One of the newer entertainment acts who performed at the Millwood Follies last weekend is a group called Prodigal. The five-person group consists of Jennifer Paschal on vocals, Chris Rasmussen on vocals and guitar, Michael Rasmussen on vocals and guitar, Danny Phillips on drums and Jeanne Archambeault on piano.

The group has been playing for the 11 a.m. service at the Mancos Methodist Church, 470 W. Grand Ave., for one and a half years, ever since the church decided to implement a second service. The musicians play contemporary Christian music that has been recorded by others.

Chris Rasmussen and fellow singer Jen Paschal, (Pastor Paschal’s wife) were the first two musicians at the second service. That was in Aug. 2010.

It wasn’t long, though, before drummer Phillips joined the two, after his wife, Gina, a former student of Jennifer and Craig’s, called and asked if they needed a bongo player. “I had played drums since I could walk,” said Phillips. “I played in school, then in bars…but it had been 15 years since I had done any playing….mostly on my steering wheel!” He loves to add the conga drums to the music that the group performs and he loves Mancos. Danny, Gina and their family come from northern Idaho.

Soon after, Paschal asked Archambeault, the Mancos Times editor, to do a story about the second service at the church. Archambeault, at the time, mentioned that she played the piano, and Paschal asked her if she would like to join the group. “I though I’d give it a try and see what it was like,” said Archambeault.

In December of that same year, Michael Rasmussen, Chris’ brother, moved to Mancos from Ogden, Utah, and came with his sister to a practice. His proficiency on the guitar, and his love of music, soon had him swept into the group as well.

“The church is so fortunate to have these musicians,” said Paschal.

Prodigal has spent the last year and a half practicing their music, bonding with each other as musicians and trying their hand at writing original music that they can play at the church service.

“This kind of thing — this contemporary praise music — hasn’t been used much in Methodist churches,” said Paschal. “Craig and I have had a dream for a long time to incorporate this music into a service.” Jennifer’s voice is very moving and most of the congregation loves to hear her sing.

The Mancos Methodist Church has had a 9 a.m. service for a long time, she said, and it has brought many folks together. “I love that service,” said Jennifer. Craig has been pastor of the church for almost eight years, and he and Jennifer, along with their kids Andie and Ro, moved here from Meeker, Colo.

“We felt like we needed something different,” said Pastor Craig Paschal. “We hoped to attract a different group of people...people who may or may not like the 9 a.m. service, or people who may want a different kind of music.” So, during a meeting of the church membership, it was decided that they would commit to another service at a later time, to more technology, to a praise band and to a part-time children’s ministry. That all has come about, along with the elimination of formal programs and dress. “People come in whatever they want,” said Paschal. “I think God’s love, grace and forgiveness can heal the past spiritual wounds anyone has.”

Chris, whose beautiful voice blends well with Jen’s, sings many of the songs while she plays her guitar. She is also a member of Vixen, a local three-woman group, and Hard Left, another new local music group. Chris has been playing guitar since she was 11 years old, having come from a musical family. “My mom and dad got my sister and me into group guitar lessons for a few years. Then we learned with individual lessons and some on our own. But I’d been performing at weddings and funerals, things like that. Then when I moved to Alamogordo, N.M., I played at the Baptist church there.” Her time with Vixen for the last few years has helped her to become even better at her talent.

Chris’ brother Michael, also a member of Hard Left, learned guitar at a young age as well. He is younger than Chris, and learned most of what he knows on his own. “I listened to my dad play guitar, bass…all kinds of instruments…listened to my sisters, and picked it up. I had lessons for a couple years, and then taught myself.” Michael is fairly new to performing, though, especially in the singing arena. He’s done well at getting over his stage fright, as, he said, everyone in the church is so amazing. “It was major therapy for me after a broken relationship, but the church is so open-minded…so open-spirited. Anybody can walk in here and feel welcome,” he said. “Now I can go on stage and have fun!”

The group has also begun writing original music of their own. “This whole songwriting is brand new for me,” said Chris Rasmussen. Some of the original songs have been written by Chris and Michael, but most of them have been a collaborative effort of the group. They have currently written around 11 songs, and are in the process of recording a demo CD to send to various singers, songwriters and other musicians. Their “sound guy”, Philip Walters, works with them to make sure all the speakers and microphones are in the right place when they play at church and when they record. Walters has been working in sound technology since his college years, he said. The Methodist church has just recently — in the last year and a half — acquired the screen on which the song’s words are projected, the projector, the speakers and the mixing board. “It’s been pretty amazing for me,” Walters said of his time with Prodigal.

What is interesting about Prodigal, and how they decided on their name, is that they all have been away from churches for various reasons, come back, and then gone away again…sometimes over and over. The story of the prodigal son — about a son going away and coming back and being welcomed home by his father — seems to be what the musicians can relate to the most. Their music has grown since they’ve been together and they have learned to blend their music as a group.

Their “therapy sessions”, as they have dubbed their practices, haven’t been trivial either. Many times the first hour of their practices consist of going over each other’s concerns and issues.

“It’s been awesome,” said Michael.

Paschal said that the group of musicians are “beyond anything I ever could have imagined…the caliber of musicians is a miracle!” She couldn’t imagine a better fit for the church, she said, as all of the individuals are talented in their own right. “It’s so organic…the way it happened,” she said. “I think it’s a God thing.”