June 2026 Challenge: The Empty Chair
In the past two years, June has also been marked by our month-long Be That Girl Challenge, a journey of personal growth and church in-reach and outreach with encouragement for intergenerational participation.
This year, in alignment with THE GREAT BELONG, our loneliness initiative, we are launching the June 30-day challenge called:
The Empty Chair
Beginning June 1st, daily prompts will also be shared on the Salt Sisters Instagram page , each one inviting us to consider how we can actively create belonging in everyday spaces.
The Empty Chair reminds us that loneliness is often invisible, and that belonging begins when we choose to notice who is missing.
How can YOU bring The Empty Chair into your churches?
To deepen this challenge locally, consider adding an empty chair as a visible conversation or small group prompt in your church space. This could be a distinct colour or style so it naturally draws attention, along with a simple sign such as:
- Who is missing today?
- Someone is waiting to be welcomed.
- Is there room for one more?
- Every empty chair has a story.
- An invitation starts with an empty chair.
- Sometimes belonging begins with an invitation.
Additional ideas for churches
Centred on noticing loneliness
- Place an empty chair in a visible space each Sabbath as a quiet reminder that loneliness is often invisible, and that someone may be present physically but still feel unseen or alone.
- Invite members to pray specifically for “the empty chair,” naming those who may be carrying loneliness, grief, isolation, or quiet disconnection within or beyond the church community.
- Create a “name the chair” moment where members reflect on one person who may be lonely or on the margins, and intentionally commit to reaching out to them during the week.
- Use a reserved chair during potlucks or fellowship meals as a symbolic reminder of those who may feel they do not yet have a place at the table.
- Encourage families to set an extra place at home once during the month as a reflection on those who regularly eat alone or feel unseen in their daily lives.
- In small groups, ask: “Who in our community might be experiencing loneliness right now—and what are the small signs we might be missing?”
- Share short testimonies of moments when someone felt alone even in a crowd, and how a simple act of being noticed made a difference.
- Encourage leaders and members to look beyond attendance and gently ask: “Who is here, but still feeling alone today?”
- Introduce one weekly “loneliness check-in”—a message, call, or conversation directed toward someone who may be quietly disconnected rather than obviously absent.
As we move into June together, let us prayerfully consider these small, intentional acts that will create visible and invisible spaces of belonging across our churches, spaces where loneliness is noticed, and where empty chairs become places of welcome.
Romans 15:7
“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you…”