Anyone interested in music and fellowship in a cross denominational worship service is invited to attend the FRSH WATR Worship Night on Wednesday, Sept. 1. The free event will be held at 6:30 p.m. the Historic Rodgers Theatre.
“I’m really passionate about breaking down denominational barriers,” said event organizer Zach McAnulty. The September worship service is the third in a series of quarterly worship gatherings this year.
McAnulty had sponsored music and fellowship services at his church, Heartland Christian Family Church. Those had been successful nights of worship, but he wanted to reach a larger audience. He also realized some people might not feel comfortable going to another church.
He was looking for a neutral music venue and the Rodgers Theatre seemed an ideal choice. He had previous experience working with the theater and an interest in “helping to rebuild downtown Poplar Bluff,” McAnulty said.
He approached the theater board and they agreed to let him host the free event there. They also agreed to open the concession stand inside the theater for refreshments during the service, with all proceeds going toward restoring the historic building.
To avoid schedule conflicts with sporting events and weekend activities, McAnulty decided to have the worship services on Wednesday nights. This also allowed youth groups that might normally meet in the middle of the week to attend FRSH WATR gatherings.
The first event was held March 31.
“It was great,” said McAnulty. “We had a pretty good turnout.”
There were some attendees who came from Dexter for the service.
The second service was on June 23. There were a number of repeat attendees, a lot of students and one person who walked in from the street without knowing what was happening. He stayed, telling McAnulty he felt the presence of Jesus when he walked in.
When asked what to expect at the September gathering, McAnulty said, “It is not a typical service.”
It begins with an exhortation of about 10 minutes, followed by an hour and a half of music.
“And we don’t discriminate against musical types,” said McAnulty.
The music will be a mixture of contemporary music and hymns performed by “worship teams from different churches,” he said.
Anyone wishing to know more about any of the FRSH WATR events can contact McAnulty via Facebook. FRSH WATR has its own Facebook page as well and an Instagram account at FRSHWATR_worship.