57 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com that feeling of “home” during the holiday season, Abel said the goal of Seacoast during this time of year is to instill that sense in visitors through worship. One of Abel’s favorite things about Seacoast is seeing the congregation at their Christmas Eve service, all enjoying the special holiday atmosphere with an experience unique to each of them. “Seacoast was created for the ‘unchurched,’ where people who didn’t really like church or who had been hurt by ‘church’ can feel welcome,” Abel said. “We try to make it very accessible for people, and make it welcoming, but you don’t want to dumb it down so people can’t feel the Holy Spirit work, so that’s why we focus so much on the music.” Seeing music affect an audience is nothing new to Abel, who said he sees God working in people through music to repentance, motivation and conviction more often than not. He regularly has worshippers approach him stating the effect the music had on them that day. Abel also loves seeing the impact it has on Seacoast youth, who he described as very motivated, always seeking God and paving their own path to improve the future of their church. Abel describes his role at Seacoast Church as an “absolute honor” because of the impact he sees music make in people’s lives, especially during the holidays. ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH Another church putting a creative spin on holiday services is St. Andrew’s Church, which incorporates art into its various approaches to worship. Dwight Huthwaite, worship arts director at St. Andrew’s, was hired in 1998 as an assistant to the current music director. He oversaw the Wednesday night worship services before ultimately taking over when the music director retired. “We believe that our lives should be lived as worship to the Lord, so we worship through music and of course the arts,” Huthwaite said. While St. Andrew’s has a robust contemporary worship service, it also offers a more traditional service and numerous others, reinforcing its unique, welcoming approach to ministry. The church’s contemporary service, led by Huthwaite, features a full praise band, with instruments like electric guitars, drums, electric violins and more. “The contemporary service is just that … very contemporary,” Huthwaite said. “And we’ve been able to do all the wonderful things we’ve done at St. Andrew’s because of the freedom that our rector gives us.” Aside from its history, St. Andrew’s has another claim to fame in its rector Steve Wood, who in addition to being elected as the first Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas in 2012 was also named Archbishop of the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) in June 2024. St. Andrew’s is a church that honors both the Bible and the Holy Spirit, which is why it offers a fully accredited seminary called the Ridley Institute. “This offers things on both the normal, down-to-earth parishioner side and then the full-blown seminary side. We believe in the whole Word of God – everything is Christ-centered, but in all our worship we also embrace the Holy Spirit, which opens up the unique experiences one may encounter during worship,” Huthwaite said. Since the arts are an integral part of their church, there are two gallery spaces showcasing St. Andrew’s ministry through art: the main Kairos Gallery and its secondary prayer room gallery. All artworks featured within are created by both locally and nationally/ internationally-known artists. Art media range from paintings and drawings to photography. St. Andrew’s offers quarterly forums, which are seminars held on Saturday mornings featuring a guest speaker and a local artist sharing insight into their work and how it ties to the Kairos Gallery. It also hosts oil painting and watercolor painting classes, as well as a writers’ group and visual artists’ small group. Music, however, is at the forefront of artistic expression at St. Andrew’s and Huthwaite said there’s a vitality any attendant can feel during a service’s musical programs. “There’s excitement, but there’s also a sense of spiritual depth as we work to bring people to an experience with God. We want to see that very vital, living thing is happening and music plays a massive role in that.” As an Anglican Church, St. Andrew’s honors the season of Advent, which are the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. It is during this time that their songs begin to take on a unique holiday energy to them that serves as an invitation for people to join in the welcoming environment and seek a connection with God. fellowship
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