Dear friends
Keep right on to the end of the road …
Ev’ry road thro’ life is a long, long road, fill’d with joys and sorrows too …
Tho’ you’re tired and weary still journey on, till you come to your happy abode,
Where all the love you’ve been dreaming of will be there at the end of the road.
Words by Sir Harry Lauder, written shortly after his son was killed in World War 1.
I’ve sung this many times at a certain football ground, but only recently learned the context!
Over the past two years we’ve experienced seismic changes in lifestyle and activities, most of which have been incredibly hard to bear. CMM has seen a drastic decrease in music making as choirs and churches have been unable to stage live events, meaning a significant drop in sales, as well as in itinerant activities. We’ve so missed seeing our friends and the joy of being together in music and ministry. Some of you have found this time extremely hard and there has been much pain, grief, “joys and sorrows”.
But we’ve also seen great growth in our creativity, and are thrilled to announce SONGS OF EASTER, a collection of items reflecting the light, life and hope of our faith. There are 15 tracks (hymns, songs, anthems, etc) with amazing contributions from CMM staff and associates, as well as introducing some exciting new performers. We publish mid-February, but really need your help in promoting this, so here’s a special advance offer of of £15 for Songbook and CD, available directly from CMM: https://www.cmm.org.uk/shop/index.php?id=soe
We’ve seen changes in the outward expression of the ministry of CMM, but the vision remains the same, and, until the Lord shows us otherwise, we feel it right to “keep right on”. There are still broken hearts yearning for love, and the church still needs to keep re-discovering the renewing power of the Spirit. For us followers of Jesus there are some things that never change:
- The gift of His presence – the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit will not be hindered by any pandemic. “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:20) At CMM, Holy Spirit renewal, alongside a re-discovery of the Gifts of the Spirit including tongues, prophecy, healing, etc, remains our major priority. Every musical, rehearsal, performance, or private listening and sing-along are events that can be encounters with the living Jesus and his Spirit.
- The gift of His written word – the Holy Scriptures, “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Ps 119:105). The Bible is the written word of God, yet many of God’s people are not well acquainted with it. My initial calling as a teacher still applies: If we can get Bible truth into our thinking and worship, we will be much more equipped to follow Jesus as churches and individuals. What is sung helps us to understand and experience, and as St Augustine once said: “He who sings prays twice!”
- The gift of friends and family – inside and outside of church, reminding us of the preciousness of our relationships. People matter more than things! You can’t sing in harmony on your own, and we are innately gregarious people. Music is one of the best ways that the Lord has given us to relate with one another, and whether by Zoom or in the flesh, “it’s good to be together!”
2022 will be a special year for us. Our 50th Wedding Anniversary will be in July, and we want to celebrate by doing that which we really love doing: making music with our friends and family! So, on Saturday 09 July we are inviting you to join us in doing a musical in a day: SAINTS ALIVE! (new version – slightly re-written with new recording) at Coton Centre, Tamworth. Please book the date – more details later!
So, “Keep right on” with Jesus, the one who will never leave us or let us down. Keep on worshipping, making music in hearts to him, telling as many as possible, knowing that ultimately “all the love you’ve been dreaming of, will be there at the end of the road!”
May the Lord continue to bless you greatly!
Roger and Mary xx
Christian Music Ministries
24 Spadesbourne Road, Lickey End, Bromsgrove B60 2JP
01527 576440
www.cmm.org.uk
office@cmm.org.uk
Current CMM 2022 Diary (here)
JAN 15-16 we CMM Annual Retreat (speaker John McGinley) – Shallowford House, Staffs
FEB 14 Mon SONGS OF EASTER – publication day!
15 Tue Introducing SONGS OF EASTER – You Tube 8pm
26 Sat SONGS OF EASTER – launch – Holy Trinity Lickey 2.00-4.30pm
MAR 18-20 we Annie at Women’s’ Conference – Swanwick, Derbys
26 Sat MUSICAL MAN – Hemel Hempstead
APR 02 Sat Roger at Gloucester Choir event
08 Fri Roger interview live on UCB2 “This is my story” Radio 11am
23 Sat MUSICAL MAN – Avenue Methodist, Newton Abbot, South Devon
30 Sat Travelling Light, Glos – (AR)
MAY 28-04 Jun TORN CURTAIN music week – Rydal Hall, Cumbria
JUN ? SAINTS ALIVE! (new edition) – publication!
07 Tue MUSICAL MAN – Lossiemouth, Scotland – TBC
11-12 we TORN CURTAIN – Haydon Bridge, Northumberland
25– 02 Jul SAINTS ALIVE! music week – Beechwood Court, Conwy, North Wales
JUL 09 Sat SAINTS ALIVE! – ROGER & MARY’S 50th WEDDING ANNIV – Tamworth
23 Sat Travelling Light, Glos (AR)
24 Sun Roger preaching at St Andrew’s, Barnt Green 9.30am
AUG 20-27 TORN CURTAIN music week – Scargill House, N Yorks
SEP 11-19 OBERAMAGGAU Passion Play + Salzburg, Mozart concert (RogerMary lead)
22 Thu CMM at Appledore Book Festival, North Devon
OCT 23-29 Sun-Sat THREE WISE CAMELS music week – The Pleasaunce, Overstrand, Norfolk
NOV 19 Sat MUSICAL IN A DAY – Wesley Methodist Church, Reading (Annie)
Comments are closed