On Saturday, November 19th, the New York Staff Band traveled to Georgetown, DE for a ministry weekend at the Crossroad Community Church. Upon arrival, we set up and rehearsed for the upcoming services. We were slated to play for the church’s Saturday evening service (with a mini-concert beforehand), and two Sunday morning services. The church was incredibly hospitable, providing meals for us both Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.
We played the Creation Story at all three services and each congregation was extremely receptive to the ministry, joining in and singing some of the songs with us. After our set was complete, Major Tim Sheehan introduced speaker Major Phillip Davis. Major Davis preached a powerful message on how to help serve our communities with an emphasis on doing it in a way that is decidedly more helpful than harmful. Pastor Ken made some closing remarks once Major Davis concluded his message, and the band played one last piece as a postlude. Each service followed this same exact format.
Overall, the weekend was quite fulfilling. It is always a blessing to be able to share our ministry with people outside of the SA. It is a good reminder for us that our ministry is unique and should not be taken for granted by any one of us. We look forward to our next ministry weekend as we play our Christmas concert at West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, NJ, and join the folks at the Manhattan ARC for Sunday morning worship.
Jonathan George (NYSB First Cornet)
