Church Blesses Fathers With Beer

[cappie]

A senior bishop has backed the move, which is part of a Church of England initiative to put a Christian emphasis on the annual celebration of fatherhood.

Concerns over the lack of men attending services year-round has led clergy to offer a range of incentives today, including free beer, bacon rolls and chocolate bars.

t is the first time that the Church has attempted to treat Fathers' Day in the same way as Mothering Sunday, which has traditionally formed part of its calendar.

The plan to distribute ale has upset groups working to tackle alchohol abuse, but the Rt Rev John Inge, the Bishop of Worcester, said that it could help churches to attract more men.

He argued that the free beer was intended to be symbolic of "the generosity of God".

Men at St Stephen's church in Barbourne, Worcester, will be handed bottles of beer by children during the service. A prayer will be said for the fathers before the gifts are distributed.

The Ven Roger Morris, archdeacon of Worcester, who will be leading the service at St Stephen's today, said that it was a practical way of sending a message to fathers.

"I don't see any other time that we can stop and remember fathers, and this is a gesture saying 'Here's something that will bless you,'" he said.

"Posies of flowers are given to mums on Mothering Sunday and we wanted to give a laddish, blokeish gift to the men. A bottle of beer hits the mark. The whole of life is to be celebrated in church."

However, Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, criticised the Church, claiming that it was acting irresponsibly.

"Bearing in mind the country is facing rising health harms from its high level of alcohol consumption, anyone in a position of authority or respect should perhaps think twice about promoting alcohol to the public," he said.

[url="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5587035/Church-blesses-fathers-with-beer.html"]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...-with-beer.html[/url]

Bishop Inge said that it was wrong to claim that the move would encourage alcholism, and encouraged churches to use it as a way to reach out to men.

"Jesus created a lot more wine at a point in the party when some thought that there had already been enough drinking. He was all in favour of partying," the bishop said.

"We give wine away every Sunday, so giving away beer could be said to going downmarket a bit, but it's an attempt to speak of God's generosity.

"It's something that could be used as part of a service to encourage fathers to come. Once they are in church, hopefully they will be challenged by the deeper questions around fatherhood."

The bishop said that the Church was keen to support fathers and "to do everything possible to encourage them to take their responsibility very seriously".

A survey conducted by Opinion Business Research (ORB) found that less than a fifth of men claim to attend some type of church service once a month, compared with more than a quarter of women.

[Resurrexi]

Catholics are cooler.

We have a blessing for beer:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.
Bless, + O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

And it is sprinkled with holy water.

[OraProMe]

Those crazy Anglicans, it's like a tv sitcom. What crazy antics will Rowan and his pals get up to in todays episode?

[Old_Joe]

I love Friar Tuck's quote about beer from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
[quote]This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption. Let us give praise to our maker and glory to his bounty by learning about... BEER.[/quote]

[jeffpugh]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1900082' date='Jun 23 2009, 08:05 PM']Catholics are cooler.

We have a blessing for beer:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.
Bless, + O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

And it is sprinkled with holy water.[/quote]


[quote name='Old_Joe' post='1900482' date='Jun 24 2009, 03:55 AM']I love Friar Tuck's quote about beer from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves[/quote]
Awesome guys!

[heavenseeker]

wow thats something


i did not know we had a blessing for beer! that is awesome!

[mommas_boy]

Personally, I kinda like the idea. So long as it's done at the end of the service (they're Anglican, so I won't call it "Mass"). Right before the final blessing.

Also, awesome blessing!

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='heavenseeker' post='1901009' date='Jun 24 2009, 11:01 PM']wow thats something


i did not know we had a blessing for beer! that is awesome![/quote]

The actually blessing is in Latin, though. The blessing is found in the [i]Rituale Romanum[/i] of the extraordinary form, so it cannot be given in English.

[mommas_boy]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1901038' date='Jun 25 2009, 12:26 AM']The actually blessing is in Latin, though. The blessing is found in the [i]Rituale Romanum[/i] of the extraordinary form, so it cannot be given in English.[/quote]

That just makes it cooler!

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='mommas_boy' post='1901048' date='Jun 24 2009, 11:37 PM']That just makes it cooler! [/quote]

[heavenseeker]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1901038' date='Jun 25 2009, 12:26 AM']The actually blessing is in Latin, though. The blessing is found in the [i]Rituale Romanum[/i] of the extraordinary form, so it cannot be given in English.[/quote]
i was wanting t obless my beer from now on, sounds like i have to learn latin first

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='heavenseeker' post='1901054' date='Jun 24 2009, 11:42 PM'] i was wanting t obless my beer from now on, sounds like i have to learn latin first[/quote]



I was not aware that you had received sacramental ordination.

[mommas_boy]

I found (I think) the page where you got that blessing from. It has a priceless pic of Papa Benedict that I just couldn't help but share:

[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5etCgFGSE2o/SHUfVI-tBEI/AAAAAAAAASQ/dhA36G8155c/s1600/Pope-Benedict-with-a-beer-721148.jpg[/img]

[mommas_boy]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1901056' date='Jun 25 2009, 12:44 AM']

I was not aware that you had received sacramental ordination.[/quote]

Could someone who was un-Ordained use the prayer in English, minus the front part:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

similar to the way that laity "bless" their food before each meal with a form that is quite similar:

"Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts ..."

We understand that we as laity are "shooting blanks" in regards to the blessing, but it still calls God to our attention before drinking. I think that all legitimate human activities should have a prayer that is able to precede them so that they may be performed in God's name. Could this one suffice? If not, what part of the formula makes this different from formulae that may be used by the laity?

Thanks.

[heavenseeker]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1901056' date='Jun 25 2009, 12:44 AM']

I was not aware that you had received sacramental ordination.[/quote]
are you questioning me being Catholic

if so, dude ive been Catholic my whole life

if you are refering to being a priest then no far from and probably never will be.

Edited June 25, 2009 by heavenseeker