Grant Memorial Church will soon be filled with the sounds of nostalgic worship.
Following the success of the first Throwback Worship event, the church is hosting a second one.
"People loved it. The response was so positive," said Cassandra Gingerich, the worship minister at Grant Memorial Church. "There's something about those songs from our past that draws our hearts to worship. They remind us of where we were in our relationship with the Lord at the time."
While the first event focused on worship songs from the 1990s, this time, Gingerich says the spotlight will be on the early 2000s.
"They can expect a trip down memory lane with worship songs from that era," she said.
One of the most meaningful moments from the first event, Gingerich shared, was speaking with a woman who is legally blind.
"She told me how amazing it was to just worship without looking at the words. She remembered the lyrics and could enter into worship right away."
That experience, along with the overwhelming response, helped shape the theme for this next event.
"There are just so many great songs from the early 2000s," said Gingerich. "As we kept thinking about it, those songs kept coming up, and it became clear that there were already too many to choose from!"
Among the songs mentioned for the night are How Great Is Our God, God of Wonders, and Blessed Be Your Name.
"You don’t have to be from a specific denomination to remember songs like these," she said.
Throwback Worship Night is open to everyone, regardless of church background.
"We don’t want this to be just for the Grant Memorial community," said Gingerich. "We’d love for the whole city of Winnipeg to come, to join in, and to worship together—every tongue, every tribe, every nation."
She is excited to see the sanctuary filled with people worshiping in unity.
"I love hearing the church worship, and I would love to see our sanctuary full. When we raise our voices together, there’s nothing more beautiful. As we sing these songs of old, our eyes are drawn upward in worship of our King."
Throwback Worship Night takes place at Grant Memorial Church, 877 Wilkes Avenue, on Saturday, March 8, at 7 p.m. Admission is free.