Happy Christmas from all at CMM

A few thoughts about worship as we enter this special time - taken from chapter 16 of Worship Works.

Mary - a person of praise.

Mary’s story (Luke 1:26-56) is one of the most well-known in the bible. A young girl in a small town ‘up north’ is met by an angel who tells her that she is going to give birth to the Son of God. She shares the news with her cousin Elizabeth, who is also blessed by the presence of the Lord’s Spirit within her. Mary responds with one of the most beautiful and majestic paeans of praise ever written.

Here are some thoughts on the story of Mary's meeting with the angel.

UNCONDITIONALLY LOVED: “highly favoured” (v28) – a greeting“Shalom, favoured lady! Adonai is with you.” Life, including church life, will reveal many of our insecurities, particularly for leaders, and especially those of us involved in worship. Our security should, and can be, that we are unconditionally loved by a compassionate and faithful God. This means we can know that, even if we struggle and sometimes fail in our ministry and walk with Jesus, he is still totally for us and accepting us.

REAL AND HONEST: “greatly troubled” (v29) – a reaction
“Do not be afraid” is a common message from God to his people. In a world that is forever shifting in moralities, spiritualities, authorities, etc., we can be tempted to retreat to a church that always does the same things, in the same way, and in the same time. We are so fearful of change! But the Holy Spirit will always bring change to a church where he is present.

FOCUSSED: “He will be great” (v32) – the purpose of it all is to reveal and proclaim JesusRecently, in a mission planning meeting, we were drawn to the phrase “Make the main thing the main thing”. Nothing could be more relevant when it comes to the worship-life of the church. It is so easy for other things to become our focus, e.g. the music, the instruments, the personnel. The message to Mary was about Jesus: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. May he be the main thing in our worship, indeed in everything that happens in the church!

ENQUIRING: “How can this be?” (v34) – a good question, a thirst for more
We are supposed to use our minds, and grow in our understanding. An open bible should be a constant companion, both in our ministry and in our private life. Worshippers and worship leaders need to be taught and to grow in their knowledge of Jesus and the bible.

OPEN TO THE SPIRIT: “the power of the Most High” (v35) – the way it works!
The Old Testament prophet once wrote: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit” says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6). This is the method, the way God works in his church. He doesn’t need musicians, music groups or choirs. Just see what he’s got in heaven! But he chooses to gift us with such ministries in order to serve and enable the church. But the most important, and ultimately the only essential, is that he is building his church in the power of the Spirit.

Click on the following hyperlinks to have a look at our Christmas newsletters.

Roger and Mary

Annie

Helen

Events and Sales

May God richly bless you all as you worship Him this Christmas.

Annie's Christmas meetings

While Roger, Mary and Helen travelled to Barrow, Annie was busy in Birmingham.  On the weekend before this, Annie had led a special Christmas evening at Hagley Road Retirement Village with the CMM Choir.  They brought back the lovely Christmas programme of songs, readings and poems from last Christmas, and performed wonderfully for the packed audience.

Then the following Saturday (6th December) she led a special Advent evening at the Community of St John the Divine, in the Alum Rock area of Birmingham.  The sisters have long supported CMM by providing accommodation for both Miriam and Helen, as well as stock!  Sr Ivy also sings in the CMM Choir.  For the last four or five years we have provided a special advent evening for them, and this year Annie was in charge, as Roger, Mary and Helen were away.  She used a very similar programme to the Hagley Road Retirement Village, but specially rearranged to suit small group singing from her team: Amy, Sarah, Simon and David.  David has been a CMM Choir soloist for years and has sung on the Hymn Collection and Grain of Mustard Seed recordings.  It was lovely to have him singing with us again.  The sisters always provide excellent refreshments afterwards too.  Our thanks to them for a blessed evening.

Annie's work was not yet complete, as on Thursday 11th December along with Helen, Jonathan and Linda she led another Christmas meeting, this time at Sutton Coldfield Baptist Church.  Once again it was really well supported, and all those who came really appreciated the readings and songs, calling it a moment of calm in the Christmas rush.

Well done to Annie for all of her hard work.  She now has a well deserved break!

