Kyle George grew up in Easton and completed high school with aspirations of becoming a pastor.
Soon after graduating, he flew on a one-way ticket to Australia for his religious pursuits and to study music at Hillsong College, about 35 miles northwest of Sydney. He said the school was 90% international; his first-year house rental was a veritable United Nations of roommates from Dubai, Ireland, Colombia and Malaysia.
“We were all 18,” George recalled, “so all these different cultures mixed into one house.”
He said the house was unfurnished, and they had to figure out how to secure furniture and appliances.
“So we had to survive,” he said.
George eventually returned to Easton, married and had two children, and found work as a welder and construction foreperson — not only surviving but growing as a creative, enterprising young adult.
But it was still important to him to help his community, to help Easton.
George, his wife, Chloe — an Australian whom George met while at Hillsong — and a small board of directors last year bought the former St. Paul Lutheran Church on South Side. In late June, they launched Confluence Community Center, with its mission: “Where diversity, creativity and community collide.”
Their nonprofit charity — formally Mark Jefferson Confluence Inc. — hopes to foster more diversity and creativity so the community can flourish.
“Being able to be creative is crucial for your development,” he said during a recent interview at the center, where soothing, “lo-fi music” helped drown out the occasional noise from radiators hammering. “You can’t keep a job for 30 years anymore. You have to be creative in order to survive.”
At the moment, Confluence hosts a dance studio for disabled learners; a music school that provides free instruments; and a cheerleading program. There are rooms for visual arts, podcasting and sewing, and a large commercial kitchen.
George sees Confluence as being unique to help people of all ages find their creativity, whether it be via music, dance, artwork or other arenas. The Georges hope to bring in a day care and group classes for job preparation, budgeting and financial management, as well as culinary lessons. They can also rent space for live performances, weddings, receptions and more.
They are looking to renovate the kitchen to be able to reopen it and serve meals for needy residents.
John W. Kingsley, the city’s director of community and economic development, said it appears the Georges are working hard to assemble nonprofit operators and anyone else who is interested in providing education in the arts and related fields.
“It’s a fantastic addition to the South Side,” said Kingsley, who hopes to work with George to bring the kitchen into agreement with building codes.
South Side is home to longstanding community spots such as Easton Area Neighborhood Center and the Boys & Girls Club of Easton. Melody Rogers, president of the South Side Civic Association, said the group sees the Confluence space as being more community-centric: a place for meetings and possibly future events.
Rogers, who was a member of St. Paul’s, which was built in the 19th century, said she got to cut the ribbon on the June 30 opening event.
“It was a bittersweet day,” she said. “This is a whole different place, but it’s for the better.”
She said the Georges and others who are serving on the Confluence board are “wonderful people who are giving back to the community.”
The West Easton couple also work for Allentown’s Life Church Ministries; Kyle George is music ministry director of Life Church’s multiple locations, while Chloe is employed in the church’s “creative department,” he said.
The Rev. Randy Landis Sr., founder and senior pastor of Life Church, said the Georges’ vision is “spot on” and could become an important addition to Easton, particularly if the couple can fill unmet needs among young people and families in the neighborhood.
“I think (the Georges) have found a niche,” Landis said, “where they are going to offer programs that maybe are not currently being offered” to help the neighborhood.
The Georges’ philanthropic efforts have been seen in the community, whether it’s handing out bottled water or cooking meals for others.
“The biggest issue was we had no facility,” Kyle George said. Finding the former church alleviated that issue.
“Our whole goal is to show people the love of Christ through our actions,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Belong before you believe,’ and allowing people to be part of a family, and love them.”
Confluence Community Center
- Online: confluencecommunitycenter.com
- Email: confluencecommunitycenter@gmail.com
Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.
