Some Lessons from a Trip Out West – Part Two – Entrepreneurship

Some weeks ago, we enjoyed a wonderful family holiday to Connemara in the West of Ireland, and I’ve been reflecting on some powerful lessons from that trip. Last week, I was thinking of the power of welcome, as a result of the welcome we received in many different places.

This week, I want to think about ‘entrepreneurship’ and the innovative approach so many people had to making a living. As tourism plays such a major role in the local economy, I was told that many people have to have two jobs to survive economically in this beautiful, but rather barren, part of the country. People have to work extremely hard during the tourist season to maximise their income, which will often tail off during the winter months.

A few local businesses really caught our imagination. The person who managed our rental accommodation was a French lady called Melanie. She prepared the accommodation for incoming guests, but she also had a converted caravan which doubled up as a mobile creperie. She made the most magnificent sweet and savoury crepes and, throughout the week, ‘Le Wagon On The Go’ set up shop in various locations across Connemara. The queues were testimony to the quality of her food. At Roundstone Market,  where we partook on  a couple of occasions, I met her teenage son who had started his own mobile business preparing and selling Sushi using local seafood. His amazing work ethic and commitment to excellence, obviously learned from his mum, was most impressive.

As I saw these amazing people share their wonderful food made with local produce, I wonder are we confident in the church to bring the gift of faith to those around us? Do we believe, or do we have confidence, that what we have is worth sharing or passing on?

We stumbled across another very innovative food truck situated in a little car park overlooking the bay near Letterfrack. It was called ‘Snappy Snappy.’ What fascinated me about this business was that there was just one thing on the menu. It was fresh local crab stuffed into an amazing hand baked Japanese brioche roll.

Some picnic tables were set up overlooking the bay with a magnificent view, and the car park area was reserved for customers only. The business had been started by a young man who was studying in America and he was paying his own way through college. He had also started a fish restaurant in the nearby town which was winning all sorts of awards. His dad served me, and the quality of the food and the experience of the stunning view, made a powerful impression.

Sometimes in Church we try to provide all sorts of services and programmes and exhaust ourselves in the process. This young man and his family had identified three simple things – the beauty of their natural surroundings, which they showcased with the picnic tables, the quality of the local seafood, which was served with the choice of two dressings, and how well these things could be enhanced with these handmade rolls. You had to be there early as they sold out early every day. We have a very powerful life-transforming message in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can we showcase it effectively in how we love and live and serve our local communities?

As someone who loves books I discovered one of my favourite bookshops of all time in the little village of Letterfrack. It was called ‘Books at One’ and was set up in a little Quaker workhouse. Not only did they sell books, and they tended to showcase Irish writers, they had a space out the back which was covered in to enjoy a coffee and some home-baked treats as you browsed. Upstairs was a second hand floor. It was amazing how such a small space could hold so much, including a disabled toilet, and the staff were so welcoming and knowledgeable and helpful. I learned they also run a small printing press. What an incredible way to combine printing, books and home baking and wonderful coffee in a small space.

What can we do with the spaces we inhabit in churches and halls to make them warm and inviting? Can we combine a few of the things we are good at, like hospitality or welcome, to help people come across the threshold and, perhaps, consider or explore the life of faith?

One final business which we came across by chance was a local textile artist called Bernie Dignam, who was located in the little village of Moyard. Her house had a little extension which was her studio, or work space, and she experimented with different fabrics and textures to create magnificent works of art. She had taught in a local higher education centre for many years, but was now showcasing her work from her home. In conversation, I discovered her late brother, Christy, was the lead singer in a band I listened to growing up called ‘Aslan.’ He was a remarkable artist and an incredible person as he shared his challenges with addiction and did a lot of fundraising and charity work to help people striving to afford medical treatment. She created an outdoor exploration path leading to her studio, and did this amazing sculpture of birds in Christy’s honour, as he loved birds.

As she described the process of working on different pieces and exhibitions, and using different mediums to express ideas, I thought of how intentional artists are in what they do. They seek to touch deeper parts of us as they communicate through their gift and, I wonder, are we creative in how we reach out to those who are searching for meaning, for hope and for truth?

As we look forward to our family fun day in September, and we look forward to welcoming people to activities and organisations, can we be creative and passionate in showcasing what we are about as these inspiring people are in what they do?

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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