Are All Welcome?

Hey Brew Theology friends,

Are all truly welcome?

You will often hear us - Brew Theology - say that we affirm all people from all walks of life across the religious and spiritual spectrum. You’ll hear us say that everyone is welcome at the table.

But is that really true?

The real answer is Yes AND No!

Every now and then a situation comes up within the context of a robust topic when we have to really lean in and ask ourselves these honest, tough questions. What do we truly value and what are we trying to accomplish when we gather in what we believe are genuinely open, interfaith communities cultivating healthy, meaningful and eclectic dialogue?

Yes. We value humanity, to say the least. We value brewing theology across the spectrum, to learn, understand & respect people with differing theological beliefs. Our Denver community has tackled every single major world religion & a plethora (yes, a plethora) of particulars such as (& not limited to) evangelicalism, process theology, immigration, psychoanalysis, shamanism, Jewish mysticism, etc., In that posture, all religious beliefs & opinions are honored in our gatherings. They are honored because we honor humanity. 

Still, nobody gets the last word; we can continue to be passionate about our own particular ideals and ideas in this interesting pluralistic age. That’s the odd yet critical paradox moving forward as a community. You can honor someone and their beliefs without believing someone else’s beliefs to be true. 

We boast cultivating a brave space where everything is on the table and all ideas are up for discussion. If you find yourself in disagreement with someone at your table or with a particular speaker, that difference is quite normal. You are human. The vast richness of our spaces comes alive when we rub shoulders with that strange yet beautiful variance! If we all agree with every single person in the room and align ourselves with every single speaker we have in our midst, we would be a really boring group. Unity, not uniformity is our goal within interfaith community.

In that critical vein, we do stress that all participants respect our speakers and the people around any given table. I often tell people that there is a fine line between a soapbox and being passionate. We will let the occasional soapbox slide at times (there’s grace), but we will not tolerate toxic and belligerent bullying. The moderators in our communities have every right to call this out when someone crosses that disturbing line. And if this ugliness continues, you are simply not welcome at our Brew Theology gatherings.

This is true community, friends. When we have the courage to call out this toxicity and make sure we are creating respectful spaces for all people to learn and to grow with one another, we are building healthy, meaningful & eclectic community as dialogue (not one’s badgering monologue) is our true key to peace!

So, are all welcome?

Yes & No!

Much peace,

Ryan