On Sunday, Cradley Heath Salvation Army Songsters will be contributing the songs Be still and know (morning) and Indescribable (evening) in our worship meetings.You can find out more about these songs by visiting this page.

This Sunday we are celebrating our Over 60s Club anniversary.

Why not join us for our worship meetings at 10:30am and 6:00pm at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP? We would love to see you with us!

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[Image credit: tanakawho on Flickr Creative Commons]

Cradley Heath Songsters of The Salvation Army are pleased to announce that tickets for the concert by the Melbourne Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army go on sale from the end of our concert tonight by Risca Salvation Army Band (starts at 7:00pm).

You can find out more about the concert with Risca Band here. Tickets for tonight’s concert will be available on the door at £7.50.

Our Australian friends will be giving a worship concert on Wednesday 22 September 2010 at 7:30pm at Cradley Heath Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP.

Tickets for the Melbourne Staff Songsters concert are priced at £7.50 on payment in advance or £10.00 when paid for on the door. Please get your order in early as we anticipate the concert will be a sell-out. Tickets will be available online from mssatcradleyheath.eventbrite.com or by using the ticket form below (a small booking fee will be added to the price of your ticket(s)) from midnight on Sunday 27 June 2010 or by post to Margaret Shepherd, The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP (money with order please – make cheques payable to The Salvation Army) or from the office at that address, Monday to Friday during office opening hours from Monday 28 June.

Melbourne Staff Songsters is a Salvation Army gospel choir who communicate the love of God and invite listeners to respond to Jesus Christ.  The group, which performs at both Salvation Army and community events, has travelled to all states of Australia and toured Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Current repertoire includes contemporary, classical and gospel music, with some drama, choreography and humour thrown in to the mix!

Members belong to Salvation Army churches around Melbourne and regional Victoria. Their ages range from 18 to 60, and they are employed in various occupations including school teaching, community work, management and sales. All give of their own time and expense to be part of the MSS.

We are delighted they will be with us at Cradley Heath in September as part of a tour to all parts of the United Kingdom.  This concert is their only visit to the West Midlands.

Don’t miss out on this very special event!

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Sunday 20 June 2010 is Fathers Day. Cradley Heath Songsters of The Salvation Army will use their music on this day to remind the listeners of God the Father’s love for each one of us.

We will be invited to be still and ponder the wondrous love of God in its many forms.

Prior to our worship on Sunday morning, the Songsters will sing a beautiful prayer written by Eric Ball, Morning Song.

Morning Song was originally written for girls voices, but was reworked for adult voices in four parts by the composer for the Salvation Army’s premier choir, the International Staff Songsters.  Eric Ball was a Salvationist known around the world both in the Salvation Army and in the wider brass band scene as a composer of fine brass band music. But he also turned his hands to choral music, producing much loved classics, including this song, a wonderful prayer by which to start any day:

You are here, Lord,
And the morning sun shines with promise of a wonderful day.
I shall walk upright in the power of your love
And your light shall illumine my way.
You are here, Lord Jesus,
Christ of my every day.

You are here, Lord,
Though the clouds are dark
And the day may bring some burden to share;
I shall walk by faith with my head held high,
Never doubting your love or your care.
You are here, Lord Jesus,
Christ of my every day.

You are there, Lord,
In the future years, love eternal holding all I shall need.
In your likeness growing, transformed by your power,
Spirit guided in thought, word and deed.
I shall know your presence,
Christ of my every hour.

In our morning worship, the Songsters will sing, Be still and know. Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this song while on a 17-hour flight with his family to South Africa.  He writes the trip was a profound experience which greatly impacted on his songwriting.

On the flight over, Steven began to feel disappointed because he thought that once he left for South Africa he would be at rest and feel God’s pleasure.  Instead, he found himself just as restless as he was in his home of Franklin, Tennessee.

God began to speak to his heart saying, “What you need is to still your heart, turn the noise off, and know that I am God”.

Steven writes, “When you’re still, you quickly realise how un-Godlike you are and how much you need him.

In our evening worship, the Songsters will sing a new song for the first time.

