Lutheran Polka? Sure! Why Not!?!

Music is truly a universal language. KIXS 108 supports all types of music and live performance, that's why I found this story so interesting.

On his lips were Lutheran liturgy. But streaming from his accordion-playing hands were lively sounds of traditional polka. Ronnie Bruns, a member of the four-piece Polka Spirit Band from Shiner, led a special Lutheran worship service for Rally Day on Sunday, hoping to energize the congregation during morning worship. "It makes it more meaningful, I think," Bruns told the Victoria Advocate. "When I look around and hear people singing along, that's big goose bump time for me."

Rally Day kicks off the back-to-school spirit for the congregation, said Worship Board Chairwoman Doris Wuensche, who helped organize the worship. "It's such a great experience and it's really upbeat," she said. "It's just a neat way to worship."

Some of the Lutheran liturgy and hymns performed to polka included "Blessed Assurance," the Great Thanksgiving and the Eucharistic prayer.

Wuensche said the congregation is made up of members with Czech, German, Norwegian and other nationalities who grew up on polka music. "I just felt like dancin'," said Ruth Heller, a member of the church. "We used to dance all the time in the polka and waltz clubs before we got too old." It's the second year the Polka Spirit Band has performed at First English, but Wuensche hopes it can be an annual worship service. "God doesn't want us to be solemn. He wants us to sing songs and praises and hymns," she said. "It's the same words; the same meaning, but a different tune."