Lend your voice to a country church sing-along

The drapes at Zion United Methodist Church will be lifted Sunday night, with lit candles glowing in the windows. The picturesque country church scene in rural Spencer, similar to one found on a Terry Redlin-inspired Christmas card, will host an annual tradition area residents have looked forward to, and others return to take part in.

Those entering the Clay County church's doorway and sanctuary will likely find a few common things at the annual old-fashioned evening of singing Christmas carols and hymns.

First, they'll receive a hearty welcome, because Zion members are known for their gift of hospitality.

"They're really good at greeting newcomers," Rev. Annette Ruhs Kruse said. "In fact, we have visitors frequently out here, and they're very invitational."

The second thing they'll more than likely experience is the feeling of a true, pure faith -- both spiritually and for others.

To some, the 108-year-old church setting is "homey," even resembling scenes portrayed on the television classic "Little House on the Prairie."

"Comments I hear when we have visitors come to our church that have never attended before, it goes back to a neat atmosphere. You don't find many country churches still going. We're still in a basic, wooden structure with a huge steeple and cross at the top that's very symbolic, out in the middle of a meadow-type background. I think people are at peace and feel very comfortable when they come out," church member Jim Sonius said. "...I think it's just a down-home, friendly kind of a church."

To others, like Anna Gibson, the church's longstanding organist who young and old alike deem "exceptional," Zion United Methodist Church is "family."

"We were getting less and less people out there. But now," the Spencer resident said, "we have more people and more children out there. So things are looking up."

Sonius, who's served as Zion's administrative chairman the last two years, proudly reports the church's membership has grown to 47 members this year, citing several baptisms and new members, such as Darrell and Carolyn Noll, joining. While the average Sunday service attendance is around 20, this Sunday's sing-along is expected to pack the house.

Gibson takes responsibility for compiling the song sheets used that bear familiar Christmas hymns, both nativity and sacred, along with a few novelty carols.

"Anna plays wonderful organ pieces. Even the kids love Anna's music," Kruse noted.

"It's just a full hour of singing," the church's minister also previewed. "We do a little interspersing with some solos. Or my husband, (David, who pastors at the Terril and Langdon United Methodist churches,) and I are singing duets. This year, we've invited the Langdon (United Methodist Church) choir to come sing. So, it's just a fun hour or so of music."

The minister who's marking her second-year appointment serving both Zion United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church of Everly, also revealed, "I can honestly tell you I wasn't sure what to expect when I went out there (to Zion) for the first time. I'm not one who enjoys driving on gravel roads, so I was going out there very hesitantly. But, I have absolutely loved my experience with the Zion Church. From the first Sunday, they have shown that they are just a very loving and caring congregation. They're very family-oriented and very mission-minded. They're very giving -- not only with their dollars, but of themselves. They also know how to sing. For a little church, they can really sing their hymns."

"We are a small church, but it's a church that's not afraid to sing. It may not be good, but we make a joyful noise anyway," Sonius, with a wry smile, added.

Following tomorrow evening's sing-along, which is slated to start at 7 p.m., fellowship will be shared, along with cookies, cider and coffee.

The 10 children in the country church's "growing Sunday School" will be featured at another well-attended event on Tuesday, Dec. 23, the church's annual Christmas program, which will precede its early-Christmas Eve service.

Zion United Methodist Church's draw

Gibson has been a church member since she was confirmed as a teenager. She is among the church's ladies group members who embroider and piece together a quilt that is given to the children's home near Peterson. Gibson also belongs to what church members call YAC, or the Young Adults Class.

"We don't have a trustee meeting because YAC meets every month, and we take care of our church business then. ... Well, we are not the Young Adults anymore," she admitted with a twinkle in her eye. "We are, of course, the seniors of the church now."

Gibson's young-adult memories of the church include former neighbor Terry Beving allowing them to farm his farm in order to raise money for the church. She mentioned that Bud Watts, a neighbor and lay pastor to the rural church today, has been named an associate member of the church.

Gibson smiled as she remembered Lot Wiemers, her uncle, telling her and Bob, her late husband, when they'd mow the churchyard decades ago, "Oh, you kids do too much out there. The church won't last that long anyway."

"That's what he said 40 years ago. Well, it's still going, and I hope it stays," she said resolutely.

Sonius, a nephew to Gibson and a third-generation church member himself, remembers growing up just as his late father, Henry Sonius, did. He'd take a bath Saturday night, finish chores on Sunday morning and then head to Zion United Methodist Church.

"Sunday was a day that everybody attended church. We had a very active Sunday School and a very active youth fellowship back when I was growing up," he recalled. "...Once church was over, particularly in the summer, it wasn't something where everybody jumped in a vehicle and drove away and hurried up to get to a fast-food place or their own home to eat. We had people, and the minister, actually stand outside and visit for a half-hour after the service was over. That's what's neat. It's just a warm, friendly atmosphere."

When their Clay County minister was asked how this small, tight-knit church of 47 members can continue to keep its doors open, she replied without hesitation, "It helps that they share their pastor. But the other thing is we keep everything bare bones. But, I tell you what, this past year, we've rebuilt the steeple on the church and put in a new furnace. They're also getting ready to insulate, and they're talking about becoming handicap-accessible. They just really dig deep when the needs are there. ... It's a church that just doesn't give up. I mean, it's not your typical country church that's dying. They've got a lot of life in them."