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8/2/2007
More church picnics - and beer
Roast chicken, German potato salad, polkas, and…. beer. I had a fun time talking the other day in this space about joining my mother-in-law last weekend at her parish picnic. It was a light piece, but included just the seed of controversy with a tongue-in-cheek sentence amidst the fun. “Support your parish – drink lots of beer – or something like that.”
Well, I received several invitations to folks’ favorite parish picnics, for which I’m very appreciative! And… a couple of friends called me to task.
I rushed to read what you had to say about Catholic picnics, certain you'd say something unkind (and deserved) about the culture of drinking in our corner of the world. Alas -- you only alluded to it. [See above.] Someone from Fox Valley Unites wouldn't have been so evasive and kind. Face it: Wisconsin is a drinking state. This state likes its brandy and its beer.
And this, from former Appleton alderman Dick Kendall:
In 1999-2000 I was an alderman for the City of Appleton. I had the privilege of serving on the License and Ordinance Committee [where we approved] permits for functions… where alcohol was to be served.
Three of us on the five member committee agreed that approving such permits for church picnics was really dumb. Dumb? Is that politically correct? Yesterday's local newspaper covered [several] stories [involving drinking and driving]. I call such incidents car crashes...not accidents. An accident is unavoidable. Incidents involving alcohol that kill people are crashes. Avoidable. Preventable.
The two others on the License and Ordinance Committee in 1999 [also] voted 'no.' The three of us were branded 'beer Nazis' on radio talk shows and in the newspaper.
…. [W]e cared that some inebriated fool not drive away from the church sponsored picnic and plow his motorized vehicle into some unsuspecting individual's auto causing death, destruction and life-changing/life-altering consequences to someone's beloved family member. Look. Serving alcohol at church functions is dumb. It sends the wrong message to families and undermines and sends mixed signals about our Christian values. Go back to your church with a clear message that alcohol doesn't fit at the picnic. That's true for Catholics, Baptist, Presbyterians and all the non-denominationals, too. Call me a 'beer Nazi' if you choose. I'm proud to be persecuted for His sake.
I was one of those three votes. And Dick knows of the deep faith of which he speaks.
One frequent and understandable response is that moderation is always the rule at church affairs – and it’s a good, structured way to teach kids responsible drinking. I accept and appreciate the argument; I'm just not sure I buy it.
COMMENTS
I had to get my oar in on this one more time.
Jo, you said:
"One frequent and understandable response is that moderation is always the rule at church affairs – and it’s a good, structured way to teach kids responsible drinking. I accept and appreciate the argument; I'm just not sure I buy it."
I will add that I don't buy it at all. What the structure does is train the kid in the culture of drinking from an early age so he or she is socialized into the normative view that drinking is a part of having fun.
That's the short response and maybe poorly phrased. But after having grown up with it, I know the damage it does.
Ok, I'll get down off the beer crate now.
Lon Ponschock (Thu Aug 02 00:48:07 2007)
Moderation and understanding IS the key. Still we are discussing this over a church function, let's just say we all know what happens when you treat something as forbidden fruit.
Back when I went through my years around the legal drinking age the worst I saw from anyone overindulging was always from the ones who were raised in a teetotalers house. Their households treated alcohol as a forbidden fruit and their kids rebelled because of it.
Mike (Thu Aug 02 07:38:19 2007)
I have many pictures in my mind of people I was quite sure with drinking problems, who played games for six packs at our church picnic. I also know people from non-drinking homes who did not abuse alcohol. I came from a drinking family and everyone of my sibblings were blessed with drinking problems. I sincerely believe booze does not belong at church picnics.
Dick Griesser (Thu Aug 02 08:28:09 2007)
To my mind if you want to encourage children to drink heavily and hide it from their parents, by all means make booze a mysterious thing that just isn't talked about or done by polite society.
Brian (Thu Aug 02 11:05:02 2007)
One thing that annoyed me about the discussion was the claim of beer having no place at church picnics. Well, with respect to the Catholic parishes I never recall any such proclamations from Pope Paul XI, Pope John Paul II, or Pope Benedict the XVI or even Bishops Aloysius, Maida or Zubick. In fact, many monasterys make famous beers & wines. If you want to make a public safety argument then have at it, but that argument is much more solid & proper when it comes to directing governmental power. As far as educating children about drinking. I wonder why this works for sex and all sorts of other things but not for drinking? I am also quite sure a large number of boozers & tee-totalers come from both drinking & non-drinking families. Also, who said: "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."?
Well Mark, I don't think it was Jesus....JE
Mark A Framness (Mon Aug 06 08:37:14 2007)
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