Graham's not here today

Fraser Campbell was from out of town, so I had no idea how many people would be at Worship Café yesterday. The Streaming Café is closed on Sundays, so they only open the café doors when we show up to set up the gear for the worship time.

Funnily enough, we had people coming to the door even before the café was open this week. Not a lot of people, mind you, but people. One of the early comers was Jennifer Jade Kerr, who has lead worship at Worship Café twice now. She said she’d met Fraser at The Gospel Music Association’s music week in Calgary at the end of October, so when she saw that he’d be at Worship Café she decided to swing by and check it out. Turns out Jennifer had come in third place in the GMAC’s performance showcase event – congratulations, JJK! She also told me that Mark Tromsness (another WC alumnus) won that same event, so he’ll be off to Nashville next year as part of his prize.

Two other early-comers to the café thought it was Graham Ord leading yesterday; it wasn’t, though. Graham’s on next week. There were half-a-dozen people who knew Fraser from his time up in Vanderhoof, so they came to reconnect with him. These folks weren’t expecting to see Graham Ord, which is good, because Graham wasn’t there. He’ll be leading next week.

Usually there is some kind of connection between the folks who show up for Worship Café in person; they know each other and made plans to be there together, or they know the worship leader from somewhere, or things like that. Every once in a while there’s someone who comes to the café just because they’ve decided to, not because someone they know is going to be there. There were a couple of young ladies at WC yesterday in that latter category; they knew about Worship Café, and even though they didn’t know who was leading, or if any of their friends were going to be there, they decided to come out, grab a coffee, and just enjoy the atmosphere.

It is a good atmosphere for that, actually. As the weather grows colder and the days grow shorter, the café is a great place to stay warm, hang out, and just enjoy the company. That might sound like a plug, and it is. I’d much rather find myself at the Streaming Café (whether for Worship Café or just for coffee) than at either Starbucks or Second Cup. Coffee’s better, music’s better, and the bloggers leave you alone. It’s good all the way around.