With temperatures expected in the 80s today, we've got all kinds of frosty root beer on the brain. Unfortunately, we'll just have to wait until Saturday.
That's when the 3rd annual Root Beer Fest goes down at the corner of Duboce and Noe from 6pm to 8:30pm. Organized by the First Christian Church, the event features "nearly 100 varieties of Root, Birch, Spruce Beers and a healthy smattering of Sarsaparillas," plus an ice cream bar for making your own floats. It's a family-friendly event, and drink tickets cost $1 per sample.
When we posted about the fest last year, several commenters took issue with its stated beneficiary, an organization of churches called Converge Pacwest, which adheres to some seriously anti-gay principles. We checked in with pastor Gordon Wohlers of the First Christian Church for an explanation.
Wohlers tells us that your money from the root beer fest only goes to Converge if you want it to qualify as a tax-deductible donation. Otherwise, it will stay with the First Christian Church, which will use it "for various events throughout the year including (most recently) Duboce Easter Egg Hunt and Great Pumpkin Festival."
Moreover, though the First Christian Church remains affiliated with Converge, Wohlers says the parent organization lets its local pastors lead their congregations however they see fit.
'My job as a pastor is to help people connect with God. When asked if I believe if gay is a sin, I answer with the question: Has the Spirit of Christ told you that? As you can imagine the answer is "no" 99% of the time. My reply then is, "Then lets not worry about that, what has he told you?" So as you can see, I do not share the stance of Converge PacWest and they do not dictate to me or my congregation what we will or will not believe.'
Wohlers adds that when he first moved here seven years ago, he was shocked at the antagonistic relationship between the religious and gay communities, and decided to work to improve it.
'I immediately began with setting up a booth in the middle of Pride that took the position of apologizing to the gay community for being inconsiderate, not stopping bullying or joking and violence. It was a reverse confessional booth. Since that time, I have left that church and moved to First Christian, where I continue to live out my faith with my gay friends and in front of everyone.'
And now, here's a video of Snoopy getting drunk on root beer:
