Opinion

Going to pub-church for Socratic Reasoning!

Ian Boughton suggests that there may be mutual benefits in churches gathering in public houses.

I have never had a problem reconciling the church and the pub. Something they have in common is that I don’t get to either as often as I would like.  Another thing they have in common is a concept which remains a mystery to Christians in East Anglia. This is ‘pub church’.  It is not new – it’s at least thirty years old, and the essence of it is having faith conversations in a pub setting.  
 
This has always struck me as perfectly reasonable – I imagine that the earliest disciples, as manual workers, would have headed for the pub after work, and I can imagine the chat: “OK, Simon Peter, it’s your round, you haven’t bought one for ages… now guys, what do you reckon about this Jesus feller?”

Exactly the same in today’s pub church.
 
I have come across it in Cornwall, and in the Cotswolds. I have read of it in Nottingham, Brighton, London and Cardiff, and in America –  ‘Beer and Hymns’ in Portland, ‘Church-in-a-Pub’ in Fort Worth, and, heaven help us, ‘What Would Jesus Brew?’ in Michigan.
 
But when I moved to Norfolk and raised the idea, it was met with bafflement.
 
One local minister said to me, doubtfully: “well, we have sometimes sung carols in the pub at Christmas…”  Rather more promisingly, Ros Wilson, of the Scratch Band music group in the Waterside Benefice, noted that although their churches have never heard of it, one Bible study group does meet in a local pub.  Local landlords and brewers were equally mystified, though Glenn Wilson, who runs the River Garden pub in Thorpe St Andrew, can see a linked history:
 
“They have a mutual tradition. Most pubs in Norfolk are linked to churches, as they started off as hostelry and lodgings for the stonemasons working on the churches.  I guess both have congregations, singing, and opinions being spouted… so there might be something in this!”
 
To see how it works, I turned to my old gospel bandmate Derek West, pictured right, an elder for Oxford Community Churches, who has run pub church in Witney for seventeen years.
 
“After being ordained as a Community Pastor, my wife and I spent time meeting people socially. We found that, far from ‘never talking politics and religion in the pub’, many were very open and interested in faith issues.
 
“So we took the top room of our local, the Plough, to meet once a month on a Sunday morning, to maintain the connection that it is ‘like’ church, though it is relaxed and natural, like a pub. As no alcohol is served before midday, we provide coffee and tea with bacon or sausage rolls, or croissants.
 
“A key element is everyone having a chance to talk, so it is not front-led as much as gently ‘chaired’ to keep on track. After setting a topic, illustrated with slides and video clips, we ask: what does everybody think about such-and-such? I discovered that this is called ‘Socratic Reasoning’. It encourages thought and response, it is the way that rabbis teach, and of course we read that it was common in Jesus’ questioning.
 
“We do introduce elements that push the boundaries of liturgy and religious ceremony, though as a ‘control’, we use the concept of the plumb-line of Scripture – does a comment, activity or suggestion line up with the Bible?
 
“So it’s an informal fun space to talk about serious things whilst building a sense of belonging and purpose. All sorts of people meet with us, from those looking for a meaning to life, to ‘disaffected’ Christians who want a place to express their faith and to feel they still belong. Our ‘home’ church is very supportive of this.”
 
In a typical response, the managers of that pub told their local paper that while they would not normally go to church, they were happy to listen to pub church meetings. Further up the scale, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury for ten years, has commented:  "If 'church' is what happens when people encounter the risen Jesus and deepen that in their encounters with each other, then there is plenty of theological room for this diversity of style.”
 
Of course, not everyone is in favour. An American fire-and-brimstone writer declared, pompously: “I cannot deny the Scriptures tell us that Jesus was found among sinners and associating with them in places commonly rejected. But a partnership between a place that celebrates alcohol, and the holy work of God ultimately does more harm than good to both the sinner and the saint. Providing a Christian witness in a bar is legitimate if the goal is to get people out of there.  But to set up God’s house in the devil’s lair is a misapplication of Christian mission.”
 
I suspect he would be more likely to approve of a very recent statistic comparing the two – with British pubs still closing at three a day, churches now for the first time outnumber pubs in this country, at 40,300 to 39,000!
 
The Witney pub church logo, top, is by Derek West. The photo of Derek is by Paul Spink, owner of the Eagle tavern.

Ian Boughton is a musician and author and retired journalist who lives in Dilham in Norfolk. 

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