Higher Grounds History

Article submitted by Larry Vilardo, interim pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Santa Cruz.

Recently while enjoying an espresso a the Higher Grounds Coffee shop I engaged in a discussion with Sue Cannon, one of the founders. The name, “Higher Grounds”, comes from the line of an old Hymn, “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Lord, lift me up and let me stand, By faith, on Heaven's tableland, A higher plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.” The Higher Grounds coffee shop is literally, “Heaven’s table”. The coffee and food are free, fabulous and served to all comers. Volunteers donate and prepare espresso drinks, and prepare an alluring breakfast buffet. Guests often drift outside to pick up a Grey Bears Food Bag.

Sue (pictured below) has a real passion for the people in Bonny Doon, “ I feel that there needs to be a place for dialogue, for people to see each other face to face and converse.” It would be a dream come true if there was a place where people could meet on common grounds and then because of their interactions move to higher grounds.

There was such a dream and there is such a place. It is the Higher Grounds coffee shop which meets every Thursday from 8am-noon. It was founded by the Presbyterian church of Bonny Doon as an outreach to the surrounding community. It is pleasantly located in the Kirkhouse adjacent to the sanctuary on 7065 Bonny Doon Road. Free WiFi is always available. However, seldom if ever will you see anyone on an electronic device. Instead the place hums with multiple conversations that range from local to national topics. On any given day there are published authors, musicians, retired scientists, firemen and firewomen! People from other countries, (even an exchange student) and locals from the Bonny Doon Area gather. Morgan, the editor of the local newspaper, the Bonny Doon Battle Mountain News, can often be found holding court in this diverse group.

The motto here is “We filter Coffee Not People”.  Sue, when speaking of the dynamic atmosphere here said, “It is actually difficult for some people because everyone is so immediately friendly”. And friendly everyone is. There is real care and compassion shared among the regulars and visitors. The care is made concrete by the distribution of 60 Grey Bears Food Bags each Thursday at the site. There are also seasonal drives to help the United Mission of San Lorenzo Valley, and a donation receptacle for that cause is placed prominently.

Operating Higher Grounds has taken real faith on the part of the church and co-operation between the church and community volunteers. Sue mentioned that, “Many in the community thought that this would not work because people moved to this area to be left alone”. The opposite has been true. People have thirsted for the refreshing drinks and incredibly good food provided at Higher Grounds. Everything is free, supplied by donations and prepared by volunteers. As a result of the welcoming atmosphere and excellent food Higher Grounds serves as a community, gathering center, senior center, local watering hole and town square all rolled into one.  Sue Cannon is pictured behind the espresso machine to the left

The original proposal was crafted by Church board members Sue Cannon, Teresa Mohamed and Frauka Zajac. In 2010 it was deliberated over by the Presbyterian Session (the name for the local Church Board). Originally the proposal called for Higher Grounds to operate for two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, only in the summer months, while serving limited coffee drinks. In order to accommodate the Grey Bears distribution it is now open year round one morning a week.

In the year 2010 the church and the community were all feeling the depths of the great recession. The timing for a new endeavor could not seem worse, but Sue felt that it was the right time. It was at this time that Sue and her partners had a dream. Like most non-profits at that time, the church was down in finances. That’s when Sue knew in her heart that, “The Church needed to take a risk”. As she describes it, “When a call comes it is hard to describe, I felt that it needed to be done”.The road was not easy. Not only did the board of the Presbyterian Church have to come to a consensus- which they did with unanimous approval of the proposal, but there were some hiccups along the way.

Some people dreamed even bigger and wanted to serve espresso. Miraculously a Jura espresso machine was donated from a business in town. When that machine ran to the end of its usefulness, Sue said that “donations were used to buy the current machine, an Anita Quick Mill”.

