Methodists: Drinking still a touchy topic

Pastor James Howell knew he had a problem on his hands when several
teenagers arrived at a church dance drunk and had to be taken from the
church by ambulance to be treated for alcohol poisoning. Starting in
2009, he urged his flock at Myers Park United Methodist Church in
Charlotte, North Carolina, to give up drinking for Lent and donate the
money they would have spent on booze to a "spirit fund."

To date,
Myers Park has raised more than $34,000 for local substance abuse
programs, and seven parishioners have sought treatment for alcoholism.

"It
isn't that alcohol in and of itself is bad; Jesus drank wine," Howell
said. "We emphasize the role it plays in our lives." Part of that
discussion, Howell and others have found, involves acknowledging a fact
that some Methodists prefer not to talk about: some Methodists
drink—even if many don't like to admit it.