This song was made popular by one of Southern Gospel’s greatest groups, The Cathedrals.  Boundless Love is one of their most treasured hits.  The song was written by Dianne Wilkinson who has been writing Southern Gospel music since the 1970s. Her first recorded song was “Behold the Lamb” by the Song Masters in 1976, which was recorded by many groups…as late as 2001 by the Dove Brothers.  Gospel quartet singing remains her favorite music even today and continues to be her signature writing style.

Dianne had a close relationship with the Cathedrals for two decades, beginning in the early 1980s and continuing until they retired in 1999. They recorded 16 of her songs during those years, including Boundless Love, Master Builder, There is a Haven, Goin’ in Style, High and Lifted Up and Homeland.  Her songs have been recorded by most of the groups touring today including the Kingdom Heirs, Legacy Five, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Gold City, the Hoppers, Greater Vision, The Dove Brothers, the Kingsmen, the Inspirations, Brian Free and Assurance, the Talley Trio, the Booth Brothers, Karen Peck & New River, Triumphant, the Collingsworth Family, the Whisnants, the Mike LeFevre Quartet, HisSong, the Mark Trammell Trio, Paid in Full, Crossway, Ricky Atkinson and Compassion, the Pfeifers, and the Ball Brothers.

There is not a mother, sister, friend or brother loves the way that Jesus can.
He proved His love for me when He died on Calvary;
He gave His life for fallen man.

His love, His love is a boundless love, and it reaches down and touches me;
His love, His love is an endless love, that will last through all eternity.

Jesus wants to love you; there is none above you, You are precious in His sight.
He will never fail you when the doubts assail you; He’ll be with you day and night.

I guess being Father’s Day, perhaps we should change the first line to There is not a FATHER, sister, friend or brother loves the way that Jesus can!

Why not join us to celebrate the Father’s love for us at our worship meetings at 10:30am and 6:00pm at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP.
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Cradley Heath Songsters of The Salvation Army invite you to “come and share the pride” with us on Thursday 17 June 2010 as we take part in a Be Proud of Rowley Regis event.

This free event for all local residents takes place between 3:00pm and 8:30pm at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP.

The Be Proud event, organised by the Sandwell Partnership features:

• Exhibits from more than twenty local services including the Police, Fire Service, Adult Learning, Museums, the Albion Foundation, SureStart and voluntary sector organisations including The Salvation Army.
• A chance to put your questions to senior officers of partner organisations such as Sandwell Council, West Midlands Police and Sandwell NHS Primary Care Trust.
• Information of what developments are planned for Cradley Heath and how your views can shape the area in the future.
• Local talent from musicians to artists, poets and dancers such as Highfield Brass Band, Corngreaves Choir, Debonair Dancers, Fusion Young Dancers, Fusion Street Dancers, puppets, Rudi Parkes and of course, Cradley Heath Songsters.

The Songsters will be concluding the event by singing in our Worship Hall from around 8:00pm.

Why not come to the event and stay to hear us sing?

You can find out more information at www.beproudofsandwell.co.uk.

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Members of Cradley Heath Salvation Army Band and Songsters recently enjoyed a social outing to Much Wenlock in Shropshire.

The visit was one of a series of regular social events organised by the Band and Songsters.

Saturday 5 June 2010 marked the beginning of the Much Wenlock Festival. The Festival began with a fair held on the green outside the parish church. Members of the Band and Songsters enjoyed visiting the various stalls and watching a display by Broseley Goju Kan Karate-Do which featured amazing feats of smashing pieces of wood and slate!

After a couple of hours of wandering around the fair and the town, we enjoyed refreshments at The Copper Kettle tea rooms in the High Street.

You can see photos of our event by clicking on the photo below:

The Much Wenlock Festival continues until 27 June 2010 – check out their events page here.

If you have not yet found God, or once knew him but have lost touch, then Cradley Heath Salvation Army Songsters’ song in our worship meeting tomorrow morning (Sunday 13 June 2010) is just for you.

