I have heard it called “Apple Fall” and I like that. Not-quite pumpkin fall yet.

In this, have you ever stopped to think why God gave us four seasons in a year? Why we have a liturgical calendar in the Christian faith? God has been so kind to give us different seasons to experience different things.

However, in this constant change we experience, we do not often stop to think about how our social rhythms change. In the summer, we often times do things outside and are meeting new people, and as we move into winter and fall, we begin to move back inside our homes and invite in people we know.

Summer and Spring are the seasons of meeting, and Fall and Winter are the seasons of cultivating and deepening those relationships.

I see September as a transitional month. Summer leaving and fall beginning. So, in honor of us moving from the meeting season into the cultivating season, our challenge this month is a final push for forming new connections.

this month’s hosting challenge: invite over at least five people for a dinner party who have not met each other before with the intention of helping people cultivate new connections

You can go about this challenge in several ways, but here are a few ideas:

• you can bring together three couples who have never met, one from church, one from your work and one from your spouse’s work.

• try to exchange numbers with five strangers throughout the month, either at coffee shops or grocery stores, and invite them all over for a meal.

the menu

For this month’s menu, we are going to go with elevated comfort food incorporating late summer and fall seasonal produce. These are all items that can be prepped/made ahead for the most part! They are also good for serving family-style, which helps your guests connect as they pass dishes and help each other get served.

This is really important for this gathering because your presence as a host for making introductions is very important at this gathering.

For the appetizer:

No-knead bread. This is a crowd pleaser, and will make your home smell wonderful and welcoming as people walk in.

For the main course:

Apple-Cider Smothered Chicken. I have made this ahead of time and waited to bake until it is time to eat. This can be made the day before, and put into the oven as the fresh bread course is taken out, so it is perfectly hot right as you start the main meal.

For the sides:

Harvest Salad. Make this a day or two ahead without the apple and dressing on the side, right before guests arrive chop up the apple. Toss the salad with the dressing and apple just prior to serving.

Honey-Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts. A crowd pleaser always that is straightforward to make. Can be made in advance and reheated in the microwave or oven.

For dessert:

Apple Fritter Bread. A perfect way to celebrate “apple fall” and a delicious crowd pleaser. Can easily be made in advance and reheated, or smells wonderful if you make the batter a few hours ahead and bake while you eat the main course. As a bonus, serve with vanilla ice-cream.

For a drink:

Peach Thyme Smash. This is a great cocktail or mocktail to incorporate some late-summer fruit into your gathering.

important note:

What you serve is ultimately the least important part of this gathering. The challenge this month is the guest list and making connections, so make that the priority. If that means you make spaghetti and frozen garlic bread, or you buy the food completely prepared ahead, that is okay. Do what will let you be an emotionally present host because:

your job during the gathering:

Your primary job as the host is “the cultivator of connections.”

If you know all your guests, be intentional about expressing potential connections between people and getting people who you think would be friends to talk. For example: if you know someone who loves to host craft nights and another guest who has a big needlepoint project they are working on, make sure to let them know they have an interest in common!

If you do not know all your guests well, be intentional about your curiosity and learning about people so that you can help form those connections.

the conversation

here are a few lighter questions to start:

• What is something you’re excited about right now?

• What was your most recent niche obsession?

• What is something you loved as a kid that you still love and how has that love changed?

• If you had an entirely free Saturday, what would you do?

• What’s an “unnecessary” thing that makes your life better?

• Who is someone in your life you think more people should know and why?

a few deeper questions if the conversation moves into it, and your guests are believers:

• What has God been teaching you lately?

• What season of life do you feel like you’re in right now?

• Where have you seen God’s kindness recently, big or small?

• What is something you’re currently praying for?

• What makes you feel welcomed by another person?

For more questions, go here.

tablescape ideas:

Put out a white table cloth and stagger several taper candles on it. Around the taper candles, put some small branches or sticks along with some loose flowers or greenery, and finish by placing some stone fruit in your arrangement as well.

