The Prineville (Ore.) Church recently hosted "An Evening at Cafe Grace," a one-act play written and directed by a local member as a low-key outreach. The fellowship hall was turned into Cafe Grace, where guests were greeted at the door by one of the waitresses in the play. The menus they were given featured the "On the House" Special for the evening, an overflowing homemade desert and snack bar.
As the play began, Bill Tallman was introduced by the cafe owner as one of the cafe's favorite guest musicians, playing his guitar and singing a few songs while folks got settled with their treats for the evening. The guests then began to "eavesdrop" on five different conversations taking place in the cafe, each with its unique, real-life lesson of forgiveness.
The intent of doing something like this was threefold. First, of course, was the message of forgiveness, which Prineville Church members have seen literally change lives. They also wanted to give church members a chance to get to know each other in a more casual setting, while working on a fun project together. The size of the cast made it possible to involve people who had never been asked to participate in something before and who were thankful for being included.
And finally, creating an easy, family-friendly, low-key, intentional opportunity for outreach was part of the motivation for putting on "An Evening at Cafe Grace". It was a safe, easy way of introducing friends to the church.
Because of limited space, church members intentionally did not advertise but simply asked members to invite their friends. Every seat was filled, including many by guests. Comments shared suggested that hearts were touched and people were sincerely blessed by the play as well as the music. God's grace is real and was blatantly manifested that evening.
"An Evening at Cafe Grace" cast included (from left): Jeff Walkor, Nate Hellman, Rocio Luna and Ron Jahn, with musician Bill Tallman in the background.
