By Donna Kelly-Hart, Staff Writer, The Ledger (Lakeland), May 14, 1999

WINTER HAVEN — The church that brought drive-in services to Winter Haven is once again a pioneer in worship.

Beymer Memorial United Methodist Church will offer an abbreviated nondenominational worship service for boaters on the waters of Lake Howard 8 to 8:30 a.m. each Sunday between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The Rev. Robert Hornback first presented a waterside service last Labor Day, shortly after the dock’s completion in August.

Almost 100 people attended the service, including one person in a kayak, Hornback said.

"For the grand opening Labor Day, we hooked the speaker system to the car battery," he said. "And it was hard to get boats together. We started a little late."

The service went well enough, though, that Hornback made plans to hold waterside summer church services.

"It’s an untested thing," he said. "There isn’t a book to tell us how to do this. For instance, we can’t hand out bulletins when people are in boats."

"Services will be very informal, very fast," he said. "We won’t do as much as we usually do inside the sanctuary."

The 30-minute services will consist of a welcome, praise chorus and 15 minutes of meditation, Hornback said.

The praise chorus segment will consist of popular hymns, guitar music or soloists, he said.

"We’ll have a little P.A. system that we can direct toward the land and the shore," church member Eddie Bruner said. "We’ll sing praise songs that are short and easy that most people would already know."

Bruner will provide guitar music for the services. "Even though it is short and compact, it will be a quality worship service," Hornback said.

The dock cost $5,000 to build, Hornback said. This figure includes installation of electricity, water, permits and a public address system.

Curtis Campbell, a member of the congregation, furnished the labor free of charge.

"We raised the funds in a very short amount of time. We didn’t really have a campaign," Hornback said.

"The idea of having a service that other churches can’t do — but we can because we have property on the Chain of Lakes — is appealing," the pastor said when asked why he became interested in the project.

Church members anticipate using the dock to host youth events such as ski parties, he said. Hornback, whose office window overlooks the dock, said it is also used by fishermen, water skiers and residents from the nearby Grand Court who walk over to watch the boats.

Hornback is looking forward to the Memorial Day service on the lake. "Fishermen and skiers who normally wouldn’t go to church can just pull up and not have to change clothes," he said.

"We may have to buy Skin So Soft and Off! by the gallon," he said. "But the mosquitoes haven’t been too bad.

"And I hope that people will think it is weird and different and will want to try it."