All the posts: December 16, 2018 - January 6, 2019

Who else found themselves skipping things that didn't absolutely have to be done? That's me during the past several weeks.

In other words, I haven't done an "all the posts" post since mid-December -- but today I'm making up for it with one gigantic collection to wrap up 2018 and get 2019 off to a good start. 

We celebrated one of my favorite saints' day (in Finnish!)

Dean reviewed the saints in a Christmas movie

We get touristy and hungry and can't find room at the bar

We're grateful to visit a church with a view

Dean's top ten movies of 2018

We walk into a bar that turns out to be the last one

What happens after the end?

Dean concedes

Then again, here's one last question

We're almost (but not quite) done with writing about churches and bars. There'll be one more post at Dean and Mindy go to church (because who wants to finish a project by calling it a failure?) and Dean's working on a companion to Movie Churches (called, creatively enough, TV Churches) that'll be debuting in March. Meanwhile, you can find Cheers and Amen, the book about our year of visiting bars and churches all over the United States, on Amazon. It makes excellent reading for long winter nights (or days!).

All the posts: October 29 - November 4

You knew, didn't you, that at the end of the year, we'll be finishing our bar and church wanderings? Movie Churches will live on as long as Dean can find movies to write about (and that list is always growing), but visiting a new place every week, though exciting and fun, is hard to keep up. We're ready to belong, not just visit. 

As we enter the last two months of walking into new bars and going to new churches, we're looking back at the past four years of church visits and the past two years of finding bars. What are you still curious about? What questions do you have that you'd like us to get answers for? And would you like a post with as many statistics as I can cram in? Please email us at deanandmindygotochurch at gmail dot com, send us a facebook message or comment on a post. We'll try to do what we can to complete this project well.*

But you came for links to the past week's posts, didn't you? Well, here you go:

The most southerly church we could find in Washington

Robin Hood Month begins!

This one's classic, and one cast member's still alive!

The name was enough to make us try this bar

And just in case you're really eager for Christmas and want to put on a show, check out Dean's latest book (which I just discovered is the #1 new release in liturgical dramas and plays!):

Not the Usual Christmas Skits

*Cheers and Amen, the book about our 2016 quest to visit a church and a bar in every state, is also available on Amazon. Your pastor or bartender probably wants a copy in their Christmas stocking. If you'd like an autographed copy, let us know!

All the Posts: September 17 - 23, 2018

Yesterday, I was checking out the weather for several places we used to live and looking back at pictures from two years ago, when we were in Wisconsin. I guess a lot of you are still enjoying summer, aren't you? Around here, the "12" flag is flying from the Starbucks headquarters, so I guess it's been fall for a few weeks already.

Still, all the lifestyle blogs are full of posts about decorating your front porch for fall.  Words like "hygge" (it's a Danish word that essentially means cozy, as far as I can tell. I blame Ikea) are sprinkled throughout, and I guess people are excited about the return of pumpkin spice and football. Even though fall started officially on Saturday, we're excited because we have tickets to an A's game this week. Summer hasn't quite ended, even around here.

Naturally, then, the blogs this past week were also a bit of a mix of summer and fall, too. We went to a church that aims to be a warm, homy place, and we went to a preview night that turned out to be perfect for the last summer bar post. And the movie church? Well, you decide. We're still talking about it.

One name, five locations. Sounds like home

Theology, NPR, and Netflix

We went to Detroit, too. Our experience wasn't like this

All the posts: 9/2 - 9/9/2018

This post will be a little rushed because I need to catch a bus in about 45 minutes. Can I get this done and get to work on time, photos, links, and all? We'll soon see. And since I'm in a hurry, do you mind providing some of the commentary?

Introducing Netflix month. We discussed using "and chill" in the title, but wonder if it's just too suggestive for Movie Churches. Your thoughts?

We check out a big church with a good reputation. Is that reptutation deserved? You decide.

The debate over "netflix and chill" continues. And this movie doesn't help at all. What do you think these people could have done differently?

This bar was exactly what it ought to be, and the A's won, and we saw a warthog. Should we have sung when asked?

It's a manic Monday here, but thanks to public transit, I think I'll make it to work on time. How's your week starting?

