First Presbyterian to hold porch service

Published 8:12 pm Thursday, September 17, 2020

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NATCHEZ — First Presbyterian Church, 117 South Pearl Street, Natchez, will move the 10:30 a.m. service from the sanctuary to the front porch of the church on Sunday, Sept. 20. The order of service will be similar to other Sunday services, including special music presented from the church steps.

The outdoor service also will be live streamed, with easy access to the streaming on the church’s web site, www.fpcnatchez.org, said Joan Gandy, minister at First Presbyterian.

Gandy, minister at the church, said the outdoor service is inspired by all the churches offering “parking lot” services.

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“Our church parking lot is not laid out in a way that makes it convenient for such a service,” she said. “But we do have a large front porch and lots of room around the church property where people can worship from their cars parked on the streets or from chairs on the sidewalks.”

The outdoor service on Sept. 20 is especially for those who continue to feel uncomfortable returning to the indoor setting for worship, Gandy said. On Sept. 27, the church will open again for in-person worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays.

First Presbyterian has suspended in-church gathering for worship for more than two months. The services have been live streamed and videoed for later viewing during that time and will continue to be offered online into the future.

Gandy said that many people have put their thoughts together to come up with an outside service that will be meaningful and worshipful. “Musicians, worship planners, and others have made this worship event possible. We’ll hope with our good sound system to reach all who come to join us even if they just stop by for a few minutes,” she said. “And everyone is welcome to join us, of course.”

Anyone wanting additional information may call the church office at 601-442-2581.