So this priest walks into a bar … #2
It was Ash Wednesday and it also happened to be my sexton’s birthday. So after the noonday service he and I walked two blocks down to the local pub for a bite of lunch. Needless to say, I was still in my full clerical garb complete with a big smudge of ash on my own forehead from the service. So we are sitting there me with my Yuengling Lager (a Philadelphia staple) and him with his Bud (may God forgive him). Across from us are four women, obviously …read more

According to this article, the US Navy will go ahead with Beer Day on the USS Camden as planned even though it falls on Ash Wednesday. Beer Day is a reward of sorts for crewman who’ve been out to sea for 45 days straight, but there was concern that Roman Catholic members would miss out as their secular ritual conflicted with the theological.
Of course fasting and beer have a long history, but for the sailors on the Camden their fast can simply start a day later.
image from the US Navy