The Madisons are members of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart Parish in Ankeny. She is the administrative assistant at St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines and he works as an IT administrator when he isn’t brewing beer and homemade root beer.
Married 22 years, they have three daughters: Sydney, a junior at Iowa State University; Olivia, a junior at North Polk High School; and Harper, a second-grader at St. Luke the Evangelist School in Ankeny.
They started Tap into Faith with the help of Patty Mayer, director of adult faith formation at Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. The program is open to people of all ages and hosted by Fenders on the fourth Sunday of each month, with the exception of May (which is Memorial Day weekend), June and July.
People start to gather at 7 p.m., with the speaker following from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The first event was last August and featured Father Jason Lee, parochial vicar at Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. That night people had an opportunity to “get to know the new priest.”
Other topics have included the afterlife (November), mental health (January), and the vocation of marriage (February). Bishop William Joensen will be the speaker on March 24.
Providing an invitation
Mayer said adult faith formation covers the spectrum from those who are dipping their toes in the water to those who are farther along on their faith journey.
“I’m always looking for ways to spread the faith and be able to evangelize and help them grow in their faith, and this is a perfect opportunity for people to come and be comfortable,” she said.
“My goal is to make faith more open and talked about,” according to Holly, who explained that people are often fearful of offending someone or being accused of pushing their faith on others.
“But you can evangelize. You can tell them what you love,” she said. “We’re giving the invitation. Whether they do anything with it or not, that’s up to them.”
Important conversations
Cari Spear, a member of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, said she enjoys what happens at Tap into Faith.
“There’s always more to learn about the faith,” she said. “You get to see people – new friends and old friends. It just feels like a community.”
For Paul Mortiz, a member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Ankeny and an investor in Fenders Brewing, “it’s just a neat thing to do on Sunday night with friends and listen to somebody talk about something other than football and basketball and sports, and talk about faith, which is what we need to be talking about.”
For more on Fenders Brewing and Tap into Faith, visit fendersbrewing.com.