Here are some of the photos from the CMM Choir Hagley Road Retirement Village performance.

06 December 2014 - Worship Works in Barrow

On the first weekend in December, Roger, Mary, Helen, Jonathan and Linda travelled to Barrow-in-Furness in the South Lakes Peninsulas for a Worship Works weekend.  There they were joined by CMM associates Sharon and Debbie.  Sharon's daughter Gemma joined us on flute, and Debbie's son Lou played cornet.  Altogether it was a lovely team to lead the day.

We gathered in the hall at Abbey Road Baptist Church, (where some of us had just been served a wonderful breakfast by Mandy the organiser, and Martin the minister) which was a lovely informal setting, with plenty of flexibility and warmth.  Delegates from the Barrow area were joined by a coach load from St Helen's, including Carole and Graham and a number of regular music week attendees.  It was lovely to see so many familiar faces.

The day itself seemed to go very well indeed, with great feedback for the team.  We had been praying at EBRG on the preceding Thursday, and a number of the words and pictures God had given to the group were shared at Barrow and claimed.  It is so exciting to see God at work.

On Sunday morning the team returned and led the service at the church, this time joined by Sharon's son Anthony on percussion.  Helen led the service through, and Roger spoke on advent, and the God who comes.  It really is an honour to be able to minister in different churches and encourage them.  We continue to pray for Martin and all at Abbey Road Baptist, that God would bless them and lead them forward in their mission and ministry to the community.

29 November 2014 - Worship Works in Oxford

Devon in action

Just a week after the Worship Works weekend in Welshpool, Roger was on the road again, this time to Oxford.  He took with him Helen and Devon, and they were joined by more local associates Paul, Catherine and Debbie.  It was also great to have Eddie and Jenny at the day - they have been slightly less involved with CMM since Eddie was ordained, so it was wonderful to see them and meet the group they had brought from their church.

The day was hosted by the Christian Music Fellowship choir and was held at Marston URC church.  It was quite a small venue, but very full - Alan was stood at the back the whole time, although that was possibly because the radiators were there!

Once things had warmed up a little it was a fantastic day.  The worship was really moving and powerful, with worshippers from different backgrounds and experiences lifting up their voices together.

A slight challenge came in the second session when there was a problem with the power, and the projector went off - including all of the words for people to sing along.  Helen had to improvise the last half hour of her talk, which was interesting...

That moment the screen went blank

The CMF group looked after the team amazingly well at lunch time with a beautiful spread, which was then shared around with everyone.  Thanks so much to Margaret and Elizabeth for their hard work.

In the afternoon Roger led a workshop on creative worship, and Helen led one on healing in worship at the same time.  Then the final session of the day began again with worship, including the 5/4 hymn 'Sing of the Lord's Goodness', which Paul accompanied with his amazing new keyboard.  It was great fun.

Thanks so much to Michael, Elizabeth, and the whole team at CMF Oxon.  It was a privilege to minister among you.

Paul, Debbie and Catherine

22-23 November 2014 Worship Works in Welshpool

On the 22nd November, Roger, Annie, Ann, Amy, Carole and Keith travelled to Welshpool for a very alliterative Worship Works day.  The team had a wonderful welcome at the Methodist Church, for a day that had been organised amazingly by Janice Rhodes.

Annie has led a number of 'musical in a day' events in the area - at Arddleen, Welshpool, Caersws and Newtown.  It was wonderful that many of the people she has met over the years were able to come to this Worship Works day.

One of the joys of the weekend was the number of worship leaders and preachers among those who attended, from a variety of churches.  It was so good to minister among people who will be able to take and use all the team have to share.  A number of those participating were also part of the Jubilate group at the church.

There was only one room available, so instead of splitting into two workshops after lunch, Roger and Annie worked together to lead a special session incorporating some new material from Seasons and Reasons with some creative worship and improvising.

On the Sunday morning the team returned to lead the service.  Annie led a block of praise within the service and Roger spoke Mary anointing Jesus' feet.  Some music from Mary Magdalene was also incorporated, as the Jubliate group will be learning it ready to perform in May.

