Chester-le-Street Band, at the invitation of Durham City Christmas Festival Organisers, played carols in the City Market Place to a very appreciative audience. It then led a lantern procession of approximately 1,000 young, and not so young, people up the narrow street leading to the Cathedral for a short period of carol singing. After the service the band played a number of carols, as the very large congregation made their way out into the wintry evening and onto the palace green.

George Cowper
CPR

The Corps Band along with Wallsend Band, recently joined together to present a programme celebrating 129 years of service.
Guest soloist was S/Leader Peter Laing of the Sunderland Millfield Corps. Peter sang three songs, ‘Mary Did You Know’, ‘O Happy Day’ and one of his own compositions, ‘He’ll Make You Fly’.
The massed bands contributions to the programme included ‘Temple 85’, ‘Gabriel’ s Oboe’, the march ‘Pioneers’ and ‘The Emblem of the Army’.
Bandsman Simon Hedley played the Euphonium solo ‘My Love is Like a Red, Red, Rose’, and three of the visiting bandsmen played the cornet trio ‘Keep in Step’.
Songster Leader George Humes, Gateshead, proved to be an interesting informative Compare.
The slide show below illustrates the weekend.
George Cowper
CPR
 

Once again our Senior Band met up with Wallsend Band and along with the Bands from Leadgate and Gateshead Salvation Army Community Church they presented a festival of music at the Gateshead Church.

The Corps Songsters were invited to sing at the Divisional Praise Meeting held at Sunderland Citadel.  A good number of guests enjoyed the meeting which took as it’s theme a line  from  Mark 8v29; ‘Who do you say I am?’   We sang two pieces, ‘Living Water’ led by DSL Kevin Swinbank and ‘He Sought Me’ led by SL Ann Emerson.

The following week, our Officer Major Nicola Baker, presented the sermon at a continuation meeting at Consett Corps.

Under the leadership of  our officers, Majors Michael & Nicola Barker, the corps folk supported an initiative to hold an ‘out reach’ event in the community.  We arranged the use of the local Parish Centre, the neighbour to our hall, where we held a coffee morning and sold various items in aid of our Corps funds.

Major Michael led the volunteers in the kitchen as they provided the regular customers to the Parish Centre with sausage or bacon sandwiches as well as meat squares and some cakes to go with the tea and coffee.

Major Nicola coordinated the table top sale of  bric-a brac, cakes and pastries. There were also Christmas cards and craft items made by the corps folk as well as the Major and her children.

In all, the event was a huge success, raising over £600 and giving us the opportunity to meet many more townsfolk.

Plans are already underway to hold another coffee morning before Easter next year!

Every year, the Corps folk collect loose change which is then donated  to a good cause often in Africa.  This year we are raising funds to give to a school in Tanzania where two ‘retired’ SA officers are working.  Joy Paxton & Linda Levis were once officers at our Corps and are held in high regard by the Corps family for all the work they did both here and elsewhere in the SA.

Below is a message they sent to the Corps folk:

Adherents of the Corps, Tom & Nancy Moffatt, approached the Cos, Majors Michael & Nicola Barker for a blessing of  their 60 years of marriage. This they were happy to do in their Sunday evening meeting.
The hall was full for this occasion. Family, friends and Corps folk joined them in this lovely time of thanksgiving and blessing. During the meeting, at the request of the acting bandmaster, Clive Stirling, Tom conducted  his favourite march, ‘Star Lake’.
After the meeting the congregation was invited to a buffet supper in the secondary hall.
Photos of the occasion are shown below.

As part of their usual Christmas duties the band played in the market place of the town for the Churches Together service.  Due to some band members being on holiday, the Senior band were joined by members of the YP band.

At 4pm we held the YP Carol Service which drew  a good audience of parents and Corps folk.  This year the service was organised by Paul Elliott and featured many of the classic parts of a carol service, the nativity (with narration from Joseph), carols, a short play (starring Cameron & Rebecca) and of course a visit from Santa!
The service was supported by the YP Band and the Worship Group but the ‘lead’ was taken by ‘Kim’ & ‘Uncle Steve’ the puppets operated by Emily & Robert, who amused the audience with their delivery of some very corny jokes.