In the Bible, St Luke tells the story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector who struggled to see Jesus from the crowd when he passed by, because he was so short. He climbed into a sycamore tree and when Jesus came to it, he invited himself to tea! During his visit, Zacchaeus confessed to cheating on those he collected taxes from, by taking more than was owed to the authorities. He promised to give half of his possessions to the poor, paying back four times the amount to those he cheated. To those who were muttering that Jesus was spending time with sinners, Jesus replied:

The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Salvation Army lyricist, Sidney E Cox might well have had this story in mind when he wrote his song, He sought me:

The Saviour sought and found me,
Far from the narrow way;
He made my blinded eyes to see,
O what a wonderful day!

He sought and found me,
He sought and found me;
When I was wandering far away,
He found me;
What a wonderful day!

He lifted sin’s great burden,
He saw my deep dismay,
And graciously he pardoned me,
O what a wonderful day!

My sin was red like crimson,
He washed it all away;
He filled my heart with melody,
O what a wonderful day!

Young Salvation Army composer, Damian Wileman, a member of both Sheffield Citadel Salvation Army Band and the International Staff Band, has written a new melody for these words, giving fresh insight.

Why not join us for worship tomorrow morning at 10:30am?

Tomorrow evening, the Songsters will not be singing as a number of them will be at Dudley Songs of Praise at Himley Hall. See Cradley Heath Salvation Army Band’s website for more details.

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As part of this Sunday’s worship meetings at The Salvation Army, Cradley Heath, the Songsters will be providing music which remind us just how much God loves and cares for us, and that our natural response to that love is simply to love him back.

Each of the three songs speak about this love in their own special way.

On Sunday morning, the Songsters will present a very popular song from their repertoire.  Breathe is a sensitive contemporary praise song written by Marie Barnett.  It reminds us that our very breath is a gift from God.  Our every heartbeat is a gift of God.  We are constantly being blessed by the One who loves us.  This music gives the listener the opportunity to stop and meditate alone with God.  God is waiting for us.  As you listen to this music the peace you feel will amaze you.

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your Holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I, I’m desperate for you
And I, I’m lost without you

The essence of this music is that God’s holy presence is the very air we breathe and long for.

As preparation for our evening worship together, the Songsters will feature a song which focusses on God’s faithful provision, Chris Tomlin’s song, Forever.

The text from this song directly comes from Psalm 136. Written by Chris Tomlin, the song gives us magnificent form and compelling content for worship. Note the antiphonal pattern: God speaks and his people respond. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. The Psalms always sharpen our focus on the target of our worship. The sharper our focus, the more profound will be our worship.

We praise the Creator, who by his understanding made the heavens, who spread out the earth upon the waters. God speaks: from the rising to the setting sun. And we respond: His love endures forever.

This song takes us on a journey. We are being led somewhere. True worship begins with awe-filled praise of the Creator. We then confront the fallenness of the creation through confession. At just the right moment we are ushered into the most holy place, the place of atonement, where we taste redemption and respond to God as his new creation. For the life that’s been reborn, his love endures forever.

As we journey into worship with the Psalmist, we are inspired to creatively continue onward and upward with the praise he has begun. Sing Praise! Sing Praise! Forever God is faithful. Forever God is strong. Forever God is with us. Forever! Forever!

During our evening worship a new song in our repertoire – How great is your love – will be presented by the Songsters for the first time.

This new worship song has a melody and a message that we believe will linger with our listeners.  It expresses the heart-felt cry of every believer.

You are creator and I am the work of Your hands,
Lord, You are faithful,
You’ve proven again and again.
You are King of a life that’s made worthy in You;
All that I am and all that I do.

You are greater than all of the sky and the seas;
Mountains bow down to Your majesty;
The sun and the moon and the air that I breathe;
But greather than all of these,
how great is Your love for me.

Why not join us yourself for worship at 10:30am and 6:00pm?

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What do you do best in the Body of Christ – the church?  This is the question members of Cradley Heath Songsters of The Salvation Army will consider as they meet with other members of The Salvation Army Church in Cradley Heath for a retreat day.

This special occasion will be led by Majors Steve & Mandy White from West Midlands Divisional Headquarters.  It has been designed to help us discover our spiritual gifts and how best we can use them in the service for Christ in his church.

The day commences at 10:30am with morning worship.  After a coffee break, two sessions: How can we best serve? and The purpose of gifts, the latter of which will include a spiritual gift assessment.

