Help Wanted

So a priest, a minister and a rabbi walk into a bar….

It’s the start of many jokes and for the last three years has also been the title of our informal symposium on beer and faith.  We had every intention of bringing it back to Philly Beer Week this year but then we found  out that our compatriot and the minister in the equation, Bryan Berghoef, will be away on a pilgrimage to Iona.

Once Rabbi Eli Freedman and I got done calling him names behind his back, we set our minds to trying to find another person to take his place.  For a while it looked like we had someone lined up but unfortunately they will be away for Beer Week.

And so we turn to you, our friends and kindred spirits.  We’d love for one of you to join us this year at Fergie’s Pub as we wax poetic about beer, God and faith and the ways in which they all tie together.

Of course we have some standards.

To make sure we don’t wind up like the Mystery Men, here is what we are looking for.

The ideal candidate will:

#1 Be a person of faith

#2 Have extensive knowledge about their faith and its history

#3 Be comfortable talking to a crowd and taking questions

#4 Have a sense of humor

#5 Live in the Philly Metro area

#6 Be free on the afternoon of Sunday, June 5^th

#7 Love beer (duh)

In order to broaden our perspectives special consideration will be shown to those outside the Judeo-Christian tradition and to women.

If you’re interested in exploring this further please contact me through the blog or Facebook.  We hope to hear from you!

 

Walking back into a bar….

Philly Beer Week is now upon us.  For those of you who aren’t familiar its a ten day festival celebrating all things craft beer.  You can meet brewers, get to sample special one-off brews and take part in so truly amazing and sometimes even insane events that cover beer trivia, music, dunk tanks and even seeing who can assemble Ikea furniture the fastest after down several pints in rapid succession.

**********

For the second year in a row I am pleased to be an official part of it.  On Monday, June 2nd  I will reunite with Rabbi Eli Freedman and Pastor Bryan Berghoef to present “A Rabbi, a Priest and a Minister Walk into a Bar…”    I hope you can join us as we share stories and perspectives on how we have found that beer is not simply permissible in religious life but in fact has sacred potential.  It all takes place at Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St) at 5 pm.  The event itself is free and beer is pay as you go.

A shot of last year’s packed house at Fergie’s.

**********

On Thursday Rabbi Eli and I are honored to be part of a special event at Impact Hub Philly.   This Brew Ha Ha fundraiser will benefit their community kitchen and is designed to support food justice initiatives in the city as well as to provide a space for entrepreneurs to try their hand at food innovation.

**********

I hope to see you at these events and who knows, with so much good stuff going on this week there’s a good chance you might see me lots of other places too.  I’ll be the one in the collar.

A Rabbi, a Priest and a Minister Walk into a Crowded Bar…

So again, it sounds like a joke right?  I can imagine that some might feel that their clergy could drive them to drink, but this was different… on a beautiful Saturday afternoon more than 60 people filled the upstairs room at Fergie’s to come and listen to what these three  clergy had to say about beer and how it fit into a spiritual world.

What makes this number significant was not just the fact that it was the capacity for the room, it is also very close to the average Sunday attendance in The Episcopal Church.

So what does it say when about as many people are willing to come to a bar to listen to clergy talk about beer as will come to church on a Sunday?   They came from all over the Philadelphia area, some travelling for as much as an hour.  A few even came from DC.

Also of note was the fact that we had many folks from the beer industry including Suzanne Woods from Allagash, Doug Marchakitus from Manayunk, Patrick and Tracy Mullin from Sly Fox and Luke Bowen from Evil Genius.

For them to take time during the 12 hour work days that are the reality of Beer Week is a significant statement.  During those few moments when they can break away from their grueling schedules they either try to rest or drop in at an event that is boasting a rock star from the beer world or a really rare beers. Although the draft selection was wonderful we could not claim such a draw.  But, they came anyway.  One told me that when he was looking over the list of dozens of events scheduled for that afternoon and came across ours, he knew right away that there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

But on to the event itself.  After a brief introduction Bryan started us off with an explanation of his Pub Theology model and how it is helping to redefine what it means to be a church and how we go about connecting with the community.

Eli was next and took the crowd through references to beer and brewing in the Talmud, including passages from a Rabbi who was himself a brewer.

I tackled some of the theological and cultural assumptions that lead to the divide that has arisen between beer and G-D. 

But it was the Q&A that followed that proved to be the highlight of the day.  For more than a hour we were asked about matters both theological and practical such as, “How does hosting this at your congregation affect members who might be struggling with addiction?”  “What are the implications for pot or other drugs?” and “How can I sell this idea to my church board?”

After the formal Q&A wrapped up we mingled with the crowd for more questions and conversation.  As you can see from the pics, everyone was in good spirits and the mood was joyful.

In the weeks and days that led up to the event the worries gnawed at confidence.  What if the we have hecklers?  What if we fall flat?  Or worst of all, what if no one shows up?  But thanks be to G-D the day exceeded our wildest expectations.  Because on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, when there were lots of other wonderful things to do, a packed barroom showed us that the world is full of people who love G-D and love good beer and are thirsting for a way to connect the two.

My thanks to Eli, Bryan for helping me concoct this notion, to Fergie for offering the space without a moment’s hesitation, to Luke and Evil Genius for the beer, to all the good people from St Tim’s who came out to support it and to everyone who encouraged us along the way- we couldn’t have done it without you.

Here’s to doing it again next year!

A Rabbi, a Priest and a Minister Walk into a Bar…

As you may have read in this previous post, I have been working on my first truly public beer and faith event as part of this year’s Philly Beer Week.  Working with friends and fellow clergy, Rabbi Eli Freedman and Rev. Bryan Berghoef, we will be talking about different ways in which we see confluence where so many others see schism and, more importantly, how we create opportunity where others choose to see threat.

The event will be upstairs at Fergie’s Pub.  After some introductory remarks we plan for each of us to spend about 10-15 minutes talking about how we came to see beer, not just as something to enjoy but as something that can enhance our spiritual lives.  We will then take questions and encourage discussion.  The event is very laid back so if you can’t be there spot at 3 pm please do still come.

Thanks to publican and philanthropist extraordinaire Fergus Carey for hosting us!

Details on the event are as follows                                                                          Where: Fergie’s Pub   1214 Sansom Street, Philadelphia                                      When:   June 8th,  3 pm till 5 or later if the discussion is still going

We hope to see you there and I will be reporting on how it all went next week.