All of these things are all low-cost to source and can either be consumed, enjoyed, or reused. This also creates a pretty table that does not have a ton of height to it, so your guests can still see each other across the table, and you do not have to remove your centerpiece for people to be able to converse comfortably.

tips and things to remember as the host:

• take a moment to pray before your guests arrive. ask God what your guests need, whether it is encouragement, friendship, or simply to be seen. this will help you be emotionally present more than anything else. also ask God to help you be emotionally present with this gathering, and to love people and pay attention to them the way He pays attention to us.

• give people a reason to linger, since the opportunity to linger is one of the best parts of hosting in your own home. an easy way to do this is to have tea or decaf coffee with dessert, which allows people to continue the conversation as they sip their beverages.

• sending a follow-up text the next day for coming, and including a picture or something they said during conversation that you enjoyed goes a long way. This will also often naturally prompt guests to initiate reaching out to people that they connected well with the night before!

Please let us know in the comments when you will be doing the challenge this month and how it goes for you!

Until next month’s challenge,

The King’s Table Co

More resources available here: https://www.thekingstableco.substack.com

Welcome to the King’s Table Company podcast, where we talk about all things hosting and hospitality from a Christian perspective. I’m your host, Meg Foster, and today’s episode is Hospitality is Attention.

And here we talk about all things hospitality hosting from a Christian heart, hosting practicals, and what it truly means to be hospitable for Christ.

Today's episode is hospitality is memory.

Welcome to the King's Table Company podcast, where we talk about all things hosting and practicing hospitality from a Christian perspective.

I'm your host, Meg Foster, and today we're going to talk about hosting and hospitality being whimsical. A few weeks ago, we talked about the fact that hosting doesn't always have to be extravagant. Sometimes your limitations can be something that really, really allows you to host well and to host in the way that God needs you to in a season.

However, there is a time for everything.

shop our conversation cards here.

Welcome to the King’s Table Company podcast, where we talk about all things hosting and how to have a Christian heart posture in hospitality. I’m your host, Meg Foster, and today we’re talking about how to create conversation that moves beyond small talk and to make your tables really, really meaningful in that meaningful conversation is something that people oftentimes think happens by accident, but that’s really not the case.

A good conversation, one that people remember, one that people feel relaxed during. They feel like it is witty, yet it has emotional and intellectual depth. Those usually happen because of effort and guiding from the host of the conversation. Good conversation is not controlled, rather, the conversation is guided by what it needs, which is then cultivated by the host. So let’s talk about why good conversation matters and how to cultivate it as a host.

To purchase our conversation cards, please go here.

Welcome to the King’s Table Company podcast, where we talk about all things hosting and welcoming people into your home. I’m your host, Meg Foster, and today we’re going to talk about how to host when your home isn’t perfect. There are so many obstacles that can keep you from hosting. The number one thing that I have noticed keeps people from hosting is not having the perfect home.

To purchase our conversation cards, check them out here.

New episodes every Monday! All about how to host in a way that glorifies the Lord. We are always taking topic requests in the comments.

this week’s transcript:

Welcome to the King’s Table Company podcast. I’m your host, Meg Foster. And here we’re going to talk about all the things that you can do to make your home more welcoming, to have deeper theological conversations, and to ultimately make people feel more loved. Hospitality and hosting are ultimately a way to invite people in and really, truly, at the end of the day, to invite people into the Kingdom of God. So we’re so glad you’re here and let’s get into it.

The creation they are drawn to includes God’s creation, imago dei, the image of God. Springtime is such a lovely time to meet new friends, and cultivate new ones! What better way to do that than a dinner party?

cultivated conversation topics

With the spring weather and plants blooming, Spring is a great time to talk about how God reveals himself in creation.

Consider asking questions like the following:

• How do you see God reveal himself in creation?

