Band visits St Austell, Redruth & Camborne in one Sunday
The ISB’s Sunday ministry saw a departure from the normal Sunday format. As a consequence of the Heyl Band’s funding of the concert the previous evening, the ISB was able to focus on some of the smaller corps in the area for whom such a visit would normally be unattainable! Staff Bandsman Richard Woodrow writes:
Sunday morning saw the ISB split into two to lead worship at the Salvation Army Corps in St Austell and Redruth - neither centre would describe themselves as a large corps, so it was a rare opportunity for us to minister in a setting where a visit from the ISB would not usually be feasible. The Redruth group, led by Bandmaster Steven Cobb and our Executive Officer, Lt.Col David Hilton, enjoyed an extra hour's sleep while the rest of us, led by Deputy Bandmaster Derek Kane, headed off to St Austell, slightly further from our overnight stay in Truro.
On arrival at St Austell, we were warmly greeted by our hosts - they have no Corps band, and one could sense their anticipation that this Sunday would be different. With everyone seated (and the hall full) 20 minutes before the meeting was due to start, an impromptu sing-along of favourite hymns seemed to be the obvious thing to do! The worship which followed, under Derick Kane's leadership, was relaxed yet focussed, and its message was clear - a call not to clutter ourselves with 'religious gadgetry', but to concentrate on the basics. The message was underlined as Carl Neilsen played the cornet solo 'In the love of Jesus [there is all I need]'.
The congregation at St Austell had clearly enjoyed our visit - and we had felt the value in ministering in a small corps situation. As the whole Band met up for lunch, it was clear that a similar experience had been shared at Redruth, where another congregation far in excess of the usual numbers met to share in worship. The meeting, which was led by the band’s new Executive Officer, Lieut-Colonel David Hinton, was a source of blessing inspiration and encouragement to the congregation.
After a lunch, which was provided by the Camborne Corps and served by members of the congregation including the corps most recent new soldiers and helpers who have linked up with the Army as a result of the corps community outreach programme, the band set up in Camborne’s Centenary Chapel for an afternoon programme that was attended by around 300. A wide and varied range of music was presented in the programme, which also included personal testimony from Nathan Cole and a vocal solo from Damian Wileman.
As the weekend progressed, we were thrilled to learn that so many of the local Salvationists had taken the ISB’s visit to the area as an opportunity to ask friends and neighbours to come to The Salvation Army for the first time. It was also abundantly clear that many former Salvationists had also responded to the band’s presence in the area and joined with former colleagues again to share in worship under the ISB’s leadership.
The journey back to London was long, but conversations between bandsmen gave clear testimony to the sense of value and worth that the members of the band perceived over the weekend. One-to-one conversations with listeners at the various venues affirmed the validity of the band’s presence in that rather isolated area of the territory, and we were left in no doubt as to the spiritual impact that our ministry had brought to many people’s lives.
2009/09/20