Plymouth Magazine-Fall26-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 44
Welcome to Saturday Night Worship
By Amy Elbert (she/her)
The seeds for Saturday Night Worship
were sown in 2000 when Plymouth
searched for ways to attract young adults
and the “church-allergic” to participate
in Plymouth life.
Angie Witmer (now Angie Arendt), the
newly hired Minister of Youth and Young
Adults, took to the task, leading dozens
of conversations with Plymouth teens
and other members, as well as road trips
to other churches, to explore solutions.
Angie (Witmer) Arendt was Minister of Youth and
Young Adults at Plymouth from 2000 to 2013.
She is now living in Mesa, AZ, and, with her
husband, conducts spiritual services and
conversations and organizes spiritual retreats.
See her website: www.bigstonehouse.org.
“The idea was to create something
that felt very Plymouth – inclusive,
challenging, personal, inviting – but in a
very different style,” Arendt said. “Many
young people don’t feel comfortable in
Sunday worship with the big organ and
robes. They were looking for a space that
was more about social justice issues. A
place that was inclusive, and where they
could ask questions like, ‘who am I.’”
It quickly became apparent that it
wasn’t an age-related need. “From the
beginning, Saturday worship felt like
home for all kinds of people—not just
young adults and the church allergic but
people from all walks of life, including
those with special needs,” Arendt said. It
wasn’t long before the community grew
and the room was full.
Arendt led the Saturday night services
for three years and then a rotation system
was created so whoever was preaching
on Sunday also led the Saturday worship.
This helped to fully integrated Saturday
44
worship into the whole of Plymouth.
Music was always key, Arendt said. “The
songs we sang were intentionally singable,
more folk-oriented. The band members
were excellent musicians and were also
gifted at getting the congregation to sing.
That played a huge part in making the space
feel, welcoming, inclusive, and soulful.”
Plymouth member Curt Powell was
the first director, and he brought on
drummer, Bill Connet, who later
assumed the director’s role. A young Bill
Nelson, son of David and Jean Nelson,
played the electric bass and Curt wrote
much of the music, Arendt recalls.
The Saturday Night Band is still made
up of professional musicians and is now
directed by Seth Hedquist. The changing
ensemble of guitar, electric bass, drums,
keyboard, an upright bass, occasional
banjo and mandolin, and two to three
vocalists weave familiar hymns, folk
tunes, spirituals, and popular music
throughout the service.
While the scripture and sermon topic are
basically the same as what is presented at
Sunday services, the pastors don’t wear
robes or stand at a pulpit. Worshippers
also tend to dress more casually, often
coming directly from gardening or
afternoon errands.
Although more relaxed, the structure of
Saturday night is based on traditional
worship elements: gathering, prayer,
scripture, sermon, offering, blessing,
