Outdoor religious event to serve the masses

The Sunday outdoor church service for the Great American Brass Band Festival will be 9:30 a.m. June 12 at the Main Stage at Centre College. The Rev.  Jerry Shepard, the senior minister for the church, will conduct the sermon.“But there will also be anywhere up to a half a dozen other pastors from other churches in the Danville area participating in the service,” said the Rev. Kristi Stuckel, the associate minister for First Christian. “Last year’s service was wonderful and witnessed a turnout of close to 1,000 people. We hope even more people show up for this year’s event.“The reason Dr. Jerry Shepard and I love this event so much is because it gives us a chance to reach out to so many people from around the country, regardless of their respective denominations. It’s great because we are all connected by Jesus Christ, regardless of which Christian church we attend,” said Stuckel, who also will be speaking at the service.A community choir will participate in the service as well as a Salvation Army band from Canada.Capt. Sarah Nelson and her husband, Lt. Dan Nelson, with Danville’s Salvation Army, are proud to welcome their fellow Salvation Army brothers and sisters from Canada and can’t wait to hear them take part in the Sunday service.“My husband and I both learned to play brass instruments as children,” said Nelson. “Dan learned to play the cornet at The Salvation Army in Rockford, Ill., and I learned the alto horn in St. Louis. We were both 8 years old when we began playing.”The Nelsons have never met their fellow Salvation Army members from Canada, but know first-hand how important their musical talents are when it comes to touching the hearts and souls of their fellow man.“Music really carries a unifying quality to it, and in ministry, that’s a powerful thing,” said Nelson.