Welcome to the
North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
Dear Friends,
The mission of a Nero’s
coffee shop barista is simple: to share, with anyone willing to pay, what the
company calls ‘an Italian love affair’ with coffee. I still remember my first
visit to a coffee shop about fifteen years ago in Worcester city centre. A
building that had once been a bank had been turned into a new kind of space. It
now invited people in to discover the good news of freshly made coffee. I was
curious, so I stepped inside.
The rich smell of coffee
filled the air. Gentle music played in the background. The walls were bold in
colour yet still calming. Interesting pictures hung around the room, some
showing smiling faces and others more abstract. There was a range of seating too:
plain wooden chairs with small tables nearby, soft leather armchairs, and long
sofas. You could sit wherever you liked.
Ordering the coffee confused
me. When I sat down in a comfortable armchair, I had to laugh to myself. All I
had wanted was an ordinary coffee with milk, but instead I had been handed a
small cup of dark black liquid. Later I learned that it was an espresso. It all
seemed a little strange and definitely overpriced! But then I tasted it, and
everything changed.
Before that day, instant
coffee had always seemed good enough to me. I simply did not know any
different. But from that first espresso, I stepped into a new story. Instant
coffee now seemed bland and disappointing, a poor substitute for the real
thing. I became a convert to the barista’s mission.
As followers of Jesus, we
have wonderfully good news to share—news far more important and life-changing
than coffee. The Bible says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though
God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). If that is true,
what can we learn from something as ordinary as a coffee shop? How should our
hospitality reflect the heart of Jesus? How warm is our welcome? What does the
church building say to a passer-by or to someone dropping in for the first
time? What signs do they see of a community centred on Christ?
Scripture speaks clearly
about this. “Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). “Do not forget to show
hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2). And in 1 Peter 4:9 we are told,
“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” A welcoming church does
more than open its doors. It opens its heart. It helps people feel seen,
valued, and invited to come closer to Jesus.
Here is a final question for
reflection. When did you last say to a friend or neighbour, “Let’s meet at my
church. You might really enjoy it—and it is free.” Jesus’ own invitation was
beautifully simple: “Come,” he replied, “and you will see” (John 1:39). Could
that become our invitation too?
Blessings
Andrew
Welcome to the
North Wiltshire Methodist Circuit
Dear Friends,
The mission of a Nero’s coffee shop barista is simple: to share, with anyone willing to pay, what the company calls ‘an Italian love affair’ with coffee. I still remember my first visit to a coffee shop about fifteen years ago in Worcester city centre. A building that had once been a bank had been turned into a new kind of space. It now invited people in to discover the good news of freshly made coffee. I was curious, so I stepped inside.
The rich smell of coffee filled the air. Gentle music played in the background. The walls were bold in colour yet still calming. Interesting pictures hung around the room, some showing smiling faces and others more abstract. There was a range of seating too: plain wooden chairs with small tables nearby, soft leather armchairs, and long sofas. You could sit wherever you liked.
Ordering the coffee confused me. When I sat down in a comfortable armchair, I had to laugh to myself. All I had wanted was an ordinary coffee with milk, but instead I had been handed a small cup of dark black liquid. Later I learned that it was an espresso. It all seemed a little strange and definitely overpriced! But then I tasted it, and everything changed.
Before that day, instant coffee had always seemed good enough to me. I simply did not know any different. But from that first espresso, I stepped into a new story. Instant coffee now seemed bland and disappointing, a poor substitute for the real thing. I became a convert to the barista’s mission.
As followers of Jesus, we have wonderfully good news to share—news far more important and life-changing than coffee. The Bible says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). If that is true, what can we learn from something as ordinary as a coffee shop? How should our hospitality reflect the heart of Jesus? How warm is our welcome? What does the church building say to a passer-by or to someone dropping in for the first time? What signs do they see of a community centred on Christ?
Scripture speaks clearly about this. “Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers” (Hebrews 13:2). And in 1 Peter 4:9 we are told, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” A welcoming church does more than open its doors. It opens its heart. It helps people feel seen, valued, and invited to come closer to Jesus.
Here is a final question for reflection. When did you last say to a friend or neighbour, “Let’s meet at my church. You might really enjoy it—and it is free.” Jesus’ own invitation was beautifully simple: “Come,” he replied, “and you will see” (John 1:39). Could that become our invitation too?
Blessings
Andrew