Concertgoers enjoy a joyful blend of performance and worship
Concertgoers enjoyed a joyful blend of performance and worship with the Kerygma Good News Choir in St Anne’s Cathedral on Saturday evening. The choir was joined by 27 musicians and an audience of 500 for ‘A Night of Celebration Praise’ hosted by BBC broadcast journalist Will Leitch.
Led by Director, Lorna Palmer, the choir and soloists showed their versatility with pieces ranging from classical through to traditional hymns, African–American spirituals and contemporary songs. There were also 4 solo instrumental performances: Jonny Campbell–Smyth on clarinet; Orly Watson on organ; Raymond Robinson on flute and Philip Walton on violin.
Kerygma (from the Greek κήρυγμα kérugma) means ‘preaching’ or ‘proclaiming’ and this was reflected in the programme. Will Leitch (right) hosted with a blend of gentle humour and thoughtful reflection as the choir and orchestra took us on a musical journey through the gospel from Christ’s advent to his return and heaven.
Each half began with worship, praise and adoration before picking up the gospel themes with pieces such as Michael Card’s ‘Immanuel’ speaking of the incarnation and ‘Give me Jesus,’ a beautiful African–American Spiritual, reminding us of his guidance, comfort and strength.
The audience joined the choir for a rendition of Robin Mark’s ‘Days of Elijah,’ before Revd Dr Heather Morris shared a meditation on ‘Joining Jesus’. Heather is a long–time friend of the diocese and currently serves as Secretary for Home Missions in the Methodist Church in Ireland.
In part 2 we meditated on the cross and salvation with moving pieces such as ‘Via Dolorosa’ by N. Borup and B. Sprague and ‘Behold the Man’ by J. Owens. The audience joined in for ‘Amazing Grace’ before Heather spoke for the second time and gently invited us to respond to God’s gracious offer of forgiveness.
The final triumphant section in the programme celebrated Christ’s return and pointed us towards heaven. We heard ‘The Holy City’ by F.E Weatherly and S. Adams and sang along with ‘God’s Choir in the Sky’ by R.Overholt. The evening finished with Kerygma singing Rutter’s arrangement of ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ with, of course, a reprise that included the audience!
It was a wonderful evening in St Anne’s with echoes of the New Year’s Eve Celebration with which we launched our Year of Mission back in January. Thank you to Lorna and the Kerygma Good News Choir and to everyone who worked so hard to make the night a great success.
See a concert photo–gallery here.
You can see the full programme here.
About the Choir
The Year of Mission has offered an exciting opportunity for singers from all Christian backgrounds with the formation of The Kerygma Good News Choir.
Lorna Palmer studied voice and piano at the Royal College of Music, London, and formed Kerygma at Bishop Harold’s invitation. Their first performance was at the St Patrick’s Day Celebrations in Down Cathedral when the Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, was our special guest.
Lorna says: “Music is one of the most powerful tools in evangelism and, in this year of mission, we’re seeing singers from all church backgrounds united in their love and use of this wonderful gift to proclaim the Gospel.”