Our hub (Forge Chicago) and our missional expression (The Center at Itasca) is in the middle of a small Chicago suburb. Our community would be considered middle-to-upper-middle class, primarily Caucasian, with good schools and a government structure you might say is stuck in 1950. We memorialize four historic church denominations and two Asian congregations, but with less than 15% of the population in attendance. The average Itascan considers the community a modern day “Mayberry.”
Unfortunately, like most communities, every Mayberry town is having to confront a world in flux. A world of corporate profits, higher than expected living costs and the challenges of diversity. It shouldn’t have surprised anyone when the corporate coffee behemoth moved from the center square to another community because they could get their approved drive thru. However, it sent shock waves through our little town.
The next two years of Covid19 were filled with emails to Starbucks corporate. A Mayoral message blaming the company for not being a good corporate citizen. There were local editorials about Starbucks as the only place in town to gather and connect. The hurt was so deep there was even a “Save our Starbucks” march that created a community buzz similar to that of the “Save Ferris” campaign in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day off.
So what could we, The Center at Itasca, do? As we looked and listened, we saw some unspoken needs of our community:
To connect.
To have a place to gather.
To stop on the way to the train station (their primary way to the City of Chicago for work)
To go after school to hang out and do homework.
We began with prayer. We invited our hub friends to visit us from Colorado and help us understand what we might be getting into if we opened a coffee shop. We brought in a contractor to look at our facility and provide estimates. We spoke with our local officials. We entertained a small local group from a attractional church to possibly run the coffee shop. For a number of reason, the plans for an inside café space in our center never materialized. But then, a local restaurateur spoke of a revitalization effort for the downtown area. In that discussion, a food truck park came up. We had done a Forge America gathering a year or two earlier in Texas and the concept of food trucks was used as a metaphor for the church on mission. Well, why not real food trucks, or a coffee truck?! A little investigation led to a commitment to purchase two food trailers that resemble French bread trucks. The smaller version would be donated to The Center and a larger one would stay with a local restaurant to seed the idea. We would submit grant paperwork for the coffee equipment and receive $10,000 dollars to equip the coffee truck.
God is so faithful when he brews an idea. Just as the equipment arrived, one of our non-profit partners stepped up. They would run The CENTER CUP as a donation only entity. We give away coffee, tea and hot cocoa to anyone who comes up to the window. Any donations would go to fund our local partner’s recovery house.
The stories of impact on the people who have wandered up are so inspiring. The people who ask, “How much?” and when told, “its free, like grace,” walks away dazed. Or the story of a woman who, after being told The Center donates all the profits to another local non-profit, tells us that it's the best coffee she has ever had. Then there’s the older locales who gather around 9:30am to discuss the local state of the economy, religion, and politics.
Our tagline says it all, “We pour unity into the community.”
Recently, The Center Cup treated the community to 500 cups of hot chocolate/coffee and 300 bags of goodies on Halloween. The impact of which can best be summed up by one mother’s response, “I wish the community had more places like this. You guys are always doing something for the community. Thanks for all you do.” Needless to say, joining God on mission in this way has brought much of our community together. Our hearts, and our coffee cups are full.
- Bob Butler, Forge Chicago,
www.communitycenter.life/forge-chicago