Artwork - Weekend of Prayer & Action Against Hunger 2025

Each year, a piece of art has been created as part of the Weekend of Prayer and Action Against Hunger. In 2025, Ester Douglas created a piece called 'A Shared Table.' 

Bio: Esther Douglas is a young artist from Manchester, currently in her final year of her degree in Fine Art at the Glasgow School of Art. Her work includes observational drawing and paintings made of the people around her and places she inhabits. Large scale oil paint portraits are a big part of Esther’s practice and through them she hopes to communicate some of the story of the sitter. She makes paintings and prints of moments of everyday life that encourage us to pause and look more closely at the beauty that surrounds us.

www.estherdouglas.com

Insta: @estherdouglasart

Artist statement: Jesus repeatedly shared meals with many different groups of people in the Bible, from the last supper with his disciples, to his meal shared with Zacchaeus after beckoning him down from the tree; He loved to share food with people. This image of the shared table hopefully encourages us to meditate on the ’shared table,’ both literal and metaphorical. How can we extend the table to others through our physical sharing of food with those who are without? How can we extend the table of prayer, to gather with others together in conversation with the Lord, committing those who are experiencing the effects of the hunger crisis to Him who knows and cares for them? This piece encourages us to think about our own ‘table' and how we can share what we have in practical ways.

Reflection from Sarah Larkin: 

The wonderful thing about an artwork is that it can ‘speak’ to people in many different and varied ways. When I first saw this thoughtful piece, I was struck by three things: 

The first is the empty chair. It made me think of the ‘unseen guest’ that we could consider Jesus to be. There is a well-known quote that has hung in many a dining room in days gone by:  ‘Christ is the head of the home, the unseen guest of every meal, the silent listener to every conversation.’ This might lead us to consider what we might do or say differently if indeed Christ is dining with at our table. In this, there is also the challenge of who Jesus may be asking us to invite for a meal. I recall the words from Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats: 

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me …  Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25: 31-46).

So, the unseen guest can be considered to be both our Lord Jesus and those who are thought of in the world’s eyes, to be ‘the least’.

The second thing that strikes me about the picture is the woman at the head of the table. She is the only one without food directly in front of her, and her poise is one of prayer. That brings to mind Jesus’ words that we “shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We are called to trust God before all else, but also, in the face of scarcity and hunger, there is the promise of God’s miraculous provision:

Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes and in blessing the meagre meal it was multiplied, and there was not just enough to go round, but 12 full baskets left over. And just like the boy who shared his meal, in our offering what we have to the Lord, we can ask Him to bless and multiply it as it is shared with others.

The third thing that strikes me is the colour contrast in the picture. Half the table and half the woman are in light and half in shade, and in the rest of the picture it is a mixture. For me this is suggestive of the fact that our world is a mixture of light and darkness and that we always have a choice to make - to see Jesus with us at our table, to trust God for what we need and to share our meal with the hungry.   

The picture may also bring to mind a verse or passage from the Scriptures. The one that comes to my mind is the instruction: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). And also, the story of Zaccheus in Luke 19. Here Jesus invites himself round to Zaccheus’ house – presumably for a meal? Here is a poem I write inspired by that story:

Zaccheus

He knew my name

That’s the thing

How did he know my name? 

This man passing through

Stops at my tree

And invites himself round

Nobody asks to come and see me

Ever

I was so blown away

I didn’t think of the unmade bed

Or the washing up

Or the weeds springing up

All the way along the path to my

Special extra-security hard-to-break-down reinforced door

Me

The man so many people hated 

Abraham’s son

Salvation came that day

To a house filled only with fine things

I knew by the way he looked up at me

That I would give away half of all that I owned

To the poor

It didn’t matter what it cost

I was so happy

Because for the first time in my life 

Ever

I wasn’t lost

(Poem: Sarah Larkin)

Questions for further reflection:

1. What do you see in the picture? What are the main three things that strike you? 
2. Have you had a testimony to share of God’s miraculous multiplication and provision? 
3. Do any verses or passages of Scripture come to mind as you reflect on the picture? 
4. You might like to take time to respond to the picture creatively. Perhaps it will inspire a poem, prose reflection or picture of your own.

Sarah Larkin
INTEGRAL ALLIANCE 
Head of Communications and Marketing

Return to PAAHC Resources page.