The Rural Voice, 2019-01, Page 33 “I had ideas about how rural
churches could utilize their capital to
partner with communities,”
remembers Shawn. “By capital, I
don’t just mean money. I mean
knowledge, assets and people.”
For instance, there is a noted
School of Music in Brandon,
Manitoba. There is also a church
with a very nice grand piano. Could
the two not combine to share
resources and meet needs?
Looking for pairings became a
way of seeing the world for Shawn.
When life took a turn with a divorce,
a fire and a firing, he returned to
Ontario to pastor the Flesherton
United and Eugenia United Churches
in the Grey Highlands. With a goal to
become a consultant to rural
churches on how to reach out to
communities in new ways, Shawn
looked around Flesherton. He saw
the town had wonderful restaurants
and small shops but did not have a
coffeeshop where people could
gather and purchase fair trade coffee.
“Coffee shops are specific venues;
a place where you can have a coffee,
a chat or open your laptop and get
some stuff done,” says Shawn.
The restaurant opened in 2013
with Shawn admitting it was a
challenging time. “We had some
deep, dark days financially,” he
admits. “But five years on, we are
doing okay.”
Now, nearing the end of his
role as a minister and
potentially losing the
reverend status since he will not
officially be leading a parish, Shawn
has many thoughts about what
church really is.
First off, the United Church is
going through a massive
restructuring. As part of that process,
Shawn is hoping the presbytery will
continue to honour his title of
reverend even though he will be
moving from two-third time ministry
to full-time coffee shop proprietor.
He would like serving at a coffee
shop to be seen as a chaplaincy. The
idea isn’t without precedence. Shawn
points out that in Vancouver, a
church sold its building and opened a
coffeeshop as a social
enterprise/street ministry. In Calgary,
a church put a coffee shop in its
building.
The thing is, some church
congregations are aging, dwindling,
becoming irrelevant in their
communities. “Worship services are
not speaking to what people are ...
structured worship is not what people
are looking for,” says Shawn.
People still want to discuss
spirituality but may not want to sit in
a church service.
In his own church, Shawn saw
that when the congregation hosted a
meal, church would be full. “The
lesson there was that meeting over a
meal is still a form of church.”
Ultimately, Shawn came to see
that church is not just Sunday
morning worship. Church can be a
coffee shop.
Most people who come to the
coffee shop know he is a minister.
Some don’t. It doesn’t matter to
Shawn.
“The conversation changes when
they find out,” he admits. “People
have perceptions of how ministers
are.”
Shawn may not be your typical
January 2019 29
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