‘South Side Saturday Night’
WAYNESBURG — Rev. Dr. Bill Parker has been preaching from the pulpit on Sunday mornings in Greene County for more than 32 years. And while his commitment to serving God has certainly kept him busy over the years, his weekends are about to get even busier.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Parker, who preaches traditional Sunday morning services at two churches — the Washington Street United Methodist Church in Waynesburg and the Throckmorton United Methodist Church in Waynesburg — is about to embark on an exciting new venture: coordinating a new service that will bridge traditional worship with modern technology.
The service, which he is calling “South Side Saturday Night,” will take place every Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Washington Street UMC, which is located at 152 S. Washington St., Waynesburg. The services will start at 5:30 p.m. and will be quite different from the traditional services offered Sunday mornings.
The uplifting services will incorporate the use of nonstop music through high-quality speakers as well as high-definition televisions that will display numerous video presentations, praise song lyrics, Bible verses and much more. Each service will last approximately 30 minutes and will move much faster than traditional services.
Parker, who currently resides in Greensboro with his wife Sara, will not only oversee all aspects of the services, he will personally select the videos that will be presented and will play the music.
Parker said he believes the time is right for this type of updated worship service.
“I am a traditionalist when it comes to worship, always have been,” he said. “But at the same time, I saw a real opportunity to embrace modern technology for the purpose of worship. There is still a much-needed time and place for the traditional services, but this new service is something that I truly want to do.”
Parker got the idea of offering a more technologically-savvy service after his church purchased a large hi-def television and installed it in the sanctuary so congregation members could see Bible verses, lessons and hymn lyrics in a larger format.
“The congregation liked it, they took to it well,” he said. “It was especially beneficial to our elderly members and to those with vision issues, because they could see everything so much better on the screen.”
From there, he began looking into multimedia video presentations and computer programs that could be used during the service; but rather than trying to shoehorn the modern elements into a traditional service, he began brainstorming about a separate service on another night.
Thus, “South Side Saturday Night” was born.
Parker stressed that the new services will be structured just like traditional services, and will feature hymns, scriptures, prayer, lessons and communion liturgy.
“They will still celebrate and teach God and His word, it will just be done with a more modern, technology-driven mentality,” he said. “You can have the sacred sense of holiness in a service and still integrate modern technology into it.”
Parker said he is excited because he believes the new initiative is offering something different to those wanting to worship.
“As far as I know, I believe this is the only Protestant service that is being offered in Greene County on Saturday nights,” he said. “So I feel that we have a chance to offer something that is unique and special, all for the sole purpose of glorifying God.”
He stresses that everyone is welcome to attend the services, regardless of their church affiliation.
“This is for the churched and unchurched, for the young, old and different,” he said. “This is for the other pastors who want to worship outside of their churches on Sundays. This truly is for everyone. We’re not trying to pull people away from their churches and services, we’re just trying to provide another avenue of worship that will be different from the norm and yet still be respectful and faithful toward the teachings of God.”
Parker admits that coordinating and organizing the Saturday night services will entail a great deal of work, as he will be creating the entire program each week and coming up with the videos and music himself.
But, he says, the hard work will be worth it.
“I am very excited about this,” he said. “This is not replacing Sunday morning worship, this is another uplifting and upbeat opportunity to reach people with God’s word.”
For more information about “South Side Saturday Night,” call Parker at 724-833-5003.