Messy Table – where creativity, courage, and conversation meet
Bridget Corneil is the Director of Stewardship at the Diocese of London, Ontario, and a No Barriers Here Facilitator. In this blog, she shares her journey with No Barriers Here and the insights she’s gained along the way.
Nearly two years ago, I had the privilege of helping bring Jed and Gemma, and the No Barriers Here approach, to Canada for the first time. It was a remarkable moment: gathering people from across sectors to train as facilitators in a creative, compassionate way of talking about life, death, and legacy. I was lucky enough to be one of them.
What I didn’t realize then was how long it would take for the work to truly begin for me. Life moved, new roles, family, caring for my mum, and the months filled quickly. But the pull to return to this work never went away. It waited, quietly, like an unfinished art piece at the edge of a table.
This spring, alongside Amanda Brown, I finally came back to it. We led No Barriers Here workshops with the Fanshawe Thames Catholic Family of Parishes, welcomed by their wonderful Parish Nurse Louise, who was eager to help us pilot the sessions in her community.
And there it was again, the messy table: glue sticks, paper, laughter, tears, and the brave beauty of people sharing what matters most. These workshops are never tidy, but they are always real.
Now, as autumn unfolds, Amanda and I are finding new ways to bring this work into the community, leading with creativity, courage, and joy, trusting that the right conversations will find their way back to the table, too.
To Jed and Gemma, thank you for your trust and vision. No Barriers Here has truly taken root in Canadian soil, and every time we gather, it reminds us: the mess is where the meaning lives.
