WINNEMUCCA - The old St. Mary's Church on the Humboldt County Museum grounds was the site of a joyful prayer service conducted by Pastor Gayle Basten of the United Methodist Church of Winnemucca on Oct. 16.
Basten said that she hopes conducting services at the old church becomes an annual tradition for her church.
The Methodist Church was invited to come up to the old church to hold services by the museum board members in their hopes to draw more interest in the museum from the community. Basten stated that she wanted her church to also be a presence in the community. She commented that she liked to do church outside the traditional walls of the church building.
The idea was successful, according to Basten, as 81 people attended the service. She said that the average turnout for a Sunday service is around 60 people.
Basten said that the services performed that day were different from those she normally does. The services were more focused on prayers, she stated. The "Swinging Seniors," dressed in late 19th century clothing, sang as the choir for the service.
"As the United Methodist church moved westward back in the day, lay people were crucial in this country," Basten explained. Appointments of the "circuit riders" were assigned to a locale on a one-year-at-a time basis. Basten stated that she would like to see everyone dress in period costume for a future service just like it was the day of the circuit riders. "Maybe next time I'll even ride up on a horse," she chuckled.
According to Basten, other churches are to be invited to old St. Mary's to hold their services as well.
In the meantime, the United Methodist Church will be holding a Christmas Service on Dec. 17 during the hours of 2 p.m. through 4 p.m. at the museum site. The Swinging Seniors will also be back as the choir.
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