The Frye Family Band held a Marriage and Parenting “Family to Family” Presentation, as well as a concert, at First Lutheran Church this past Saturday, July 16.

The Frye family is made up of Tom and Lisa and their three children, Kaylyn, Maggie and Jonathon.

A Christian band, their mission is “encourage the broken and strengthen families to live a life of purpose.” Band members include Tom, Kaylyn, Maggie and Jonathon Frye and Eric Reynolds the only non-family member. Lisa occasionally plays percussion with the band, as well.

Because the band is from Indiana, John Gustatson, board president of Leeds Lebanon Lutheran Church, worked hard to get the family to Rugby.

“The church wanted to do something that would reach the community beyond our small church,” Gustatson said.

The turnout, however, was not what was expected. Two people, a couple visiting relatives in the area, attended the Marriage and Parenting Presentation. The presentation focused on home schooling, since the Frye children were home-schooled and the pair that attended the presentation is home-schooling their children, as well.

“I really thought we’d have a better turnout for the presentation,” Gustatson said. “I thought Tom spoke with a lot of wisdom about the topic. I am very grateful for the couple who came.”

The concert saw a bit more of an audience, with about 30 people in attendance.

Most of the people who did attend the concert were members of First Lutheran Church. “I am very appreciative of Pastor Mike [Pretzer], Pastor Elaine [Sveet], and Stacy [Lunde] in the office there,” Gustatson said.

The lull in attendance might have something to do with the rain that Rugby and surrounding areas experienced Saturday from early morning through the late afternoon and into the evening.

“It was kind of a disappointment, but I still feel it was the right thing to do,” Gustatson said. “We were in the right place, at the right time.”

KZZJ-AM 1450 and KKWZ-FM 95.3 both broadcasted the concert Saturday evening, allowing for a broader audience. “You never know what can happen, you don’t know how many lives could have been touched because of the broadcasts,” Gustatson said.

Gustatson remains optimistic that something like this could work in the future. “We would have to look more closely at the timing of it, maybe have it in the winter when we can have a larger audience,” he said.

Gustatson said he would like to thank everyone who contributed to this event, including those at First Lutheran; Lila Harstad at KZZJ and KKWZ; Sarah Musser at Calvary Evangelical Free Church; Pastor Nathan Steen at Glad Tidings Assembly of God; the women from Leeds Lebanon Lutheran Church, who prepared sandwiches for the evening; and all those who attended.

“For all the people involved, we owe a tremendous amount of thanks,” he said.