When People and Opportunities Connect

The church I serve, Lockerbie Central UMC, in downtown Indianapolis is about to begin a new venture. We are nearing the end of our construction phase for our coffeehouse, which we have come to name "Earth House Coffee and Books." In the process, some very interesting connections for economic development have occurred.

First, I asked my good friend, the Roving Listener, DeAmon Harges to come and paint a mural on the wall of the entrance to the coffeehouse. He agreed to do so and in turn, invited a friend of his from the Mapleton/Fall Creek neighborhood, Gary, to come and help him out. Gary is an amazing artist, seeking to find ways to share his talent in more settings than just family and friends. Gary has done a marvelous job of working on the mural, which should be completed this week. One of the items that came from this is that we are in the process of working with Gary to put up art in our coffeehouse the month following the Fringe Festival. We hope to have a grand opening for Gary's art and for the coffeehouse in September. Perhaps this might enhance Gary's work.

Second, the coffeehouse will mostly be serving drinks, both cold and warm. But, we will also have some small pastries. We have been able to get much of our needs met with product, with the exception of pastries. We weren't sure where we would get our pastries, knowing that we wouldn't be able to produce them regularly as a congregation. But, DeAmon was reminded of some of the cooks that are in the neighborhood of Mapelton/Fall Creek. He knew that they could bake wonderful pastries, even Vegan ones as well. He suggested that perhaps we contact them to provide our pastries. Not only will this offer us an opportunity to have pastries, but it also allows us to invest in our local economy and to invest in neighbors and friends whose gifts and talents may not have been known had we not had a connection between myself and DeAmon, and DeAmon with these women and with Gary.

Truth is, amazing things happen when our gifts and talents can correlate together towards a project. Opportunities and dreams can come into fruition. These possibilities are always right in front of us, we simply need eyes to see and ears to hear.