Priest raps at Mass and organises Whiskey Retreats

 

"Even with mistakes, your God sees you as great and holy"

With a blue cap, colored glasses and a gold chain around his neck, the Bavarian pastor Thomas Eschenbacher stood at the ambo on Shrove Sunday. And delivered a rapp sermon in verse.

«You are the temple of God

and as such learn hastily,

even with faults your God sees you great and even holy.

Because whoever believes in God doesn't end up lonely,

He has power from above, because God is always near to him."

The same priest also organises Whiskey Retreats

For many, Lent also means abstaining from alcohol. But that is central to the retreats of Pastor Thomas Eschenbach. Eschenbach finds: Whiskey and faith discussions go well together.

Thomas Eschenbacher (priest in Hammelburg, Diocese of Würzburg, organizer of the Whiskey Retreat): I was ordained a priest 29 years ago. But you experience that again and again, that the joy - for example due to illness - is impaired. Of course, a lot of things get stuck in our throats today due to the war in Ukraine. But you have to learn to deal with it and you can still enjoy it. Depression doesn't help either.

You have to try to build each other up. The people of Ukraine also need to have something to hold on to. And it's no use to them if we cry their tears with them. It's more our task to build them up, to raise them up, to encourage them and to help where we can.

DOMRADIO.DE: Let's talk about the Whiskey Retreat. Are you a whiskey gourmet? I'm probably coming out as a layman now with this question: Do you prefer Scotch or Bourbon?

Eschenbacher: You are a layman, yes. Of course, we're talking about Scottish or Irish whiskey first. This is the classic. But whiskey is no longer limited to Scotland or Ireland. There are great and well-known whiskeys in many countries, even in India and Japan. You could say I'm a gourmet. I'm not a top professional, but I am someone who enjoys whiskey very much and loves to drink it.

DOMRADIO.DE: How did you come up with the idea of holding retreats with whiskey? What connects whiskey with questions of faith?

Eschenbacher: I came up with it because I keep drinking whiskey with different people and notice that you get into a lot of conversations. It's amazing what you can say about it. You don't swallow it like you would a schnapps - you take your time, you smell it, you enjoy it and that's a great way to get into conversation with people.

Thomas Eschenbacher, pastor in Hammelburg and whiskey connoisseur

"You take your time with whiskey, you smell it, you enjoy it and it's a great way to get into conversation with people."

And then I experienced a few times, especially in several men's groups, that although the whiskey is somehow the focus, a lot of topics come up with it. Then the idea grew to take the whiskey as an impulse to talk to each other more intensively. Also on questions of faith.

DOMRADIO.DE: How can whiskey be an impulse?

Eschenbacher: There are different variants. For example, we once did a whiskey retreat on lows and highs, on lowlands and highlands. We had whiskeys from different places and chose biblical texts to go with them. We always try to give 1-2 prompt questions based on biblical texts. The men sit in small groups at the table and start talking. And afterwards I noticed that participants kept talking about these conversations for a long time afterwards.

Men come together, some of whom don't know each other at all, but it works. Nowhere else have I seen men enter into intensive conversations like this. They chat about the whiskey and accept the offer to talk about an impulse. It succeeds, it works.

DOMRADIO.DE: After the second or third glass, it's probably more relaxed.

Eschenbacher: No, that's the strange thing. It's not like a wine tasting, which ends with halligalli and a party, but rather a very calm, chilled atmosphere right up to the end. You drink for a period of three hours and there is something to eat. It's more the case that many stay and talk shop - then more about the whiskey than about the content, that comes first.

We're doing it for the fourth time now and we've already got a base of people asking: When's the next time? Can we sign up again right away?

DOMRADIO.DE: Which men's groups are these? Are they more close to the church or far from the church, or can you not pigeonhole them like that?

Eschenbacher: Criss-cross. For example, I have someone who is a big whiskey freak but not so religiously affiliated - he doesn't come because he knows exactly that he doesn't need the claim. But there are people who try to get back on that level. And I notice: It's really easy to get into conversation with people, even afterwards. I recently had someone there for a conversation who is committed to the church, but six months later he still talked about the conversations he had at the time. That's totally impressive.

The first time there were also people from the parish who were simply curious about how it could be combined and who were then completely fascinated that it wasn't cramped or anything and that it could be combined very harmoniously.

Source

Needless to say Father loves Carnival.  Another displacement activity.

Cathcon: Yet the Latin Mass is persecuted and the Pope thinks liturgical abuse does not exist.