<I>DAMIAN MULINIX photo</I><BR>Bob Walters sings along with the Ocean Beach Presbyterian church choir Sunday during a vespers service at the Oysterville Church.

OYSTERVILLE – Summer Sunday afternoons are special. A drive, a leisurely stroll, a time in the garden. For over 25 years it has also been a time to enjoy an old hymn played on the pump organ or a choir singing gospel.

The old church in Oysterville has been packing them in for over 100 years, whether it a Baptist sermon in 1892 or an afternoon vespers service today. Vespers are “the time of day reserved for prayer, in the late afternoon or evening.” But to Sydney Stevens “vespers” means more than that.

Stevens is the daughter of Helen-Dale and Bill Little, the couple responsible for saving the old church and starting the summer Sunday vespers services.

Remaining 2003 Vespers Services at the Oysterville ChurchAug. 3, Pastor Samantha Weir, Ocean Park Methodist Church. Lyrica, ladies Ensemble of Puget Sound.

Aug. 10, Father Don Maddux, retired Episcopal priest. Kathleen Staub on Celtic harp and Colleen Staub on mandolin.

Aug. 24, Pastor Barbara Bate, Grays River United Methodist Church. Two Sopranos, Andrea Patten and Suzanne Leonard.

Aug. 31, Pastor DeWayne LaPointe, Peninsula Assembly of God, Ocean Park. Carolyn Cruso on hammered dulcimer.

All services feature Suzanne Knutzen on the pump organ.

The church was built in 1892 after a donation of land and $1,500 from R.H. Espy, who was an original founder of Oysterville in 1854. Espy was a staunch Baptist, thus so was the church. For several years the ministers would stay in Espy’s home. One stayed 12 years, and would have stayed longer – if he hadn’t died.

A provision in the deed to the church stated that if the church ever ceased to operate on a regular basis, the building would revert back to the Espy family. And in 1930s, that became the case after the population of the town diminished.

It sat vacant for 40 years, until the Littles came along. Having retired to Oysterville, the Littles pushed to have the town named as a National Historical District. Once that was accomplished, they took aim at the old church building.

The couple secured deeds from other surviving Espy family members and had it gifted to the Oysterville Restoration Foun-dation. In 1976, Dale Little, an Espy descendent, came up with the idea of holding vespers services on Sunday afternoons, taking an offering to pay for building repairs.

The idea was to have different ministers from different religious denominations take turns preaching. This grew to include musical performances along with the sermons.

“If it was a Presbyterian minister, they’d have a choir,” said Stevens, “but not every church had a choir.”

Dale then started asking musicians outside of the churches to perform as well. People liked that so much that it has evolved into a mostly musical event these days, with the preacher giving a devotional sermon for about 15 minutes.

“I tell the ministers when I call them that it’s really light duty,” said Stevens. “It’s really great of them to offer to come to Oysterville in the afternoon and do another service.”

Today, Stevens is the one who coordinates the performers for the services that take place every Sunday from Fathers Day weekend in June to Labor Day weekend in September – save for the weekend of the Jazz and Oysters event in August. She said it is such a task to schedule the musicians and ministers that she starts working on it in January.

This last weekend, the Ocean Beach Presbyterian Church performed with its 20-member choir. Reverend Jarrett Johnson greeted the packed sanctuary with a verse from Philippians, chapter 2. The choir, led by Dale Hamreus, performed re-worked versions of old standards and started swinging with gospel soul as choir member Bob Walters took the lead, along with his son Burton, on “He Never Failed Me Yet.” This is the seventh year that the choir has performed during a vespers at the Oysterville Church.

“You’d just have to wonder why we wouldn’t like it?” said Hamreus. “It’s very enjoyable and the crowds are always large. We have a varied program that runs from fairly typical church anthems to very light music. I kind of mix’em up and people seem to like that.”

People obviously do like it, as the small building is packed for just about every service.

“It’s an intimate setting,” said Stevens. “I tell people the church holds between 100 people – 120 if cozy.”

The event has become so popular locally that Stevens now has musicians calling her up, asking if they can play.

“Musicians love it,” said Stevens of the venue. “The acoustics in that church for some reasons are wonderful.”

And the offering taken this summer will help to keep the music alive in the old church, as it has been ear-marked to pay for a new piano.

The vespers services are open to the public and are a casual affair. In fact, rather than wearing the traditional robes of a church choir, the group from Ocean Beach Presbyterian performed in their regular “going-to-church” clothes Sunday.

“People can come as they are,” encouraged Stevens. “We welcome everybody.”