North UMC to Hold

"Worship Without Walls" Sept. 13

Under the Big Top in Its Parking Lot

West Winds Big Band Will Provide Special Music;

Free Community Picnic Will Follow Service

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 12 — The members of North United Methodist Church will say goodbye to summer and gear up for a busy fall with their annual “Worship Without Walls” service at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, and everyone is invited to attend.

The worship service is held under a big tent in the church parking lot at 3808 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, and is reminiscent of an old-time revival meeting. This year’s edition will feature the music of the West Winds Big Band.

Folding chairs will be provided, but attendees can bring their own lawn chairs if they wish. The dress is casual.

A community picnic will follow the service, with free food and drinks provided.

There is no admission charge, although a freewill offering will be taken at the service.

The audience will sing old-fashioned hymns that day like “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and even “When the Saints Go Marching In.” There won’t be a sermon, but just a short message and scripture readings by members of the pastoral staff.

The band will offer selections such as “Ode to Joy,” “He Keeps Me Singing,” “It Is Well,” and “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.”

The West Winds Big Band has been providing a blend of traditional and contemporary big band music for over 25 years. It features saxophones, trombones, trumpets, a full rhythm section, and two vocalists — Laura Gabriele and Steven Hedrick. Many of its 19 band members are current or retired music educators from Indianapolis-area universities and schools.

Although this is the first time the West Winds Big Band has played at “Worship Without Walls,” it has rehearsed in the church’s Fellowship Hall in the past.

North members will recognize at least one band member too, as John Hague plays the trombone with the group. He is a life-long, fourth-generation member of North, where he is also the director of the North Winds brass ensemble; a member of North’s Cathedral Ringers handbell choir, and the head of the church’s audio-visual team that livestreams its 11 a.m. service in the sanctuary each Sunday on the North Church Indy YouTube channel. He also teaches band and orchestra at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis.

For more information on North United Methodist Church, please see NorthChurchIndy.com.

To learn how to become a member this fall, meet Jill Moffett, North’s pastor of community formation, in the church’s west entry at 10 a.m. before “Worship Without Walls” to tour the church building and have an informal, no obligation conversation about its upcoming new members’ class. For more info email her at jmoffett@northchurchindy.com.

To learn more about the West Winds Big Band, please see TheWestWindsBigBand.net.