More Than Just Tea

Spring increases my faith every year as I recall and review the promises in Scripture that seeds planted in good soil, watered, tilled, watched, and warmed, will bring forth multiples of fruits and vegetables. 

 Our greenhouse at 3028 Carnes, provided by a friend, has proven reliable as an incubator for seeds we kept over the Winter months.  Within a few weeks, our seeds have grown from embryo to adolescence. The mornings of the past 3 Wednesdays, our ladies have gingerly transported our birthed potentials to our irrigated garden boxes. Corn, tomatoes, okra, lettuce, peppers, sunflowers, zinnias, and more have marooned into new “neighborhoods” disguised as plebian boxes numbered 1 through 10.

Assured that God does the miraculous touch of the seed bursting up and rooting downward, motivates us to do our part in scattering them in our barren fields in Orange Mound. Our soil is a mix of the garden center's common dirt, to which we add composted tea leaves we have conserved for months. Tea leaves are rich in iron and, once decayed, are gold dust for our plants. We use tea to fertilize the soil, and selling the same tea unites our women in something far more important: it gives them exposure to truth and faith in the God of the Bible.

Our mission at The House is more spiritual, less literal, but infinitely more vital. Well beyond the lilting familiar story we often tell customers who stop in to shop and hear “My Cup of Tea moves women in poverty to stability, dignity, and hope,” we eagerly share the less familiar truth: God’s plan of salvation and the miracle of a faith-filled life is the stability and sacred hope all souls are shaped to discover The vegetables will cycle out and the flowers will fade but the seeds of the Word will last forever.

Mentors, guest speakers, and volunteers we call Sisters are the gardeners and leaders of daily devotions, field trips to churches; daily prayer and discipleship are the grace-filled spades, trowels, and shears cultivating the hearts of our employees.

We have employed over one hundred Orange Mound women, most of whom are unchurched, unsaved, untaught, and unsurrendered. The God of the Bible is a stranger, and for many, He is a cosmic kill-joy, a vague “higher power” or a good luck charm. Without the daily exposure to the actual narrative of the Gospels, our women would not have heard that He weeps at a friend’s tomb (John 11:35), washes His disciples’ feet (John 13:5), touches the leper (Mark 1:41), and forgives His own torturers (Luke 23:34).

The prevalent Biblically naïve culture of our community bends toward a myth that if you don’t get caught, it isn’t a sin. If it is legal, there’s no fault or foul.   Many have heeded mixed messages, easily accessed on television, which paint a picture of faith that is simple and comfortable. They promise that faith in following God with a contribution to the messenger will always lead to worldly success.

The heart of one who responds to the one true God steps into a transformation from the inside out.   Like the seed planted in spring soil, which appears to be dead, God brings one to faith in Christ, then a new life as a follower and servant of Him.

I know He is at work, for our beloved ladies are growing in their understanding of who God is and of why we are here: to know Him, serve him, and glorify Him. Any value we add to the lives to whom we minister is temporary, but the mission is eternal.  Born in poverty and living in Orange Mound might be called by the world a dead end. But born again into God’s Kingdom is a plot twist with purpose, a harvest that multiplies, and hope that outgrows every crack in the cold concrete of crippling crisis and concerns.

In Isaiah 55, God makes a remarkable promise:

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my Word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it (vv. 10–11).

“Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would, and maybe get us all killed besides. So, I was satisfied and said we would waltz in on it.”

                                                   -Huck, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Our plan is certainly lacking in the style of Tom Sawyer’s, and it is unlikely to get us killed, but a few weeks ago, our leadership adopted a bold, new strategic plan. And, in the spirit of Huck Finn, we would be ever grateful if you would waltz in on it.

What is not new is the commitment of our board and staff to what has always been the primary purpose of My Cup of Tea–ministry. We have written here many times about the work of God in the lives of the women we serve, the Orange Mound neighborhood, and the entity that is My Cup of Tea. We have been witnesses to changed lives in both subtle and dramatic ways, but nevertheless changed for eternity.

Many of the ladies will tell you that daily prayer with their MCOT sisters is the best part of their day. Sometimes there is nothing physically one can do for another during a crisis, but sisters can always pray. Knowledge of God’s word is becoming “deeper and wider” as we study together every week. Authentic relationships between the ladies and their mentors have sprouted and are nurtured.

If all else fails, this is what we pray works.

You know our other commitment is helping women in the neighborhood escape poverty. Historically, we offer a fair wage job, provide “soft skills” training, financial literacy, a daily meal, and address needs specific to individual ladies. Fundamentally, none of that will change. However, our plan includes more fully equipping the ladies to fruitfully navigate life beyond and apart from My Cup of Tea.

We have celebrated ladies over the years who have used what they learned at MCOT to secure full-time employment. Yet, there has never been an expectation that the ladies would transition out of their roles with us. If they are good employees, we have been happy for them to remain with us for years, and many have.

An early strategic plan from years past envisioned offering full-time opportunities to women working with us and expanding to offer more women a job. While we have grown and expanded in recent years, we are a long way from offering full-time employment at My Cup of Tea. The consequences are that the women working with us today are not rising to their potential, and other women in the community are missing out.

