There have been two version of this name nominated:
Open Table Baptist Church
Open Table Online Baptist Church
Although no promotional pitch has been provided with this nomination, the “Open Table” name got quite a lot of discussion at the workshop. It was generally agreed that if we had been seeking a new name prior to going online, it is highly likely that this would have been it.
Steve Clarke, the branding consultant who ran our workshop, commented that “Digital language triggers profoundly mixed associations, and should only be included with extreme care (if at all)”, but said that in the case of “Open Table”, because it suggests a physically gathered meal, “he would should clearly promote being online”online” should be included in the name “to ensure people don’t feel misled.”
In an email to Nathan, one member of our congregation made the following positive comments about this name:
- We are an inclusive Christian community engaging faith with today’s world, gathering in shared worship beyond physical walls, where every voice is heard and all are welcome at God’s table.
- Open Table communicates inclusiveness. I would really like the name to clearly indicate inclusiveness. What makes our church especially meaningful to me is how open-minded and inclusive we are as a church.
- It is worth thinking about how ESL communities might read/understand a church name. This one would generally work well for them.
- It says something about how we worship. Everyone has a part and contributes. Every voice matters, and people are actively involved in worship, rather than simply observing.
One thing that was noted in the discussion at the workshop is that this name has a high risk of brand confusion and would be challenging to get a domain name for. There is a commonly used “Open Table” app for making restaurant bookings.
Sounds like a food pantry instead of a church. Confusing as to what the aims of the church are.
Open Table refers to gathering for Word and Table. It sounds welcoming, inclusive.
Falls in the right place in terms of theological understandings of communion.
While it works as a metaphor and a theological reference, the fact that we no longer all eat around the same physical table casts a shade over this name for me.
It very much is us
It was. Is it still? Maybe not as much anymore.
Could there be a way of representing this graphically to overcome the confusion with the “Open Table” app. Otherwise, it has so many positives for it.
That would certainly be possible and would help, but the name has to work when spoken too.
Almost feels like we need to include the ‘Online’ in the name, even though it might interrupt the flow a bit, just to be clear
moving to below
Using the word ‘open’ links us to Open Baptists. There might be reasons in the future why we don’t want this link.
Without saying the words ‘Open Baptist’ together, I think we’re okay there
Someone mentioned, maybe at the workshop, the idea of all of our ‘tables’ being open to each other when meeting on Zoom, the little glimpse into each others houses that the Zoom format offers. That really resonated with me, and helped me mentally move from just thinking of the open table as the table we would eat at back when we were physically gathered. We’re all sharing a bit of our space, all our tables/desks/etc connected via the internet.
This is a strong name for our church.
To me, Open Table is welcoming both because anyone is welcome to join us in communion every week, and anyone is welcome to join us as we gather together afterwards in the chat, whether or not we eat.
A Table does not necessarily mean a meal. Around the table can be gathering for a chat or discussion.
I am not dissuaded by comments that it is misleading. If anyone was to investigate beyond just seeing the name, they would pretty soon find out that we are online.
If it would have been a great fit for us 5 or 6 years ago, I don’t really see why it’s not a good fit for us now, regardless of the fact we are now online. To me, it’s who we are & what we do, so is more us than many of the other names. Some other important things we do such as Liturgy & Icons & our Participatory style seem a bit harder to get into a name without it being a possible turn off for unchurched people or just not sounding right.
My only regret with Open Table Baptist Church is that it doesn’t provide a good acronym! But when I think about saying I’m going off to church at (?), or I go to (?) church, besides saying South Yarra or SYCBaps, to me, of the proposed names, “Open Table” seems to be one of the ones that fits in best.
I’m not sure about brand confusion. I think Open Table Baptist Church clearly says it is a church, not a restaurant booking app.
I typed Open Table Baptist Church into the Church Names Generator to check on domain names and it came up with the following names being available?
Open Table Baptist
GO
opentablebaptist.com
opentablebaptist.online
opentablebaptist.net
opentablebaptist.live
opentablebaptist.au
So would opentablebaptist.church be available?
I liked the following comment:
Someone mentioned, maybe at the workshop, the idea of all of our ‘tables’ being open to each other when meeting on Zoom, the little glimpse into each others houses that the Zoom format offers. That really resonated with me, and helped me mentally move from just thinking of the open table as the table we would eat at back when we were physically gathered. We’re all sharing a bit of our space, all our tables/desks/etc connected via the internet.