First Lutheran praise group makes joyful noise

By DAVID GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT — At almost exactly 5:30 on a recent Wednesday evening, the musicians who make up First Lutheran Church’s praise band, Spirit Sounds, were gathered to prepare for an annual tradition.

When they line up in front of the altar on Christmas Eve, it will be the 18th time they have done so.

“It will be standing room only in here,” said group leader Carol Sommerfeld, who helped form the group in 2000 along with fellow church member Deanna James.

The two attended a praise team workshop that year at Shoshone Base Camp and came home fired up about the prospect of adding to First Lutheran’s choral music program with a group that included guitars, keyboard, woodwinds and percussion.

“We came home and asked the pastor, ‘Can we do it?’” Sommerfeld recalled. “He said, ‘Go for it’ and gave us carte blanche.”

The original members of Spirit Sounds were Sommerfeld, John Hastings and Paul and Teena Kusche — all of whom still play with the group.

“My bet was a couple of years,” said Paul Kusche. “When we hit 10 I was shocked, but to be doing our 18th Christmas service this year is mind blowing. It takes commitment.”

“We’re still standing,” joked Sommerfeld. “I guess we should have had a historian, but we never thought we’d be around this long.”

Historian or no, the group has kept statistics on its long run. As of this month, they have racked up more than 1,325 hours of practice time, sung nearly 6,200 songs, supported more than 430 church services and played for Christmas Eve a total of 18 times. Christmastime demands a lot from Spirit Sounds, which plays an average of 14 songs in a normal service, close to double that on Christmas Eve.

Paul Kusche, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the group, explained that the band has acted as a sort of musical farm team, encouraging promising young players to join in. Many of those players have gone on to form bands of their own, including performing with praise bands at other local churches.

“We train ‘em up and send ‘em off,” he said with a chuckle. “Now it’s just us old dogs.”

Not exactly. One of the longtime members is Sommerfeld’s daughter, Libby, a talented vocalist in her 20s. Though still young, she can claim tenure with the group.

“I started when I was 10,” she said.

John Hastings, an original member, has a reputation as the band quipster, as well as being a deft hand on guitar and vocals. One difference between Spirit Sounds and other praise bands is the music itself, he offered. As opposed to catchy refrains that are easily repeated when the congregation joins in, this band blends the modern with a nod to the traditional.

“Most of the contemporary worship songs are just choruses,” said Hastings. “But the Lutheran tradition is that the hymns tell a story — I like that.”

Though a fan of that tradition, Hastings admits to favoring the inclusion of newer music in the church services, adding that many of the Lutheran hymns sung today date back centuries.

With more than 360 songs in the group’s music book, it’s hard to imagine how the songs for any given service make the cut. That task falls to Teena Kusche, who matches the music to the Sunday gospel message. Each time the band plays, her efforts show up in the form of a neatly organized binder with the tunes arranged in perfect order.

As the hour of 6:00 p.m. draws closer, members of the group begin to gravitate toward the front of the sanctuary, tuning instruments and thumbing through the weighty songbook for Christmas Eve. After a few casually strummed guitar chords and some arpeggios on the flute, the rehearsal gets underway.

“Are you guys ready?” Carol Sommerfeld asked from her seat at the keyboard.

“Anytime you are,” Paul Kusche answered.

An almost imperceptible but obviously effective count-in delivers a tightly knit downbeat from the band as they play through the first tune in the book, “Son of God Come Down.” The religious sentiment has its roots in the birth of Jesus, but the musical groove is 21st Century.

“That’s brand-new music for us,” Kusche said when the song came to an end.

“Actually copyrighted in this millennium!” Hastings added, evoking laughter around him.

Having such a large pool of music to choose from might make Teena Kusche’s job easier when it comes to aligning songs with sacred text, but it can be a challenge to get church favorites rotated in often enough to please everyone. How does Spirit Sounds manage that balancing act?

“There are congregational favorites that get played regularly,” said Hastings, pausing for comedic effect. “And band favorites that get played even more regularly.”

Spirit Sounds began as a one-Sunday-a-month changeup from the church’s historic focus on pipe organ and choir. The group now plays two Sunday services every month, as well as occasional special events. Going to every Sunday, according to Kusche, is not in the cards.

“We have been asked to sing every Sunday many times but have politely declined,” he said. “It’s hard for people to comprehend how much work goes into music selection and getting the books ready. Trying to do it every week would be nuts.”

Since that first service in October of 2000, a total of nearly 30 people have been part of Spirit Sounds. Some have left the area and a handful has moved to different churches, but a strong core group — including the original members — has made the group its musical home. That part has stayed the same — what has changed since the band started?

“Well, early on, we played a few wrong notes,” a deadpan Hastings said. “But we never do that any more.”

Even he couldn’t help but join in when the rest of the group started laughing.

The First Lutheran Church Candlelight Christmas Eve Service with Spirit Sounds will be held on Sun., Dec. 24, at 5 p.m. Plan to arrive early in order to find a seat in the sanctuary, as the church is expected to be very full.

First Lutheran Church is located at 526 S. Olive Ave., in Sandpoint.

Information: 208-263-2048