Our next session of cafechurch is on Thursday 12 March 2009 at Tesco's Costa Coffee. We will be exploring together the impact of the current financial crisis on our lives. The 'expert witness' for the evening will be Joe Watson from Crewe's Credit Union. First drinks will be on sale at 6.45pm and last drinks at 8pm.
This is a very salient topic at the moment, as many of us are being affected by it. It may also be a popular talking point at work, with neighbours and also friends. So why not bring them along!!!
Hope to see you there!
8 comments:
Great night.Really encouraging to see some folk in there that stayed and joined in.
As smooooth as hot chocolate.
Speaking of which....ha ha that's the next theme,yay!
Chocs
Yes, really enjoyable evening. Soooo good to see so many new folk who had the courage to stay or come along on their own. Great atmosphere again too! And Joe, our 'expert witness' was great... lots of interesting issues raised and plenty of points for discussion as well.
As for the chocolate....sigh... well simply can't resist my usual 'tipple' with marshmallows and cream... hee hee!!!
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I haven't been totally convinced about the Cafe Church idea (it's okay - this news won't be a shock to Jo!) so it was really interesting to attend my first one last week.
I came home feeling rather surprised by it; I hadn't expected it to be so... well, I think 'promising' is the best word. I've been left feeling that the project has huge potential.
The atmosphere was lovely; being in the coffee shop setting really seemed to work for people, in that it didn't feel a bit like church. Folk were relaxed and seemed pleased to be spending time together, with other things to think about than their day to day concerns.
Both Austin and Jo were natural and friendly leaders and gave the evening an air of informality and genuine kindness.
Although I still have some reservations about inviting non-Christian friends to anything vaguely evangelistic, I do now feel that I wouldn't have any worries about the Cafe Church evening being cringe-y in any way. It was great quality with a warm, open atmosphere that I imagine will prove to be incredibly attractive.
All the work that's going into this event is certainly paying off... great stuff, CC team!
Thank you so much, Suse, for your encouraging words. We are so pleased that you enjoyed the evening, despite your initial reservations.
TBH, think you are probably not alone in being a bit unsure about the cafechurch concept... which just goes to show that sometimes its good to simply come along and sample things first before deciding whether or not its for you.
Hmmm, not that sure we are trying to be particularly 'evangelistic' as such. Just see it as an opportunity for folk with a faith or none at all to simply chat together in a relaxed, 'safe' and informal environment... to build friendships really. Like you, I have no intention of inviting my mates along to anything that will make them feel uncomfortable, intimidated or embarrassed!!
Christians have often been accused of residing in 'ivory towers' and only coming out for a mission or to invite folk along to a special event, before then disappearing again... having little, if any, contact with people outside their 'church' context. All cafechurch is trying to do is dispell this notion and to open up the dialogue again, getting folk chatting about issues of common interest etc.
Maybe some folk will become Christians, maybe not. Thats not really our concern. We just hope and pray that anyone who comes along, or is involved in any way, feels loved, encouraged and respected.... and I'm thrilled, Suse, that you felt this so clearly on the evening.
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Cafe Church must surely be an evangelistic venture, isn't it? I thought that was the idea. It's not purely a friendship group, is it?
We visited the Fresh Expression cafe church Taste and See in Kidsgrove when we were thinking about starting up SofaChurch, to see what they were doing there. They'd done the shop very nicely, but I came away feeling slightly uneasy about what I felt was a slight lack of honesty, in that people were going into the coffee shop not realising it was a Christian venture.
I think the idea was that staff would chat to customers and show God's love that way and maybe invite them along to the church that meets there. Which sounds okay in theory, but I know I'd feel odd if I wandered into a bar where everyone was really friendly then I found out that it was a gay bar and the reason people were being nice was because they were interested in me.
I hasten to add here that I've no problem whatsoever with gay bars, but I would still want to know if I was going into one; that I wasn't in just a normal pub.
At Cafe Church we're not being kind to people just because we like them surely. If that were the only motivation, wouldn't there be 101 other easier ways to make new friends?
I thought it was good that Austin made it very clear that we were Christians and that the meeting was church. It left no doubt there, which I think is good. I think I'd feel okay inviting a friend along to a meeting as long as I didn't try to hide the fact that it is church - just a different sort to normal.
Sorry, Suse, I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'evangelism' here?
Cafechurch simply provides a context in which we can demonstrate love, encouragement and support, and to discuss mutual concerns about contemporary issues from a 'faith' perspective... no hidden agendas!!! Some folk who come along will have a faith, some will not... this really isn't that important... what is, though, is that we're all talking together!
Yes, you're right, we are going to be upfront and honest about who we are and where we're from.... but there won't be any hardcore conversion appeals and 'altar calls' etc.... BIG eek!!
Personally, I believe all we're called to do is to love and be friends with everyone(irrespective of who they are, or whether they choose to be followers of Jesus or not) and to give account of what we believe when asked. So maybe we are in reality a 'friendship' club and just providing another place to build relationships with people :0) As to whether someone then decides to enter into a relationship with Jesus for themselves, surely this is simply something between them and God, and ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit too? We're just providing a context in which they can share their thoughts and stories, to ask questions etc. but also for us to share our own journeys too. Such dialogue is often mutually beneficial all round!
We dearly, dearly want folk to know the Lord Jesus but that is something for them to decide for themselves. We are simply called to love them, whatever their decision or the choices that they make. Think thats quite enough to be going along with!
I suppose the question is, who is Cafe Church for - people who are already Christians or those we'd like to introduce to Jesus?
SofaChurch seems to have become a group for people who are already a way along the road in their faith (although that wasn't the original aim necessarily) and I imagined that Cafe Church was aimed at a different group - those in a different place in their spiritual journey, perhaps nearer the start of the road.
But perhaps it's not helpful to think in terms such as Christian and Non-Christian; Us and Them, Saved and Unsaved. Perhaps we're all somewhere along the path, trying to find a few answers to our questions...
"Perhaps we're all somewhere along the path, trying to find a few answers to our questions..."
Yes, think thats exactly what its about... beautifully put!!
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