The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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October 16, 2009

Rich Brown: Church to offer polka-infused worship service

OK, so Joplin is not the polka capital of the world. But if you happened to drive by Peace Lutheran Church at 2002 Wisconsin Ave. and notice its sign this week, you may have had second thoughts.

The Joplin congregation will mark “Polka Sunday” tomorrow with members to hold a polka worship service at 10:30 a.m., followed by an Oktoberfest lunch.

The service will include traditional church hymns sung to polka tunes and food with a definite German influence. The menu will be somewhat patterned after the Oktoberfest festival held each year in Munich, in which traditional hearty amounts of German food are available throughout the 16-day event.

The Peace Lutheran menu will include brats, German potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut, rye bread, applesauce and Black Forest cake. The cost is $6. A child’s lunch featuring a hot dog, applesauce, chips and chocolate cake will also be available for $3. If you wish to make arrangements in advance or obtain more details, call the church at 624-9723.

Polka worship services are nothing new. They go back to the early 1970s when polka masses began turning up everywhere, particularly in northern Minnesota. The first polka mass was created by the Rev. George Balasko in 1972. He was a polka musician whose intent was to alter the lyrics of polka pieces to become more conducive to a spiritual setting. It was the idea of creating an entirely new piece of polka-style music to sing with the usual sacred text.

Julia Stone, Peace Lutheran music director, has taken on such a task.

“This is a big undertaking,” said Lana Nelson, who has been a member of the Joplin church for 22 years. “Julia has made music her ministry and she does such a wonderful job.”

In addition to Stone leading the congregation in singing polka-influenced hymns, Pastor Bill Pape will give the sermon, which, Nelson said, is not expected to have any polka influence.

Nelson and her husband, Gary, were introduced to polka services when they visited a church in southern Texas.

“That was about 1994 and we had our first polka service at Peace Lutheran in 2000,” she said. “It took us a few years to warm up to the idea.”

Music, as a whole, has played a vital role since Martin Luther started to organize a new church in 1526.

“Luther revolutionized music in the church at that time,” Nelson said. “Up until that time everything was pretty much in Latin. Lutherans have a rich heritage for an appreciation of music. We love music and try to incorporate it into our worship services.”

Even polka, with its toe-tapping effects and commonly used as dance music, has found a welcome niche in church services.

“In years past, we had people come who said they appreciated the fresh, contemporary approach,” Nelson said. “I know some churches that are having what they call cowboy services, so why not polka? This lets people know that the style of our worship is not so important as the content of our worship.”

Address correspondence to Rich Brown, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802.

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