this ministry. I met several women of different ages who are now dear friends and sisters in Christ.”
Other participants may change groups or leave after a few years.
However, the bonds formed in Table Talk remain across time and distance. Rose said she and a few women recently gathered with a former Table Talk participant and Harding alumna when she visited Searcy.
“Table Talk becomes family,” Rose said. “You never forget those that were in your group.”
KENZIE JAMES, a senior multimedia journalism major at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., is a Christian Chronicle intern working in the main office in Oklahoma City. James grew up in Tallahassee, Fla., where she attended the Timberlane Church of Christ.
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