Written by Bonnie Fackre-Cochise, edited by Julie Gorham
The pop-up at the Parkrose UCC was another successful event with increasingly steady volunteers emerging. A snowstorm on December 4th resulted in a slightly lower than average turnout, with 31 adults and four children in attendance. Many of the attendees were members of the church and a few joined us from the near-by “Village”— a ministry of the Parkrose Congregation which helps provide meals and a modicum of shelter to the houseless.
The meal itself was a favored chili dish which took many hours to prepare prior to the event, by Christ the Healer and Focalizer Member, Angela Rodgers. This dish was tastefully supplemented, on site, with a hefty baked potato topped with delicious tofu sour cream and fresh microgreens. We joyfully filled the tables with an Acres of Abundant Grace green salad, and a fruit salad with grace Garden persimmons.
Luckily, very few of the meals served that day had to be composted afterwards. Unserved meals were brought to the Village “shacks,” and some were taken off to tents that were known to be in need of food. Church members helped clean up afterwards. It was truly a community event.
Preparation & Support
When the Climate Café core group arrived on site, the church had ALREADY been set up and decorated the tables. That was a big help! And, we now realize this needs to be a requirement of those who invite the Climate Cafe to pop-up on their space. This effort allowd the volunteers to focus their attention on food preparation, so we can operate on schedule. We also recognized the need for substantial donated funds to cover all costs.
Attendees & Activities
Also very gratifying was the repeat attendance of a growing core of diner/doners from our “Meetup” and website, who have caught the Spirit of our cause and who came back for more of our tasty dishes.
One of the Village staff who attended, in fact, had already helped harvest for Climate Café at Eloheh Indigenous Wisdom Center. She also did some planting at Grace Garden this summer, played the Transformation game and even visited CtH’s weekly healing group. In addition, the Parkrose pastor herself had attended one of Christ the Healers “Sunday Suppers” a few years back.
The kids who came gravitated to the children’s corner, to paint, play with sand ,read, and make puzzles while things got underway. The snow also afforded them an outdoor break. Randy Woodley’s children’s book, the Harmony Tree attracted great interest even among the adults. Randy is a regenerative farmer and a previous Climate Café presenter.
Planning for what is next
The dreaming and planning for each Climate Café event takes place in Christ the Healer’s bi-weekly “focalizing” meetings on zoom. This is where we debrief what happened at the most recent pop-up and think ahead both to the program and to the meal for the next one. Then, in the in between weeks, the chefs meet to work out the details of the meal and others follow through on the program.
A new “presentation” group has also been formed to brainstorm how best to reach the wider public and interpret why we are doing what we are doing. We have decided to hold off until the end of January or the beginning of February for our next “pop-up,” since it really a fulltime job on its own to head up the planning and catering both.
Taking a cue from the way that public television raises its fund, we are now encouraging folks who can, to subscribe to a regular donation. We would like to hire a chef-manager on a permanent basis. Plus, Christ the Healer’s regular contribution to our office manager’s five hours weekly work schedule will need to be renewed come February, and we are aware that even those five hours is not enough to fully undergird our mission.
We continue to ponder how best to attract younger generations to join with our effort, those who are inheriting this troubling planetary crisis in coming years. Our latest pop-up that Sunday did attract a small core of young seekers, who felt excited and well-fed, and who hopefully will keep coming back.
Our focalizers are also seeking alternative ways to expand our deepest hope and highest vision for this project. We would like to establish not only a regular weekend “café” but also a learning center where folks can learn helpful helpful way to avert climate crisis. We welcome your feedback!
For the Love of All Creation.
A Word from Thomas about the Climate Café’
LOVE ALL CREATION AS YOURSELF
CLIMATE CAFÉ IS…
Everyone aware and motivated or aware yet demotivated by our world wide climate crisis is filled up with many discouraging facts. Climate café acknowledges facts and promotes life embracing, spiritually satisfying solutions that are A. within the grasp of everyone, and B. able to create results that, if carried out by enough individuals, will end and even reverse the crisis.Only two principles are needed to be engaged to produce such striking results. 1. Folks learn to source many of their meals in a plant based, regenerative agriculture guided manner, and 2. This food is secured, prepared, and distributed using a consciousness of sharing, generosity, and abundance. All else is just a list of technical details about how to create this new way to eat and enjoy this new way to live, that are available on our Climate Café website: climatecafe.co as well as during our sit down to eat together programs.
We’d love to hear from you!