Sort by

Social Justice action experiment

Posted by Chris Hooton on October 9, 2007 at 9:30am

My friend Cliff has been going to a soup kitchen in Saginaw once a month. He pastors an ELCA church in our area and is very successful mobilizing his people into action. I went with him the last time they went. Six of us headed out at eight o’clock Friday morning. I’m not much of a morning person, so I was quiet. I had already been up for a while to take my wife and kids to work.When we arrived, we went straight to work. My first duty was to wash a couple hundred pounds of frozen catfish to fry for lunch. I then moved to the eye wrenching pain of chopping onions. How I wish I had brought my own cooks knife. One of our group brought three cases of cabbage straight from the garden that morning and we made it into an insane amount of coleslaw. Of course under the hair-net, and behind the apron, nestled thoughts about the discipline of service, and remembrance of the presence of God in the onion vapor.Soon the doors opened and a steady stream of hungry people came in. It was the end of the month and like me, many of these people had run out of their food stamps and wouldn’t be able to buy groceries until next Tuesday. My job was to keep the serving line stocked with whatever they needed. I refilled gallons of fruit punch, and made sure cookies were on hand for desert. I stood behind the front lines. I looked into the faces of the 371 people we served. I tried to discern the thoughts behind their eyes, but they were separated by a stainless steel counter, by one helping, and strange faces, most of which changed every day.We served in two shifts, and in between we sat and ate in the cafeteria too. I consciously put on my tray exactly what we were serving. I ate in solidarity, but I ate alone. Or, I should say I ate with the other volunteers. We were seated at a table in the middle of the room. My biggest regret is that I didn’t sit at another table, mingling with my comrades of the fringes.It is strange that my greatest burning desire is always to do that which is least comfortable to my personality. I wanted to sit and talk, have relationship, solidarity beyond the plate. I find that intimidating even with my beloved church family, the less familiar I am with someone the harder that is.I am not sure to what extent this action extended beyond charity to social justice. It doesn’t seem that much was done to end the causes of hunger, but at least 371 people made it through the day without being hungry.I have been struggling to make social justice a face to face reality, which is why I chose to go with Cliff. He is a mentor to me in doing and getting done. I had served for a few years as treasurer for the ministerial association as we tried to help families with economic crisis. I began to burn out, not only because I’m not gifted for financial upkeep, but because the money went so fast. I struggled to not place my own judgments on the request, that was the job of the pastor handling the case, but I was also frustrated that our plans to follow up with counsel and education weren’t happening either. I wonder where, and if I can really make any difference.I am encouraged by the books I have read for my class in Christian Spirituality. They remind me that the difference must start with me. I think about the areas of my life, trying to identify the areas I can influence. With the coffeehouse I’m working on I am presented with some choices. When we go to renovate a building I can incorporate green building techniques, I can pay a living wage to the people who work there, and right now I can select coffee that has been bought at a fair trade.Some of my people wanted to start a Bible study, that in itself is encouraging to me, but when they started talking about how an out flow of our learning the scripture should be to meet needs, I lit up. “Put skin on the Word!” I proclaimed. They liked that.

One of my dream machines

Posted by Chris Hooton on June 1, 2007 at 9:30am

la+san+maro.jpg

Italians make the best machines!

The God Machine

Posted by Chris Hooton on April 14, 2006 at 10:30am

Deus ex machina comes to the rescue again. In ancient Greek plays, when the plot was too thick, and a resolution too hard, a god was lowered in a machine and solved all the problems: the god from the machine. The Greeks had it right. Our critics today look and say that you can’t tie up loose ends so neatly, or you can’t introduce new information or characters at the end to solve everything.I know better. Come what may, Ella breaking a brand new DVD trying to get it out of its case, or pouring juice on the computer, come cranky spouse or dark day, come cold blooded evangelicals with eyebrows of judgment, the god machine comes to my rescue. Either the sculpture of boiler, tubes and steam is more loving and powerful than the God of my heart, or dear machina is his own instrument. For nothing cures the attitudes of the heart or the maladies of the mind than a well-timed espresso.Resurrection comes in two-ounce shots.Later that day...Though perhaps more responsive than the almighty (a shot of espresso is pulled in thirty seconds), machina is also a fickle friend who’s company is enjoyed only a little at a time. Manic days of too much caffeine and my concentration floats and flits like butterfly on the wing. The molecules in my body vibrate at the resonance of espresso. All else is empty – hollow. Food, I think, may fill the void and calm my vibration. My thoughts and humors are as flighty as my liver and pancreas. Heavy and substantive ideas are solid food, and I hunger, not out of need, but emptiness, want of fullness – of balance – of solidity – of depth. Enter the almighty upstage left.

Phrase of the week:

Posted by Chris Hooton on April 8, 2005 at 10:30am

The Coffee Cognoscenti

Coffee Tones an experiment

Posted by Chris Hooton on March 7, 2005 at 10:30am

I have been trying to create a metaphor for describing coffee qualities comparing it to balancing a stereo equalizer. The acidity creates a sharp treble tone that can give the coffee a crisp citrus taste or a mellow wine tone. The midrange is made up by the body of the coffee, or its coffeeness, it could be bold or smooth. Then comes the Bass tone. That is the unifying undertone that resonates in your taste buds giving the coffee a satisfying power.The question remains, how do I turn the nobs to create a balanced coffee? My favorite drink, the double Americano, is espresso with water. If you know espresso, it is sharp and powerful with loud treble and mid tones. Adding water brings out the bass tones. After adding water to a regular coffee weak on base tones, my theory is that water turns down the mids, and allows the bass tones that are already there to reverberate. Adding water turns down the mids, too much water will leave only the trebles, and in a coffee with too little body it will just seem watery. Adding more grounds to the brew increases the body, so there are more mids to start with. I think that the bass tones have to do with the darkness of the roast, but since I don't roast the beans, I cannot test that theory. I don't think we even have distinguished lights and darks at bay city coffee and tea, a lot of our coffee seem to lack the bass tones I like.But watch out! Too much bass tone, is like those coffees (Tim Horton's) that have been sitting on the burner all day, they are as unsatisfying as hearing booty bass from outside a car, just a metallic rattling as the car is over wrought with bass vibrations.

