Walk into a cafe at Grace Church as a stranger, and you just might walk out as a friend. Not because of the free coffee, tea or snacks, but because of the people behind the counters, working together to create an atmosphere that feels like home—one smile and cup of brew at a time.
For years, Lyn was a stranger to Grace Church herself. She received invitations in the mail and from her friend many times over the years, but it was years before she finally said yes. “I just felt the urge to come finally,” says Lyn, “I don’t know, maybe it was the Christmas spirit [but] I felt the need to start off with a new spiritual search.”
From the moment she was welcomed into the building, she began to feel at home. “That was pretty much it,” she says, “It just felt like the right place.” She began attending Grace church regularly, and a couple of months later felt compelled to begin serving others, and she knew just where to start. Lyn describes herself as a foodie who has always been eager for the chance to work with food. “I’ve even done some course work at culinary school which I did not finish because I did not want to open up a restaurant,” She says, “Because of that side of my life, I thought the cafe would be a really nice fit.”
She was quickly set up with the cafe team and found her role to be easy enough, requiring only about an hour of serving each week. “[There’s] no heavy lifting other than a full coffee carafe. Just about anybody can do it,” says Lyn. But she quickly saw that the spiritual impact of doing even the small things, like setting out cookies and coffee, was important. “Coffee is a great way to start conversations with people,” she says, “As you are behind the coffee bar, refilling things, it is an easy way to just strike up some simple conversation.”
The smiles and the simple conversations are all little things that have helped countless people like herself feel comfortable enough at Grace Church to eventually call it their church family. Lyn says, “That is one of the joys. People really enjoy it and they are very thankful. They say it is always very welcoming.”