 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
|
|
|
|
Warrington 2006
For a number of us, the weekend started off waiting for the coach in a very cold and windy Mickleover. Thankfully, the weather improved as we progressed up the M6 and we soon arrived in a sunny Warrington. As usual the designated ‘unloaders’ soon set to work in getting everything off the coach and into our allocated rooms in what was an impressive suite of buildings. We were met by the familiar faces of our former Corps Officers Majors David and Merle Garrad, now the COs at Warrington. After a brief rehearsal our hosts were on hand with a welcome cup of tea, the first of many throughout the weekend. Then on to the welcome tea where we were given a hearty meal to set us up well for the evening festival. The usual chaos then ensued as we all rushed to get changed for the 7pm start.
As we entered the hall to greet the congregation we were pleased to see that a good crowd had gathered, and we immediately got underway with our first song Sing to the Lord. The programme included many familiar items, such as Open Thou Mine Eyes, Written in Red and There’s Never Been a Mountain, as well as a number of our newer songs including Daniel, Servant of the Lord and Somebodys Prayin For Me, featuring Alan Fox. The reflective period was provided by testimony from Philip Eacott; which included some humorous anecdotes from his experiences as a hospital DJ, and the pause for thought from Pauline Eacott. The evening ended with the songsters dispersing around the hall to sing John Rutter’s benediction The Lord Bless You and Keep You.
Sunday started early with the 10am Holiness Meeting with the theme Divine Contrasts, led by our Corps Officer Major Freda Benneyworth. Many were blessed by the testimony and cornet solo from David Purkiss. There was also a very entertaining children’s story brought to us by our puppeteers Heather James and James Hunter!
After the meeting it was on to a local retirement village for over 50s where we sang to the residents, who were very appreciative. The village proved very appealing to some of the qualifying age group within the songsters who seemed ready to put down a deposit for an apartment there and then!
The final meeting of the weekend took the form of a joint Praise and Salvation Meeting. The songsters sang a selection of songs including God of my Praise, With Wings as Eagles and Then will the very Rocks Cry Out, as well as items from Warrington Band and Songsters. Major Freda then led us in the Salvation meeting supported by Vicky Neale as the speaker. Following a warm word of thanks to Warrington corps for their generous hospitality and their kind words in return, the songsters concluded the weekend with a golden oldie, March of the Soldier. Then back home to Derby after an enjoyable weekend, looking forward to again meeting with our friends at Warrington at their return visit.
