Brewing promise or problems?

Although selling alcohol is legal, I think it’s counterproductive for

churches to be involved with it. Many people come to spirituality in

order to learn skills by which they can best appreciate their lives

and be available to improve society and the world. How does selling

alcohol serve that purpose?

A large portion of any spiritual work is to become more aware of

the ways in which we medicate ourselves so as not to experience the

various pain and trauma that is part of life. Alcohol is one of the

most widely used and abused substances chosen for that purpose

largely because of its accessibility and social acceptance.

For many years, I have felt there is a direct relationship between

sobriety and enlightenment. There is a saying, “the taste of Zen is

plain water.” Our plain, ordinary life is immensely satisfying if we

can learn how to taste it, instead of what we usually do -- judge it,

run from it and try to change it. It’s not only those struggling with

addictions that are adversely affected by the poor choices of what we

serve at church. All of us are in recovery as long as we aren’t free

from our conditioned responses to pain and suffering.

We don’t serve alcohol at any Zen Center of Orange County

functions because we don’t consider it helpful to our mission, which

is to promote Zen for the purpose of healing and transformation. Our

beverage of choice is tea and it has worked well for the gatherings

after meditation. People have a warm beverage to share as they enjoy

one another’s company.

In keeping with that, just this year we decided to serve only

vegan foods at our retreats. Besides meeting the many dietary needs

and preferences of those that attend, we are finding that we feel

better with fresh, plain foods that help us to be more attentive,

alert and aware.

I would recommend the three cathedrals in England explore other

products to sell in order to raise money. Selling alcohol may end up

not only being penny wise and dollar foolish, but also actually

sabotaging the spiritual aspirations of their congregants.

REV. CAROL AGUILAR

Zen Center of Orange County

Costa Mesa

Beer occupies a different place in European culture than it does

in American. It is a far more social experience than it is here. That

being said, an American answer to this question deals with different

issues than a European answer.

Alcohol, in general, is not an evil substance. Its use in

moderation is even encouraged in Scripture as being “good for the

stomach” in 1 Timothy 5:23, and it is used in our most solemn

ceremony -- the remembrance of the death of Jesus for us. We all know

the story of Jesus creating quality wine at a wedding as his first

miracle, and being offered a bitter wine for relief as He died on the

cross. Like too much candy, or too much food or too much of anything,

it can be destructive.

The unique character of alcohol though is that it is also

addictive and impairs your senses. These two issues can make alcohol

dangerous. Having grown up in a family wracked by alcoholism and

alcoholics, I have seen first hand the results of its abuse.

I don’t drink alcohol (except on very rare occasions) for several

reasons. One, I don’t like the taste of it. Recently my wife and I

were at a charity event where a new kind of expensive wine was served

with each of the eight courses of the meal. I tried every one. I

didn’t enjoy any of them. But that is my taste, not a question of

morality. Two, having grown up with alcoholics, I don’t want to

provide an opportunity in my house for someone who struggles with

alcoholism to be tempted (Romans 14:11). On one of our trips to

Israel, I was leading a group that included several recovering

alcoholics. Search as I could, grape juice was not available, only

wine. When rumor got around to some of our members that they would

have to refuse communion because wine was included, I had to do some

reevaluation and consider other juices as an alternative. Alcohol had

so ruined their lives that they were unwilling to risk even a small

sip of wine, even for communion. It was unfair for me to force that

kind of choice on them.

Our church has become a magnet for people in recovery. We host an

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on our campus and a recovery ministry

for people with other issues. Some of those in recovery have served

as Elders. With so many of our people in our congregation having had

their lives ravaged by alcohol, it would be insensitive of us to use

the church property as an excuse to sell alcohol. With this kind of

track record of destruction, it would be hard for me to morally

justify the sale of beer on church property, regardless of the

alcohol content.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR

RIC OLSEN

Harbor Trinity

Costa Mesa

One of the persistent critiques of John Kerry during the recent

campaign was that the Democratic nominee had “likability” problems,

that he was “aloof,” that typical voters would rather have a beer

with George W. Bush -- if Bush still drank. Beer can be a stimulus to

conviviality, but can it be reconciled with religiosity? Would we be

comfortable with church gift shops selling, among the ritual

paraphernalia, six packs of beer straight from the refrigerated

section?

The Talmud not only features recipes for the brewing of beer, but

extols its medicinal properties. There is today a gourmet kosher

microbrewery that makes a beer called “He’brew.” For centuries, the

world’s vineyards and wine were owned or controlled by the church.

One of monasticism’s greatest historical contributions has been to

viticulture and to developing techniques of distillation. As the

monks needed wine for their sacraments and medicinal purposes, they

planted vines on land that had been allocated to them. Wine making

was an integral part of monastic life.

On the road from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv stands the Latrun

Monastery, surrounded by vineyards. It is famous for its wine and

liqueurs, which are cultivated by the monks and sold in a shop on its

premises. No one questions the legitimacy of the Trappists producing

alcoholic beverages and marketing them to gain their livelihood.

So, much ado about nothing. The men of England’s cathedrals are

continuing an honored and classic practice of their forebears. These

apostles of ale, monks of malt, and bishops of brew should hold their

heads high!

RABBI MARK S. MILLER

Temple Bat Yam

Newport Beach

Benjamin Franklin said, “Beer is living proof that God loves us

and wants us to be happy!” He also proclaimed firm belief in “a Being

of infinite Wisdom, Goodness and Power” (from his 1771

autobiography). I’m with Ben! Moderation is the key to responsible

use of beer, ale, wine and other alcoholic beverages.

Many churches regularly use sacramental wine with greater “alcohol

by volume” than 6.5% and serve alcoholic beverages during fellowship

functions. Here, we regularly teach that “one molecule of either the

bread or wine contains fullness of God’s grace” and encourage

communicants not to drink the wine if they suspect it might not be

healthy for them (or eat the bread if they have wheat allergies). And

we have clear and strong policies about use of alcoholic beverages on

our campus.

In recent times, religious institutions have been in the forefront

of understanding alcoholism as a disease rather than some character

flaw or weakness of will. Remember “Bill’s Story” at the founding of

Alcoholics Anonymous? On May 11, 1935, he felt himself gravitating

toward a bar in Akron, Ohio, and called an Episcopal priest who gave

him a list of names of people who were struggling with the disease of

alcoholism. Bill wrote, “To Christ I conceded the certainty of a

great man, not too closely followed by those who claimed him.” (from

“Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and

Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism”). Faith communities have

ministries such as the Commission on Addiction and Recovery of our

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles; education, referrals, counseling

and opportunities for residential treatment are offered to those

seeking help with alcoholism and other addictions.

The 2005 Orange County Coastal community phone book has 136

listings under liquor stores! To the best of my knowledge, none of

these are in, or sponsored by, faith communities. If some were,

reviving medieval monastic traditions, I trust “moderation,”

“wellness” and “responsible behavior” would be emphasized as

thoroughly as Ben Franklin does “happiness.”

Brewing ale for sale within Cathedral precincts strikes me as a

bit like selling herbs from monastic gardens (who knows what grows

therein?). One parishioner suggests it “offers a flavor of Merry Ol’

England;” another wonders if it might spur interest in what else

monks and nuns do and why. I would not go so far as to replace

“country” with “church” in Frank Zappa’s “You can’t be a real country

unless you have a beer and an airline -- it helps if you have some

kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very

least you need a beer.”

VERY REV. CANON

PETER D. HAYNES

St. Michael & All Angels

Episcopal Parish Church

Corona del Mar