Booze, Conversation and God

Church isn’t for everyone. Getting up early, singing songs and being preached at may not be your idea of an enjoyable day off. Rev. Deb Conklin of Liberty Park and St. Paul’s United Methodist Churches knows that (she pastors two churches). For many people, including herself, faith grows out of dialogue, not lectures. That’s why last year she started Faith Conversations, a weekly meetup group. It’s held every week at the Lantern Tavern and anyone of any faith can come. Sometimes it’s an intimate meeting, just her and one or two other people, other days a dozen people may pack the tiny bar for this chat. There is no agenda, the conversation can go in any direction. This week, for example, we intended to talk about Rachel Maddow’s “Day of Destruction, Decade of War” program. We chatted briefly about terrorism and the wars that have emerged since Sept. 11. But, as we sipped our brews, we also chatted about our experiences in foreign countries, sexuality, church growth (or lack thereof), education, politics and family. If you’re like me, you’re usually itching to talk about theology but have learned that’s not necessarily what your friends want to converse about on a Friday night. If so, you should join the meetup group and check out Faith Conversations. The group usually meets every Thursday at 7 p.m. However, there won’t be a meeting this week. The next one will be Sept. 15.