Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey R. Haines leads attendees at “Barbeque, Bible and Beer” in Bible study following a discussion on grilling at St. Lawrence Parish recently. (Photo by Colleen Jurkiewicz)
What do barbeque and beer have in common with the Bible?
To find out, head to St. Lawrence Parish on a Thursday night. There, in a church basement, you’ll find all three.
Recent bitter cold weather didn’t prevent 42 people from finding their way to the corner of Highways K and 175 in Hartford, where St. Lawrence holds court on a peninsula of land that straddles the highways. There, in the hall below the old country church, they greeted friends and stomped snow from their boots, helped themselves to beer or a glass of wine, piled cheese and “Irish Wake cake” on paper plates, and took their seats to hear some expert advice from a grill master and, when that was concluded, participate in a guided Bible meditation.
This is “Barbeque, Bible and Beer,” a bi-weekly event that pairs presentations on smoking meats and craft beers with a Lectio Divina-style look at the upcoming Sunday Gospel reading.
“The barbecue and beer part is bait,” quipped Fr. Russ Arnett, Associate Pastor at St. Lawrence and its neighboring parishes St. Peter in Slinger and Resurrection in Allenton. Fr. Arnett began hosting these events in January 2024, hoping to offer programming that linked popular interest in craft beer and smoking meat with something more spiritual in an effort to attract attendees beyond “the same 100 parishioners who always come to everything.”
But the scriptural element has become just as much of a draw for folks like John Cleary, who has been coming to Barbeque, Bible and Beer since the beginning.
“It started out as just a bunch of guys who enjoyed smoking meat, learning more, and we had great speakers, and I think more than that we enjoyed the Bible study afterward. And then we just kept growing,” he said. The group originally met at Ney’s Meats in nearby Slinger but relocated to St. Lawrence as it grew in popularity. The topic matter switches between smoking meat (on the second Thursdays of the month) and craft beer (on the fourth Thursdays).
On Feb. 12, the guest speaker was Jason Pirkey, a barbeque enthusiast, electrician and distributor for Turtle Coal. For the first 40 minutes of the evening, Pirkey shared insights from the two decades he has spent perfecting his craft at the grill. Attendees asked questions and heard advice on everything from temperature and timing to the perfect seasoning method for steaks (season, then leave the meat at room temperature to allow the moisture to be reabsorbed before cooking). There was also a crash course in the differences of lump coal versus briquettes, and Pirkey shared his secret for cooking for large parties (cook the meat ahead of time and keep in a sealed cooler in the tub while preparing other food).
Then, it was time for the Bible reflection, led this evening by special guest Bishop Jeffrey R. Haines. He took the group through the basics of Lectio Divina, a method of Scripture reading by which the passages are experienced “in a prayerful, meditative way, so that you not only read it to understand it, but to feel it and to be moved by it,” said Bishop Haines.
“The goal, of course, is to make it a prayer,” he said. “It invites the Word of God to become a transforming lens in which you see your life.”
Together, the group read the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel — Luke’s account of “the sermon on the plain” wherein Jesus extolls the virtues of the poor and destitute in contrast to the wealthy and the acclaimed. After some silent reflection, attendees were invited to share their thoughts, especially any words, phrases or themes in the passage that stood out to them.
“The three words ‘blessed are you’ are repeated a number of times,” commented one man. “And what struck me is that, regardless of what your condition is, whether you’re poor, you’re hungry, you’re weeping, or people hate you, you are blessed in the eyes of the Lord.”
“Blessed are you who are hungry — not food-wise, but we hunger so much in this world, for justice and things of that nature, and we can never be satisfied,” said another.
Fr. Arnett estimated that 80 percent of the regular attendees of Barbeque, Bible and Beer have not participated in a similar Bible study before.
“What I’ve found is that they notice subtleties in the text that I didn’t notice,” he said.
Joe Weiss, a longtime St. Lawrence parishioner who attends the events regularly, said the communal reflection on the Sunday readings has enhanced his experience of the Liturgy of the Word.
“Maybe it’s just one paragraph that you might hear and it goes in and out of your head, but when we discuss, it breaks it all down — and you think, ‘Wow, I never thought about that,’” he said.
“What Fr. Russ does is very unintimidating,” said Cleary. “It just makes you very comfortable. Everyone speaks and learns, and you’ll hear all these different (perspectives on the readings), the way people think and understand them. It’s fun to see that.”
An offering like this that combines fellowship, food and faith is a perfect offering for the community of St. Lawrence, a parish founded in 1846 that serves many families of German descent. Last year, a springtime installment of Barbeque, Bible and Beer featured a “Blessing of the Bock,” or a traditional blessing of beer. There are plans to repeat the event this year on April 24. Other upcoming themes and topics include “Best BBQ Sides” with Billa Stolpa of Ney’s (April 10) and Sourdough Bread Baking and Wines with Corinne Maier of Our Daily Bread (March 27). Bishop James T. Schuerman will lead the Scripture reflection March 27.
“Coming from my background, beer, barbeque and Bible — this is right up my alley,” said Weiss. “It’s great camaraderie. It’s a good way to get to know other parishioners. It really pulls everybody together.”
