OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Priests Lisa Senuta and Helen Svoboda-Berber head to the local pub every Tuesday with a mission: to share God and Guinness. The Christian meetings draw about 20 people, most of whom are in their early 20s, according to the Episcopal News Service.
"My conviction is that people of my age group are a little timid about walking through church doors," said Senuta, an Episcopal priest at St. Thomas the Apostle. Talking about God over beer puts non-Christians more at ease, Senuta said.
W.J. McBride's, the Irish pub where the group has met since early this year, doesn't charge for the facility's use since most visitors purchase food and drink. The pub welcomes the newcomers, said Svoboda-Berber, an associate pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Posters advertising the Christian gathering line the bar's walls.
A graphic designer who attends Senuta's church designed a series of posters and postcards advertising "God and Guinness," which are distributed around town and in churches.
"We're building momentum," Svoboda-Barber said. "We feel that it's been successful. People brought friends and co-workers whom they wouldn't normally bring to church."
