'Hear From Heaven:' Pub Hosts Church an Alternative to Psychic Evenings

The following report is from the Yorkshire Evening Post: It wasn't so much a case of blind faith as blindfolded faith when a group of Christians took their message to a Leeds pub. Drinkers at the Dog and Gun on York Road in east Leeds were invited to get prophetic words to go with their pints when Gateway Church held its Hear from Heaven event. Part of the evening involved church members donning blindfolds and attempting to give spiritual insight to punters chosen at random. Pastor Chris Frost said they were inspired to hold the event after noticing the growth in demand for psychic nights at pubs across Leeds.

He said: “People clearly have a deep spiritual hunger and we were noticing more and more psychic nights being held at pubs. “I’m sure that people enjoy them, but biblical Christianity has something to offer for people searching for spiritual truth. “The pub’s reaction when we suggested it was very warm and very open – they were quite excited about the idea. “We promised them a better night than they got with their psychic nights. They said we’d have a big job on our hands. “Part of the aim of the evening was to challenge people’s expectations of what having faith is about. “We wanted them to know that this gift of being able to know what we couldn’t possibly know comes from God, and that we’re not from some sort of weird cult.” As well as giving out words of insight from behind blindfolds, the church members also opened a locked box containing supposedly prophetic messages they had written before the event. Tony Smith, lead pastor of Gateway Church, which usually meets at Abbey Grange, said: “Any proceeds raised will go directly to the Dog and Gun pub. “We don’t believe that God charges us for his love, so we will not be profiting from putting on the event.” The church said it was also happy for people to have a drink while they listened to what was being said. Mr Frost added: “We believe Jesus showed us it’s OK to have a drink by turning water into wine, so we don’t have a problem with people drinking.”