www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Look Here: mall chapel and coffehouse / bookstore

I was discussing two different evangelization efforts in another thread, and I decided they would be better served in a thread of their own.

In Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A., there are two evangelizing efforts that are worthy of notice. One is a chapel in a shopping mall. Another is a combination bookstore and coffeehouse. I visited both of them two weeks ago, when I was in Colorado Springs for a visit; and they are both impressive examples of outreach. Both are examples of learning from St. Paul, who brought the Gospel to the marketplace.


The Chapel in the Shopping Mall.

The Catholic Church has a chapel in one of the main shopping malls in Colorado Springs. http://www.catholicchapelmall.org The chapel has at least one Capuchin Catholic priest on duty at all times when the chapel is open. The priest offers daily Mass (Divine Liturgy), and he is available throughout the day for the sacrament / mystery of Confession as well as for spiritual counseling or simply for conversation. The chapel also has a variety of Catholic literature (mostly leaflets) and lists of local Catholic resources that are available for free. Finally, the Eucharist is reserved in the tabernacle, and people can go before Him for silent prayer. The chapel has only been open for a few years, but it has produced good results. There is a constant stream (sometimes a trickle, sometimes a flood) of people for . . . yes, Confession ! . . . and attendance at daily Mass is good too, especially on holy days. The chapel is not open on Sundays, and the priests encourage people to go to their local parishes for Sunday Mass; and that is good too. Finally, at least one religious vocation has resulted so far: a man from Colorado who took his initial vows with the Capuchin order this year. So far, so good. Hopefully, other dioceses will open a chapel in their major shopping malls.


Combination Bookstore and Coffeehouse.

The Orthodox Church (OCA) has a combination coffeehouse and bookstore in Colorado Springs, "Agia Sophia." http://www.agiasophiacoffeeshop.com It's new, and it's quite good. The ground floor has a coffee shop with very good coffee and tea; there are also a photography studio, a few books, and some collectible (old) icons on the ground floor. The second floor has most of the books. Not all of the books are religious, but most are. Most of the religious books are from the Orthodox Church, but the collection also has a surprising number of (good) Catholic titles too and (of course) some C.S. Lewis. The real gem is the forward right corner (when you come up the stairs, it would be directly in front of you and to the right) of the second floor. That is where the gems of writings on Orthodox spirituality are kept: the Desert Fathers, Fr. Dumitru Staniloae, Fr. Wybrew's history of the Byzantine Liturgy, the Life of St. Maximos the Confessor, writings by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlacchos, etc., etc., etc. Also on the second floor, for those who are interested, there is a Russian tea room. It's pretty.
The local OCA pastor [theophany.org] is like the chaplain. I saw him there and spoke with him; and he gave the impression of being kind and pious. For more information and background, see http://www.theophany.org/agiaSophia.html . Hold on to your seat when you download the movie; you will be BLOWN AWAY by what it shows modern Christian outreach can be -- both the bookstore and the video itself !!!


If you can get to Colorado Springs, enjoy these places.

And if you are at all involved in parish or diocesan work, please study these examples of modern evangelization for ideas of what can be done in our home areas.

Be well.

-- John

Wonderful! Thanks, John, for posting these.

I'm curious about the cost of renting the space at the mall. I know that some spaces can be as much as 10-15-20K per month. Is such a thing sustainable?

Love the idea of both...

Gordo

Hi Gordo,

I don't know what the cost is for the rental of the mall space for the chapel in the mall. I imagine it is high. I don't know the specifics of the financing. All I can say is that the chapel has been there in that mall for several years. So either it is sustainable; or someone is making a long term investment; or both.

As for the bookstore, it is quite new. Yet, it is in business. Hopefully, it will succeed. It is an area of town where there is a lot of foot traffic and many coffee shops, so the market is there.

I might add that the Catholic Church could learn a BIG lesson from the Orthodox bookstore and coffee shop. So often, Catholic bookstores are only that or are combination bookstores, religious good shops and priest supply stores. That is good, but it misses an outreach opportunity. With a coffee shop, there is then the possibility of a mission. People who would not normally be interested in religious items, but who are interested in a good cup of coffee, could come in. Then, if they are curious (and without the staff being preachy), the customers could look at the books, etc., and ask questions, etc.; and thus begins the religious ministry: conversation, spiritual counseling (especially if a priest is on hand), etc. I would *love* to see Catholics imitate this (and more Orthodox to imitate this too!).

