Fire Guts Popular CRC Coffeehouse

The Green Bean, a popular Seattle, Wash., coffeehouse owned and operated by a Christian Reformed Church congregation in the city’s Greenwood neighborhood was destroyed in a fire early in the morning of Oct. 23.

Known for its outreach, hospitality, acceptance of and ministry to the people in the area, the Green Bean Coffee House is featured in the November issue of The Banner, the CRC’s monthly magazine. The coffeehouse is a non-profit organization started and overseen by Sanctuary CRC.

"We are saying that faith, hope and love are fireproof," says Rev. Randy Rowland, pastor of Sanctuary CRC. "The fire has lit a metaphorical fire in our congregation. It has enhanced the unity among us and encourages us to continue doing mission and being involved in our community."

Part of what is called "The Seattle Cluster" of CRC congregations and ministries, the coffee house was gutted and Sanctuary CRC that met in a nearby theater was heavily damaged by smoke and water in the three-alarm blaze that also ruined three nearby eateries.

Rowland says he hopes the church can return to the theater, which is already undergoing renovation, early next year. Sanctuary CRC held its service on Sunday at a catering company near the site of the popular coffeehouse.

As for the coffeehouse, they have to sort through insurance coverage and other issues before deciding what to do. "We’re keeping our nose to the ground and working to discern and determine all of our options. We'll survive," says the pastor.

Firefighters are still working to determine what caused the fire that was reported by a passer-by who saw smoke in the area about 4 a.m. "By the time the first firefighters arrived, flames were shooting from the building, and smoke was billowing from the roof," according to a report in The Seattle Times.

Seattle Fire Department officials said that fire investigators on Tuesday were to begin their investigation ofthe fire.

Rowland said that the coffeehouse and church "remain resolute in our vision and mission in Greenwood … We are here to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves." Tragic as the fire was, the coffeehouse and church were only things. "A church and a community development organization are about people, not about buildings," said Rowland.

A group of about 60 people, most with ties to Sanctuary Church and the Green Bean Coffee House, shared stories, hugs, tears and prayers at a "Greenwood Fire Wake" on Sunday at the church’s offices above a bank, says the local blog PhinnyWood (http://www.phinneywood.com/2009/10/23/greenwood-neighbors-mourn-fire-look-forward/).

Located at 210 North 85th Street, the Green Bean has been in operation since May of 2005. After months of remodeling, a once-decrepit storefront was turned into a bright, welcoming community space. The coffee house used its space to sell products that advocate for and support people and groups from parts of the world less fortunate than ours’. It also hosted regular programs including a story time for youth and educational programs from art lessons to salsa dancing, and live music.

There were no injuries in the fire, except to one firefighter who sustained an ankle injury.

In this month's Banner article, written several weeks before the blaze, the writer says, "The Grean Bean serves as Sanctuary's front porch, and many people connect there first."

Describing those who visited the coffee shop, writer Evangeline Magee DeMaster says workers at the Green Bean provided "a listening ear" to many people. "A woman involved in drugs and prostitution walked in off the street one Tuesday and listened to the children’s story time. A man battling cancer found a sense of family at the Green Bean, which he visited until he passed away."

Christian Reformed Home Missions has been providing grants to Sanctuary CRC and other congregations and planting churches in the Seattle area since 2004. In a press release, Home Missions officials say they “were devastated to hear fire had gutted and destroyed the Green Bean coffeehouse, and other eateries in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. We are thankful Sanctuary CRC, located just a few doors down from the Green Bean, has not been destroyed by the fire even though they suffered smoke and water damage.  Our hearts and prayers are with them all as they restore and renovate.”

Home Missions officials say that the Seattle area CRC churches “have been seen as cutting edge and catalysts in the missional, church-planting movement.  The missional perspective of the Seattle cluster of churches is energizing and is a prime example of CRC congregations partnering together in raising up new leaders, supporting and learning from one another.”

The Greenwood Fire Relief Fund has been set up at a nearby bank. To contribute especially to the Green Bean’s reconstruction, visit: www.greenbeancoffee.org. To read the story on Green Bean, visit: Banner story on coffeehouse.