• How does the world having seasons deepen your love for God? Would you relate this to different seasons of people’s lives we see in the Bible?

• How does the creation account in Genesis 1 + 2 deepen your understanding of God’s character?

For more questions like these along with scripture references in a keepsake box, please take a look at our Theol(og)y Conversation Card Deck.

decorating a spring party

Lean into the weather. An outdoor spring dinner party allows you to take advantage of the weather, and the beautiful scenery of the outdoors in spring. For an outdoors dinner party, a simple vase with flowers at the center of the table allows the outdoors to shine through. Typically, I find candles to be somewhat distracting with an outdoor dinner party because the wind will often blow them out!

If you are not an outdoors type of person, or you do not have the space to host outdoors, a few ways to make the space look spring indoors are flowers and flower petals. Consider investing in or thrifting a sage green or lavender tablecloth you can use for many springs to come. Throwing a few mismatched vases with colorful florals and greenery in them brings life to a table, and adding a few taper candles allows for the look to be elevated yet cozy.

spring recipe ideas

For spring recipes, take advantage of the in-betweens to create a colorful dinner party. Late-season citrus combined with the abundance of leafy greens creates a colorful dinner spread.

Also, we cannot forget the spring star of the show: strawberries!

Here are a few recipes I absolutely love for spring, lovely to mix and match these options for a spring dinner party:

starters

• arugula salad with peaches, goat cheese, and basil

• homemade bread with spring pea butter

• baked stuffed tomatoes with feta and roasted peppers

mains

• sun-dried tomato focaccia turkey sandwich (here is a recipe for sun-dried tomato focaccia if you want to make your own)

• one-skillet chicken with buttery orzo

• spring puttanesca pasta

sides

• smashed sun chokes with thyme butter

• charred asparagus with miso béarnaise sauce

dessert

• lemon bars

• strawberry rhubarb pie (another quintessential piece of spring produce)

drinks

• blackberry bourbon smash

• spring sangria mocktail

• grapefruit ginger mocktail

an encouragement for you, as the host

People want to be invited. Love people well, invite them in, and make them feel wanted. How beautiful is it to let people feel welcome, and to create environments for discipleship. We are praying for you here, and we hope this guide helped equip you to host well this spring. Welcome to our table.

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One thing we have found helps conversations become deeper and more meaningful is creating an environment that lends itself to conversation. One way to do this is by hosting in your home — the home environment lends itself to people staying, feeling comfortable, and lingering. The quietness of a home allows people to hear each other, and not having the pressure to leave quickly allows for conversations to develop in ways they would not in a restaurant or public space with pressure to leave.

Additionally, hosting a party with an activity besides just conversing takes some of the pressure off the conversations, which typically helps the conversation flow more naturally! At a party with another activity, people do not feel awkward if there is a lull in the conversation and the conversation naturally allows for breaks.

Also, a party with an activity will encourage attendance, because people love to try new things and participate in interesting activities. So here are some ideas that you can host in your home of activities that promote conversation:

1. flower arrangement party

To host a flower arrangement party, simply bring a bunch of in season flowers, tell everyone to bring their favorite vase (or thrift several!), and let everyone run wild.

For the flowers, you can either ask everyone to bring some of their favorites or you as the host can provide them all. Having everyone bring their favorites ensures very sentimental bouquets because everyone will get to look at each other’s favorite flowers all week, while the host providing the flowers makes everyone feel very hosted!1

2. charm bracelet making party

A charm bracelet making party is a super sweet way to host because everyone leaves with a sweet memento they can wear reminding them of the conversations they had.

All you need for this is chains, charms for the bracelet, and pliers to put it together. All of these things can be purchased on Etsy for around $30, and you will easily have enough for 10-20 people. From the time we did this party, we would recommend using needle nose pliers!

3. recipe-exchanging party

This is similar to a potluck, but with an extra element added.

