Cumbria Tour: Penrith

So after our morning in Alston we travelled to Penrith Methodist Church, a venue we know well from both Jail Break and Rock tours. We were met there by Graham Allan, who has always ensured we were looked after brilliantly on our previous visits, and we began preparing for the afternoon choir rehearsal. Sandy and Beth weren't able to arrive as early as they'd like for a set up, but they did an amazing job of setting up around us while we rehearsed with the choir. The choir were excellent and had been brilliantly trained by their three dynamic conductors.

After the choir rehearsal we had a bite to eat and then were involved in the evening service which was led by Phil Jackson. It was a fantastic evening service, and one of the longest normal evening services that I've been involved in - starting at 1830 and finishing at 2010. There was a wonderful praise time, and Roger spoke, and then Phil led a special communion. Lots of the choir came to the service too, which was great to see.

The following morning Roger relaxed while the rest of the team had to work! We met with Graham Allan who is writing a biography of Roger - so we spent time talking about him. We then carried on the conversation with Roger over lunch at Pooley Bridge, near the shores of Ullswater. It was an amazing lunch - when you order one cumberland sausage, you get two, and it should be called fishes and chips!

In the afternoon we had a team meeting back at Penrith including Mike and Barbara and Brian from Wholeness Through Christ, and then after a fantastic tea (very healthy one involving salad) we prepared for the evening performance.

The performance was well attended and went well except for a strange problem with Sandy and Beth's iPod that kept cutting out. The choir were magnificent though, and kept singing right through the gaps. There was some good prayer ministry afterwards and a fantastic buzz all around the building. There was a whole line of ladies from Woodlands Methodist Home right on the front row, who had all thoroughly enjoyed it.