Nestor Arguello and Tim Cahill recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to talk about cultivating friendships — with events sponsored by the Catholic Beer Club-Twin Cities one option for making connections. Arguello and Cahill are two of the group’s co-coordinators.
“We’re about building friendships, community and appreciation for good beer,” Cahill said. Connecting people is so important, he said, whether they are new to the Twin Cities, new to their faith, looking to expand friendships or see old friends, “because COVID has really killed the in-person community.”
“This is actually a perfect opportunity for people to get back out, see people in person and have a pint or two.”
Tim Cahill
Asked about major obstacles for adults to make friends, Cahill said it could be technology, because people spend so much time using social media. “We use social media so much, but we never really engage or we don’t engage in the right ways,” Cahill said. “But that is kind of our social outlet.”
Cahill said another obstacle is a focus on being busy. “Your calendar fills up with so many different things that you don’t necessarily get a chance to see people to hang out with.”
He said it’s one thing to be with people in the same space, but it’s another to have time for a deeper conversation and spend time doing things together. That focus on always being on the phone, always working, always having a project, always doing something doesn’t allow time for leisure, Cahill said.
Arguello said that many relationships people cultivate on social media leave them wanting. “I think we experienced that in another way with just mask wearing,” he said, “that inability to see the other person’s smile … was so difficult, particularly for me.”
People who attend Catholic Beer Club events can meet others, mingle and create new, authentic relationships, Arguello said. “I think we hunger for a relationship with others and, in particular, authentic Christian relationships,” he said, and for fellowship with those who are choosing to live a life of faith.
Nestor Arguello
“You know that when you’re going to a Catholic Beer Club event, you’re surrounded by a lot of like-minded people,” Arguello said. “You can come by yourself, come with a friend. You’re going to meet people there who are going to make you feel welcome and just have a good time, drink some good beer.”
Cahill said events are planned about every three weeks at a different brewery in the Twin Cities. To learn more about Catholic Beer Club, visit its website, CatholicBeerClub-TwinCities.com, or search for Catholic Beer Club?Twin Cities on Facebook.
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs at 9 p.m. June 18, 1 p.m. June 19 and 2 p.m. June 20 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who discusses physical and spiritual fatherhood in imitation of St. Joseph, and Laura Elm, who seeks proper burial for deceased embryos from in vitro fertilization labs.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic (Spotify)
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