The CenturyMen Picture Album

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Picture Category Description No of Pics
Buryl Receives Baylor Award July 19, 2007 Buryl, a 1957 graduate of Baylor, recieved the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Church Music by Baylor's Center for Christian Music Studies. The awared was presented by Terry York after a banquet Thursday night, July 19th at the Alleleluia Conference being held on the campus."We feel that it is important for our Church Music students at Baylor to understand the story of the ministry for which they are preparing. We want them to have a reverence for the heritage that is theirs," York said. "We believe that the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Church Music symbolizes that story. We want our students to be aware of those persons whose names must be mentioned when the story is told." All the Centurymen gathered to celebrate and later, to sing, beamed with pride as Buryl was honored. Congratulations Buryl!! 12
UK Tour, July 4, 2008 Day 1 Once again, the CenturyMen have gathered together from all over the United States. Both the Atlanta and Houston points of departure were used to insure that everybody arrived at the same time. That was both the bane and blessing of it all, because nearly 2 hours after our arrival, the last one of us finally cleared the maize that led to the customs inspectors giving us their stamp of approval on our entrance into the United Kingdom. We then loaded the coaches and began making our way back to “the edge of the center of ‘old London’ (only about 1 square mile),” a trip that took no less than an hour. We made a brief stop at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where we stood in awe of its beauty, visited the chapel dedicated to America’s fallen soldiers, and ate lunch in some marvelous cafes and shops. We then departed for Wesley Chapel. Wesley Chapel is the home church of Charles Wesley who was a co founder of Methodism with his brother John. It was inspiring and a stroll through the grounds offered us a chance to see the burial places of Charles Wesley, Susannah Wesley, Issac Watts, John Bunyon and John Rippon. After a brief stop at our hotels, we rehearsed for the services that we will participate in on Sunday at All Souls, Langham Place. All Souls is a very large, active evangelistic arm of the Church of England. Their emphasis on Evangelism and preaching the Word brings hundreds of Londoners to this historic church at 2 services each Sunday. After the afternoon rehearsal we returned to the hotel for dinner and a chance to visit, outline plans for the week, meet three of our new CenturyMen, and join hearts in prayer for our time in UK, led by our chaplain, Tommy Havens. 23
UK Tour, July 5, 2008 Day 2 After a much needed night’s sleep, and a continental buffet breakfast that included just about everything one could dream up for breakfast, the morning of sightseeing began. Westminster Abbey was the first place on the day’s agenda. We split into 5 groups to see this Abbey that was begun by Benedictine monks in the 10th century. Not only is it a “working church” and the church of the Queen of England but it has been the coronation church since the 11th century. In fact, the coronation chair made of English oak and dating back to the 11th century is on display. Over 3000 people are either buried or commemorated in the Abbey and for many centuries it has been the place where the nations commemorates those who have achieved greatness in many professions such as literature, music, science, religion and politics. This church, begun by King Henry III in the 13th century is perhaps one of the most important gothic buildings in the country. As we left it behind we marveled at its grandeur and moved to much simpler surroundings, Spurgeon’s College. Located outside the city on the second highest hill in South London about 8 miles from the city center, this college, begun by Charles Haddon Spurgeon when he was only 22, has been in its present location since 1923. It offers Master’s of Theology in several applied areas as well as a DMin and Phd degrees. Since it takes a break for the summer, we were able to use its worship center for our rehearsal, thanks to the arrangements made by our friend Ed Seabough of Travelink. After rehearsal we had a free evening to take in some of the wonderful charm of the city of London. 13
UK Tour, July 6, 2008 Day 3 Sunday morning, the CenturyMen exchanged their normal coat and tie for the black tuxedo and went directly to All Souls Church, Langham. The church in central London is Anglican with a strong emphasis on preaching the Word and evangelism. The sanctuary was full for both services and the CenturyMen were greeted warmly, singing in both services. The pastor, Hugh Palmer, Rector of All Souls, brought a message from “One Corinthians” on the theme “When Pride Comes Before the Fall.” After lunch in the neighborhood, we loaded the busses and headed out of town to the rolling hills and quaint villages and farms of the English countryside. All three busses arrived at our hotel at different times which was really good for the unloading/room assigning process, but it cut our afternoon rehearsal short. We did our best to make up for it with the after dinner rehearsal. Following the rehearsal we had the annual business meeting, and then retired to our rooms feeling good that we were inside, out of the storm that was passing through. 9
UK Tour, July 7, 2008 Day 4 At the CenturyMen Annual meeting last night we elected the new officers. Vice President is Michael Bunden, who will serve as president in 2010; Chaplain, David Nolte; and Kim Bowen, Member-at-Large. Section leaders elected were: David Whipple, Tenor 1; Perry Porter, Tenor 2; Lee Chitwood, Baritone; David Bailes, Bass 2. Most of the company agreed that the hotel we stayed in was one of the best. After breakfast, we boarded the coaches and headed for the Cotswolds, a rural area of England marked by miles of rock walls, and several very quaint English villages for the beautiful stone work seen in the houses and shops. We stopped for lunch and shopping at Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare on the way to Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, the only cathedral constructed in the UK during the 20th century. The ruins of the original cathedral, bombed to near destruction in WWII, now adjoin the new cathedral. The CenturyMen were given permission to sing, impromptu, in the new cathedral. How profound and moving was the selection, “O God Our Help in Ages Past, Our Hope for Years to come”… and how timely. The concert at the Central Hall Methodist Church was well received by a small but very enthusiastic crowd. 9
