Cupcakes and beer: an unexpected, Spirit-filled Communion.

Alberto and Miah, giving the mash a whirl.

Last week, Jeremiah (Miah) and I found ourselves in a cupcake bakery downtown Olympia, helping a friend brew beer. What a communion it turned out to be.

We helped our friend, Alberto, sanitize and clean his supplies, peel labels off old beer bottles (which we've been "helping" him collect for a few weeks), and lent a hand whenever the brewing process required lifting and pouring. We learned more than our heads could contain. Alberto has been a home brewer for seven years, and has a beautiful understanding of each ingredients' purpose in his recipes.

Once the initial work was done, we had to wait for our 8 gallon pot of future beer to reach boiling temperature. We waited, and waited some more. And it still wasn't ready.

Generally I hate waiting. But when communion strikes, waiting becomes the best part.

Miah and I brought beer. Alberto and his girlfriend brought pizza and left-over cupcakes (SO many leftover cupcakes). The couple who lives above the bakery brought Catch Phrase and a delicious, traditional Russian cocktail. We broke bread and passed a good hour or two in fellowship.


The mash still hadn't boiled.

So we played some more Catch Phrase, drank some more beer, and got to know each other. Somehow we got on the subject of instruments with the woman from the apartment upstairs, which somehow (I'll get into "how" in an upcoming post) provoked her to give me a violin.

The mash still wasn't boiling.

We were about to call it a night, past midnight I start to fade quickly (part of being a barista), but I was distracted by eggs. Alberto's girlfriend, who bakes the cupcakes, decided get a head start for the day's baking. I lost count of how many dozens of eggs she cracked. We talked frosting types and small-business practices while she worked, and generally enjoyed each others company while time flew by yet again. (No, the mash still wasn't boiling.)

It's amazing what little effect and control time has when we are in God's presence. God is not boring, Church is not boring, until we replace Him with religion and programs and obligation.

When we are aware of and open to God's presence in and around us, communion, fellowship, worship, prophecy, teaching and whatever else we tend to confine to a church building suddenly begins to occur all around us. Whenever we are in the presence of people, God wants involved. He loves hanging out with us, speaking to us, and showing us how much He loves us.