A Seat at the Table
Meet Lauren Harkness, Uniting Creative's new Mission Catalyst, who believes creativity has far less to do with art and performance than we might think and more to do with a meal shared, a space made welcoming, and the quiet ways we show up for one another.
We often associate creativity with art or performance, but I’ve come to notice that it is much more woven into everyday life. As I pay attention, the more I see that creativity is found in the ordinary. It’s in how we speak, how we listen, how we care, and how we connect with the people around us. Creativity is found in the way a meal is prepared and shared, in the thoughtfulness behind a message sent at just the right time, or in the way someone rearranges a space to make it more welcoming. Creativity shows up in how we respond to interruption, how we include someone on the edges, or how we bring gentleness into a conversation that could easily become tense.
My own journey has shaped this understanding. My professional background is in hospitality and events, and for more than twenty years, I’ve found myself drawn to creating environments where people feel at ease. Over time, I’ve realised that this work has always been deeply connected to my faith. Because at its core, hospitality is about seeing people. It’s about creating space where someone feels known, valued, and able to bring their whole self and for me, that’s where creativity really lives.
In recent years, that has taken different forms. I founded At Her Table during the isolation of the pandemic, simply as a way to gather women around a table for meaningful conversation and shared food. What unfolded was something much deeper, a reminder that people are longing for spaces where they can belong without pressure, explore faith at their own pace, and feel safe to be themselves.
Alongside that, I’ve been involved in shaping physical spaces, including Sanctuary Canberra, and working with churches and communities to reimagine under utilised buildings. I’ve seen how even small, thoughtful details - a warm welcome, a carefully set table, a sense of intention - can shift an ordinary space into somewhere people feel at home. These spaces don’t need to be perfect or polished. Often it’s the simplicity and sincerity that matter most.
This is where hospitality and creativity meet. There’s a quiet energy in it, something that draws people in, softens the edges, and makes room for genuine connection. In the life of the church, I think this matters deeply. Because mission isn’t only about what we run or organise, it’s about how we show up. It’s about the environments we create and whether they reflect something of God’s welcome and presence.
As I step into this role as Mission Catalyst with Uniting Creative, I carry a real sense of curiosity and hope.
There is already so much happening - creatives expressing their faith in all kinds of ways, churches experimenting with new forms of gathering, and leaders thoughtfully engaging their local communities. I hope to help notice and nurture what is already there. To connect people and ideas, create space for collaboration, and encourage people to see that their creativity, whatever it looks like, is part of how they live out their faith, not separate from it.
I’m especially interested in how we use our spaces. Many of our church buildings hold incredible potential to become places of connection, creativity, and welcome. Reimagining them isn’t about losing their story, but about allowing them to keep serving their communities in life-giving ways.
In many ways, I don’t see my role as bringing something entirely new. It’s more about uncovering what is already present.
Because creativity is already here - in our churches, in our communities, and in the everyday ways we care for one another. The invitation, I think, is simply to notice it. To trust that God is already at work within it. And maybe, to gather, around a table or in a shared space, and see what might unfold.