UK Tour, July 8, 2008 Day5 After a full nights rest, it was off at mid morning to Olney. Olney is a quaint village, the home of John Newton, born in 1725, and writer of the Olney hymns, the most famous of which is “Amazing Grace.” After singing in the town square to help promote the evening concert, the group spent the day in the village and visited the Cowper/Newton museum, shopping and having lunch in the ambience of an English village. The concert, at the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was received with enthusiasm by the people of the community. The church was built between 1325 and 1350 and the parishioners are very conscious of maintaining the historic building. The admission charged went to the building upkeep fund and the CenturyMen made a contribution as well. 30
UK Tour, July 9, 2008 Day 6 Wednesday was not the typical Wednesday for the CenturyMen who are usually busy with rehearsals and other Wednesday activities at their churches. Instead, we began our day with the usual big breakfast that typically includes a fresh fruit bar, eggs boiled in oil, scrambled eggs, thinly sliced ham, two or three kinds of sausages including the infamous “blood” one, mushrooms, beans, broiled tomatoes, and lots of good fresh baked rolls, baguettes, and breads. If that doesn’t suit the taste, you can always open up a box of cereal or dip up a bowl of porridge. Then it was off to Moulton and Kettering. At Moulton, we traced the early steps of William Carey as we visited the Carey Baptist Church, met their vivacious pastor, Rev. David Gamston, and visited the home/cobbler shop where Carey lived and worked when he was not preaching or praying for the lost. We were accompanied by rain most of the day but it did not dampen our spirits as we made our way to Kettering. The concert at the Fuller Baptist Church in Kettering was well attended and concluded with a standing ovation at the close. It is truly amazing that this group of musicians can rise to the occasion and sing “as if it were the first concert” each night, to say nothing of the energy that Buryl gives to each measure of every anthem that we sing. The combined effort ignites a flame within the people and their response is gratitude to us for coming to share in such a meaningful way of the Spirit that is common to us all. 12
UK Tour, July 10, 2008 Day 7 After checking out of the hotel in Coventry, we made our way to Bangor, stopping in Chester along the way for lunch and shopping. Chester is a city laid out in the Roman plan for cities, the shape of a cross. Founded by the Romans over 2,00 years ago, it walls are some of the most complete in Great Britain. It boasts of having a town clock that is the second most photographed clock in the British Isles. After lunch we crossed the border into Wales. We soon were driving through rolling hills and then we made our way along the coast of the Irish Sea into the town of Bangor. The terrain is completely different and the temperature is a good bit colder with a brisk wind blowing off of the sea. John Robinson, team leader and strategy planner of the International Mission Board, helped make the arrangements for us to sing at the Penrallt Baptist Church. John pointed out the most people in Wales do not go to church, so we were there to encourage and inspire and to sing the gospel story. Tommy Havens gave his personal testimony during the concert and the pastor, Peter Cousins, encouraged folks attending the concert to seek him out…and to come to belief in Christ. We planted the seeds and trust that the Lord will add his blessing to our efforts. 15
UK Tour, July 11, Day 8 Another day of rain…my how so many folks in the U.S. would like to have “a bit of a nasty day” as it is referred to. In spite of the rain, the day held some nice surprises for all. Each of the three coaches (busses) headed out to different Primary Schools. At each school, CenturyMen took time to sing a few songs, and then the children shared with their visitors from America, either singing or playing instruments. After the sharing the CenturyMen and their wives and others took some time to visit with these beautiful children that were ages 5 – 10 or so. What a wonder it is that these children of Wales bear the image of God..such beauty…such enthusiasm and energy…much like our children and grandchildren in America…and what a privilege it was to spend a little time with them, sharing the good news in song and hearing them sing back in their native tongue…”Seek ye first the Kingdom of God”…we caught ourselves singing with them…much to their surprise. All in all - a very good morning. We then moved on to the west to the town with the longest single name in the world without hyphens… Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which translates "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave". Anyone in our group that tried to pronounce this city ended up drooling on themselves!! Lunch, shopping and then on the bus for the trip to Wetherby. We have no concert and no plans for the evening. It’s good to have a little time off. 16
UK Tour, July 12, 2008 Day 9 Putting Wetherby behind us we made our way to York for a stop at York Minster where we sang a few selections in this Gothic Cathedral dating back to the 13th century. After lunch in the town of York we were off to Stockton-on-Tees. Stockton on Tees is located on the Tees River. John Walker, the inventor of the friction match, is from this traditional market town in North East England. We sang at the Stockton Baptist Tabernacle which is said to the largest Baptist Church in the UK with a Sunday morning attendance of 400. 13
UK Tour, July 13, 2008, Day 10 On Sunday morning the CenturyMen began making their way to Scotland. The coaches carried us into some very beautiful English country side on some roads that rivaled the scream machine at Six Flags. It was quite an unusual prelude to worship which happened on each bus after a morning stop at different B&B’s for coffee, tea and a biscuit. As worship ended, the group made its way into Scotland, stopping at the border for a photo op with a piper who was there to greet people coming into the country. Edinburgh is the final stop as this tour of the UK comes to an end. The concert Sunday night was at the St. Giles cathedral. St. Giles is of the Church of Scotland. The cathedral, dedicated to St. Giles, the patron saint of cripples and lepers, is located at the midpoint of the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare in Edinburgh’s old town. 14