Salvation through coffee?
Not quite.
But at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, making a coffeehouse out of the first floor of a former convent in 2016 was one of many decisions that helped turn it around.
Known at the time as “the rich church on the hill,” the parish had a reputation for being unfriendly and transactional, said Julie Sheehan, a parishioner for 35 years and the current parish administrator.
“Just extremely cold,” said the pastor (then and now), Father Mark Begly.
He had in mind a church that was more welcoming, more giving to the needy, and more of a community.
Holy Grounds, as the coffee shop is called, is far from the only change during the past dozen years or so. Sheehan ticked off a long list of improvements in charity, evangelizing, catechesis, and the spiritual life. Nor is coffee anywhere near as important as the sacraments and the teachings of the Church, Father Begly said.
But the free high-quality, fresh-ground coffee, baked goods, and conversation on Sundays and after the 8 a.m. Mass
