By DENISE A. RAYMO
NORTH BANGOR — Nearly a dozen people ignored the cold November rain and thick blackness of night to stop in at the Blue Moose Café for some hot coffee, stimulating conversation and lots of laughter.
Karen Pellicore came from Mountain View, joining her friend and co-worker Mary McGonagle of North Bangor to use the free Internet service and study together.
The pair, nurse practitioners at Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, are taking classes online from Chatham University in Pittsburgh to earn their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees.
Across the spacious café was a table full of friends and neighbors enjoying a cup of coffee before their Bible study class began in a separate room around the corner.
It was Friday, roughly 45 minutes after the café opened at 5:30 p.m.
The michigans were cooked and ready for anyone who wanted to indulge, the coffee maker was set to dispense the hot-beverage choice of each visitor, and a variety of snacks were spread out for the taking near the front door.
And all of it is free.
NO PRESSURE
There is no typical night yet at the Blue Moose because it has only been up and running a few weeks inside LifeWay Community Church on U.S. Route 11 near the post office in North Bangor.
The Rev. Joe Selenski, pastor, and his staff have opened to the community on Fridays for now but will expand to Thursday nights after the holidays and whenever an organization or group needs a larger space to meet or hold an event.
A loose calendar of activities is planned, but no one is pressured to participate in any part of the schedule.
An evening could include a 30-minute Bible study, a short video with discussion time afterward, a workout in an exercise room, a game in the childrens area, board games and family-oriented music and ping-pong matches ...
The Blue Moose closes about 9:30 p.m.
The study buddies were eating their michigans at the computer table and were eager to talk about the café.
"I asked Mary here to find out what she could," laughed Pellicore. "I think it is just so inviting and so welcoming."
McGonagle moved to the North Country from Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina and, she said, was warmly received by the community from the start.
"And then I heard about the center. It's a spiritual center for a lot of people is what it is," she said. "I come here to be opened up to the good energy this place gives us."
POSSIBILITIES
Both ladies lost their husbands within the past two years, and they enjoy the fellowship and calm of the café as well as the opportunity for new friendships.
McGonagle said a lot of people are on a journey of personal awareness and spirituality, and the Blue Moose can be a part of that."
Her friend agreed.
"I think this place has a good vision, and I can see that vision for the future," Pellicore said.
Debbie Potter slipped out of class and settled onto one of the overstuffed sofas near the café tables.
She, too, was excited about the possibilities at the Blue Moose.
"We come over from Owl's Head for Bible study," she said of herself and husband, Howard.
They normally attend the First Baptist Church in Malone and have Bible study there, where Selenski was senior pastor until last month when he decided to lead the congregation at LifeWay.
"I really like the way he teaches, and it feels very comfortable and homey here.
"It's very uplifting, and you can't go away depressed," Potter said, laughing. "I always enjoy coming here."
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
