Downtown Worship fills Oak Avenue
Local families filled Upper Street (Oak Avenue) last Wednesday for the fourth annual Downtown Worship event in Spruce Pine.
Every year Downtown Worship brings members of the community together for Christian music. This year’s event featured music performed by area church groups, speaker Brian Burgess of Clayton King Ministries, bounce houses, activities and much more.
Organizer Walton Shepherd opened the evening’s program by talking about the history of Downtown Worship in Spruce Pine.
“Twenty-eight individuals dedicated their life last year to Jesus,” Shepherd said.
Asia Shell of Crabtree said she came to Downtown Worship for the first time last year and was moved to come back.
“I want to show my kids that you can worship God anywhere you go,” Shell said.
Ciji Dellinger, who lives in Yancey County and works in Mitchell County, said she has been at the event every year since its inception. Dellinger said she enjoys the community aspect of Downtown Worship.
“I think it’s a good time to see our neighbors in a positive (situation) … just being able to have good conversation, not trying to fix a problem,” she said.
In his opening remarks, Shepherd praised Burgess, who has spoken at Downtown Worship before. In addition to preaching, Burgess, Shepherd said, has been extensively involved in disaster relief.
“Brian has been boots on the ground here since Hurricane Helene, mostly in Pensacola,” he said.
In the early hours of the evening, the street was filled with children running from one attraction to another, with several food trucks available for concessions. Later the crowd settled into lawn chairs to hear the program.
The Rev. Nathan Silvers of Grassy Creek Baptist Church gave the opening prayer.
“Father, we just come and are thankful that you are the God of the universe; you are in control,” Silvers said. “There’s not a lot of opportunity for us to gather together with other churches — we’re thankful for Downtown Worship.”