Some wonderful comments were received after the day:

"It was such a privilege to meet you all, and an experience I will never forget.  I also learnt so much, not just about singing, but about God and prayer."

"Thoroughly enjoyable weekend.  Still singing some of the new songs taught.  A breath of fresh air to worship."

"Everyone I've spoken to since Sunday has asked "When can Roger come again?"! Sunday morning was a "mountain top hour" when we felt really blessed, moved, elated and close to God - and now it's back to earth, but we are already putting into practice some of what we learnt on Saturday - we started our singing practice on Monday with a "thought for the day" and had some quiet time together before we left at the end of the session, and we are planning a Praise Block for the next service we prepare and lead as a group."

07 November 2014 - Lunch at Calvary Chapel

On Friday Helen, Devon and Amy enjoyed a lovely lunch with a group of over 40 people at Calvary Chapel, King's Heath.  Roger had visited with Helen and Devon back in 2011, so it was great to return and give them an update on the ministry.

The church, pastored by Claire Williams, has a lunch every month, and they enjoy a variety of speakers.  Helen shared about the continuing ministry with Rock and Two Sisters, including the songs 'Surely you must have been with him', 'Simon Peter, do you love me' and 'Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus'.  She also shared some pictures of the ministry with the musicals in Israel, Ireland and Cyprus.

Another key ministry development to share was the new book, Worship Works.  After sharing some key points from the book, the event culminated with Devon's song 'O Lord how excellent you are', which provides a wonderful ministry opportunity.

It was a lovely event - we are indeed privileged to have the support of that wonderful group.

02 November 2014 - Two services in the West Midlands

On Sunday 2nd November Roger had a busy day with two different preaching engagements.  First he was preaching at Studley Parish Church, where an old school friend of his is in ministry.  It is an ancient church building, but is being adapted and used well by the congregation.  If you want a good tip for your own church website have a look at the 'Jesus' tab on theirs  - every church website should have one!

Roger took with him Katie, Amy and Phil (it was Phil's first official CMM event).  He used Psalm 95 to introduce the congregation to the idea of the Praise Block, and then also spoke about Mary sitting at Jesus' feet and how worship is our response to a revelation of God's love.  The service also involved communion, so the team introduced the congregation to the Getty/Townsend hymn 'Behold the Lamb' which works brilliantly when interspersed through the liturgy.

There were some wonderful comments from the congregation afterwards, including this card from Jane:

"Thank you so much for today, it was such an amazing service this morning, so normal but so inspiring.  God was in the service from the beginning to the end may this be the start of new beginnings for us as a people of God who want more of God in our lives and in our church."

And Jen made a comment on Facebook:

"I was at this service and it was one of the most invigorating worships I've been part of in a long time. I really felt ' in touch'. You sang a beautiful hymn that I've not been able to get out of my mind since... Precious and Honoured."

In the evening it was the latest in our series of renewal meetings at Christ Church, Burney Lane, Ward End.  This time (for the first time) Roger was allowed to speak!  So Helen led the opening worship, including old (Praise to the Lord, the almighty) and new (Cornerstone) with a bit of early 90s fun thrown in (Down the mountain).  The final song - 'There's nothing worth more - Holy Spirit you are welcome here' helped the congregation to be open to the Holy Spirit, and God was clearly moving among people even before Roger got up to speak.  It is so wonderful to minister among people that are completely ready and expectant.

Roger took the theme of Jesus breathing on his disciples - John 20:19-23.
Jesus came to where they were (v19)
Jesus showed them his love (v20)
Jesus affirmed their mission (v21)
Jesus promised his power (v22)
Jesus challenged them to respond (v23)

While Roger then led the ministry time, Annie led the music team as they used music to bless the congregation.  Devon's song - 'O Lord how excellent you are' began the ministry, and Annie included other songs such as 'Don't let your heart be troubled' and 'It's your blood'.

It was a really special evening, and many received deep and meaningful ministry.

18 October 2014 - Apostle in Camborne

While Annie was leading Apostle in Caersws, Roger, Mary and Helen travelled to Camborne along with Devon and Bob to lead their own Apostle weekend.  Sadly Caroline and Dave weren't able to come, so Mary stepped in on alto, and a local man called Malcolm took over the part of Barnabas.  They already had some local priests.

