By Grace Michaelson | March 17, 2016

Attendance always swings low on the Sunday after Easter — here's what one church is doing about it

Low Sunday. That’s what some call the Sunday after Easter, when the number of churchgoers declines. At St. John’s Episcopal Church, there is a special solution to keep attendance up.

“When you think about it, Luther, when he started writing these hymns, they sound kind of old-fashioned to us now, but they’re not,” said Jon Gudmundson, a professor of jazz history at Utah State University. “To them, they were like pop tunes. So all we’re doing is the same thing Luther would have done. The songs don’t have to be all stodgy and old.”

Gudmundson, who is also a parishioner of St. John’s, will be arranging a special performance by a jazz quintet on April 3. Both services, one at 9 a.m. and the other at 11 a.m., will feature a saxist, guitarist, bassist, drummer and vocalist playing special arrangements of hymns and other melodies for a day that is also, and more cheerfully, known as Bright Sunday.

“It's not really a performance, but a joining together,” said Maureen Killila, the vocalist of the quintet. “I look forward every year to spending Bright Sunday with St. John's. The congregation is so ready to celebrate, interact, move, even shout with joy. The service is filled with soul and laughter.”

Gudmundson arranged hymns so that church members would be able to sing along, while still listening to different, more modern takes on the classic worship songs.

“The sing-a-long part doesn’t generally happen at most gigs,” said Nate Ostermiller, the guitarist for the quintet. “The things that’s enjoyable about this is that it is different.”

The services are open to all.