PARISHIONERS FLOCK TO BEER FRIENDLY CHURCH
The addition of a house beer has created excitement at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. "I can't say it's a compelling reason," Rector Paul Abernathy said when asked whether the addition of Winged Lion Lager to Sunday's pub lunch menu had anything to do with an influx of new parishioners at St. Mark's. Others point out that attendance by twenty- and thirty-somethings seems to be on the rise. St. Mark's has a tradition of serving pub lunches. Sharing a brew in a family atmosphere is one way they take part. Every Sunday after the 11 o'clock service, more than 100 people gather in the parish hall for pub-style fare that includes soup, sandwiches, salad, bread, beer, soda and wine. Until last summer, the beers were commercial. That changed when parishioner Rick Weber rented a kettle at Shenandoah Brewing Co. in Alexandria and brewed the first batch of Winged Lion, the symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist. The first five cases, 120 bottles, of the beer lasted only a few weeks, and Weber soon produced a second batch.
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