The parish church in Camborne has a choir that is occasionally supplemented by a singing group called the St Martin's singers.  On this occasion both of those choirs were supplemented by singers from Truro and St Ives to create a fabulous choir of over 30.  They had been trained very well (although their choir trainer was out of the country) and had worked hard to learn the words.  As most of them were able to look up from their copies the majority of the time, there was lots of eye contact with the conductor, and therefore the expression was excellent.

The Saturday included morning and afternoon rehearsals, as well as the performance in the evening.  It had all been expertly organised by Jo and the St Martin's singers committee, and they also hosted the team.  We were also looked after all day by Jason who controlled the sound system - he was brilliant - up and down ladders and making everything as good as it possibly could be in an awkward shape ancient building!

In the evening there was a great audience, including a few familiar faces from elsewhere in the country who just happened to be visiting the area. Apart from a couple of forgotten lines (not from Devon for once!) the performance went incredibly well, and Roger shared when he became a Christian as part of his talk.

On the Sunday morning we took part in the morning service at the church, which was challenging because of the many pillars blocking the screen (the choir had to process down to the congregation seats during the worship block).  Helen led worship, Roger spoke from Ephesians, and Devon sang 'O Lord how excellent you are' as part of the ministry time.

It really was a fabulous weekend.  Thanks so much to all those who helped to organise it.

The priests

Devon in action

Malcolm as Barnabas

Bob as Ananias

18 October 2014 - Apostle in Caersws

On Saturday 18th October Annie, Jonathan, Linda and Simon had an early start, and travelled to Caersws Chapel near Newtown in Mid Wales to help lead Apostle in a day.

This is Annie's report on the day:

It was a really good day at Caersws – about 35 in the choir, and although they only expected a tiny handful of people to come for the performance, actually we had the place absolutely packed.  I’d decided to do it in the hall where we had rehearsed, not go into the chapel, and we put the audience around tables, like cafe church – which was appropriate, as afterwards we all had a slap-up tea together.  It was hard work for me, as apart from the ones who had come over from Welshpool and Arddleen, they were struggling to pick things up.  But by the performance, everyone really enjoyed it. I encountered something I’ve never met before in 20 years with CMM – the men couldn’t read music notation – apparently in Male Voice Choirs in Wales they all sing from tonic solfa.  Happily, I was able to help them from time to time if they couldn’t get a passage by saying ‘doh, lah, soh’, etc. (And I even remembered from the dark recesses of my mind that a flat 3rd would be ‘maw’ – I hope that was right!)  

The team were wonderful – Simon Cooper as Saul, Jonathan as Ananias, and (unexpectedly) Linda Chappell and I as the disciples – Linda also was so helpful to the altos, and she looked after the bookstall as well, and was a real support.  The highlight of the day was that the Barnabas narrator Gwyn, who was one of the main chaps on the pastorate of the church, had brought his wife, who’d had a stroke, and she had what she described as her ‘best day ever’.  He was weeping openly, and was so full of praise to God for everything we had experienced during the day.  Simon gave the word for the day, and I shared several of the pictures we had had at EBRG, at moments I felt prompted to do so. The one Jane gave about the dried fruit soaked in tea and then mixed into a Bara Brith I shared at the beginning, and people seemed delighted that the Holy Spirit had given us a distinctly Welsh word for the day!

Then Annie received this email from Jenny who organised the day:

Annie - just a note, now that we've come down to earth and relaxed! Thank you SO much for a wonderful day... people have been talking about it all weekend, and very appreciative of your skill at enabling them to sing as they did. Please pass on our thanks to the rest of the team, not just for their musical and practical contributions, but also for the prayer support and making it much more than just "singing" but a chance to think about Paul's story and our own lives. 

I'm glad we persevered when initially it was hard to sum up people, and I'm glad we listened to your advise about doing it in the schoolroom... that format of cafe Church made it feel as if the "congregation" were more part of it too.
Once again many thanks
Jenny

11 October 2014 - Two Sisters in Sidmouth

Roger in action

On Saturday 11th October, Roger went to All Saints Church, Sidmouth for a special Two Sisters and a Funeral weekend.  The team was Bill as Lazarus, Richard Ayres as Jesus, Amy as Martha and Ann as Mary.  The local choir provided the priests, and also some other soloists for the shorter parts in 'O Worship the King' and 'Jesus comes riding into town'.

