Christian church model
A
cafe church
is a
Christian
church
centered in
cafes
. These edifices are associated with
alternative worship
and the
emerging church
movements, and seek to find new forms and approaches to existing as a church in the 21st century. These churches are often focused on relationship aspects of Christian fellowship and outreach to their local community, and use the modern gathering place of a cafe in their ministry.
Philosophy and planting churches
[
edit
]
The cafe church can be viewed as an organically based philosophy for
planting churches
, centered around the idea of making the message of Christ's love relevant to the needs of the local community that the church seeks to serve.
The Alma Mount Hope Coffeehouse Church, of Alma, Michigan, says:
The ministry statement for AMH Coffeehouse Church is found in Acts 2:42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the
breaking of bread
, and in prayers."
[1]
The goal of cafe church endeavors is to impact their local community with a message of God's love and the transforming power of Christ's love.
Depending on the leadership, some cafe church leaders will provide a clear doctrinal perspective, while others may be more open-minded and comfortable with members and visitors asking questions of speakers.
For example, One World Coffeehouse in
Columbia, Maryland
, was founded by a church member who said, "I felt that our church needed an outreach effort ... and a way to express principles such as
multiculturalism
and acceptance of others different from yourself."
[2]
And the Glebe Cafe Church, in New South Wales, Australia, states that:
Cafe Church is a
Glebe-based
, non-traditional Christian faith community. We aim to provide an inclusive, accepting and welcoming space for everybody, no matter what their
spiritual path
. Cafe Church revolves around open discussion,
creative expression
and alternative approaches to worship. Our core values include
hospitality
, creativity,
discipleship
and
social
and
environmental justice
.
[3]
Forms
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]
Churches using the cafe as a model for their organization can take different forms. Some cafe churches maintain a permanent cafe or
restaurant
, which offers the local community a high-quality array of coffee,
[
citation needed
]
sandwiches, and food, and provides a venue where the members of the church fellowship meet. Church members may also volunteer their time to support the enterprise.
Other churches simply use the cafe model as a way to
build community
, facilitating variation within their normal service structure and within the confines of their building, by serving coffee after or during the service in a predesignated area, or holding a
coffeehouse event
.
[4]
Operational choices
[
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]
Ebenezer's Coffeehouse, in Washington, DC, operated by the
National Community Church
, is one example of a cafe church. Its website asks, "How much more comfortable can you get sipping a
chai
in church?" This church is a
multi-location
church located at sites accessible by public transit, which links its indie music coffeehouse broadcasts to other locations via the
Internet
.
[5]
Also located in Washington is the Potters House, an outreach ministry of the
Church of the Savior
. Its website states, "We, the members of that church, asked ourselves, '
Would Jesus want to hang out
with folks at a traditional institutional church or
would he want to hang out over a beer
in a bar or
coffee
in a restaurant?' The resounding answer was the latter. We chose coffee over beer because of our support for the budding
AA movement
in 1960."
[6]
The Abbey is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama which opened in Birmingham's Avondale neighborhood in 2015. After operating as both a coffeeshop and worshiping congregation for over four years, the coffeehouse was closed in mid-2019. The Abbey continues to operate a six-day-a-week ministry with pay-as-you-can breakfast on weekdays and Sunday worship services.
[7]
An old congregation house of
Oxford University
, dating back to 1320, is home to The Vaults and Garden Cafe, operated by the
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
, which specializes in organically grown and locally sourced foods. The cafe serves the community by catering events, and donating funds.
[8]
Another religious organization specializing in healthy food is the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
, which runs a chain of vegetarian restaurants called
Govinda's
.
The Loft coffeehouse, a project of
Alamo Heights
United Methodist Church
, San Antonio, Texas, includes "a
food bank
,
thrift store
and a resource center for the needy."
[9]
Cafe churches became more popular in the
Christian community
of
South Korea
around 2016, especially among younger Protestants, as an alternative to the traditional Korean
megachurches
' conservatism and perceived corruption.
