Singing hymns in the back room at Baba Louie's in Pittsfield recently, as part of Zion Lutheran Church's 'Beer & Hymn' events.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Area Christians will have a couple of "outside the box" offerings from local churches over the next few days.

 

On Thursday in Pittsfield, the Zion Lutheran Church will offer the latest in its series of "Beer & Hymns" events at 7 p.m. in the back room at Baba Louie's Pizza on Depot Street.

 

On Sunday in North Adams, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church will substitute its regular 10:45 a.m. service with a traditional Latin Mass, celebrated by a visiting priest from the Nebraska seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.

 

Two experiences separated by three days, 20 miles and a few centuries. But they have one common thread: music.

 

For the Beer & Hymns event — dubbed "Beer & Hymns & Summer Jams" this time around — the focus is on singing and fellowship. In addition to the hymns, there will be hits sung by the congregation and accompanied by musicians that includes the Rev. Timothy Wiseman, the pastor of Zion Lutheran.

 

"This is the fifth Beer & Hymns we've done — the fifth one in the past year," Wiseman said. "There are a lot of hymns, but we throw in something special for a theme. We did Beer & Carols at Christmas time. Another time, we did Beer & Show Tunes.

 

"This one is Summer Jams. All of the songs may have the word 'summer' in them. They may be a little peppier."

 

And at St. Elizabeth, the director of the parish's Sacred Music Choir said music is a big part of the appeal of the Latin Mass.

 

"To speak for myself and the people who have spoken to me about this ... the level of reverence is very high in the traditional form of the Mass," Darel Paul said. "Some of it is the Latin itself, and a lot of it is the music that goes along with the Mass.

 

"There's a solemn nature to it — not solemn in that it's dour or anything like that. It's serious. There's a sense of awe. ... For me, the music is most appealing, the ability to sing the old chants. Some go back 700 or 800 years."

 

It is believed that Sunday's 10:45 Mass at St. Elizabeth will be the first High Mass in the Extraordinary Form in Berkshire County in more than 40 years. American Catholics have been celebrating Mass in English or other "vernacular" languages since the mid-1960s, when the Second Vatican Council allowed non-Latin forms.

 

But for a little more than a year, Paul has participated in a monthly Latin Mass (not a High Mass) at St. Mark's in Pittsfield.

 

He said it draws about 30 congregants each month from across a wide spectrum of age groups — from people in their 60s who remember the days before Vatican II to families with young children.

 

"We have a strange time because it's not a regular Mass attached to the parish down there," he said. "The priest who celebrates it is from Agawam. We have it at 3 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month."

 

For me, the music is most appealing, the ability to sing the old chants.      — Darel Paul

Sunday's celebrant at St. Elizabeth is from Shelburne Falls and visiting family in the area. He found Paul through Paul's work with the local "Gregorian Schola" or chanting group.

 

"I talked to Father [William] Cyr about it, and he said, 'Sure,' " Paul said.

 

At Zion Lutheran, Wiseman brought the Beer & Hymns idea to New England, modeling it on successful programs in other parts of the country.

 

"I think we're the only one that does beer and hymns plus something else," he said. "The other ones I know of are beer and hymns only. What we found works here is beer and hymns and this other thing.

 

"It's really sort of kooky and weird."

 

And popular: The most recent event drew about 80 participants. The lowest attended event was in February. It drew between 30 and 40 people despite a winter storm that blew through that afternoon.

 

"It's random, but it's fun," Wiseman said. "One reason I do it is ... there aren't a lot of chances to do a singalong. The prime example would be at a baseball game, and then it's just the one song during the seventh inning stretch.

 

"The idea of a singalong or group singing — we're trying to bring that back a little bit."

 

And maybe all that singing in the evening at Baba Louie's will lead to more singing on Sunday morning at the church?

 

"Not yet," Wiseman said. "Although I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me, 'I wish we sang this well on Sunday morning.'

 

"But you have to remember, at Beer & Hymns, we have 80 people crammed — legally crammed — into a small space. There are 5,000 square feet in the sanctuary in the church. You walk into any church in town, and people are going to be very spread out.

 

"At Baba Louie's, we're forced to be close to each other. ... People drink beer, people drink whatever, non-alcoholic beverages, whatever they like. Beer & Hymns is just a catchy name we adopted from hearing other people use it."