The North Main Kava Bar in Lowell, which came under fire earlier this year for hosting a drag show, now also holds church services every Sunday.

Co-owner Bambe Johnson said the addition of Pastor Castello Vore’s Old Catholic Community Church service, Christ the Healer, will be another way to bring the community together at the kava bar.

According to Vore, its services preach Catholic teachings to an openly LGBTQ+ congregation.

“The concept of welcome is not only written on our sign, it is in our hearts,” he said.

Vore said the central concept of his services is to highlight the healing nature of the Church.

Where there is shame and guilt associated with being LGBTQ+, God can erase that shame and rejection, he said.

Vore was ordained in April and began holding Mass at a local apartment complex.

A few months later, Vore found himself looking for a new space and Johnson was ready to offer him the kava bar.

Johnson said she hosts LGBTQ+ events, oracle readings, drag shows, karaoke nights and more.

“We are open to all of that,” she said. “We love everyone.”

Vore said that while church services welcome LGBTQ+ members, they are open to everyone.

“We are not here to be conservative or liberal. The Gospel begins and ends with human dignity,” he said. “We are not here to start a war, we are here to serve the people.”

In February, Lowell residents contacted the Lowell City Council to inquire about potential changes to the city ordinance that could prevent North Main Kava from hosting drag shows.

A resident told February 13 meeting that she was concerned about her children or grandchildren seeing drag queens if the event was held outside.

Mayor Larry Simonds echoed that sentiment at the meeting.

“I think this is the most ignorant thing I’ve ever heard in my life and people need to come here tonight and express their views on something like this, one way or the other. other, this is not the place for this This is a city council meeting to improve our city and move forward in the eyes of Christ,” he said “Understand this, I. don’t care what they say about all the people who stand at the side of the road, these atheists and things like that, and if there’s no law to put them in a net and take them away, there should be.

He also directly asked Johnson not to host the event.

Ultimately, the drag show went as planned.

Johnson said in a recent interview that at the time she informed the city council that if they took action to stop the show from airing, she would find “the gayest lawyer she could find » and would sue them.

In addition to regularly hosting community events, North Main Kava Bar strives to stay involved in the community.

Bambe and Sam Johnson recently attended an event to serve food to the homeless, collect backpacks and school supplies for families in need ahead of the school year, and collect two truckloads of supplies to give to victims of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.

Welcoming Vore’s congregation “just means we’re more connected to the community,” she said.

Vore hosts a 1 p.m. service every Sunday at Kava Bar, 118 N. Main St. in Lowell.

The kava bar always sells coffee, kava and kratom during the church service.

Once the congregation reaches at least two packed Mass services each Sunday, Vore will begin looking for a larger, more permanent location to hold the services, he said.

This article was originally published in The Gaston Gazette: An unusual venue for church service, Lowell kava bar church services