After a faith lunch, there are further sessions, including: The discovery of gifts, The value of personality (which includes a personal style assessment), The influence of passion (including a ministry passion assessment) and The promise of ministry before a final worship session, The power of love.

We are praying that during this time God will reveal to us gifts and skills which can be used in his service.  Our church will be enriched and our work in reaching out to the people in our community in Cradley Heath with the message of Jesus will be enhanced as we our brought into a closer relationship with God.  Would you please consider joining us in this prayer?

N.B.  Our usual evening worship at 6:00pm on Sunday will be cancelled on this occasion.

Cradley Heath Songsters of The Salvation Army are pleased to announce the visit of Risca Salvation Army Band, under the leadership of Bandmaster Ian Browning, in celebration of The Salvation Army Cradley Heath’s 129th Anniversary.Risca Salvation Army Band has been providing its music ministry to a diverse audience for over 25 years. Playing to a repertoire of religious, classical, popular and secular music, the band is constantly in demand. Recent venues include the Wales Millennium Centre and the National Eisteddfod. The band provides music for worship every Sunday at the Risca Salvation Army Church.

On Saturday 26 June 2010 at 7:00pm the Band will present a Worship Concert featuring some of its music at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP.  Tickets are £5.00 in advance or £7.50 on the door.  You can order tickets on line here:

Alternatively, tickets can be collected from the office at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 5EP during office hours, or by sending a cheque made payable to The Salvation Army and addressed to Margaret Shepherd to that address.

The Band will lead worship meetings at 10:30am and 5:00pm (not the usual time of 6:00pm) on Sunday 27 June 2010.  Admission to these is free and all are welcome.

We do hope you are able to join us for this exciting weekend.

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On Sunday morning, Cradley Heath Salvation Army Songsters will sing an uplifting song which tells of what Jesus’ victory over sin and death means for those who believe in Him. In the evening, Reuben Morgan’s song, Still, will be our contribution.

Chris Tomlin told ChristianMusicPlanet.com the story of the song, I Will Rise: “Toward the end of the ‘How Great is our God Tour,’ Louie [Giglio] challenged me to write a song of worship for people in their hardest time of grief. We were talking about the reality that we need more songs like the hymn ‘It is Well’ that can be sung as worship and hope at a funeral; to be able to find words to say and sing in that moment of sorrow when you lose someone you love. A few days later, Louie sent me an email with a few thoughts about the song, and the one line that struck me the most was…the grave is overwhelmed. I took that idea and ran. This song speaks the truth that we have a Saviour and a God that has defeated death, and we have victory over it as well in Him… He has made us alive, and even though all of us one day will say goodbye to our earthly bodies, we will rise when He calls our name. I love the passage in Revelation 4 and 5 where you see the angels and all the creatures gathered ’round the throne of God in celebration, singing in a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb.’ That’s what I am pointing to in this song–that we will join those angels, and we will stand before the throne of our God and our risen Saviour alive forever! Amen!”

There’s a peace I’ve come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There’s an anchor for my soul
I can say, It is well

Jesus has overcome
and the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise
When He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise, on eagle’s wings
Before my God
fall on my knees,
and rise…
I will rise

There’s a day that’s drawing near
when this darkness breaks to light
and the shadows disappear
and my faith shall be my eyes

And I hear the voice of many angels sing
Worthy is the Lamb!
And I hear the cry of every longing heart
Worthy is the Lamb!

Do you feel like your life is out of control? That you are buffeted by the everyday storms of life?

Psalm 46 says:

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.

We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,

Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God of angel armies protects us.

God lives here, the streets are safe,
God at your service from crack of dawn.

Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
but Earth does anything he says.

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God of angel armies protects us.

Reuben Morgan’s song, Still, which the Songsters will sing in our evening meeting, echoes the words of this Psalm:

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hands

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You, above the storm
Father, You are king over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

Find rest my soul, in Christ alone
Know His power, in quietness and trust

Why not join us for our meetings this Sunday at 10:30am and 6:00pm at The Salvation Army, Meredith Street, Cradley Heath B64 5EP?

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