Monday 31 March 2008

Hayling Island


On Saturday, Annie, accompanied by Eddie and Sue (and Jenny?) went to Hayling Island to lead Jerusalem Joy in a day. They had a tough time getting down there with a long queue on the motorway, but the day went well.


There were about 40 in the choir including 15 children, and over 100 people came to the final performance. The musical went really well. Jerusalem Joy is great to do in a day, and it tells the story of Holy Week in a very clear way.


If you are interested in having Annie or Helen come to lead a musical in a day, we still have some dates available in our diaries. It is really simple to organise, and the results are very rewarding. Don't hesitate to send us an email - helen@cmm.org.uk or annie@cmm.org.uk

Friday 28 March 2008

Congratulations


Congratulations to Katie (formerly of the CMM office) and her husband Gary. They have a baby, Joseph William, born prematurely a few weeks ago. Katie and Joseph have finally been allowed home from hospital, and we have the first photos.



We are praying for Katie and Gary that they find it easy having Joseph at home. Also that Joseph continues to grow and put on weight.

Thursday 27 March 2008

Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

We hope that you have had a Christ-filled Holy Week, and are now enjoying the Easter Season. Most of the CMM office are enjoying a well earned break: Annie, Roger and Mary are on holiday, as are Lindsay and Anne (although they'll be looking after the kids...).

Easter weekend was also a special time for CMM as Gill Treweeks, chair of EBRG and one of the trustees was married to Brian Johnson on Holy Saturday. It was a fabulous day, despite the strong winds and occasional snow, and we pray that God will bless Mr and Mrs Johnson in their new life together!

Thursday 20 March 2008

Saints Alive

The CMM Choir has been meeting over the last couple of months practicing for their six performances of Saints Alive. The rehearsals have been going well, and the choir are looking forward to meeting up after the Easter break ready for their mini-tour around the West Midlands.

Thank God for the West Birmingham choir conductor, Sylvia Whalley, whose hard work is pretty much over as the two choirs meet together under the direction of Penny King for their last rehearsals. Pray for Penny, as she adds the final touches to the production. Also pray for the sound technicians, soloists and speakers for each of the events.

The performance dates are:

13th April: Christ Church, Selly Park, 7pm
19th April: St. James' Aston, 7.15pm
20th April: St. Francis, Bournville, 7.30pm
27th April: West Bromwich Baptist, 6pm
3rd May: St. John's Walmley, 7.30pm
18th May: Six Ways Baptist, Erdington, 6.30pm


Please come along to the performances if you can. Entry is free although there will be a retiring collection.

Tuesday 18 March 2008

The recording begins...

Last week we laid down the backing vocals for the recording of Rock. The studio group were:

Miriam, Catherine, Helen on soprano
Annie, Sarah on Alto
Dave, Dave on Tenor
Simon, Paul on Bass




It was a great session in Chris' brand new studio at home. Soon we will put down some live instruments before the cast put down the solos. The church recording is on May 10th in Birmingham and all are welcome. Please let me (helen@cmm.org.uk) know if you plan to attend and want more details.




Message from Canada part 2

Here's the second message Roger sent:

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Hi Folks

We are nearly at the end of our trip now. It will be good to be back, although it is going really well here. We have just had two great performances of JAIL BREAK – good attendances, great response, and people being prayed with afterwards. We are really aware of God at work and it is right that we are here at this time.

The Anglican Church in Canada is struggling with the issue of “same-sex blessings”. Most evangelicals/charismatics are vehemently opposed to this, and so are leaving or are being dismissed. Congregations are confused, worried, divided, etc. Please pray.

The situation at St John’s Church in Duncan is sad, with Glyn the Rector off sick for months. Pray for them, especially Dale Huston the “stand-in” Priest and Sue Doughty who leads the music. They will need to be open to all God is doing and receive his guidance and strength.

We are so sure that this has been God’s timing for us to be here, both in Victoria and Duncan. The folk are open to the work of the Spirit, but really need the leaders to be Bible-based and willing to lead them in moving on in the gifts of the Spirit.

JAIL BREAK has been a message “in season”, and God has touched many lives through it. Pray that this will continue and that the “seeds sown” will go on building up the church.

Do have a look at our photos – they show views of this beautiful place and also pictures of the many lovely people who have made us so welcome:
Roger's Photobucket Site

So we are soon off to our final Production, and then to Vancouver “enroute” home in the morning (Monday). We should arrive back in Birmingham on Tuesday afternoon at 1600.

Bless you all, and thank you for your prayers.

Roger + Devon & Kathleen

Message from Canada part 1

This is an edited version of the first message Roger sent from Canada last week:

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Hi Folks

We’re in a beautiful place here, but not much signal (internet or mobile). We have been very busy, but today (Tuesday) we are having a complete day off. Maybe going for a walk this afternoon - it’s lakes, sea and mountains here!

Just a few things to report:

FRI – Victoria Choir rehearsal – about 15 of them, well trained and ready to go. No problem with syncopation in Canada, but, they left the improvised bits for me to go through with them. They responded well.

SAT – “Freedom in Christ” Conference –a good number attended, a lot of great worship times, and they seemed to be responding to the teaching and “Come Holy Spirit” times.

SUN – Morning Services at St John’s Duncan. I led the worship at the 1015 more informal service. The folks really got going and were very enthusiastic.
- Evening Seminar – more lovely worship – I abandoned my programme and went with the flow of the Spirit. Kathleen and Devon did magnificently well in leading and prophesying. By the end of the evening we had encouraged quite a number of the Canadian folk to have a go at prophesying! A young girl gave a very moving testimony of how God had set her free and really blessed her when she came over to Lee Abbey for our Jail Break Music Week in 2006. “A bruised reed he will not break.”

MON – evening rehearsal in Duncan with their choir and the soloists - Great talent and a super team. They are praying that many will come to the productions at the weekend.

Bless you all,

Roger

Monday 10 March 2008

Canada

Roger, Kathleen and Devon are in Vancouver for two weeks at the moment, performing Jail Break and leading rehearsals and conferences. Please pray for the team. A full itinerary can be found on

Roger's personal website

We know they arrived safely, but now they are in Duncan they seem to be out of mobile signal. Hopefully we will receive an update on the success of the Freedom in Christ conference on Saturday and the evening seminar yesterday soon.

There is an 8 hour time difference, so they should still be in bed as I type

Monday 3 March 2008

Stowmarket

Last weekend, Roger and Mary went to Stowmarket to lead a Jail Break weekend. The choir there had been learning the music for a few weeks, and Roger travelled over to help with the polishing off, to lead some bible teaching, and conduct the performance.

The cast and choir (all local) combined brilliantly to make an exciting and moving performance in front of a packed church.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a powerful healing testimony, which added significantly to the message of freedom in Christ, which Jail Break portrays.