The Newman Catholic Center is taking its outreach to a venue that might be surprising to some.

Topics for discussion usually focus on what faith has to say about cultural issues, like sex. Last week’s discussion was titled, “Sex, please may I have some more,” and focused on dealing with the idea of sex in today’s culture, said Roy Lanham, campus ministries director.

“It gives us an opportunity to say ‘hey, we live in a culture where sex sells and how do we approach that,'” Lanham said.

The center started the Saints ‘n Suds program this fall as a discussion group that meets in the back room of the Panther Paw once a week.

Tonight’s discussion is titled “Take and eat, this is my body: Cannibalism, why not?” and will focus on the sacrament of Holy Communion.

John Titus, a sacramental minister at the Newman Center, will lead the discussion.

“Any misunderstanding or lack of clarity about what we believe about the Eucharist, about the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ so people understand why it is, who it is,” Titus said.

Lanham said the idea of Saints ‘n Suds is to offer a place to learn about religion outside of the church.

“It’s been a good venue to get folks to come and explore issues of faith and life at the same time,” Lanham said. “The students love it.”

So far the program has had a satisfying turnout with 15-20 people coming each week with some people having a few drinks and some people just coming for the discussions,” Lanham said.

Marissa Jernegan, a biological sciences graduate student, has been attending Saints ‘n Suds because she likes discussing issues that aren’t usually addressed during church.

She left one session thinking about what her religion says about recycling.

“If you go to church, they’re not going to address current issues that most college students care about,” Jernegan said.

She thinks it is a good opportunity for people who want to learn more about God but aren’t necessarily ready to go to church.

“It’s kind of a less intimidating setting,” Jernegan said. “It makes for a more relaxed atmosphere.”

Titus knows that bars and religion aren’t always coupled together, but he thinks meeting in the Panther Paw can attract some students that might not come to a more formal bible study.

“I think religion has been discussed in bars for thousands of years,” Titus said. “It’s bringing God into the world and meeting folks where they’re at.”

There are some people who are surprised to hear a church is inviting people out to a bar, Lanham said, but he isn’t too worried about it.

“It’s the abuse of alcohol that’s wrong. It’s not having a beer that’s wrong,” Lanham said. “We should be able to engage in dialogue and conversation over the course of a beer.”

Paige Roberts, campus minister for the Wesley Foundation said that because of the tradition and beliefs of Methodists, her church most likely wouldn’t promote an activity involving alcohol. But she does think the Saints ‘n Suds program is positive.

“They are meetings students where students like to hang out,” Roberts said. “I’m all for Christians reaching out to other Christians in a way that works. That’s their way of doing it and I think that’s fine.”

Saints ‘n Suds meets every Tuesday from 9 to 10:30 p.m. at the Panther Paw at 1412 Fourth St.