What you will do is tell everyone to bring a dish that they love for (x) reason. The reason could be a dish from their childhood, their favorite weeknight main course, or their favorite dish to make that freezes well. Everyone submits the recipe to the host ahead of time, who assembles all the recipes together for distribution.

This is really great for groups who feel like they are in ruts with cooking, because not only does everyone get to see a variety of recipes, but they get to try them too. While at a potluck people may bring dishes that are more “snacky,” but are not conducive to being made for a dinner, this gathering lets people explore new dinner recipes, and plan for their weeks ahead.

We hope these ideas help your next gathering go well, and promote conversation.

Looking to have more theological conversations at your next gathering? Check out our theology conversation cards, now available here.

Fancy hot chocolate is a wonderful thing to have if you are having people over for a cozy fireside chat or are looking for something elevated to wind down with after a holiday meal. The thing about fancy hot chocolate is it is not hard to make, and it is made into an elevated treat by its accessories of homemade whipped cream and premium ice cream.

Fancy Hot Chocolate Base Ingredients:

To make fancy hot chocolate you will need:

• Good quality chocolate (We love using dark chocolate, but you can use milk chocolate. Use 2-4 ounces of chocolate per serving!)

• Milk (Full-fat preferred, but 2% will also work! If you are using 2%, you may want to add more heavy cream. Lots of variation here on how thick or thin you want your hot chocolate, but 1/4 a cup to 1/2 cup milk per serving generally works well.)

• Heavy Cream (We add until the ganache is smooth, but can add more for a richer cup of cocoa)

The base of fancy hot chocolate is a truly rich and simple cup of hot chocolate, almost like a thin ganache. Part of the reason we love using dark chocolate is it allows the cacao taste to come through while the accessories of the hot chocolate make it more of a sweet treat.

How to make a Hot Chocolate Base:

To make fancy hot chocolate, start by melting your chocolate in a double boiler. Add a splash of heavy cream to make a ganache. Gently heat your milk on the stove until you see bubbles forming around the edge. Pour in ganache and whisk well until smoothly incorporated.

Toppings for Fancy Hot Chocolate Ingredients:

For the accessories that truly make fancy hot chocolate fancy:

• Heavy cream (one container will make whipped cream for 10-12 cups of hot chocolate)

• Good vanilla (we love vanilla bean paste, we start with a tablespoon and adjust for taste)

• Powdered sugar

• High-quality vanilla ice cream

• (optional) Sprinkles, Chocolate Curls, and Marshmallows for extra accessorizing!

How to make homemade whipped cream:

Add cream, powdered sugar (adjust for sweetness level), and vanilla. Whisk vigorously or combine with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Assembling your Fancy Hot Chocolate:

Put a scoop of ice cream in the bottom of a mug. Add a generous serving of the hot chocolate base and put your homemade whipped cream on top. Add chocolate curls, sprinkles, and marshmallows if you desire.

Variations on Fancy Hot Chocolate:

Add cocoa powder to your whipped cream for chocolate whipped cream, or use chocolate ice cream. Additionally, feel free to retain some ganache rather than adding it all to the heated milk and use it as a topping!

Conversations to pair with fancy hot chocolate:

• The complexity of chocolate and all of its flavor profiles. Here is a great article for where to start when it comes to tasting chocolate. This is especially interesting if you choose to make your hot chocolate with single-origin chocolate, perhaps start a conversation about cacao from that country specifically and what makes that cacao unique, as cacao is influenced a lot by weather and growing conditions. This can lead into a larger conversation about that country’s culture and how life is different around the world.

• Discuss the Holy Spirit and the role of the Holy Spirit in the community of the early church. This is always a great conversation to pair with a simple gathering (such as a hot chocolate gathering) because it helps people to realize how attainable and repeatable gathering is.

• Discuss the trinity and the theological significance of it in Christianity today.

We hope this recipe and conversation ideas will help you gather this week. We look forward to hearing about how God works through hospitality in your life.