The use of an espresso machine made upgrading the electricity necessary. Dave Potratz, a local, volunteered. Dave’s wife Teri, currently runs the volunteer list for the kitchen. When Sue told me that, “People often volunteer for reasons mysterious or mystical” I turned to the cook on call for that day, Andrew Klofas, and asked him why he volunteered. He said “Because SiSi (Song) did”. When I asked why she did he replied, “I have no idea”. The humility and enthusiasm of the volunteers is amazing.

Teri (seen beside pastor John Burke in the photo to the left) volunteered to manage the kitchen personnel list after she retired as a teacher. She was looking for something personally fulfilling that would help the local community. She told me that this was complicated since she and spouse Dave had planned to live part of the time in San Diego. She asked Sue for an opportunity and Sue suggested the volunteer co-ordination role since some aspects of it could be accomplished remotely. Terry is still acting on that call today. She works with a dedicated and well trained team of volunteers which includes, David Potratz, Jean Myer, Robin Colleen, Mary Ellen Cook, Beatrice Easter, Stephanie Jessen, Sisi Song, Andrew Klofas, Anisa Griffin, Kathleen Hughes, Judy Wylie and Petra Schultz. Sue Murphy, Carol Sedar and Sue Oliver do shopping while Denby Adamson and Carol Sedar prepare savory dishes for the group.

In the beginning the church provided the volunteers and supplies. As the outreach developed community members began to volunteer in the work. All are welcome and no one who comes in is required to donate or volunteer but all are welcome to do so. In a real testament to the church leadership and the community spirit everyone works together seamlessly. Some volunteers wear many hats. Frauke, a church board member who was on the original planning team did most of the hosting for the initial six months and still works on the food teams. Using her architectural skills, she also ably co-ordinated the decorating and repairs needed since the common area in the house had not been updated for years. Frauke worked on a shoestring budget and with all predominantly volunteer help, yet she turned the house into a homey living room setting where any and all feel at ease. While decorating the carpet was torn up and a beautiful Redwood hued floor was exposed which adds to the warmth and character of the setting. Some volunteers are not as visible as their accomplishments. Rich Smith has set out two highly visible hand made road signs (“Heavy Signs” Sue emphasized) every week for six years to announce the location and opening of Higher Grounds.  (Steve Homan and Morgan Rankin pictured in the photos to the left.  Rich Smith is pictured in the photo below with his trusty friends.)

Sue is understanding and appreciative of all who contribute. She emailed me a list of others who have given so much of themselves: volunteers like “Steve Homan who has been a great ambassador to us. Every week he is generous to take out the trash. Also there is the 8 months or so when I resigned and Meggin Harmon ran the show on her own. Right after I resigned, I had a major bike accident that landed me in the Stanford trauma center for 4 days. If Meggin had not taken over Higher Grounds for that period we probably would have closed it. The Lord works in mysterious ways. After I recovered, Meggin had some health concerns that required her to resign.”

“Marion Wahl and Carol Sedar " have both walked alongside me throughout the whole time. I praise God for all that they have been doing and their sweet prayers. Denby Adamson was my prayer partner when things were bumpy as well. There were times when we had a few threatening people here with mental illness. Ian Adamson came and intervened in those situations. He has a nonprofit residence for mentally ill in San Mateo.” Marion is pictured in the left washing dishes.   Robin of Flipjack Ranch and Carol are in the photo below.

In our conversation, Sue summed up one of the important lessons to be learned here, “I have learned something about how the gospel works. We need to volunteer to do good works, it actually releases endorphins in our brain and keeps us healthy”. The dreams of Sue and the local church and community are not stagnant. When I met with Sue she spoke of the 12 homeless children in the area. She began to brainstorm about ways to address this. Immediately everyone chimed in with a meaningful discussion. One of Sue’s proposals was to have a station that parallels the “leave a book, take a book” kiosks that are seen around the county. Only this would be a community, “leave a canned food item, and take an item”.

Bonny Dooners often say they live in a little slice of heaven. In the middle of that slice is heaven’s table! It seems that if the ethics of heaven are applied as people of faith and communities work together on earth that dreams can come true. Looking forward to the future with hope and inspiration is what our world needs right now.