-- John

I had a chuckle thinking about this in my head...of a priest in Mass there preaching against materialism right inside of the Mall! "Don't buy these things!" Wonder how the managment at the mall would think. Heh heh

This reminds me of how the gas stations began building larger stores and took away business from the grocery stores. Then the grocery stores began building gas stations to take away business from the gas stations.

how is similar? SImple.

The malls took people away from thechurches with their fake religion of Santa and Easter Bunny. So, the churches now stake out a competitive claim right in their own backyard by popping up chapels and religion coffee shops thta will not only remind the consumer that material things aren't the end thing (sorry commercialism) but that those wicca and gothic religion shanties will have to compete with a better and more powerful message: Jesus is Lord!

Eddie

Dear Ed,

Good post...but I have one question: the Easter Bunny isn't real?!?!

Alice, still remembering how upset she was when she was told this by her mother many years ago

A little aside: We told our kids right up front that there was no Easter Bunny.

We told them that Santa Claus is really St. Nicholas, a Holy Bishop who lived in the 4th Century and he was really good to children. My son made an Icon of him for St. Nicholas' Day.

The Easter Bunny visited my kids every Easter...the only problem was that after the hunt for candy and eggs, they were never hungry for dinner that day. LOL!

Ofcourse the Easter Bunny was very clever in that he knew to visit their friends on their Easter and us on our Easter!

Anyway, my kids went to Church every single Sunday for Sunday School, and despite the fun and charade of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, they are strong believers in Christ and in the seriousness of Pascha and Christmas today as young adults.

Anyway, Greek Orthodox Holy Week and Easter are so intensely religious and observed that Mr. Bunny himself couldn't detract from its true meaning, even if that were his intention!!! All our activities that week are Church and religion related.

It is not unusual to find children who are off from school for Spring break attending the evening services, which can often end quite late on Holy Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well as Saturday. I remember one Holy Week when my daughter, who was seven or eight at the time, was off from school during Orthodox Holy Week, and attended church every single night with my husband. She and he were so proud!

In our old parish, on Easter Sunday and at Resurrection Service, Father handed out good quality, gold foiled, chocolate Easter bunnies to the children.

I was always jealous that as a parent I didn't qualify as a parent to get one!

Alice

I do admit that if Easter were observed in the Americanized, non-important, non-chalant way that my Protestant cousins observe it, I may have wanted to eliminate Mr. Bunny from my children's psyche. However, he cannot compete with Greek Orthodox Easter.

Christ is Risen!

It looks like this thread has been put off track again by Mr Hash's pet peeve regarding Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I am going to warn poster's that these threads should remain on topic. I am going to caution that if the thread can not remain on the topic and focus of Parish Life and Evangelization then it should be closed.

Mr Hash, do consider this a formal warning that you are to refrain from bringing these topics into any thread in this section hence forth. Failure to comply with this warning will have the administrators taking action.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator

Dear Father Anthony,

I was just having a little fun for a change-- sorry. I also enjoyed giving a Greek Orthodox perspective as a mother (who has raised two children) on how Greek Orthodox families balance the cultural secular aspects of Pascha with the religious.

The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are indeed very MUCH a part of mall culture for families in the United States, and the topic is 'Mall chapel and coffeehouse'.

In Christ,
Alice

Gently trying to segue back on topic . . . does anyone know of mall chapels or bookstores/coffeehouses, by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, in their areas or jurisdictions ?

-- John

Dear Spdundas and EdHash,

How True, especially the part that Jesus is Lord.

Dear Alice, Christ is Risen!

And this is the section dedicated to Parish Life and Evangelization, not secular icons.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Though I can't speak for others' posts, I thought that I did describe 'parish life' in my long post detailing parish activities for children during Greek Orthodox Holy Week?!?!? Didn't I? I also thought that it was positive and flattering in tone to my jurisdiction, as well as informative for those who are not Greek Orthodox.

Forgive me if I offended you by anything I posted.

In Christ,
Alice

Dear Alice, Christ is Risen!

No offense, just trying the posts on topic.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+