Neighbor News
What is Lifetree Café?
An introduction to Lifetree Café being held at the First Congregational Church of Ridgefield.
Lifetree Café is returning to Ridgefield on September 4. Everything from politics to prayer will be featured at a weekly experience called Lifetree Café.
This “conversation café”—located at First Congregational Church of Ridgefield —is part of a national network of locations that offer participatory events related to life and faith.
The Lifetree Café experience is a scheduled hour of “stories and conversations to feed the soul,” according to local director, Susan Glendinning. The hour typically includes a short original film and guided conversation. A local host directs the hour. “It’s sort of like a live, local talk show—with an inspirational twist,” Ms. Glendinning said.
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Topics, which change weekly, focus on popular life issues. Topics may include such things as loneliness, immigration, health, angels, guilt, prayer, and life after death. The exclusive documentary-style films feature everyday people with unusual stories, as well as nationally known figures.
National Lifetree Café founder Thom Schultz said, “We engage people of all ages in a national conversation through local Lifetree Cafés as well as a robust online presence.” The organization’s website, LifetreeCafe.com, invites visitors to participate online in the same topical conversations that occur each week at the live venues.
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“Lifetree serves as a comfortable place to meet other people who are interested in the same issues.” Schultz said, “The atmosphere resembles a warm, neighborhood coffee shop. The experience gives people practical help and insight on life issues, and provides a hopeful spiritual connection.”
Schultz said, “We’ve found that people today want to participate in the conversation. It’s not enough to simply hear someone lecture on an important topic. People want to share their thoughts, ask questions, and tell their own stories. Lifetree offers a safe place and time to do that.”
Lifetree Café will be offered at 7:15 pm every Wednesday, starting on September 4. Lifetree is open to the public and admission to the 60-minute events is free. Snacks and beverages are available. The topic for the first session is "10 Minutes to Live. Now what?" Weekly topics can be found at https://www.facebook.com/FirstChurchRidgefield.
Questions about Lifetree Cafe may be directed to Susan Glendinning at spglendinning@mac.com.
