Area Lutherans commemorate 500th anniversary with their own special brew
The congregations of Butler Area Lutheran Ministries are making it possible for everyone to raise a glass to the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
In addition, BALM will host a Festival Worship Service next Wednesday, All Saints' Day, as part of ongoing activities to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
The service will be at 7 p.m. at First English Lutheran Church, 241 N. Main St. The Rev. William Chris Boerger, secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will preach. The Rev. Melissa Stoller, assistant to the bishop for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, will preside. Musicians from all the host BALM congregations will participate.
The Rev. Kimberly van Driel is the pastor of First English Lutheran Church and will serve as master of ceremonies for the service.
“Before the service begins, there will be a long prelude with all of the organists from the various churches playing,” said Van Driel.
First English can seat 250 to 300 worshippers, she said “We are expecting a full house. That's our hope with all the congregations participating.”
But before the service, members of the BALM, which includes Grace @ Calvary; First English, Trinity Lutheran Church, Emmanuel, Prospect; St. John's, Connoquenessing; Holy Trinity, Chicora; Evangelical, Worthington; Rider, West Sunbury; and Camp Lutherlyn, Prospect, will be able to toast the 500th anniversary with their own specially brewed beer.
A team from the congregations has worked with North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock to create a lager to celebrate the spirit of the Reformation with 95 Nails Beer.
The beer was unveiled Wednesday at the Snack-N-Pack, 353 E. Jefferson St., and will be available as long as supplies last.
The Rev. Tara Lynn, pastor at Grace @ Calvary Church, said, “So, last winter we all knew the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation was coming up.
“We thought 'Wouldn't it be neat to have a commemorative beer?' Through Karen O'Donnell, the owner of the Snack-N-Pack, we were able to connect with North Country,” said Lynn.
“In central Germany in the 1500s, they discussed a lot of theology over beer at the table,” Lynn said.
“The beer brand used recipes and techniques from the 1500s,” she said. “We are very excited. It has an historical recipe. It's a very drinkable lager.”O'Donnell said, “I'm the music minister at Trinity Lutheran, and we formed committees for the 500th year anniversary.“I was on the music committee and there was a Beer and Bible committee that was trying to raise money to send 500 Bibles to Madagascar,” she said.When the idea of brewing a special beer came up, O'Donnell said, “I knew Bob McCafferty, (owner of North Country Brewing) when he was in college and working at Snack-N-Pack.”John Barnes, a brewer at North Country, said, “The churches approached me about three months ago, the owner of Snack-N-Pack and Tara Lynn.“We did a bit of research, looked at documents describing the beer,” said Barnes. He said they came up with a light lager that combines ale and lager yeasts.“It's nice, clean, refreshing. It's real drinkable lager,” said Barnes, adding the brewery made 30 barrels of 95 Nails.Lynn said there will be 125 cases of 95 Nails in cans available at the Snack-N-Pack, as well as 95 Nails on tap at Snack-N-Pack, North Country in Slippery Rock and the Harmony Inn in Harmony.Lynn said proceeds from the sale of the beer will be used to support the ministries of BALM, including sending aid to its sister church on the African island of Madagascar.For more information about the worship service, contact the Rev. Cynthia Baxter, Rider, West Sunbury, at 410-596-2392 or the Rev. Van Driel, First English, Butler at 724-283-2378.For more information about 95 Nails beer, contact the Rev. Lynn, Grace@ Calvary, at 412-398-4444.
