Friendship provides the wellspring for nurturing community as we turn toward one another for common understanding, inspiration, and company. Friendship is one of the great gifts of life. Even so, we know that it requires effort and intentionality. This is no less so in the Church. Making meaningful friendships is essential to being a synodal Church that walks together in Christ, listening for the Spirit’s call.
Our walking together will not advance far if we settle for making friends with those with whom we already agree. Rather, we are called by the Spirit to the creative endeavor of making friends across our various differences, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at the table in solidarity to break bread and share stories. In doing so, we trust that such friendships will, over time, reveal our shared friendship in Christ.
We are reminded that Pope Leo XIV, in his first public address, affirmed our call when he said: “We want to be a synodal Church… a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer.” In a world so given to division, polarization, and rancor, we will come together in friendship and as church to offer a hopeful and prophetic witness. Please join us.
Event Description:
Celebrating its second year, the 2026 Together at the Table gathering examines the creative task of making friends as integral to the synodal path of the Church. We invite all to share in the journey as we gather to explore the challenge of friendship by:
- Breaking bread at table through meals and at Eucharistic liturgy.
- Mutual sharing and listening to one another’s stories of faith during roundtable conversation.
- Pondering the witness and wisdom of ecclesial leaders, including Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP.
- Celebrating artistic expressions of friendship and synodality as shared through the artwork of JST-SCU students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Together at the Table (TATT) is an international gathering that inspires synodal action in mission and explores the transformative power of synodal pathways in reimagining the Church of the 21st Century – a Church that invites better listening, better spiritual conversation, and better discernment of God in community. Organized by the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University and hosted at the Santa Clara University Mission Campus, TATT welcomes participants to listen and engage with invited speakers and esteemed ecclesial leaders, to lend their voice in meaningful dialogues and thoughtful roundtable discussions, and cultivate a community of prayerful reflection and fellowship to ensure that every voice is heard. Join us! Your seat at the table awaits you.
Schedule and Navigation (More Coming Soon!)
Register for In-Person or Online Participation