Bay City Coffee and Tea

Posted by Chris Hooton on September 30, 2004 at 10:30am

Bay City Coffee and Tea is back in my good graces. Jeff the barrista confirmed that they don't use "Big Train" powdered crap like the ice rage. The signs are just up for something to look at. Right on! Highjack corporate brand recognition.Tonight I came for a bluegrass jam and stayed for a discussion about biblical historicity put on by Grace Christian Fellowship. Jeff asked me what I thought, and here it is: It was pretty good, a little more didactic and less relational than I might like, but it was inoffensive and has great potential.It all started from The Da Vinci Code, a book I have yet to read. They wanted to clear up the historical divergence in the novel so that it didn't become an "urban legend." The presenters upheld the nature of Christ and the scriptures while the PoMo crowd questioned how the cannon came to be. All in all an engaging evening.My suggestion:Perhaps they could select a topic that offers true open dialog where the biblical world view offers many options for discussion. That may allow the guys to come off the high stools and become participants in a wider discussion, building trust and relationship.

Coffee Tree Cafe review

Posted by Chris Hooton on September 11, 2004 at 11:00am

I went to the new Coffee Tree Café today. It is across the river from downtown Bay City, what is that? Uptown? It has the atmosphere down. Tables of dark mahogany or oak, funky black chairs set off a light airy texture. It has the culture of a hep cat. The Metallic Green espresso machine pulls together a vintage theme—the pigment on the canvas of high ceilings, Art Nouveau metal work and chandeliers.

The tea is arranged in its own wooden box. They serve the uncultured Ice Rage, though the barrista admits she has never been asked to make one. They also have many decent espresso drinks at nice prices listed in colored chalk on four simple black boards.

Overall I like the place. I would love it if they had WiFi and replaced the leather couch with a vintage Deco model, the barrista independently agreed. The place has tremendous potential, their success rests on whether they tap in to the coffee culture or start down the slippery slide away from the culture that created it. Well, hey not every place can be Goodbye Blue Monday!

People Watching at Bay City Coffee and Tea

Posted by Chris Hooton on September 4, 2004 at 11:00am

I came down to the coffee shop hoping to write. Last night I felt fanciful and full of reverie, I felt impelled to write, but I was in bed, and sufficed to head to the coffee shop today.Of course, it took me too long to get out of the house, and after the half hour drive here, I don't feel like going through with it... Writing.So I watch the few people here. The only live ones are a couple who met here for coffee, there is the excitation and light on their faces of discovering romances. As they turn toward each other on the loves seat, sipping their ice rage coffee drinks, I notice neither of them wear a ring. The light of puppy love is some how refreshing to my imagination in a couple, dare I say? past their prime. The other two men sit alone sipping tall house cups of undoubtedly strong coffee. They strike me as being pastors, because who else would be studying alone on a Saturday?That simple observation makes me miss Derrick and Clint that much more. How much easier would my task today be sitting across a table from them at Caffeine Dreams writing my sermon as they work another chapter to a novel or some other worthy work?Speaking of the Great CD and Big Dog and Double "D" I wonder what they would think of this, place of my choosing today... Bay City Coffee and Tea has a whole lot more atmosphere than Espresso Express, but I admit I don't understand their business model. I thought they were going for the quality niche because all their drinks were overpriced, but they recently started serving the Big Train Ice Rage drinks my two love birds were drinking earlier. (They are currently enjoying an awkward interruption by the woman's daughter's piano teacher.)We served the Ice Rage at Sehnerts, it annoyed me because every one came in to order this "great new thing," and we had been serving blended iced lattes forever. I wanted to tell them I could make them something better. This powdered excuse for a drink has no business being a part of coffee culture. It belongs in the convenience store next to the candy coffee capuccino machine! Sorry for the rant, but I may have to find another place to hang around if this coffee shop is headed down the slippery slope of profits over culture.How does all this relate to the clay in the potter's hand? Finding the answer is my task for the next hours, I scrapped my initial attempts at it. The potter was crazy. I had him saying:"You see this vase, how beautiful it is? It is beautiful isn't it? Don't you find it beautiful? Yes? Well, today I am going to make a vase more beautiful than this. It will be so beautiful, you've seen nothing like it, it will put this vase to shame. Compared to it this vase will be ugly. Puh, I spit on it. I will smash this vase, it will be so ugly!"Not like the omnipotent God of wrath and love who's hands we are in.At any rate now that I am warmed up and my cup is empty, I will get another AA and get back to work. (Ah the pastoral life!)

Rainy Days and rich Coffee Make My heart sing

Posted by Chris Hooton on August 28, 2004 at 11:00am

I realized something while watching people in the mall today. Everybody is a freak. Some of us try to fit in while others don’t. Makes me feel better about myself.I sat writing and drinking glorious coffee at Bay City Coffee and Tea for hours. Then I went to Sweet Boutique.Here is my evaluation of the House Blend at Sweet Boutique in Bay City. It has a light texture, with a sharp, lively acidity. The bouquet is reminiscent of turpentine—a definite chemical taste, not the interesting and exciting chemical taste of a 9-volt battery, but the sickening something-is-wrong chemical taste of turpentine. Over all a good cup of Joe.

of 4

The Coffee Cognoscenti

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.