AURORA, Colo. — A Tuesday night happy hour isn’t where you might expect a story about religion to start, but Jews & Brews is not your typical happy hour.
Jews & Brews is one of the ways Temple Emanuel reaches out to young people of the Jewish Faith who are new in town or looking to step out on their own.
“It's so helpful for making acquaintances, friends, friendly faces,” said Allie.
“It's an easy way to stay connected with the synagogue and a community which is really hard to do at this age,” Rachel added.
Rabbi Emily Hyatt says these monthly meetings bring together people who don’t always go to temple services but want to feel connected for those days they do attend.
“We are a people that requires community in order to pray,” she explained. “This is one more vehicle to that. It's that feeling of being with each other that gives you someone to sit with when you do come to temple or high holiday services.”
At the Iliff School of Theology, Rev. Dr. Cathie Kelsie says finding unique ways to connect people through faith is not new here in Colorado.
“Some of the congregations -- Methodist congregations -- out here in the west actually started by meeting in bars,” she said.
Kelsie says many young people coming to Colorado aren’t drawn to churches because they are still exploring what they believe. They often connect to churches out of a desire to serve the community with others.
“We find connection with each other because of the kind of work we do or the place we live and the things we enjoy doing in that place, particularly in the outdoors here in Colorado,” she said.
You can learn more about what Colorado faith communities are doing to evolve with our state's growing population in Finding Faith in Our Colorado, premiering Sunday, December 23 at 4pm on Denver7.