Converge Community Church invites children, parents to ‘Come and Play Café’

The goal of Come and Play Café at Converge Community Church in New Buffalo is simple: to provide a place for children to work off their pent-up energy as well as for parents and guardians to connect and recharge.

The space, which is in a back corner in the wing located on one side of the church, will be open Thursdays from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Children are invited to play in the enclosed space on the play equipment, while the adults sit on chairs in front of the soundproof space and watch their children through the glass windows.

“We feel like it would serve the young moms who just need to get out of the house in the winter and want a place where the kids can safely play and they can see their kids – but not hear them,” Cindy Dryden, wife of lead paster Jeff Dryden, said.

In addition to providing a respite for the adults and kids, Cindy said she hopes the space will be prime spot for making friends as well.

“That’s why it’s called ‘Come and Play Café’ because we’re going to supply coffee and just give people space to have a nice conversation and enjoy time outside of their house,” she said.

The church already has five to six volunteers lined up to watch the space while it’s open.

The idea for the space was conceived by Sandy Baker, a member of Converge, whose son ran a community center affiliated with big church in Kalamazoo. The church had a gymnasium and workout space that sat empty during the day. So, after getting some toys, such as little riding toys and balls (and even a bounce house), for children and serving coffee, it was soon converted into a play space.

Baker said that there’s not a lot of ways for children in the area to work off their energy in the long winter months.

“Moms, or parents, have a place to take their kids in the summer - they go to the park, they go to the playground, they go to the pool, but there’s no place to take them in the winter,” she said.

Rick Smith, the twin brother of Cindy’s oldest daughter’s husband, did the construction on the equipment, along with the guidance of Mike Bettig, Converge’s site pastor. Bettig said that they ordered the soft play equipment for the younger age group, which is located on one corner. Meanwhile, Smith worked on the three-piece set for the older children: a fort connected by netted tunnels, complete with a rock-climbing wall and slide. Bettig said they researched different ways they could build the equipment, such as rope courses at bigger churches. They also were inspired by the McDonald’s indoor play spaces. Soon, they came up with a design that was more conducive to their slightly smaller space.

Bettig added that he reached out to Smith because he’s an artist as well as someone who’s done lots of construction projects in the area. His wife is also an artist and did the mural on the far end wall at Infusco Coffee in Sawyer.

Bettig recalls driving his 7-year-old son, who’s a “ball of energy,” around in the winter in search of an indoor place for him to play. Eventually, he found a place in St. Joseph.

“There’s not a lot of places for young parents to bring their kids in the winter – especially young kids,” he said.

Depending on the demand, the space may be open in the summer months and more than one day a week, Baker said.

Converge Community Church is located at 601 W. Buffalo Street in New Buffalo and can be reached at 269-426-446.

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

The space, which is in a back corner in the wing located on one side of the church, will be open Thursdays from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Children are invited to play in the enclosed space on the play equipment, while the adults sit on chairs in front of the soundproof space and watch their children through the glass windows.

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