'Pastor's Pilsner': Minister pitches microbrewery as social lubricant to connect with Calgarians

Rev. John Pentland hopes to one day sip a "Pastor's Pilsner" at his church.

Hillhurst United Church inCalgary's Kensingtondistrict has been trying to decide for years what to do with its underused gym, built in 1955.

Other ideas, like affordable housing and office space, didn't pan out, but Pentlandtold his congregation on Sunday he thought a microbrewery might work.

"One of the things that people are starved for right now is purpose," the minister told theCalgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.

"A sense of spiritual connections and a place to have a good conversation about how we reshape the world, and those two go together."

The goal would beto engage people in the neighbourhood, whether they're practising Christians or not.

Pentlandpresented the idea to his congregation in hisEaster Sunday sermon which fell on April Fool's Day as a playful joke.

He joked the idea came to him in a vision he had after being knocked unconscious in a bike crash.

His vision showed the church gym decorated with leftover yard sale items and taps flowing with offerings titled Holy Water, Pastor's Pilsner and Bethlehem's Best. They could call the microbrewery "Revelations" or "Reformation."

Children, people of all ages,abstainersand non-drinkers and dogs would spend time together, chatting.

"You got to remember, Jesus didn't hang out in a temple and say come out and listen to my great sermon," he said.

"He hung out in the pubs, themicrobreweries, the coffee shops, the streets.... He was on the road, entering into good conversations."

Despite the lightheartedness of his story, he is serious about opening a microbrewery. Congregants have already approached him offering to help.

"It's not a done deal. It's a conversation, it's a playful conversation about what's possible in our space," he said. "I'm playfully serious."

The idea of running a microbrewery in a church is an old one. Monastic breweries across Germany date back more than 1,000 years.

Modern day churches in Europe and the United States also have opened breweries as a way to encourage people to spend time together.

In Calgary, Knox United Church is building a cafe offering free Wi-Fiin hopes of serving a similar purpose.

If the microbrewery happens, Pentland said they'd be aiming for a 2019 opening.

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With files from theCalgary Eyeopener.