Network Coffee House
Network Coffee House
1402 Pearl Street, Denver, Co 80203
“Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.”
Network Coffee House is a sacred place. It is not a for-profit coffee house. It is not a shelter or soup-kitchen. It is a unique place of hospitality. A place of friendship and belonging. A place of formation for all those who enter.
Network Coffee House is a counter script to our cultural moment. Network began in 1982 under the leadership of John Hicks. He and a community of friends moved into the Capitol Hill neighborhood to found Network as a hospitality house. Their priority was to be present to the people and place they served. Network purchased an abandoned house on the corner of 14th and Pearl in 1990. Since then, it has been a place that feels like home for the houseless and a place of formation for spiritual seekers.
There has been an expression of the Church connected with Network since its inception. It began as St. James Urban Church and now is Urban Mercy, led by Ryan Taylor. Ryan visited New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2007. That trip began his journey of coming alongside the people and places who are overlooked and unseen.
Ryan’s conviction is transformation happens in uncomfortable places. This led him to invite others to engage spiritual formation in the realities of the people being welcomed at Network. The invitation was simple, “Come and see.” Move beyond theories to experiences. Be in relationship with Jesus while in relationship with those in need.
For over 30 years Network has not focused their attention on social enterprise or solving homelessness. Instead, they have consistently created a place of redemptive relationships. “Network serves a lily-pad,” said Taylor, “a place for people to take the next step.” That may be a next step for a houseless neighbor, or a next step for a first-time volunteer. Network is a place to learn to be present. To sit, play chess, enjoy coffee, and learn the priceless value of redemptive relationships.
Network Coffee House is a place where the dignity of all is affirmed daily, kinship is cultivated, and following the Way of Jesus is made possible. Network Coffee House is a sacred place.
