Cafechurch

Cafechurch is an initiative started by Rev Cid Latty and members of Christchurch Baptist Welwyn Garden City well over two years ago. 'It all began because of an eagerness to engage with people from our local community who do not go to church,' said Cid Latty. 'We knew we had to find a neutral and comfortable place to develop something new and so we asked our local Costa Coffee if we could meet there. We were amazed when they said yes. We immediately set about designing something new which we called cafechurch.'

What they ran on that first night proved to be so popular that Cid began discussions with a Regional Manager and a few cafechurches were piloted in other stores too. Through the success of this a charitable organisation was formed called the Cafechurch Network to support the growing interest. This organisation later was given the 'OK' to put a Cafechurch in every suitable Costa Coffee in the UK and most recently Gloria Jeams Coffees have offered their stores too.

'The benefit to a local store is that cafechurch helps them to feel part of the local community and to share how they work ethically in the coffee growing regions of the world.' said Cid 'For the church too there are great benefits as people who might not go to church get to interact with people who do as they discuss issues from a faith perspective.'

'We are keen that other churches join the network so that we can help them set up a cafechurch and link them to their local store. If they do not have a high street store nearby we will still provide training to equip them to use another suitable locations.'

If you like the idea the contact details are: www.cafechurch.net You can register your interest online. You will then need to attend a training day and when you are ready you can sign up to start a cafechurch and be part of the network.

Last Updated 23 December 2008