A Church for Greeley - Saint Patrick Presbyterian Church

Before we answer that question it might first be helpful to ask why not? Why would a church not brew beer? Historically the Church has had a close connection with the production of wine and beer. The tradition begins with Jesus himself changing water into wine at the wedding in Cana. The pope, while residing in Avignon during the 14th Century produced his own wine, the Chateauneuf du Pape, which is still considered one of the better wines in France. Beer has for centuries been made by monks and the number 1 beer today according to www.ratebeer.com is brewed by Benedictine Monks. And as good of brewers as the monks have been, they have been outdone on occasion by their female counterparts, because it was Saint Hildegard von Bingen who was the first person to introduce hops into the brewing process as a preservative.

In addition to Church history, the Scriptures portray both wine and beer in a very positive light.

 Psalm 104

 ¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle,
       and plants for man to cultivate—
       bringing forth food from the earth:

 ¹⁵ wine that gladdens the heart of man,
       oil to make his face shine,
       and bread that sustains his heart.

 Proverbs 31

⁶ Give beer to those who are perishing,
       wine to those who are in anguish;

 ⁷ let them drink and forget their poverty
       and remember their misery no more.

Jeremiah 40

¹² they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

Isaiah 24

 ¹¹ In the streets they cry out for wine;
       all joy turns to gloom,
       all gaiety is banished from the earth.

If the Scriptures do not object to the right use of alcohol and if Jesus himself made wine, why do we feel uncomfortable about the idea that a church should brew beer? The simple truth is that Americans were taught in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries that alcohol was evil. Because women were often the victims of the abuse of alcohol, women’s organizations, fresh from victory in the suffrage movement, began to champion the prohibition of all alcohol. In 1880 the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) established a Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction in Schools and Colleges, with Mary Hunt as National Superintendent. She proclaimed that voters "must first be convinced that alcohol and kindred narcotics are by nature outlaws, before they will outlaw them." Hunt was extremely perceptive on this point, for on the eve of prohibition the invitation to a church celebration in New York read "Let the church bells ring and let there be great rejoicing, for an enemy has been overthrown and victory crowns the forces of righteousness." The temperance movement began to change the way people viewed not only the consumption of alcohol, but alcohol itself. While we can’t fault the early feminist elements of the temperance movement, the actions of the churches are contemptible because their teaching is in direct contradiction to the teaching of Paul to the Colossians where he writes...

^2:20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ²¹ "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" ²²(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? ²³ These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The Church in America has inherited bad theology, and that is the sole reason we feel uncomfortable with the idea of a church brewing beer. Saint Patrick Church certainly does not want to encourage drunkenness or any kind of abuse of alcohol, but we do not believe we will not prevent abuse by telling people that alcohol is evil. We believe that we can best prevent the abuse of alcohol by telling people (as Jesus does in 7th chapter of Mark's Gospel) that evil is not found in any bottle but in the hearts of all of mankind. If we really want to see an end to the abuse of alcohol, we cannot take short cuts. We must address the problem at its root - the heart of the abuser.

So why should a church brew beer? One reason Saint Patrick Presbyterian wants to brew beer is because it challenges this errant theology that has become so prevalent in the evangelical Church. We should realize that this prohibitionist theology is not simply a harmless addition to the Word of God but is in fact a very dangerous one, because it promotes a sacred/secular dichotomy that is completely foreign to Scripture. It teaches people that they are most acceptable to God when they surround themselves with the sacred and remove themselves from the secular. It wrongly teaches us that evil is outside of us rather than inside of us. It promotes religion rather than the gospel. A church should brew beer, not to say to the world, “Come to our church because we are cooler than other Christians” but to say to the world, “You have a problem that you can’t fix with a few moderations and abstentions. You are fundamentally broken and in need of a healer.”

Another reason Saint Patrick is brewing our own beer is that we want to proclaim loudly that beer, far from being the part of the problem is actually part of the solution. When we eat and drink, not to dull or forget our pain, but to experience God’s goodness in community, we get a small glimpse of the joy that should be ours and the joy that will be ours. The story of Jesus is one of God entering our world to restore all things and "put them to rights." The evangelical Church has placed great emphasis on the restoration of righteousness, but that is only part of the story. Jesus came not only to restore righteousness, but also life, justice, and joy. This is exactly why Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding in Cana - to restore joy. It is the pattern of ministry that Saint Patrick Presbyterian is seeking to follow. We hope to be a small part of the restoration of joy in Greeley.