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Pasadena Tabernacle Songsters grace the Kroc stage.
A musical bonanza was born when the Sierra del Mar Division combined its monthly Gospel Arts Day with a concert by the Pasadena Tabernacle Songsters at the San Diego Kroc Center. The benefit concert raised $3,600 for the Army’s Haiti relief efforts.
The day began with a divisional Bible Bowl competition—El Cajon, Murrieta and the Kroc teams won—taking them one step further to the finals at Commissioning weekend.
In the afternoon, delegates participated in elective classes, rehearsing until the songsters arrived. Everyone came together for a sound check and a run through of the combined group’s finale before the concert commenced.
As the congregation arrived, the Sierra del Mar Divisional Youth Band, led by Divisional Music Director Stephen Yalden, presented prelude music and the march “Harlesden,” written by the late Lt. Colonel Ray Bowes.
The songsters, under the leadership of Martin Hunt, began their program with an energetic rendition of “This Is The Day.” They continued to delight the congregation with “To Him Be Glory,” “Gentle Shepherd” and “Grace Flows Down.” In a featured solo, James Allen presented one of his own compositions with great dexterity and aplomb.
The song “Prayer For The Children” set the scene for a presentation by Corps Officers Captains John and Lisa Van Cleef. Reporting on the work of The Salvation Army around the world, the Van Cleefs concluded with an appeal for the ongoing Haiti relief work.
The Divisional Youth Band then took the stage and played an up tempo piece titled “Days of Elijah.”
The songsters continued the program with “My life must be Christ’s broken bread,” “Nothing But Thy Blood” and “Oh Happy Day” before the Sierra del Mar Gospel Arts Group joined them in the resounding finale, “Total Praise.”