‘Good News Service' to begin Oct. 1

Vernon - Holy Counselor Lutheran Church is re-defining the Contemporary Christian Worship Service with the “premier” of its “Good News Service” at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1 at the church on Sandhill Road. According to church officials, they are putting the “worship” back into Contemporary Christian Services. Contemporary worship services are becoming commonplace in traditional Christian denominations in recent years due to their relevance and accessibility to new worshippers. “People enjoy these services, partly because they find them easy to follow. The atmosphere is energetic and very positive,” said Rev. James Crouthamel, the church’s pastor. He said the start date for his congregation’s “Good News” services is intended to give the service a beginning. After a time, the service may be moved to another time on Sunday, or to a Saturday evening. The church will continue its traditional weekly services on Sundays at 8:30 and 10:30. The 10:30 slot, however, will be taken up by the new Good News Service on the first Sunday alone of the next new months. The planning committee, consisting of Crouthamel, music director June Tarantino, council nurture coordinator William Donald, and Kathy Baumann, has put together a service that uses the Good News Bible, otherwise known as Today’s English Version, for all scripture readings and scriptural references throughout this service. The language of the service is generally modernized, and the music is eclectic, mixing gospel, Christian rock, spirituals, and contemporary ballad forms. In contrast to many contemporary services, however, this will follow the familiar order of worship, which provides for congregational involvement and response, and communion. “This is putting the “worship” back into the contemporary worship service,” said Donald. “I’ve been to contemporary services that seemed to be largely concerts. I know of instances where churches have taken this concept to an extreme that resulted in church failure. We want to bring people, the unchurched, the merely curious, our friends and neighbors in the immediate and surrounding region, into our church for a welcoming, friendly, and spiritually meaningful worship experience. We really believe that we’ve put the ‘worship’ back into contemporary worship with our Good News Service.” Holy Counselor is a growing church community and welcomes all Christians to all of its worship services, as well as to its communion rail. The Good News Service represents another effort to express the church’s open door policy.