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The pages at this level include much of our previous news
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The brigade held its annual "at
home" evening on Tuesday 17th July 2007. This was a sad /
happy occasion for us. Sad because after nearly 20 years of leading
the songsters, Jo Schultz has decided to step down. Jo has been a
great trainer for the brigade and has lifted our singing to new
heights. We would all want to thank her for her leadership and commitment.
Jo is not leaving us entirely however, she will continue to sing with us
under our new leader Jo McIntosh. This leads to the happy part of the
story, as Jo is also an excellent leader, and we are really pleased that she
feels that God wants her to move into this role. More about Jo
McIntosh will appear on the "about us" page in the next few weeks,
but for the moment; Jo has grown up in Chelmsford . She married
Richard in December 2005 (see below), both Richard and Jo are members of the
International Staff Songsters, and Jo has been the Singing Company (junior
choir) leader for some time. (Jo Schultz will be taking over leadership of
the Singing Company - no rest for ...)
It was to be expected that the evening would be a trip down memory lane
for Jo, and she chose an evening of songs from her time with the
brigade (some looking a little faded on the manuscript, but a joy to sing
non-the-less. |
Jo Schultz receives a gift on behalf of the Songsters |
Jo McIntosh leads our final song of the evening. |
Father and son enjoy singing together |
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Earlier in the evening, Jo McIntosh had been presented with a special cake
from the Singing Company local. Special because it showed Jo looking just a little younger! |
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All our very best love and thanks to Jo
for her leadership, and welcome to Jo! May God bless your commitment
to the future. |
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For
more pictures of the evening, click here |
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The brigade paid a visit to the historic church of St Mary the Virgin
in Great Leighs, Essex, on the 28th April. The church, seen here, has
a wonderful Saxon tower, and an amazing sense of worship, going back
hundreds of years. It is however quite small, and the songsters had an
experience of their own, singing from the choir stalls.
Having said that, it was a wonderful evening for us. The church
folk were warm and welcoming, and the fellowship with fellow believers is
always inspiring! |
The flitch prize |
The 12th June, once again found the songsters making their
annual visit to the Dunmow Flitch Friendship Club. For those who
have still not heard of the interesting history surrounding the word
"flitch" we suggest a visit here.
As always, the songsters had a warm welcome, and we hope , provided more
than merely an entertaining evening. |
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On Saturday 14th April Chelmsford Songsters, and The South London Fellowship
Band with guest euphonium soloist Simon Birkett, joined together to present
a charity concert in aid of Cancer Research UK. The evening was warm, both
meteorologically and musically, with some much loved classics from the band,
including "The Old Wells", and "Treasures from
Tchaikovsky", while the Songster's contribution covered the classic,
"King of Love", to the contemporary "We Saw Love", via
the barbershop style "Singin' in the Heavenly Choir"
The quality of the evening was matched by the quality of the collection
raising the magnificent amount of £1632.68 for the charity.
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brigade is happy and excited to announce the release of our new CD
"In His Presence". For the last few years, we have given
over 2 or 3 practices a year to "sing and Study" evenings.
We will rehearse a song such as "Share my Yoke" and then break
into small groups to study the scripture surrounding this beautiful
music. Inevitably after looking closely at God's word, the song will
come afresh and with new meaning to each of us. It seemed a pity to
keep these blessings to ourselves, so this CD includes bible study notes
for each of the songs. These can be used for personal devotion and
study or in groups.
So listen and study, sing and study, or just study, but however you use
the CD, we hope it brings as much blessing to you, as it has to us. |
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Tuesday
25th July 2006 another of our popular "at
home" evenings took place. As usual the evening was a
relaxed opportunity for friends to join us to hear some new songs and some
old songs. It included a preview of a new song, which will be of
special interest in the next few months (watch this space)
Photographs (left) Dave Hayward, explaining his choice of song (a
Christmas song in 30o C temperatures!!) and right the brigade
joined by some friends |
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| Saturday
27th May finally dawned and with it, the Songsters' long awaited trip to
Scotland. The brigade had been looking forward to the trip for some
time, and we were not to be disappointed.