[10]
History
[
edit
]
Church-sponsored
coffeehouses
have a long history in the United States. For example,
Nameless Coffeehouse
has operated for over 50 years (since 1966) on the site of The
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
[11]
And fifty years ago, it was The Sacred Mushroom coffeehouse in Columbus, Ohio that hosted
Phil Ochs
; a local fan reminisced, "One of his first public performances as a solo artist was at the First Unitarian Universalist Church on Weisheimer Road, where he performed for a ladies luncheon," she said with a laugh ... "God only knows the songs he performed there."
[12]
In fact,
Unitarian Universalists
are a denomination particularly known for sponsoring folk coffeehouses.
[13]
"The welcoming environment of Unitarian Universalist coffeehouses has provided an artistic haven for a variety of performers and helped launch the entertainment careers of folk musicians such as
Pete Seeger
and
Arlo Guthrie
.
[2]
Folk music
is featured at The Old Ship Coffeehouse Off the Square, located in the parish house of
Old Ship Church
in Hingham, Massachusetts,
[14]
(which is, incidentally, "the oldest English church in continuous use in America."
[15]
)
The
First Congregational Church
in Branford, Connecticut sponsors the Branford Folk Coffeehouse, a monthly folk music concert series held in its auditorium.
[16]
Mom & Pop's Coffeehouse, a folk concert series held in the sanctuary at
United Christian Church
in Levittown, Pennsylvania, uses the altar as the stage, and has been held since 1994.
[17]
And in 2011, the Good Folk Coffeehouse began its 21st concert season at the
Rowayton
United Methodist Church
, in Rowayton, Connecticut.
[18]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Alma Mount Hope Coffeehouse Church"
. Alma Mount Hope Church. 2011. Archived from
the original
on June 23, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Leslie, Jean (2011).
"Church coffeehouse shares music, values"
.
The Baltimore Sun
.
Archived
from the original on September 18, 2012
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
"Cafe Church ? Who We Are ? GlebeCafeChurch"
. 2011. Archived from
the original
on February 16, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
"Western Reserve Conference of the Ohio Association United Church of Christ"
.
Netweaver
. Western Reserve Association. June 2, 2008.
Archived
from the original on July 21, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
"National Community Church, Locations and Directions, Ebenezer's Coffeehouse"
. National Community Church. 2011. Archived from
the original
on November 30, 2010
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
"Home, Potters House DC"
. Potters House. 2011.
Archived
from the original on July 27, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
Miller, Taylore (October 30, 2019).
"The Abbey"
.
Magic City Religion
.
Archived
from the original on August 4, 2020
. Retrieved
January 6,
2020
.
- ^
"Vaults & Garden Cafe"
. University Church of St. Mary's the Virgin. 2009. Archived from
the original
on December 23, 2012
. Retrieved
February 28,
2011
.
- ^
Gosnell, Lynn (2011).
"The coffeehouse church, Faith & Leadership"
. Leadership Education at Duke University.
Archived
from the original on December 27, 2010
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
Strother, Jason (May 8, 2017).
"The Rise of Cafe Churches in South Korea"
.
The Atlantic
. Retrieved
May 11,
2017
.
- ^
"about The nameless"
.
Nameless Coffeehouse, est. 1966
. Nameless Coffeehouse. 2011. Archived from
the original
on July 27, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
Chordas, Nick (February 15, 2011).
"
'60s voice of protest had roots at OSU"
. The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from
the original
on January 21, 2013
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
Ruehl, Kim (February 18, 2011).
"Unitarian Universalists ? What do Unitarian Universalist Churches have to do with Folk Music"
.
About.com Folk Music, Unitarian Universalist Churches
. About.com. Archived from
the original
on July 7, 2011
. Retrieved
February 18,
2011
.
- ^
"The Old Ship Coffeehouse Off The Square"
.
Featured Coffeehouse of the Month
. Boston Coffeehouse Association. 2011. Archived from
the original
on April 30, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
Old Ship Church, National Park Service
Archived
October 24, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
"Branford Folk Music Society Home Page"
. Branford Folk Music Society. 2011.
Archived
from the original on February 17, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
"Mom & Pop's Coffeehouse"
. Mom & Pop's Coffeehouse. 2011.
Archived
from the original on June 10, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
- ^
"GOOD FOLK COFFEEHOUSE"
. Good Folk Coffeehouse. 2011.
Archived
from the original on March 1, 2011
. Retrieved
February 17,
2011
.
External links
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