The Dinner Filled With Light
“Fill the tent with light and welcome all to shine.”
Meshin started on the idea of uniting people around a table with a narrative of connection to one another, to their community and to the universe. There were so many different ways this idea could come to life, but as a brand and marketing strategist, I felt certain that this could be a meaningful way for brands to unite their teams and customers around their purpose, while also paying the experience forward to organizations in need. After working with the JCC of Greater Rochester to redefine their purpose, I was thrilled that their CEO asked us to create a Meshin Meal experience to do just that.
After months of working with their team, their board of directors, members of the community organization and stakeholders in the success of the JCC from around the Rochester community, we helped the team articulate and rally around their purpose to Fill the Tent with Light and Welcome All to Shine.
This purpose holds so much meaning and power in every word. For an organization fueled by compassion and filled with people who care about people, but often misunderstood as being closed off to the broader community, we needed to capture the idea that the JCC was open and welcoming to all. The tent comes from a biblical story about Abraham’s big tent, open on all sides, to convey a sense of hospitality so big one didn’t need to be invited in, instead the hospitality would run to meet them in the world.
The JCC needed this purpose to rally their entire team around a shared ethos–from the board of directors to staff throughout the facility. So when a new board was appointed shortly after the completion of our work together, a Shabbat dinner with a Meshin narrative weaving the new purpose into the evening was a perfect way to welcome the new board and bring them into the shared rally cry.
We wove a custom narrative that united the Meshin Meal principles of intentional presence, open-mindedness, inclusion and gratitude with the meaning of the JCC’s new brand purpose. The narrative was served on cards that accompanied each course. And with every card that wove meaning into the meal, we also prompted deeper connection between guests with conversation prompts to discuss the meaning of the purpose to them, their connection to the board and their aspirations for their work together.
Now more than ever, companies are on the hook to create more meaningful connections between their employees and the work they do everyday. Articulating and celebrating a shared purpose is a critical step for companies to that end. But bringing people together around a shared meal to connect with the purpose in a deeper and more personal way can fuel your team with the inspiration to own, activate, and operate on purpose in an authentic and powerful way.
