Coffee is my love language

I love Starbucks.

Say what you will about how they support gay marriage and abortion. They do, I won't argue with you. (Although, I suppose I will because they have ALWAYS offered benefits to homosexual partners of their employees and provided abortions with their healthcare coverage- why is everyone up in arms about this NOW that is a political hot-topic?)

But, I digress. Today I was sitting in Starbucks working on my homework for the upcoming Biblical school class that I am taking this fall. As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted by name by one of the employees. This same employee, who I only know through my daily coffee ordering interaction, a few weeks ago asked me some very personal questions about my life. She knew that I was a youth minister across the street because of the fact that I bring a girl's bible study there in the summers. She asked me about "the guy that I always come in with." She determined that we used to be just really good friends, but have moved on to dating recently, just by observing our interactions with each other. When I make a point to get dressed up in the mornings, I can always count on this barista to comment on how pretty I look. She notices when I get a haircut. If I order a different drink, she asks why.

After I ordered, as I sat there with my computer and homework out, I just observed the customers. A granddaughter was having coffee with her grandparents and her phone was not on the table. A dad was eating breakfast with his toddler daughter, and infant son. There was a group of women chatting up a storm, who seemed to know every person that walked through the door. Other young people, like me, were doing work on their computers. 

Then as I sat there, plugged into the internet & my headphones, and elderly lady walks by my table and begins to talk to me. She asked me how I could see the Bible I was reading when the letters were so small. She proceeded to inform me that she didn't need glasses until she was 75, but just wait until I am 80 and I will understand what she is talking about. Then as she sat next to me, she turned to another young man with a computer out and began to talk to him for the next 20 minutes until she left.

As I was leaving and putting cream in my coffee, another woman at the bar asked me if I knew about the secret of baking soda. I told her I did not. She informed me that baking soda made into a paste and scrubbed with a toothbrush will get out any stain from anything. She told me to remember that, and then left.

I love Starbucks. This is why I love it. Part of the mission of Starbucks as a company is to be "the third place." People have their home, and their work, and Starbucks wants to be the third place. The place that people can go when they are tired or just need to get out of the house for a minute. The place that people can meet up with old or new friends and just shoot the breeze. The place where you are known. Where you are cared about. Where you can connect with other people in our increasingly disconnected world.

Does this sound familiar? It should. It SHOULD be the Church.  Our hearts were created to be KNOWN and LOVED. How is it that we go into a totally secular environment and leave with the experience of being known and loved, but sometimes when we walk out of our Church we leave with the experience of loneliness and apathy?

 I want to learn from my Starbucks barista. I want to start noticing people. I want to know them and love them. Jesus, help me to create an environment where people can truly encounter each other and through that meet You.

Freedom, love, & the Church

Yesterday at our annual all staff meeting at St. Thomas More, our pastor (my boss) Fr. Andrew spoke to us for about 30 minutes on Religious Liberty in America. He has been an outspoken proponent against the HHS mandate from the very beginning of the controversy. He spoke in plain and simple language as to why our Church is against this mandate and encouraged us all to stand up for our God-given right to protect our conscience. His tag line for the upcoming election was "Vote your conscience to protect your conscience because there are those who are trying to take it away."

I am one of the most conservative people I know. I campaigned for George W. Bush in college. I always vote party-line Republican. I believe in the values of the Republican party, and I consider Ronald Reagan to be one of my hero's. I am pretty much the definition of preaching to the choir, and I agreed with every word that he said.

However, I haven't been able to stop thinking about a lot of the emotions that his speech conjured up in me. The main point that has stuck with me that he made over and over again was the concept that all of us in the room were at risk of losing our jobs. That the federal government was making it their mission to ensure that all lay employees of the Catholic Church would be out of a job. In his words, the Cafeteria will close. The Church will survive, Mass will be said, but all of our ministries and programs will end if this law is not changed. 

After hearing all this I cant stop thinking about the type of Church Jesus founded. I think back to the apostles and the early Church and the relationship that they had with the government at the time. And the fact is, our Church fathers were persecuted for their faith. They had no rights given to them by the government and many (most) of them were martyred for their belief in Christ. I can't stop wondering if this is the martyrdom that we have to accept for ourselves in this day and age. I just looked around the room and I saw fear, but I don't want to be afraid to lose my job for this cause. In fact, I actually kind of want to. 

Which leads me to another wondering that I have been having. If I lost my job today, would that change any of my ministry? When did the call to love others, spread the faith, and live joyfully become something that you get paid to do? I feel like it is my job as a Christian to spread my faith and love others- when did it become a profession? And is it holy?

I guess I am just finding myself in that moment of stress that comes from working for the Church in a paid position. You find yourself seeing faith & Jesus sold like a product- planned, produced, and used. And all of it is so well-intentioned, but I catch myself in this as well. I give talks and I judge whether or not they are successful by the emotional response kids have, not by if I gave Glory to God. I sit in meetings and wonder if the Holy Spirit is really guiding all of this. Should we be judging the success of events on the numbers, or the professionalism of the speakers, or the smoothness of the facilities, or should we be judging on how they/we loved? And then I wonder if we should be there to HELP other people love. And then I go back to wondering how we as a Church were meant to be as Jesus established us. I wonder if he ever intended there to be full time youth ministry as a profession. 

Jesus, teach me how to love. Guide our Church, and give strength to the lay employees. Help us to never lose sight of You, first.