Over the next several months, we will complete the organization and begin the implementation of a workforce development program at MCOT. The effort will require a minimum of one year and up to two years to complete for each woman hired. Besides a part-time job with us, soft skills training, and financial literacy, ladies will learn real-world skills desired by employer partners in the Memphis metro seeking to hire full-time staff. Our intention is to place ladies who are fully screened and prepared to work with partner employers, while also providing back-end support as they begin their new jobs.

God willing, the results will be ladies who are more self-sufficient and able to improve their lives, and the ability for MCOT to serve more women, especially young women leaving high school but lacking an opportunity.

If this revised vision for My Cup of Tea excites you, then this is how you “waltz in on it.”

Prayer – We don’t include it or lead with it out of obligation as a faith-based organization. We include it because we know God answers prayer, and we need it.

Partner as an employer – If you own a business and need to hire staff within the next twelve months, reach out to us for a conversation. We can’t guarantee we can meet your needs, and we won’t ask you to make a commitment to us before we have had a thorough conversation. Email mike.carpenter@shopmycupoftea.com or carey.moore@shopmycupoftea.com.

Join The Blend – The Blend is our sustaining donor program. For a minimum of $10 per month, you help us provide jobs to the ladies while they train for the future. You will receive a monthly digital update and special pricing on our products. The significance of The Blend is that it is predictable revenue, which is so critical to our planning. https://shopmycupoftea.com/pages/the-blend

Become a wholesaler – If you own a retail establishment, we can offer wholesale pricing for resale to your customers. If you frequent a restaurant or retail establishment, ask them to consider stocking our tea. Potential wholesalers can contact Debbie.hert@shopmycupoftea.com or visit our wholesale page: https://shopmycupoftea.com/pages/become-a-wholesaler

We are so thankful for your support, and we are excited to continue this journey with you.

"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3

I offered my reflections in print on my friends’ permanent tattoos recently. Researching and interviewing the ladies about body art gleaned another tab in my file of respect and cherished connection with our kind and thoughtful employees at My Cup of Tea. Most of the people I work among have skipped tattoos, and with that choice, the pain and expense as well. They aren’t fretting with permanent ink on their skin.

As long as I can remember, choosing to frame and reflect the “real me” or the “who I want to be” for most Black Women has been associated with grooming hair and styles that originated in African roots. Absolutely on trend now are waist-length colored micro braids.

For health standards, ladies cannot work in the tea production rooms with their elegant coiffures unharnessed.  The employees with the microbraids that number in the hundreds and reach their waist must twist them into a bun and tuck them under our required hair nets. It often takes two. The resulting teetering turban can add several inches to her height.

 Several of our younger employees have arrived with new micros in spring hues this month. “How long did it take?” I query, never asking the cost.  I’m told “Well. Ms. Carey, 8 hours is average.”

The once purely cultural tradition of braiding African hair has become high fashion, and what was once a communal and family practice exercised by mothers, sisters, and grandmothers has exploded into a mainstream art form.

Licensed salon technicians in large cities like Vegas, LA, NYC, and Chicago charge by the hour and offer benefits. Products and hair extensions are additional, expensive, and required.  The benefits might include champagne, a massage, and live music. Research suggests that the installation is often split over two days and totals reach into the thousands.

Meanwhile, on our block, the tradition of the “kitchen beautician” is still the salon of choice, and she is our local answer for hair fashion trending in Orange Mound. The benefits in her boutique far exceed the expensive temporary ones described above. 

Her fee is reasonable and firm, but the local, mostly family, unlicensed psychological counselors and therapists don’t charge for their services here. The social, practical, common sense, and biblical tutoring is offered free and fun by the friends and family who gather around the table while the Kitchen Beautician weaves her magic.

The kitchen provides the obvious friendly space for snacks, the best lighting, easy-to-clean floors for the hair clippings, accessible water for shampoo, and several chairs for the onlookers.  Tradition holds for the culture here, and the kitchen remains the favorite site for the ritual passed down for generations.  The process is deeply social, and it’s rarely just about hair.

Hours spent braiding are filled with conversation, gossip, but most importantly advice-giving.  The techniques, like cornrows, box-braids, and twists, are preserved, while innovative entrepreneurs access TikTok and free step-by-step tutorials. The new instant experts quickly gain respect and customers. The “new do” evolves from a party among friends and can be refreshed or replaced at the next weekend party in the familiar family kitchen, or the one of a best friend on the next block.

The term “kitchen” has a double meaning in Black hair lingo. There are tricky short hairs at the forehead and the nape. A skilled braider “tames the kitchen” with cream to what appears to be calligraphy on the skin.  It is impressive and elegant.

My first impressions led to incorrect conclusions when the microbraids began appearing at The House this year. Beyond curiosity, I was appalled at what the elaborate coifs must cost them.

Once again, I have been reproved and have discovered their choice is virtuous, good stewardship, and time well spent.  The older are teaching the younger family stories, values, and morally weighted lessons. The hair appointment provides one lady to sit still in the center of the ring of friends for hours well spent.

As Jesus told us in John 7:24, we must not “judge by appearance, but judge with right judgment.”

Our employee appears on Monday morning with a strong smile, a proud nod, a kick in her step, and refreshing confidence all day. Every woman I have ever met appreciates a good hair day.