An Open Letter to the Rhizome Community from Trinity United Church:

Dear Rhizome community-

When Trinity United moved into Mount Pleasant in March this year, we were thrilled to have the Rhizome Café just around the corner. There was such a clear alignment of values: as a progressive United Church congregation we also are passionate about safe LGBTQ positive space, being a social justice hub and providing a community living room, and we also love to bring people together to create a new world.

We immediately felt at home. When the Café came up for sale, we wondered whether it might be possible for us to carry on the good work that Lisa and Vinetta started, and continue to humbly hold the space for its vibrant and diverse community of users.

Now that we have the opportunity, we hope to maintain existing and build new relationships and partnerships in the community, guided by our core values: to provide affirming and LGBTQ positive space; to practice radical hospitality, solidarity, and social justice (including food justice) in every aspect of the Café; to celebrate art and draw inspiration from local artists; to provide opportunities to explore the spaces where social activism and spirituality intersect.

To realize that vision, we respectfully invite all of you—the Rhizome family of neighbours, activists and community organization—to join with us in this new chapter for the Café. We recognise that this café belongs to the community and promise not to “churchify” it!

As a first step, since Lisa and Vinetta are taking ‘Rhizome’ with them to Toronto, we’d love your help coming up with a new name for the Café, one that honours their legacy and reflects our shared values. We’d also like to invite you to our Open House for the Community on Thursday September 5th, 2013, and invite you to please take a look at the staff positions listed on our website. Please visit our website (www.liminalhub.ca) for more information on all of this or to get on our email list.

What we would most value is your continued participation in the life of this Café, and invite all activists and community organizations, to eat and drink here, use the front room, and hold events as you have always done. We would love to partner with you in your work, so that the cafe can continue to be a place where life-giving community can flourish.

Bethan Theunissen, Minister – Trinity United Church