Preview

Introducing… Together22

Assistant Director of Music and Creative Arts (Creative Arts) Stephanie Lamplough looks ahead to a new territorial event in July

ALL systems are go as we prepare Together22, a new and exciting territorial event that will take place in Birmingham from 15 to 17 July.

What exactly is it? The name of the event is key to explaining its objective: bringing together three significant Salvation Army events under the same umbrella. During the weekend we will celebrate Commissioning, congress and Symphony Sounds in a new way. All three will entwine into a magnificent celebration of the United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, and everyone is invited.

The event will begin on Friday evening with a prayer launch and walk around the weekend’s venues: the International Convention Centre and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. This will be followed by a festival given by the International Staff Band and International Staff Songsters.

Prayer, Bible study and worship will join hand-in-hand with music and other creative expressions throughout the weekend to initiate an infusion of creative worship – all things that The Salvation Army does so well.

On Saturday there will be practical workshops, masterclasses, busking, mini-concerts and missional outreach as well as opportunities for young and old to relax, meet with friends and share in fellowship in a unique and celebratory way.

The Saturday evening gathering will feature musical performances, video presentations and interviews that will celebrate good news stories and mission at work. All this will culminate in congregational worship. This new format will hopefully be inspiring, informative and thought-provoking.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games begin later that month, so the date and venue provide a fantastic opportunity for the Sports Ministry team to work with the city, and there will be opportunity for participation in park runs, as well as other sporting activities throughout the weekend.

There will, of course, be plenty for young people to enjoy as well, with a mixture of separate venue activities and the opportunity to join in all-age worship.

On Sunday morning the commissioning of the Messengers of Reconciliation session will take centre stage. Anyone who is there for the weekend will be invited to join in this special occasion before celebrating together in a ‘congress-style’ afternoon meeting.

In short, there really will be something for everyone! It may be that you come to the weekend only wanting to attend one particular element, but we are sure that you will leave having experienced so much more.

As well as bringing together aspects of Commissioning, congress and Symphony Sounds, the vision of Together22 is to give Salvationists from across the territory an opportunity to join together in person. As we consider the territorial theme, ‘Love God, Love Others’, it is the perfect opportunity to bring together in Christ the communities in which we worship and serve.

We know these are big plans, but we believe that God will be present in this new and exciting vision. Planning is well under way and the buzz around the event is growing.

There will be lots more information available in the coming weeks and months, but if you have any questions please contact events@salvationarmy. org.uk.

Winning words

The writers’ group at Doncaster Corps tell Melita Day-Lewis about their weekly get-togethers for creativity and fellowship

TANKAS, villanelles, sestinas and pantoums are bread and butter for a group of writers at Doncaster Corps. To the uninitiated these words might sound like delectable edibles the group enjoy at their weekly gatherings, but they are in fact styles of writing that they have tried out – along with haikus and limericks.

On the day the group members were interviewed, everyone wrote a calligram for the first time – a poem written within the shape of the object being described (in this instance, the sun) – before they shared creative pieces with a Christmas theme. Even six-year-old Faith, who had come along during half-term with her grandmother, Sylvia, read out a poem she had written.

These Christmas poems and prose were later printed in a booklet that was sold to friends and family, raising well over £100 for the corps. They are currently working on another booklet for Easter.

Margaret Baker started the group more than 13 years ago and is still actively involved.

‘I came to the corps in 2006 and went on some courses to do with progressing in my faith. It was suggested that I start a Christian writers’ group, so we began in July 2008 and we’ve been running ever since,’ she says.

When she became busy with other activities Margaret asked Joyce Wigglesworth to take over the group, which meets on Wednesdays in the corps building.

‘I’ve enjoyed doing it,’ says Joyce. ‘We do quite a lot of writing and there’s

Sun calligram by Joyce Wigglesworth

From left to right – Ray, Dorothy, Kathleen, Joyce, Janet, Sylvia, Susan, Pauline and Margaret with Faith

plenty of laughter when we share our pieces. We always start with a reading or hymn and finish with a prayer. We feel that it’s important to put God in our meeting. We now have a Bible study on alternate Wednesdays, run by Janet Pope.’

The group also gets together so members can help each other, and are free to share their problems.

Janet affirms: ‘God has always been at the centre of the fellowship. We laugh, we have tears, we can share – it’s confidential and we’re very sensitive towards each other. There are no judgemental attitudes. We’re all on the same level and we’re all learning together.’

Each meeting involves a five-minute writing task before the members share creative work penned at home in the weeks before. They are also given a ‘challenge’ – the title of their next piece of writing for the group – before the meeting closes.

The group had to stop meeting in person when the Covid-19 lockdowns began. ‘We felt lost with nothing to do and time on our hands,’ says Janet.

To their delight, they were able to start meeting over Zoom. Many of the writers didn’t have access to the internet, so the corps set up a Zoom telephone meeting and Janet learnt the IT skills needed to host it.