Four area Lutheran churches will be holding fellowship and theology discussions at The Local by Glyn Mawr Winery in uptown Mount Vernon. The Faith on Tap events will be held tonight (Thursday, June 9), Thursday, July 7 and Thursday, Aug. 4, and run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the outdoor patio at The Local.
Seeds of Faith pastor Paris White said the idea was spurred by her time at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, where she earned her Masters of divinity degree.
“Every Thursday evening, a professor of ours would gather anyone who was interested to the back room of a bar for a session he called Beer and Theology,” White said. “We would all go around one by one and ask a theological question or name something we were wrestling with and then the group would decide which topic we wanted to run with for the night. It prompted amazing discussion, plus it was great fellowship.”
White wanted to incorporate a version of this into her own ministry. She has floated the idea to members of Seeds of Faith over the past few years, and they have looked to begin with a name, Faith on Tap.
Then the pandemic hit and put a damper on those types of group gatherings over the past two years.
White said this summer is the first opportunity to give it a try.
When she was looking to start this opportunity, the changing pastors for a few other local Lutheran churches opened the doors to collaboration on this project.
Mount Vernon’s Dennis Rodenberg is also a Wartburg Seminary graduate and pastor of the Olin and Wyoming Lutheran churches, and Jaimie Reising, another Wartburg Seminary graduate, was installed at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tipton.
“It was a pretty easy yes for all of us to work together,” White said.
The three pastors determined The Local’s outdoor patio would be the best place to host the event, due to the space available.
“It’s perfect for a small group, but will also accommodate us if we grow to be a large group,” White said.
The other reason White loved this venue – availability of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and access to area restaurants for participants to make an evening in Mount Vernon and aid the casual nature of the event.
White said it is open to all in the community who have curious minds.
“There is literally nothing you have to know, bring or do before coming,” White said. “Just show up, grab a drink and join the discussion. We have no set agenda; the topic will be chosen by whoever is present and whatever it is the group wants to ponder.”
White said other denominations, religions or even people without a faith should feel comfortable to attend.
“We grow richer by talking with one another, exchanging ideas and leaning into the mysteries of life,” White said. “I think sometimes, especially in the polarized times we’re living in, we get caught up in being right. These discussions are not about who is right and who is wrong. In these discussions, we will have the opportunity to take a topic or question and look at it from all sides. We may not walk away with answers, but I do hope we all walk away feeling a bit richer spiritually and communally.”