They missed his coffee – and they missed him, too.
During his first tour, Anderson preached in a converted train car he dubbed the “Soul Train.” He also began to dispense coffee, roasting and grinding his own beans. But that was regular coffee.
This time around, Anderson has set up a new coffee shop that he calls “He-Brews.” The selection, while not equaling Starbucks, has expanded. “I’ve added espresso, frothed milk, and flavored syrups to the mix,” he says. His executive officer prefers the spiced chai.
Marines may go in for more of the “foo-foo” coffees than might be expected, but there remain some that drink just the old-fashioned variety. “My commanding officer likes his strong and black,” Anderson says. “He won the Silver Star in the battle for Fallujah, so I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Location, location, location, may be everything, not just for the shop’s success, but also for determining its hours. “Needless to say, the hours are a little sporadic, but I try to be open for a few hours every day that I’m here,” Anderson says.
The price is right. Anderson dispenses “a drop of Joe” for free, and he won’t accept tips.
He depends on donations of supplies to keep the coffee flowing. The church where he once served as associate pastor, Redeemer Covenant Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, regularly sends him goods. “My mom is baking piles of biscotti to send over, and others back home are donating to the cause,” Anderson says.
Individuals wanting to contribute supplies to the coffee shop should first contact Anderson either by email at john.anderson@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil or by writing him at Chaplain John Anderson, 3D BN 2D MAR HQ SVC CO, UNIT #73130, FPO, AE, 09509-3130.
The list of needed items includes:
• Unroasted coffee beans
• A variety of flavored coffee syrup in plastic bottles (not unsweetened)
• Spiced chai powder
“I think it’s great what the good folks at Redeemer are doing for John,” says Covenanter James Erickson, Rear Admiral (ret.) now with the U.S. Public Health Service. “I know other guys who are getting similar ‘care packages’ from their families and friends. They really mean a lot! I remember how I enjoyed getting them in Vietnam.”
Anderson says he appreciates the support shown by the church, and the fact that the troops would want him back. “The battalion wanted me to remain as their chaplain, and I wanted to stay.
“I know that they appreciate the spiritual care that I provide them and, having known me for this long, the men trust me and are very comfortable approaching me,” Anderson adds. “They also know that I love them, love being their chaplain, and would do anything to provide care for them. But they also know that I’m not going to get them in a circle and sing Kumbaya or hold hands and hum Feelings. Basically, it’s spiritual care on testosterone!”
Anderson will continue his deployment until early 2007 when he will assume his position as the basic course instructor at the Naval Chaplains School in Newport, Rhode Island.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
