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Pro Causa Optima (for the right reason)

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Life at present is very difficult.   Having lost my dad in March to cancer, and also currently  supporting my wife through breast cancer has stretched my faith to the limit. It is hard to believe that my parents and two sisters have been taken from me during the past 8 years.  No-one will every be able to understand the loss that you have when you lose all of your immediate family in a short space of time.   This has left a massive void in my life.

I have questioned my faith almost on a daily basis, and have wanted to quit on several occasions.  I also started a new job in April which brings along various degrees of stress, so life as Bandmaster of the Bellshill Band is tough right now. 

I have had to rely on my faith and also the support of many fellow Salvationists during the past few months to keep on doing the B/M job. You sometimes feel that if you took a back seat that you would feel better and less stressed, but I am not sure I would be happy doing that.

I love my role as Bandmaster of the band, and feel that we have a great fellowship within the group.   Our friendly approach to our banding is important to me. We have improved greatly in a musical sense, but the main benefit for our corps and community is that we do things for the right reasons. The Latin translation of  “for the right reason” is "pro causa optima".  This will start to be used on our website and on future programmes.

I heard a recent comment at one of our festivals which stated that “you can feel the fellowship and warmth of the band through their music”. This is a tremendous statement and one that truly reflects one of our aims. I strongly believe in God being able to speak to people through the music of our band, and therefore spend a lot of time compiling our band programmes. If we can paint a picture in someone’s mind and get them to understand what God can do in their lives, then we have achieved another goal and also express why the Salvation Army band was brought into being.

We have had a busy couple of years with our Tour of The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and also visits to Blackburn, Carlisle and Greenock. We also have been involved in Divisional events with the Musicians Councils with Stephen Cobb and Derick Kane and attended valedictory and memorial services for the division.

As I am writing this my thoughts switch to another few weeks of treatment for Sheena and the worry and concern that all goes well at home. This is her last 2 visits  for her chemotherapy and I thank God for all the medical staff and the way things have gone up to this present stage. I ask you to keep us in your prayers.

On the banding front, we have just completed a festival at East Kilbride S.A. and are visiting Kelty church this Thursday (16th September) for a charity concert.  We then have a 2 week break for our S.D. collecting and then we visit Cleland Baptist Church and also have a weekend away at Belfast Citadel in October. So we once again work hard to get out playing up to date and will bring blessing through our efforts.

When things are tough, I usually turn to the collection of band compact discs. I find comfort in listening to music. It can say so many things to you, if you take the time to relax and listen.

One of my favorite melodies at present is the Maori Folk Song Hine e Hine.   This is a lovely warm tune that had just entered our repertoire and features our flugel player Lynn Shanks. This brings great comfort and also gives a lovely calming feeling of peace.  I also love the melody of St Clements and class this as my favorite hymn tune. The Light of the World by Dean Goffin is my favorite band piece because this music kept me in the Army several years ago when the contesting world was beckoning. I owe a lot to Dean Goffin.

So that’s my up to date testimony.

Life could be better, situations could be better, but God still controls my life and I must try to stay on the path he has set for me.

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