Baltimore: Urban Life Center & Juice Bar

Mental health, juicing, Spanish, birth plans, babysitting, plant-based meals. What is the common factor for all these? They are all topics for classes being offered at the Urban Life Center & Juice Bar in Baltimore, Maryland.

The center opened in August 2021, and Cristina Macena, projects manager for the center, has been busy making connections with the community. She visits stores in the neighborhood, getting to know the owners; she’s invited community members to come to the center and conduct classes; and she makes it a point to befriend every individual that comes into the juice bar. She refers to a quote by Hosanna Wong that sums up the philosophy of the center – “many times our greatest witness will be our with-ness.”

Community members were initially drawn in by the appeal of healthy drink options, but now return because of the “extras” that the center offers. One example is the Conversational Spanish class. Cristina says that the class fills up quickly every time it’s offered; many of its students are staff from the local hospital who want to be able to communicate with their Spanish-speaking patients.

Urban cities have been identified as an area that requires mission focus. Establishing centers of influence such as this, is one way of reaching the millions in this group. Your support of Global Mission makes it possible to operate centers of influence around the world.