11 join church during
weekly Selah service

First UMC, Austin, welcomed eight new adult members, added three preparatory members and celebrated an infant baptism in its weekly Selah service June 11.
The new members said they came to First UMC seeking a place to belong. They were encouraged to try the Selah service and found a community through which they have been nurtured, loved and accepted.
Begun in the fall of 2002, Selah is a weekly contemporary praise service. Selah is a Hebrew word that means to lift up or to exalt.
The Selah community encourages people to worship in a way that is most authentic to them. If a worshiper feels led to stand throughout the service, he or she is encouraged to stand. If worshipers want to sit, then they sit.
Lunch together after worship is frequently an extension of the Selah experience as the community continues to grow together in love and fellowship.
“The Lord has blessed people in different ways through the Selah worship service and community,” said the Rev. Rusty Teeter, one of the worship leaders. “One couple was uneasy about the ‘fakeness’ they had perceived at some churches.
“When people expressed care for them after only attending a couple times, they said they had found their church home. I pray that we will see more and more come to Christ and find community in the body of Christ with us.”
In addition to Teeter, director of the Wesley Foundation at the University of Texas, other Selah worship leaders include Associate Pastor Kyle Toomire, the Rev. Young Son, Tim Deschner and the Selah Praise Band.