It's not every day a religious worship service offers biking, swimming and jogging alongside the prayers, hymns and sermons.
But that's what worshipers will find at the Lake Harriet Band Shell in the form of an ecumenical faith partnership involving 15 congregations and nine denominations. At 10 a.m. every Sunday, from Memorial Day through the week after Labor Day, congregations will take turns leading services at the band shell in southwest Minneapolis.
"It's really wild to watch people jogging or walking by and all of a sudden they'll stop ... get off their bikes and sit down. And they'll listen," said the Rev. Rob Norris-Weber, associate pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, and one of the organizers of the event that has been going on some 20 years now.
"Jesus did most of his ministry outdoors. You have the Sermon on the Mount. ... There's so many experiences that have worship outside of a building or outside the temple [in the New Testament]."
The very informal worship service includes congregations from varied faith backgrounds: Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Unitarian Universalists and evangelical Christians, among others. Similar ecumenical worship services have been going on at the Minnehaha Falls bandstand the past few years as well. This summer's schedule for both locations can be found at www.outdoorworship.org.
The services are popular and seating can fill up fast, Norris-Weber notes. "There's as few as 50 when it's raining. Then there are times when we've had 800 to 1,000 people, where all the benches are full. People are sitting on the hills."
"We think it's wonderful God is trying to speak through all these different types of churches and faith communities," he added. "It's come as you are. Bring your dog, ride your bike. It's wonderful when faith communities are working together in partnership. I think that's what the world is supposed to be like: Love your neighbor, regardless of your differences."
Rose French • 612-673-4352
