Cafe church

‘Cafe in the Crypt’ of St Martin-in-the-Fields

“A cafe church is a Christian church centered in cafés. 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 café in their ministry. … 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, 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. … Church-sponsored coffeehouses have a long history in the United States. For example, Nameless Coffeehouse has operated for over 40 years (since 1966) on the site of The First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Cambridge, MA. And fifty years ago, it was The Sacred Mushroom coffeehouse in Columbus, OH 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.’ In fact, Unitarian Universalists are a denomination particularly known for sponsoring folk coffeehouses.’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. Folk music is featured at The Old Ship Coffeehouse Off The Square, located in the parish house of Old Ship Church in Hingham, MA, (which is, incidentally, ‘the oldest English church in continuous use in America.’ …”
Wikipedia
W – Coffeehouse