The Church of Beer?

Photos of the Church Brew Works, a brew pub housed in a former (and deconsecrated) Roman Catholic parish in Pittsburgh, PA.

I'm fairly conflicted about this one. (I think the placement of brew kettles in the former altar area bothers me most.)

If the repurposing of churches as museums of atheism in the Soviet Union parallels the nightmare of totalitarianism described in 1984, then maybe the Church Brew Works embodies the death-of-personhood-by-amusement described in Brave New World.

Maybe.

Then again, I've had my share of beer in our church's parish hall on feast days--even beer homebrewed by a fellow parishioner.

(Really, really good beer.)

And I pray in bars, if nothing else, to ask God's blessing on and to give thanks for the beer.

R.E.M. played their first gig in a converted* church building in Athens, Ga. I'm pretty pro-R.E.M.

(*Pun intended.)

Maybe I'll just choose another battle.

But...I just can't support this 100%.