Woodbury Cafe Becomes a Church Again

First a church, then a cafe, then a church again! Woodbury Borough’s 134 Main Street is changing hands. Currently Woodbury Cafe, it’s soon to be Grace Communion Woodbury, a congregation of Grace Communion International.

Grace Communion International Pastors Brad and Marlene Reed couldn’t be happier.

“It’s all grace,” said Pastor Brad. “From start to finish, Grace. We delve into the Word and show God’s amazing love for us. Just as we are. Just where we are. Grace.”

Marlene said, “Not to let the cat out of the bag, but, yes! That’s exactly what’s unleashed in the New Covenant! We can’t get enough of God’s amazing love for us. What His Son did for us. What the resurrection proves to us. We are loved. Forgiven. Saved. In Union with Him. Accepted. Holy. Righteous. We died with Him. We were raised to life and made new in Him. And because of Him we are Royal.”

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Grace Communion International is a mosaic of churches knit together in grace. Through Spirit-led, life-giving relationships, there are 30,000 members in about 550 churches spread across 70 countries seeking to multiply mature followers of Jesus throughout the world.

This local congregation was originally in Stoystown, Pa. With members spread across a wide landscape, the congregation decided to move from the Stoystown location to somewhere in the valley.

“We weren’t sure where we were going to land. Originally we were simply renting the Woodbury Cafe space on Sundays while we were discussing how we wanted to move forward,” said Brad. “We still have members up the mountain. They join services via Zoom, and we travel up for Bible studies.”

“I love what Dan and Kristi Oberman built in the cafe. They had such a good vision for hospitality and congeniality,” said Marlene. “Our congregation isn’t looking for a traditional church building right now. We want what the cafe has to offer, the commercial kitchen and the space to gather, share, and grow together. We look forward to being a part of the community and discovering our collective path forward.”

“We’ve definitely been all-in with envisioning, building and running the cafe,” Dan said. “My wife Kristi and I have loved every minute of it. But it’s time for us to move into the next venture.”

Kristi said, “Yes, it might be a different group of people enjoying the space in a different way. But there’s love at the core of it just the same.”

Pastors Brad and Marlene both graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Theology degrees from Ambassador University. Brad has gone on to graduate from California State University Northridge with a Health Education degree and from the University of Southern California with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Brad and Marlene live in Woodbury and their children Danika, Ariel, and Jay have all graduated from Northern Bedford High School.

Church services are held from 10:30 a.m. to noon Sunday mornings. Grace Communion International can be found online at http://www.GCI.org.

“We’re transitioning to this new location and are working to upgrade our technology in order to more seamlessly integrate our Zoom congregants. It’s a work in progress. Come join our amazing team and inspired grace-filled message. Build with us,” Brad said. “Come as you are. Leave as He is.”