Meet the Coffee Group
If you’ve ever gone to your local coffee shop for the purpose of sharing funny and serious talk with a group of girlfriends – then you will instantly relate to The Coffee Group. These five women infuse laughter and hope into their own lives and into the lives of women around them. In Abilene, Texas, the ladies of The Coffee Group have been gathering for over 4 years sharing their life stories and laughing a lot.
Meet the Coffee Group:
Denise |
Donna |
Judy |
Sarah |
Tammy |
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The founding members of The Coffee Group see themselves as a small-town version of The View. Member Sarah Stirman says, “We sit at a table and visit with each other and visit with the audience. But we also take a turn telling our story – God’s story through us.” While these five members play an important role, they only comprise about half of the ladies that get together for coffee on a regular basis. Gathering for birthdays, prayer, or support, The Coffee Group recognizes that women need to be in each other’s lives on a regular basis.
The group started in October of 2004 when member Karene Neill had everyone over to her home for coffee and conversation. Karene and the other girls agreed that women long to be in relationship with each other, sharing deep conversation, laughter, and the challenges of life. Meeting in each other’s homes and at their local Starbucks, the girls eventually decided that they wanted to share what they were experiencing with other women. Judy said, “Girls, we are not meeting our full potential. We are all living God’s story….and other women need coffee groups, too!”
The Coffee Group had their first public event, and started a website. Four years later, Sarah says, “We have a great time traveling together and sharing about friendships. One rule is that we don’t bash our husbands.” When Sarah’s own marriage was struggling a few years back, The Coffee Group prayed and encouraged her through that time. Sarah said she sought out the kind of women who would encourage her to fight for her marriage and these girlfriends did just that. “We love each other’s husbands,” she says. “It’s not always rainbows and sunshine but when I have complaints they help me remember why I love him and remember how hard we fought.”
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Denise speaking at a recent event |
For Tammy, the group became a place where she could share her journey. After years of wrestling with drug and alcohol abuse, Tammy says, “I wanted to give women hope that God is a redeeming God and a forgiving God and a loving God. He wants us to meet our full potential and not sell ourselves short. When we hear other people’s stories it gives us the courage to get through it ourselves.”
For Donna, a pastor’s wife, The Coffee Group became a place to share her story of change. After being in the same congregation for 24 years and then moving to Abilene, Donna’s message of transition resonates with many who come. “Women are lonely. We are mobile and moving places and it is hard to fit in. We all just want a place to belong,” and Sarah adds, “We come in different shapes and sizes but all women want to be a part of something. We want to be part of a group that is happy to see us.”
While their day-to-day lives can be so different and they each face different life stages, the women of The Coffee Group are each active in their church and passionate about sharing their lives with other women. Sarah says that hope comes in the trust she has. “When my life falls apart, this is who I can call. I don’t have blood family in this town. I don’t have anyone else that I can call for a trip to the emergency room or if I’m just having a sad day. These women are it.”
*Front Row: Tammy; Back Row: Sarah, Donna, Denise and Judy*
We think these women and their group sound pretty fresh-brewed!
To learn more about their lives and their events, please visit www.thecoffeegroup.net.
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