"It's a time of fellowship and sharing God's love with one another in a means that's different from Sunday morning," says Mary Louise Sitton, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, which is hosting the annual adventure for the 14th time this week.
"The theory for us all the time is to open our doors. We invite americans – all people – to come back, and that's what Jesus calls us to do."
whereas Lutheran worship is commonly used for being a little bit formal, with a liturgy this is in all probability closer to its Catholic roots than other Protestant denominations, Sitton says Gospel Fest is an informal gathering that's a contrast to the denomination's normal Sunday morning trend. all the events are free.
"We've been here 226 years now," she says of the church, "and you have to retain changing – you should keep updating."
This year's activities will encompass performances by using local musicians, some hymn-singing, questions for open dialogue, informal messages delivered by means of native audio system, and refreshments on the end.
here's a glance on the week's lineup.
Sunday, 11 a.m. – Dr. Joe Smiddy will share his musical knowledge and also the story of his personal faith journey.
Monday, 7 p.m. – The Appalachian men's chorus, a Kingsport-primarily based community prevalent for its a capella performances, will sing, and Sitton will tell her story of being known as to the ministry.
Tuesday, 7 p.m. – The Cousins, a Blountville-primarily based gospel group, will function, and the speaker will be Pastor Jim Nipper, a familiar Johnson city pastor and regional Lutheran leader.
Wednesday, 7 p.m. – Oscar Harris, a bluegrass musician from Mendota, Va., will give the music, and the speaker can be Pastor Will Shewey, who leads colours of Grace, a storefront church on East Sullivan road in Kingsport.
Thursday, 7 p.m. – Phillips and Banks, a revolutionary Southern gospel group, will provide the tune, and in lieu of a message, attendees will find a way to take part in an pastime of letting go of sins and concerns which are troubling them.
Immanuel Lutheran Church is observed at 191 principal Heights street in Blountville, throughout the street from principal Heights fundamental faculty. The church become centered in 1793, making it two years older than the state of Tennessee; the present building was developed in 1903.
backyard of Gospel Fest, Sitton says the church gets worried in loads of techniques in the neighborhood – from featuring milk and breakfast at colors of Grace to providing snacks to people in health center ready rooms to serving a few families and food pantries with typical counsel.
Randy Smith, congregation council president, says the church additionally has a part of its cemetery specific for americans, often homeless, whose continues to be are unclaimed after their death; in partnership with Trinity Memorial Funeral domestic and colours of Grace, they hang a funeral procession and burial for the deceased.
groups inside the church additionally host group hobbies, like a contemporary Fourth of July barbecue that became open to the general public.
"if you center of attention on these things, God'll do something about the leisure; we don't ought to be concerned about it," Smith says. "that you may sit down there and wring your arms based on what you see [wrong in the world], but that's now not the case if you happen to serve others."
Sitton says the congregation's frame of mind of carrier – similar to its annual Gospel Fest – is about opening doorways and attaining out to meet individuals where they're. The church goals to stay as relevant in the 21st century because it turned into at its founding in the 18th.
"We're relocating forward," she says. "We've had to discover different ways to do it, however there's so a lot that's mandatory in this world that it's no longer complicated, in case you delivery looking around, to see what which you could do to help."
For greater counsel about Gospel Fest, contact Immanuel Lutheran Church at (423) 367-6173.
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