There is something very cool about singing Beautiful Savior, Amazing Grace, and A Mighty Fortress in a pub.

Sure, its partly the novelty of it, but it also worshipful, spiritual, intimate, fun, great outreach, and an affirmation of God's presence in our daily lives - in all the places we gather, including pubs.

I've helped to host four Beer and Hymns events. They've each been a little different but they have been great experiences. The singing is beautiful, the environment is relaxed, it takes us into the community, and it opens something up for people spiritually.

Beer and Hymns has been popularized in Lutheran circles by Nadia Bolz-Weber and House for All Sinners and Saints. Jodi Bjornstad Houge and Humble Walk Church also regularly host Beer and Hymns. Jodi writes about their experience here. I've included several links at the bottom of this post with examples of how people have done Beer and Hymns and what it means to them. 

Here's my version of how to host your own Beer and Hymns event:

“a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” - Psalm 51:17, 

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  After these many years, it feels as though we are all still catching up to his brilliant theology, his Christian witness, and his deep understanding of discipleship.

On this day, it seems appropriate to reflect upon what Bonhoeffer called the “cost of discipleship” and to ask what it means for us now.  In my experience as a parish pastor, I’ve come to see that each of us calculate the cost of discipleship differently.  We each give it a different name.

For me, its name is heartbreak.

One of the viral hits of the holiday season is this YouTube video of a flash mob singing the Hallelujah Chorus in an Ontario mall food court.  It’s fun, beautiful, and has moved many to tears.  I love it because it breaks down our notions the sacred and the profane - and the false divisions we erect between them.

Last night we had our first Dinner Church at Redeemer.  We couldn't have done it without the inspiration and help of St. Lydia's Dinner Church in Manhattan.  They graciously shared one of their liturgies with us, which we adapted for our context.

 In this liturgy, the meal and the Eucharist are interwoven beautifully.  The meal begins with the breaking of the bread and ends with the blessing of the wine.  And so, the entire dinner meal is part of the Eucharist.  Indeed, it is the Eucharist.  When we passed the bread to one another, we said, "This is my body."  And so, we ourselves - we too - were the Eucharist.  My favorite moment: when my seven year-old daughter, with a huge smile on her face,  handed me a small piece of bread and said, "This is my body."

It was a wonderful experience, which, for me, is best captured by this quote from Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma, which I shared last night:

I’ve just finished reading Seth’s Godin’s book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.  It’s a good, quick read, full of Godin’s unique wisdom and perspective.  I recommend it.  One of the things I like is how he describes our confusion between “faith” and religion.”  I’ve heard this distinction made many times before, but what’s unique in Tribes is how Godin speaks of these terms in what I can only describe as a secular way.  He’s not a church guy, so he’s not trying to defend a particular position within the church.  This stance offers church insiders a good perspective on our own assumptions and use of religious language.

Last night we had our first "God on Tap" night at Grumpy Doyle’s Pub in Reading.  We had a great time with about twenty people at two tables.

I have to admit I was a little anxious about it.  I wasn’t sure who would come or what we would talk about.  And so, leaving nothing to chance, I had a plan for focusing our conversation.  It was this picture I saw on the door at Starbucks· couple months ago.  When I saw it, it immediately struck me that when Starbucks says “Take Comfort in Rituals” its totally cool.  When the church says it just sounds old, boring, and placating.

But it got me thinking about the rituals in our daily lives we take comfort in - and that reminded me of the wonderful reflections from Kathleen Norris in The Quotidian Mysteries, about how the the rituals in our daily lives function much they way that the liturgy does.  They create a rhythm, they bear us along.  Oftentimes, even the annoying rituals and routines of our lives give it shape, meaning, and focus.  In short, our lives are a liturgy, and the liturgy of the church is one part of it.

Yeah, we didn’t use any of that.  And if you want me to send you the cards I printed with the picture and some questions on the back, just give me your address.

But here’s the thing.  We talked about God all night.