We recently connected with Sarah Majors and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The church where I serve as Senior Pastor is deeply committed to community. Our building is not just used on Sundays for worship—it is alive with purpose throughout the week. We host multiple nonprofit partners, including Wake Monarch Academy, a high school for students in recovery from substance use; Recovery Communities of North Carolina, a long-term recovery resource center; as well as NA and Nar-Anon groups, mental health practitioners, and several organizations addressing food insecurity.

Over the past five years, my goal has been to strengthen our relationships with these partners, expand who we welcome into the building, and grow into a true hub of community support. We have undertaken major renovations and reimagined how our space is used in order to maximize this work.

I am incredibly proud of this congregation for saying “yes” to this mission. While many churches close themselves off from the communities around them, Open Table UMC continues to choose connection—working alongside neighbors, building partnerships, and embracing the bold renovation projects I have proposed along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I also serve as the Senior Pastor of Open Table UMC, a community rooted in radical welcome, authenticity, and justice. My path into ministry wasn’t linear—it grew out of a deep desire to create spaces where people who’ve felt excluded or harmed can rediscover belonging, spirituality, and purpose. I believe in a God of love and liberation, and in a kind of joy that acts as resistance in a world shaped by injustice. Too many people have been told they don’t belong in spiritual spaces. I’m committed to dismantling that narrative and building something different: a table where everyone has a seat. I don’t have all the answers. What I do care about is honesty, meaningful connection, and creating a community where people can show up fully as themselves.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In my journey to get where I am I was told countless times I would never be successful as a Pastor. I needed to change, to be quieter, to be more tolerable, or to be more like mentors. Others tried to force me into a box. I have been what others wanted me to be and lived in ways I was told to out of hopes it would make everyone happy. What I learned was it didn’t make me happy and it didn’t earn me genuine respect or love. I am someone who can be incredibly stubborn and due to personal life experiences, I refuse to be told who to be. I can be all of who I am and do what I love. My hope is to advocate for and allow others to do the same.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

People don’t realize that being a Pastor is creative work. Every week you are preaching (a deeply performative art) and teaching. Beyond that, pastors design experiences: worship services, small group discussions, and community events, all of which require imagination and innovation. Creativity shows up in helping people see scripture in new ways, addressing real-life struggles, and bringing people together.

Pastoral work is not just ministry—it’s a continual act of creating alongside God who is the ultimate creative. This is what Iove most about this work. It is constantly engaging with an imaginative God and constantly interacting with real people who are bringing their own lived experiences, truths, and understandings.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://opentableumc.org/
• Instagram: ministry_spice, opentableraleigh
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OpenTableUMC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-majors-2ba37310a/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/opentableumc