It was Wednesday morning, 7:30 AM and I was racing through downtown traffic in the nearly metropolitan city of Nashville, TN. I don't normally have anywhere important to be so early in the morning, but Wednesday mornings have taken on new meaning for me. Last week was the first Wednesday that my friends Ryan, Nick and I started opening up the doors at ENCM at 7am to serve coffee and pastries in the neighborhood of East Nashville and I was running late on this 2nd Wednesday morning.
But, let me back up, because if you aren't around me on a regular basis, you may have no idea what ENCM is. East Nashville Cooperative Ministry is a small, barely noticeable ministry in East Nashville, set up to be sort of a hub for all the local churches in East Nashville to come together to make a difference in their local community. As it stands now, we spend a lot of time dreaming up ideas on how to fight the ever growing problem of food insecurity in the area. There are a lot of homeless and working poor families that have little to no means of providing good, healthy food for themselves and their families.
Last year, around about spring time, I started helping out at the co-op, as it is affectionately called. The more time I spent with Ryan the director (and previously mentioned friend), I began to capture the relational basis for this particular ministry and I became enthusiastic, to say the least, at helping. Eventually, as the year progressed, I started helping with their marketing, then was voted on to the board, joined the events team...and, well, you get the idea.
So back to Wednesday. When I arrived at the co-op, Ryan already had our donated beans ground and brewing in our donated coffee pots with our donated mugs set out. We are extremely reliant on the good nature of those around us. I had no real expectations for this Wednesday gathering. In fact, the previous Wednesday, our first attempt at this free, make-shift coffee house, we only had one guy from the neighborhood come for coffee, but I didn't care. I could feel the potential for relationship brewing right along side the good coffee. I knew that if I came and created space to get to know the neighbors, and free coffee, people would come. It's these attempts at relationships that keeps me coming back to the co-op. We're learning that broken relationships are as big of a contributor to poverty as a lack of money. People need friends. They need people to tell them that they are valued and that their stories are worth the telling.
Nick shuffled through the door right after me, and we sat and drank coffee. Eventually, Ray Ray (our first week patron) came in along with a man who called himself cowboy. They sat and shared coffee and pastries with us as we talked, asked questions and laughed. A little later a man named Sam came in. He sat, seeming a bit dazed. He's new to the streets of Nashville. He's 30, same age as me, and is here to be with family. As we talked I learned he's from Colorado originally. He's soft spoken and has a handsome face, all be-it a bit worn. He seemed more comforted as the easy conversation continued. 8:45 came all too soon and it was time to pack up. Our other guests left, but Sam followed me into the kitchen. As I began to wash the dishes from the morning, he grabbed a towel and offered to dry them. I accepted the help, thinking it may be his attempt at pro-longing the conversation, the sense of belonging. As the dishes were done, I realized I was late to work and had to leave rather quickly. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I noticed that Sam had moved on from drying dishes to mopping the floor, moving his conversation from me to Ryan. I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to stay as long as he could, and I hoped it was because he felt like he was making friends.
My heart was warmed as I drove away. My expectations had been exceeded. Once again, God used something as insignificant as donated coffee and time to remind me that he loves all of his creation and that if we can wait a second, make a little room in our lives, he will show his face through our relationships with others. And when we are brave enough to make friends with people that are different from us, we see him all the more.
Alexi Murdoch has a song called Orange Sky. We used it for a documentary that we filmed for the co-op. The words are, "I had a dream that I stood beneath an orange sky, with my brother and my sister standing by." This blog is a place for me to share the amazing things that God is doing beneath my orange sky in a small neighborhood here in Nashville. The stories are simple and all-together plain. And that's what will make them wonderful. So, feel free to read and share.
Grace and peace,
Melis
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