A Volley from the Canon 2: Tea, too!

I’m not prejudiced—some of my best friends are tea-drinkers!

My comments last week on coffee at coffee hour led a few to believe I was going to ignore the tea lobby entirely. Not so! As a matter of fact, they have historically suffered the most at the hands of the coffee-drinking American mainstream.

It isn’t very welcoming to be handed a Lipton tea-bag and a Styrofoam cup of cold water and told “the microwave’s over there” when you ask innocently if there is any tea. (I’ll save Styrofoam itself for another day.)

It’s really a snap to provide excellent, satisfying hot tea in very short order and with very little trouble. First, it’s essential to provide a selection of several good-quality teas, caffeinated and de-caffeinated, regular tea and herbals. They can often be found in an attractive wooden box (Sam’s Club again), but arranging an assortment in a basket or on a tray could be nice, too. Then comes the crucial ingredient—boiling water. The Brits have this knocked. They use high-speed electric boiling kettles, and good ones are now available in the U. S. (try Target). You flip the switch when tea is called for, and voila, you have boiling water in about one minute or less. There are also hot water dispensers on some Bunn-type coffee makers, and as attachments to sinks, as well.

Maybe fresh lemon slices are too much to ask at a church coffee hour. But a nice ceramic mug is welcome, and for true Anglophiles, the same little creamers provided for coffee can work great in teas, too.

We never know which seemingly small detail makes all the difference for someone we’d like to welcome to our church. It all becomes worthwhile when one person goes home from worship smiling, and thinking, “Hey, this Episcopal Church welcomes me!”

A Volley from the Canon: Radicalizing Hospitality

Radicalizing Hospitality

Coffee Hour, that sacred mystery of the Episcopal Church, is the best shot we have at getting maximum familiarity with newcomers (and extracting from them maximum information for use in follow-up), and it is our final opportunity to make a positive impression on their first visit with the congregation. Therefore—we serve them the cheapest coffee available on sale at the discount store, stale from residing in the church pantry in that huge, bargain-size can, perked up in a 120-cup aluminum percolator, circa 1959. Then, we cap the offense with injury, for some, by offering that noxious non-dairy powder to “lighten” the brew.
Or that’s the way it USED to be. Now, more and more congregations are catching on to the higher standards for coffee service that are sweeping our nation, and especially our younger population. I’m not suggesting that we attempt a full-scale coffee bar. Regular and decaf are quite enough, if they are of good quality. That means avoiding anything too extreme, like a French or Italian Roast, but selecting a nice, bright, full-flavored roast that would appeal to most people. And while we’re at it, choosing a “fair trade” coffee (like “the Bishop’s Blend,” which benefits Episcopal Relief and Development,) [http://www.er-d.org/waystogive_63273_ENG_HTM.htm] and making that connection known, is a great idea.
But don’t forget the cream! People who don’t drink coffee (or who drink it black) have no idea how important dairy creamer is to those who lighten their coffee. It used to be “too much trouble” for most congregations to bring in a carton of half-and-half (or even milk) for coffee hour. Now, there is no excuse. Little individual servings of half-and-half with a long shelf-life and needing no refrigeration are available at a number of retail outlets, including Sam’s Club.
Still too much trouble? Are people just too darn picky? If we can ignore these important details, we should consider—the Holy Apostolic First Century Bible Full Gospel Community Temple down the street will be happy to respond, and probably already does.