{The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge} Wild Card: Complicated Relationship Between Lutherans and Alcohol

Last week, the Ladies talked coffee. This week, they’re at the other end of the beverage spectrum, with an honest and hard-hitting Wild Card conversation on alcohol and Lutheran churches.

Is drinking a sin? How does Scripture inform our use of alcohol? What did Luther think and say about alcohol and drunkenness? What place (if any) does recreational drinking have in our life together as Lutherans? How can Lutheran women enjoy alcohol responsibly while also extending grace and compassion to those whose lives have been negatively impacted by alcohol abuse?

To learn more, check out the following resources:

LCMS.org FAQ on “What is the LCMS’s stance on the consumption of alcohol?”
Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller on “Martin Luther’s Top Five ‘Beer’ Quotations”
Eleanor Health on “Signs and Symptoms of Alcoholism—How to Know if Someone Has a Problem with Drinking”
“Alcohol Facts and Statistics” from the National Institutes of Health
“Data on Excessive Drinking” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If you are shackled by addiction, let the chains fall. Jesus took your pain and struggles to the cross and you are loved and forgiven. There is hope and help for you on this earth until we await Christ’s return. To speak to someone right away about problem drinking, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hotline: 1-800-662-4357.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

The Lutheran Ladies Lounge is the podcast produced by KFUO Radio and hosted by Sarah Gulseth, Erin Alter, Rachel Bomberger, and Bri Gerzevske. Created for Lutheran ladies to have a place to escape to with inviting conversations, laughter, and fellowship with Lutheran sisters, we invite all of you Lutheran ladies to join Sarah, Erin, Rachel, and Bri on the sofa in the Lutheran Ladies Lounge to sit, rest your feet, and stay a while. If you’re a Lutheran lady, join us in our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge.

Sarah Gulseth

A proud Michigan native and fan of anything with the Mitten State on it, Digital Media Manager Sarah Gulseth is also a lover of historical war movies and anything with the label PBS Masterpiece. An avid bicyclist and women’s biking advocate, she rides her bike to work year-round and has the massive bike clothing and accessory collection to prove it. If it’s the weekend, she and her husband Luther are probably out riding bikes, or finding the next awesome coffee shop to frequent, or rehearsing for the next choir concert. You may also find her down a new rabbit hole on Google, researching the latest random fact she found on social media, while eating an unhealthy amount of apples (Macintosh from Michigan, of course) and raw almond butter.