Linda, the Starbucks barista, is leaving Starbucks with little cups of a new seasonal beverage, pumpkin Frappucinos™. She is stopping in each business along Lake Avenue and treating folks to a sample of the tasty treat. Those that like it may stop by Starbucks after work and buy a full-size drink and maybe a cookie to go with it.

As the church, we have a "product" that is just as refreshing as a Frappucino™. We offer love in a world of indifference. We offer acceptance in a world of intolerance. But nobody knows. We keep it a secret. We need to be offering "free samples." In our everyday interactions, however brief, we need to be offering little cups of love and grace.

This morning I spent a couple of hours working on my sermon. Not unusual for a pastor. What is slightly unusual is that I did it not in my office or at home, but at Starbucks. I am making it a point to spend a couple of hours one morning and one afternoon a week there in a baby-step toward being present in and to our community.

The Starbucks at 415 Lake Avenue is hopping in the morning, let me tell you. There is a group of regulars there and I'm sure it will take me a while to crack that group. But as I was sitting there with my Bible flipped open and my notebook out, someone approached me and asked me what I was doing. Honestly, I hadn't been expecting that on my first venture out. I told the young man that I was the new pastor at First Congregational Church and I was spending some time preparing my sermon for Sunday. He proceeded to tell me how he went to a church when he was a kid, but hadn't been to a church service in at least five years. I mostly just listened as he told me how he didn't feel comfortable in church and how he thought church was just about a bunch of rules that didn't apply to "real life."
I shared with him that not all churches are like that and that I pastored a church that was at least trying to be real and make a difference in people's lives, helping them no matter where they found themselves on their journey.

Will I see him Sunday morning? Honestly, I doubt it. But I hope to see him again. I told him I would be here at Starbucks every Wednesday morning from 8:30-10:30.

That was Emerson's cry this morning. Unfortunately, it is Monday and he is on the way to daycare as I write this. But it made me think about a couple of things.

First, it reminded me yet again of the privilege that I have of being in full-time vocational Christian ministry. I

am

going to church today. I am spending my days fulfilling my vocation--doing precisely what I am called to do.

Second, how wonderful would it be to provide a church experience that people actually

wanted

to be a part of. What if the first thought that arose in one's mind in heart on Sunday morning was "I want to go to church!" or "I get to go to church!" ? How do we, as the church, get there from here?

Sunday morning should be so accessible and so applicable that we could all shout "I want to go to church!"