All the posts: 8/27 through 9/2 -- THE QUIZ

You like silly quizzes, don't you?

I hope so. This week, if you answer all the questions on this open-book quiz correctly, you could win a fabulous prize from our prize cupboard (which contains mostly t-shirts we collected during 2016, but includes codes for free Kindle versions of Cheers and Amen). Comment with your answers by 6:00 pm Pacific Time (that's 9:00 pm for those of you near the East Coast and somewhere during the afternoon for those in Alaska and Hawaii.) tomorrow, September 4, 2018.*

So, on to the quiz:

1. Why did Mindy go to church alone this week?
a. She and Dean disagreed about which church to attend
b. She and Dean agreed, but he came down with a sudden toothache
c. Dean slept in
d. Mindy slept in

2. Which of the actors in this Middle Ages film would Dean most like to meet?
a. Matthew Broderick
b. Rutger Hauer
c. John Wood
d. Michelle Pfeiffer

3. Is Pecado Bueno in West Seattle more of a bar or a restaurant?
a. bar
b. restaurant
c. who cares?
d. geeks drink there, so we'll let it slide

Helpful hints:
This week's church post

This week's movie post

This week's bar post

Bonus: Recommend a church, movie (with church or clergy), or bar that we haven't written about yet.

*Three winners will be announced Wednesday morning! Do your best, show your work, and be kind. If you don't want to take the quiz but want to buy a copy of Cheers and Amen, you can find the paperback here or the Kindle version (on sale through Tuesday morning, September 4) here.

All the Posts: 8/20 - 8/26/2018

My brain can't seem to process that it's still August. Even though kids haven't gone back to school here, the weather's changed enough in the past week or two that the shorter days and cooler temperatures with cloudy (sometimes smoky) skies translate as fall, not summer. I've loved summer, but I don't mind a bit.

As the seasons change, we're still going to a church and a bar (and watching movies) every week -- but you can expect some changes in the weeks to come. Writing (and publishing) Cheers and Amen has started a whole bunch of other projects that we're looking forward to telling you about.

You'll always find links to all our posts, though! For example,

This church has deep roots in a shared space

This movie inspired Bill and Ted (and the Simpsons)

This bar only has a couple more happy hours

And just in case you were curious about the Kindle version of Cheers and Amen, here's a link to that. (Did you know you can read Kindle books on your computer?)
E-read your way across the country

All the Posts: July 16 through 22

This morning I was drinking my coffee on the front porch when I suddenly got a whiff of that briny, tar-scented smell of saltwater I associate with vacations by the beach. Wow. I get to hear seagulls (and crows) every day, even though we can't see the water. We can see the occasional cargo ship sail by if we look past the warehouses, train tracks, recycling center, and construction equipment, so I know the waterway's there!

Anyway, that's my excuse for getting this post out late: I was distracted by summer. 

Otherwise, we've been getting settled into our new routine. Dean started his new job, we're figuring out how to get around (we have to go through two five-way stops to get anywhere north or east of us. GPS is our best friend), and we've figured out where most of our stuff goes. I even planted some seeds and bought a tomato plant. We visited a new bar (more or less by accident), a new church (where we were surprised), and Dean watched another murder mystery.

And that's what you came for: to find out about last week's posts -- so here they are:

Church at a street fair?

A movie where a child's murdered?

A new favorite bar?

Okay, I'm back to porch-sitting and watching the traffic stopped on the West Seattle Bridge. Have a good week!

All the Posts: July 9 through 15, 2018

The stacks (and stacks) of boxes have mostly become stacks (and stacks) of flattened cardboard. We've become accustomed to hearing extremely loud train whistles at least four times a day (except Sunday, when they're more frequent but further away). The Seattle skyline and Mount Ranier still make me catch my breath, but we're beginning to know our way around. We've even gotten a bus pass and Washington driver's licenses.

But we haven't forgotten about you, so here's a whole batch of posts for you to catch up on (including an "in theaters now" movie post that I'm pretty sure you'll want to read about -- and probably to see).

We go to church in Ethiopia?

An old friend shows up in theaters now

The baffling mystery isn't a murder

We give our spanking new licenses a rest and actually walk to a bar