It's pretty clear that the Little Luxton cafe in Gordon and The Men's Table are a match made in heaven.

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Both are about connecting people and making them feel a part of their community.

Dad-of-four and former Anglican chaplain Nate Swift opened the Little Luxton in the Gordon Community Centre three-and-a-half years ago, in collaboration with Anglicare and the Lanyon Valley Anglican Church.

Before then, he'd run a mobile coffee service, starting seven years ago, which got him out into the community, meeting people every day.

The cafe is now his business and he finds more than a few similarities between it and his work as a chaplain.

"The role of a chaplain is to be available to people to support them through life's ups and downs," Nate said.

"And, weirdly, as a barista at a local coffee shop, you kind of do this thing where you see people regularly, they tell you if they're having a bad day or a great day, you find out when their family members are sick or have died. You do walk though life's rhythms with people from behind the coffee machine, I think.

"Thankfully, three-and-a-half years later, I still feel like it's doing what I hoped it would do and I love it and I'm more convinced rather than less convinced it's a great space for us to be in."

'Sharing the highs and lows of life'

The Men's Table, meanwhile, started in 2011 and has gone national. They are self-organising........

© Canberra Times