Pizza With Pizzas of Music

The smell was incredibly intimidating, wafting up from below and not just from one place. At times a curious cocktail of aromas surrounded us. Not only that, but the pressure to spend money was all around as enticing wares stared out from lavish displays of merchandise. And we also had what was at times a conveyor belt of people drifting through; old, young, babies - but thankfully no dogs. And we were warm! No rain! This was our first engagement of the Christmas period, in the Bluewater Shopping Mall in north Kent: The Absolute Gospel Choir singing a selection of songs from our musical Stargifts. We also had the wonderful opportunity to read from the Scriptures selections about the Christmas story.

People stopped. Listened. Some turned back to get closer to the sound. Some even wept. It was a wonderful experience for us. The Management team were so hospitable and helpful. Of all the places in the complex, we were next to one of the largest shops: His Master's Voice! God's got a great sense of humour! We were so impressed by the reaction of the people. Many of course walked past, but many others stopped for a considerable while. Thanks to the powerful P.A. system we had the sound travelling through the galleries, bouncing off the high ceiling and reaching much further than we realized.

It seems that the Choir is building up an interesting CV: Singing over the Dead Sea; over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives; on the Sea of Galilee; performing in the central park in Salem, the 'witch capital of the world'; performing to a messianic congregation in New Jersey and so on. We have been immensely privileged to sing at these and other places abroad, but we have also been blessed as we have sung at various venues around this country: in Derbyshire; Essex and Sussex; as well as Kent. In the New Year we shall move into deepest Bedfordshire.

God continues to give us the enthusiasm to preach the Gospel through music and the public reading of His Word. Later this month we sing at another shopping mall in Tunbridge Wells and then we come back to our home town to sing in a large departmental store. Our position puts us right next to the checkouts in Sainsbury's!

The New Year brings further opportunities for the Company's Choir and also its other activities. So we preach while we have the light. In rain, sunshine, wind, small audiences, large audiences. We were told in Bethlehem, where we had the privilege to sing in a small Palestinian Christian church, that we were no longer a 'raggle taggle army' but we were like Jehoshaphat's singers. Bet they didn't have the smell of pizza as they went into battle!