By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays United Methodist Church is finishing a remodel of its gym into a worship center.
The church plans to kick off a new contemporary service in the remodeled space on Easter Sunday.
The church at 305 W. Seventh was built in 1910, and the congregation met in the basement, which was the subject of this recent remodel, the Rev. Michael Rose said.
After the church's sanctuary was built in the 1940s, the space was converted into a gym.
The latest renovation included installing carpet in the room so the space could be used as a worship center.
"We are really reclaiming the history with this new service," Rose said.
Instead of pews, parishioners will sit at round tables. These tables will be mobile so the space can be opened back up for other activities.
The space can hold about 100 people with the tables set up and about 200 people if the space is open. There is also a wheelchair lift available, so the worship center is handicap accessible.
The alter and pulpit will be on the floor to be closer to the people. The band will be on the stage.
The church still plans to have to traditional worship services every Sunday. The contemporary service in the remodeled worship center will be at 5 p.m. Sundays.
Matt Dumler, youth director and certified lay speaker, said he hoped the new service will accommodate young families, people who have traveled over the weekend and sports families.
Dumler said all are welcome at the services, and there is no need to dress up.
The service will start with a worship set, including music.
"The message is only going to be about 10 to 15 minutes, taking the scripture, breaking it down, pulling out some context to it, giving some direction to it," said Dumler, who will be helping lead the services. "Then we are going to turn it over into a time of discussion within the service."
The idea for the format came from what services looked like when the church started, Dumler said.
"We wanted to give some of that power back to the congregation," he said, "and allow them to pull in and dig into the Scripture.
"Our hope is that not only can they build community inside the service but outside of it as well and that they can learn to use the scriptures and break down the Scriptures so they can take that and extend it into their everyday life."
The church will provide children's activities so parents can focus on discussion.
The gym was used for storage for a long time, but Dumler said the congregation is excited to bring the space back to life.
Troy Miller, director of Congregational and Community Care and lay speaker, will also lead worship. Shawn Henderson, bell choir director, will lead the worship band.