Central Coffee Now Open!

At last, after almost 5 months of work – it’s open! Many of you will have been aware that we have been developing a new Coffee Shop in the North Corridor at Central Hall and hopefully some of you have already tried out the new facilities.

We don’t need a Coffee Shop here in Central Hall but we do need to connect with our world. Central Hall is an incredible resource with an incredible heritage of serving the community and we want to see it used to it’s full potential. In the 1920’s it housed a rickets clinic, free legal services, second hand clothing, maternity and baby care and a food depot. Today some of those services are no longer needed or they are provided by other agencies in the city. As New Community we want to start engaging with our community in a non-threatening way to discover what their needs are and how we can best serve them and show them what God’s love looks like.

In Mark 16, Jesus’ last words to his disciples were to “GO into the whole world and preach the good news” yet sometimes it can feel like the church has converted that verse to “come to our
meetings while we tell you how to live”. In contrast, St Francis of Assisi famously said “At all times preach the gospel and when necessary use words”. As Charlotte creates a perfect Latte and Amanda presents a Sun-Dried Tomato and Roasted Pepper on Ciabatta they are not just doing their job, they are serving the community that we are part of and preaching the gospel with their actions and care.

Central Coffee is not the be all and end all of our work in the community – it is merely the start of a new season that God is leading us into. As Billy said last Sunday “We are punching a hole in the wall of Central Hall to let the light out and people in”. In God we have something which is life changing and eternal - we would be so wrong to keep it to ourselves.

Let’s see Central Coffee for what it is - a tool that helps us connect to our world, opening up Central Hall for all to enter and serving a great Coffee and Danish at the same time! Central Coffee now in action, complete with customers

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The opening of the coffee shop means that there are now lots of exciting opportunities to volunteer and serve and be part of this valuable work. We need people who would be willing to give anything from a couple of hours to a couple of days a week to work either in the coffee shop or the kitchen. A passion for coffee, food or hospitality would be welcome, as well as any experience you may have. If you haven’t got a Health & Hygiene Certificate, we can help you obtain one as well. This is an opportunity to engage with our community, but it is also great fun; why not volunteer with a friend, or get trained up so you can supervise functions yourself! Volunteer yourself or find out more by emailing charlottem@newcommunity.org.uk (coffee shop) or amandat@newcommunity.org.uk (kitchen), making sure you specify the times you are available.