Belly-up to the CHURCH?

Recently there was a clash at City Hall between breweries that wanted zoning variances to operate in the Springfield National Historic District and a small group of vocal churchgoers. In the end, everything worked out, but the situation brought an interesting dynamic into focus: Can religion and craft beer coexist? If you ask Bill Barkoskie, yes, they can.

On a recent evening, Barkoskie and his partners Chad Deetz and Cody and Emily Rollins were at Veterans United Craft Brewery. Barkoskie handed out self-copied booklets while Deetz and the Rollins set up amps and microphones. At 7:30 p.m., the microphones came to life as the group welcomed all present to an evening of Beer & Hymns, a sing-along featuring ice-cold brews and religious tunes.

“We view this as what we call ‘Fresh Ministries,’” said Barkoskie. “It’s finding the intersection between church and people. It’s about bringing church outside of four walls and to the people.”

The group faced a dilemma; they weren’t sure how to encourage deeper thought and communication. They wanted an answer to the question, “How can we be the church?”

Barkoskie, a former employee of Veterans United, began to look for ways to bring a ministry to the brewery. He and his pastor at Mandarin United Methodist Church brainstormed, but it was only after Barkoskie attended a Beer & Hymns night at the beer-centric establishment Silver Cow, which recently moved to Murray Hill, that he got the idea to host a similar night at the brewery.

The first Beer & Hymns was held at Veterans United in April 2016. In the beginning, perhaps six or seven people would attend, most of them from Barkoskie’s church.

“No matter the size of the crowd,” Barkoskie said, “it creates a natural, new way of creating relationships. Breweries and churches have remarkably similar goals. They both want to create a social atmosphere.”

As time went on, a larger, more diverse group began attending.

“As we go on,” Barkoskie said, “we see folks who come and use this as their church. We bring the church to them rather than trying to draw them to a church.”

There are no sermons at Beer & Hymns, no proselytizing. It’s just about having a few beers and singing hymns with friends.

“Church can take all sorts of forms,” said Barkoskie. “Our goal with Beer & Hymns at Veterans is to give a demonstration of what it means to be part of a church.”

Barkoskie and his friends may be on to something. Biblical scholars believe that the word “church” is a mistranslation of a Greek word, ekklesia (ekklayseeah), which breaks down into two Greek words, ek, meaning “out of or from,” and klayseeah, meaning “the called.” If true, “church” literally means “those who are called.”

Whether those who attend Beer & Hymns are truly called by a higher power is an argument better left for greater biblical scholars than I. But it is certain that they have a good time singing songs of praise to the Lord while sipping a cold brew – quite a pleasant way to pass an evening.

Local Beer & Hymns:

Bold City Brewery
7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month; boldcitybrewery.com.

Veterans United Craft Brewery
7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month; vubrew.com.