Brewing up Life in Havant

The last couple of months, things at the Beacon Lounge (our church coffee shop) have been quite fun!  I am the Thursday girl and also run the Lounge every other Saturday.  Thursdays, I work with a lovely volunteer from one of the local colleges.  Since the Lounge had been closed on Thursday's prior to my arrival, it has taken a little while for folks to see we are there, but now I have a whole group of regulars!  One is Ernie.  He is 91 and walks over 2 miles from Emsworth (a neighboring seaside village) to Havant every Thursday and Friday.  He does a shop and then comes up for his tea. He is a widower and used to work for Panasonic on healthcare equipment and testing other products.  He told me about remembering working with the technology for the first flat screen TV's.  He is amazing.  He always has on a tie and is full of great suggestions of things for me to see and do around the area.  He is the first through the door in the morning and greets us with a lovely start to the day!

Brian is another regular, and is also very lovely.  Since retiring, he has taken on loads of volunteering.  He helps a few folks (who are more elderly than he) and drives people to various appoinments.  He comes into Havant to take communion at our neighboring St. Faith's Church, and then pops in to visit with me and have his coffee and cake- and always buys a suspended coffee for someone in need.  He is so positive and takes a genuine interest in me and even some others who come in that he sees around town.  Last week, he joined a new friend of mine, Malc, for his coffee (as they joked about who beat who to the best slice of cake) and I overheard him saying how great it is "since Erika got here" to be able to come in on Thursday's.  It filled my heart with joy. Such a little thing can make a big difference for someone.

Brian and Malc visiting on a Thursday morning

Two more Thursday morning regulars enjoying some cake!

 Today was special as Malc shared with me about how his wife passed suddenly from complications related to her diabetes.  He was really sharing his heart.  I told him I had just lost my dad recently and that it was also rather sudden.  I could relate to how hard that was but offered that I took solice in knowing that he didn't suffer and that God brought me peace.  I told him about our Active Senior's Coffee Morning at the church and encouraged him to get invovled.  He shared a bit more about some of the volunteering he does and left smiling, as he always is.

There are a few others who come in regularly.  I am trying to get them to pop in for Saturday's too.  Two of the teens at church work with me on Saturday's and we offer light lunches.  They are both amazing and bring a lot of life to the Lounge.  We have had some folks come in that are just passing through and have done pretty well on our sales.  We are trying to make this ministry more self-sustaining.  One week, we had a bit of a lunch rush but most weeks it is light but steady.  Naomi and Harry keep me entertained...or is it the other way around??

Some of the church family in for lunch!

Some of the church members will pop in to say hi and buy lunch which is always fun.  It is good to have their support too.  We have even had a local politician in with some of his campaign supporters. The patrons are more of an assortment on a weekend.  We have met some nice folks and are always complimented on how relaxing, peaceful, and comfortable the environment is.  I often get loads of questions too...due to my, ahem, accent.

I have come to really appreciate the heart of the Beacon Lounge and think I add a bit of Southern Charm, which doesn't go unnoticed!  Since we run the food bank through the Lounge, I also have the pleasure of being the first face of that ministry, in a way, for the folks coming to collect their parcels on Thursdays.  It is so important to treat them with dignity and kindness as they come in to do something that can be quite difficult and humbling for some.  The Lounge offers a wonderful buffer for this and also gives me the opportunity to occasionally bless someone with a free drink while they wait.

We have had our fair share of challenging people come through as well, but even those teach us something new and help me to practice my kindness and patience!  At the end of the day, I always leave the Lounge feeling blessed to be able to make small loving touches with the community.  I'm sure that for some, the time we give means more than we can know.