Bill, Ann, Amy and Richard

The morning and afternoon of the Saturday was spent rehearsing.  The choir had already been exceptionally well trained by Peter Fung, so all Roger had to do was add in the expression and changes he wanted.  The team were also exceptionally well fed and watered all weekend, which was much appreciated!

Sopranos and altos

The Sunday morning was filled with two services.  Firstly at 0945 there was a contemporary service.  Roger was instructed to keep the service to 50 minutes, and he very proudly managed it all in 49!  The service included 'We come with songs of blessing' from Seasons and Reasons, and in the response time to the sermon Ann sang 'Precious and honoured'.  Then at 1115 there was a much more traditional service, where Roger repeated his talk on worship.

Tenors and basses

After a shared lunch there was another rehearsal with the choir, before the performance at 4pm.  It went incredibly well with a great audience.

04 October 2014 - Worship Works in Weston

On Saturday 4th November Roger, Annie and a team spent the day at Christ Church, Montpelier, Weston-super-Mare with Worship Works.  The team was made up of Bill, Kaye and Marilyn, and then at the last minute Jackie and her son Sam stepped in on saxophone and drums.  It was great to have Jackie and the family at the day.

Roger instigated the day, but he was ably assisted by Jo Potter, who worked really hard to organise the day and did a brilliant job.  She was worried by low numbers of bookings, but eventually over 50 people came, which was a great turnout.

The day began with a block of praise led by Annie, including 'Come, people of the risen King' and 'How great thou art'.  Since much of the day is spent explaining the concept of the praise block and ways to lead and implement it, this is a vital part of the day.

The first session concluded with the song 'Light of the world' but with a twist.  As we worship God, he reveals more of his love to us.  After singing the song, the congregation were invited to listen and receive from God as a soloist sang 'So here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you're my child'.  It was a special moment and the Holy Spirit was really moving.

After lunch the group split into two workshops.  Roger led a group looking at creative and prophetic worship, and Annie led a healing in worship workshop.  The day finished as it had started, with worship.

Most of the team then stayed to take part in the morning service the next day at Kaye's church, Clarence Park Baptist.  Roger also led the service the previous week at a different church in the Weston area, so it had been a brilliant 10 days.

If you are interested in having a team from CMM come to your church for a Worship Works day, do contact office@cmm.org.uk and we can organise it!

20-27 September 2014 - Apostle on the Isle of Wight

Annie training the choir

Our final music week of the year was held at St Rhadagund's, near Ventnor on the south coast of the Isle of Wight.  It is always a great joy to visit this hotel and interact with the staff and guests there.  As with our weeks at Grange, Lee Abbey and Willersley, this time the focus of the music week was the musical Apostle, and Annie worked hard all week training the choir ready for the performance.

The CMM team

Alongside the choir rehearsals, Roger gave some Bible teaching based on the book of Ephesians, and different members of the CMM team led worship, workshops and epilogues.  The CMM team for the week was Roger, Mary, Annie, Kathleen, Bill and Barrie.  Sharon unofficially joined the team as well, and it was great to have her.

Carole and Graham

One of the joys of the week was the presence of Carole and Graham.  They have been coming to music weeks for a few years now, and have even been involved as associates - and now they have got married, and this week on the Isle of Wight was one part of their honeymoon.  It was a real honour for Roger and the team to lead a special marriage blessing time.

Leading worship at Shanklin URC

The team were also able to take part in the morning service at Shanklin URC, and the church provided some wonderful musicians to help with the final performance on the Friday.  For the final performance Barrie did a great job as Saul, and it was lovely to have Mike playing the narrator role of Barnabas.

Annie, Roger and some musicians from Shanklin URC

Sopranos and Altos

Mike as Barnabas

More musicians from Shanklin URC

Barrie as Saul

Some 'priests'

Final rehearsal