Coffee & Community

I can’t work at home. A year ago, I had that problem pretty much solved. I’d walk two blocks to an IHOP, and for the price of breakfast, I’d have a space where I could work for multiple hours. The folks at IHOP didn’t care how long I stayed.

But when I heard about this idea of mixing work and prayer, I was curious. I thought, “If praying is the price I have to pay to have a place to work, I might as well give it a try.”

The Divine Office, as it turns out, isn’t just a place to park myself for a few hours. The prayer aspect is an important piece of it. It’s more than just a table and a coffee pot someplace.

You know, the downside of being a solo practitioner is the isolation. Who are your fellow-travelers on this road? I mean, I’m lucky. I have people in my life I can talk to about work. I have my wife; I have my son; I talk to my sister. (I call the three of them my “Board of Directors”!)

But at The Divine Office, I can develop both a personal closeness and a professional closeness with the people working alongside me. I care about my Divine Office coworkers and how their work is going.

I realized we need to celebrate our successes! When Deb makes a placement for a job she’s trying to fill, when Chris lands a new gig—I want to share and celebrate their successes. And they celebrate mine.

I mean, nobody at IHOP is going to do that for me!

—Dennis, a founding member of The Divine Office