Lunch with the Lord: Church offers noontime jazz concerts

You don't have to surrender yourself to God to get the most out of the Wednesday lunchtime Jazz Worship Service at Plymouth Congregational Church in downtown Seattle.

The 45-minute service is more about lifting spirits and getting fingers tapping in the middle of the work week.

As the church's new head pastor, the Rev. Allen Hilton, puts it, people are welcome to come in off of busy Sixth Avenue and "just be" during the weekly noon service, where a jazz trio led by vibraphonist Susan Pascal fills the church's soaring white sanctuary with gently swaying covers from the likes of Duke Ellington, Pat Metheny and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

It's church posing as jazz café.

The service, which started in 1998, draws a small but loyal congregation made up of downtown office workers, retirees, homeless people and curious passers-by lured by the motto "Feed Your Soul at Lunch Time."

While jazz isn't exactly known as the Lord's music, Plymouth Congregational's idea of pairing it with traditional hymns, prayers and short sermons reflects efforts to appeal to its diverse downtown base. And some of the songs, like Ellington's "Come Sunday," a version of which includes vocals by Mahalia Jackson, do have religious appeal.

People may turn out for the jazz, but they also get exposed to inclusive Christian themes such as mutual respect and doing good works for others.

"If you come here and you're feeling kind of down, you won't feel that way very long," said Marge Dybing, who works for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and attends the jazz service most weeks with co-workers from her office across from the church.

Dybing can often be spotted sitting next to EPA colleague Amberet Green, who said the unusual timing is perfect for her full schedule, which includes caring for an elderly aunt.

"This is an ideal way for me to get renewed and refreshed in the middle of the week," she said. "I get the music, the scriptures, the message behind the scriptures — everything in 45 minutes. When I come, it makes the rest of my day and my week go so much better."

Retirees from nearby Horizon House on First Hill, many of whom are members of the church, make up a sizable portion of those who attend the jazz service.

Others, like Sammy Greenwood, a retired architectural designer who splits her time between Sequim and an apartment at Pike Place Market, said the service has changed her view on church in general.

"The idea of 'feeding your soul at lunch time,' that's written on the sandwich board outside, just spoke to me," she said. "It has jaded me to any other service."

Greenwood, like many who attend the service, said she's sad that more people don't show up each week. She will sometimes bring friends and residents of the women's shelter where she does volunteer work.

Although attendance ranges from 30 to 80, according to the pastor, the pews could easily handle three times that number.

Given the smattering of people in the sanctuary, the experience feels both solitary and communal.

Hilton's sermons are congenial and seldom preachy: "It gives people a place for their souls to rest, so you don't hear hellfire at lunchtime," he said.

There's no rousing choir. Nobody passes around an offering plate. Visitors are invited only to pray, join the singing of traditional hymns, wish each other peace at the end, and enjoy performances by Pascal, pianist Murl Allen Sanders and bassist Phil Sparks.

Attendees might have a whole pew to themselves, where they can meditate to Steve Swallow's "Chelsea Bells" or Chick Corea's "Crystal Silence."

Many people come wearing downtown business attire, rather than their Sunday best. But the atmosphere remains serene, even solemn, a striking contrast to the whirl of activity on the streets outside.

Some people wander in late and sit in the back rows with their hands clasped, perfectly still and totally silent. Others, like Greenwood, hold hands or wrap their arms around companions they've invited.

When David Marshall comes to the jazz service, he usually sits near the front, close to the trio onstage. But the lunchtime service is important for more than the music.

Marshall is a defense attorney who works in an office tower on Fourth Avenue. The stress of defending people in court, when the rest of their lives may be on the line if he fails, can be overwhelming, he said.

The jazz service offers Marshall a work-week respite from the stress of his job.

Sometimes, if he can't sleep the night before a big day in court, Marshall will even take out copies of sermons and meditations from the jazz service and read them to calm his nerves.

"They help remind me that I'm not in control of what happens in this world, that this person's life doesn't rest in my hands," Marshall said. "It rests in God's hands. My role is to do my best."

Marshall said he can't attend every week, but the Wednesday service is permanently penciled in on his calendar as a reminder that he can take refuge from his professional life there.

"I'd probably go whether they had the jazz or not," he said.

Tyrone Beason: 206-464-2251 or tbeason@seattletimes.com