The Saturday evening festival at Edinburgh Gorgie Corps was very well
supported by the local folk, as well as other Salvationists and friends
from far and wide. The hall was full, and the congregation warm and
welcoming.
The theme for the weekend was "In His Presence", and God's
presence was certainly evident throughout the weekend.
Click here to see the programmes |
The sun setting over Edinburgh
click here to view pictures from the weekend |
As well as the Sunday morning meeting, the brigade
split into three sections and visited two old peoples' residences, and the
prison. The Sunday evening meeting was followed by a barbeque with
the corps folk, and an opportunity to build friendships.
A highlight of the weekend, was the privilege of
singing in St Giles Cathedral, on Monday. Although there were many
visitors moving around, it was wonderful to see the number of people who
stopped to listen to the entire concert. The music and, more
importantly, the message were well received and once again God's presence
was felt, particularly in the haunting sound of "Pie Jesu" sung
beautifully by songsters Jo McIntosh and Gemma Fincham, and accompanied by
the brigade. |
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evening was the turn of Stirling Corps to act as hosts, and again the
welcome was everything we had come to expect from the Scots.
Click here to see the
programmes |
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Saturday 13th May, the brigade wended its way to Lewisham, to join the
corps in celebrating its 125th Anniversary. The evening included
songs old and new, including the old favourite "Noah Found Grace in
the eyes of the Lord" with Dave Hayward (one of our veterans),
singing God's side of the conversation, Matt Hull (our youngest member)
singing Noah's words, and the brigade filling in the rest. The
welcome from our friends at Lewisham was warm and sincere, and we
were pleased that many friends from other local churches could be there as
well. |
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| On Saturday 4th March 2006, the Brigade was once again happy
to help a local charity. This time a concert in aid of the Essex Air
Ambulance (picture opposite) . The evening included many old
favourites, including Rutter's "When The Saints". Our
youngest songster, Matt Hull, made his solo debut with the brigade singing
"Down the Street", to great applause. |
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On Sunday 19th March 2006 the brigade took part in one of a series of
area praise rallies within the London North East Division. It was
great to share with friends and fellow Salvationists from around the
area. The photo above shows the brigade in song at the Colchester
Corps, where the rally took place.
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Congratulations
to two of our members, Joanne Oakley and Richard McIntosh, who were
married on the 28th December 2005! The service was beautifully led
through by Majors Roger and Noreen Batt at the Chelmsford Citadel, where
the couple were supported by friends and family from far and wide.
Best wishes to you both for a long and happy future together from all
of us in the Songsters.
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| Saturday
the 10th of December 2005 saw the brigade in concert again. This
time we joined with the Enfield Citadel Band to take part in a Christmas
Spectacular on behalf of the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity. As
usual, this event was well supported and raised nearly £2.500 for the
charity.
The band's offerings included the much loved Carolcade (a sort of
"hooked on Christmas") and not to be outdone in the "how
many carols can you get into one piece of music" stakes, the
songsters presented "Christmas in about 3 minutes", which
included excerpts of 22 carols!
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Above Helen Rollason - who died of cancer in 1999
and below Sue Johnson sings
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Other
solo musical items from Sue Johnson (vocal) Simon Schultz (piano)
really sparkled and spoken items from Ken lodge and John Hull completed
a balanced and enjoyable programme.
On the following day (Sunday 11th) the Songsters were again in
action, taking part in the 2 Chelmsford Corps Civic carol services which
raised over £1300 for the Mayor's chosen charities this year.
That leaves only a couple of evenings at old folks accommodation, and
our own Corps Carol Service on Sunday the 18th (phew!) Happy
Christmas to all our visitors.
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evening of Tuesday 26th July 2005 witnessed another popular "at
home" evening. The brigade previewed some songs, still
in rehearsal, including the haunting "The Lamb" with words
by William Blake and music by John Tavener. Some visitors chose
favourite songs, and explained why they had special meaning for them,
and the evening was complete with a drink and biscuit and a chance to
chat. |
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Photo's:
Above - the songsters and guests enjoy a "golden oldie"
and
left - a future songster and his mum in full voice (the budding
songster's dad and two older brothers are also in the brigade
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