Rehearsal Weekend

Admin time!

In mid-February we had our rehearsal weekend for Israel, the first time the whole party gathered together to meet each other and put the finishing touches to Rock ready for the performances in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  We were only missing 3 from the party - Philip and Colin, who live in Canada, and Janine, who was in New Zealand at the time of the rehearsal.

It was great to be all together for this short time, and we were looked after amazingly well by the folks at St Andrews Barnt Green, who allowed us to use the premises and kept it lovely and warm for the duration of our time there.

On the Saturday we set time aside for some admin, with Roger sharing some photos of Jerusalem, and time for the group to ask questions about the visit.  We also had a soloists rehearsal and a sectional.  It was clear from very early on that this was going to be an excellent choir.  Everyone had worked really hard to learn their words and the music, and the balance and blend of parts was excellent.  No-one had worked harder than Julie, who was joining us as a soloist for the first time.  The rest of the soloists travelling to Israel had performed their roles hundreds of times, but Julie was new to the part of Zillah, and did a fantastic job.

Paul with Roger and Bill

On Sunday we met together to rehearse in the afternoon, and then finally perform in the evening as our 'dress rehearsal' performance.  There was a good turnout for the congregation, including a number from the CMM choir as well as members of Barnt Green and Lickey churches.  The performance was really moving.  The cast had not performed together for a long time, but the spark and rapport returned immediately.  We were also really blessed to have the help of Paul and Kim on the sound desk.  Alongside the choir and soloists we also had Charles playing his clarinet, with Helen on flute and Annie on viola.  Annie had rearranged the parts for the instrumentalists to suit the three instruments.

It was a great weekend, and wonderful to meet together and to pray together for the peace of Jerusalem.

The weekend was also a 'big one' for Jonathan!

Charles and Annie

Final rehearsal on Sunday afternoon

At the end of January Roger, Annie, Amy, Paul and Caroline travelled to Toothill in Swindon for a 'Transforming worship' day.  The organisers of the day had been at the GEAR conference in Sidmouth only two weeks before, and they had put a lot of effort into promoting the day as there was a good number there.

It was a really fun day including teaching on 'Being a Worshipper' and 'Psalms, Hymns and Songs'.  Roger also led a workshop looking at how and why to pick a praise block for Sunday morning, and Annie led a new songs workshop which included a few songs from the Seasons and Reasons collection.


It is always so good when CMM is invited to share about worship, as it is something God has really put on our hearts over the years.  Watch this space - the material we present on these days may eventually end up in a book...