Mega-Update 3: The Future

When you are as sad a geek as I am, there are few things in life that cannot be linked in some way to a quote from Babylon 5, and in the couple of weeks since I posted part 2 of this Mega-Update, the quote above has come into my mind over and over again.

As outlined in part 2, theREIGN is in transition at the moment, and the next couple of months see us juggling between lineups old and new, ensuring that we honour those events that were in the diary before some of the changes were required.

Before that though, we are pleased to report that the first rehearsal with the new lineup went very well indeed, and the two new members slotted in quite nicely. They are now set to make their debut with us on Easter Sunday evening at St Aidan’s church in Hull for the Easter Praise worship event.

A couple of weeks later, the previous lineup takes to the “stage” at Holy Trinity, Barrow Upon Humber for a Saturday evening concert (7 May) and Sunday morning service (8 May). The only reason for the switch is that there simply isn’t time for the new lineup to get to grips with our own songs and do them justice in concert form having only just got together for the first time.

There is then a brief pause until a mixture of old and new takes to the outdoor stage in Withernsea on 2 July for a (hopefully) sunny outdoor worship and outreach event. That event should then mark the final transition from old lineup to the new one which we hope will take us forward into the future. July also marks the start of preparation for RE5 to debut in the Autumn (for which ideas are already starting to fly) and, possibly a return trip to Church Stretton.

In amongst all of that, we are delighted to announce the imminent release of a live album, called 96. Recorded at Withernsea United Reformed Church in October 2010, it features 9 of our own songs (including one brand new, previously unrecorded song), some souped up worship songs and even a couple of secular covers, along with some cool bonus features. The release date and launch concert is still to be finalised, but look out for it … we have some exciting plans for the launch concert.

Looking further ahead, we are hoping to get our act together and take RE5 (or maybe even 6) to Greenbelt 2012, as well as building on our existing church relationships for these events.

Finally, the running joke within the band at the moment (well, with me anyway) is that the Lord seems to be gradually replacing us with younger versions of ourselves but that, for me, is pretty exciting as it allows us to use our individual gifts and theREIGN’s opportunities to help develop and mentor young musicians and crew.

Jemma joined us in 2005 as a talented, but inexperienced, 14 year old singer and, 6 years on, is a confident and accomplished performer and worship leader in her own right. I would never seek to claim that theREIGN is responsible for any of that, but I hope and pray that the time she has spent working with us has provided a good environment for her to develop and grow her gifts.

Bethany is now where Jemma was in 2005, and hopefully she will also find that singing (and playing trombone) with the band gives her the opportunity to “spread her wings” a little bit, develop her gifts and gain confidence in making music.

On the tech side, both Dave Cartwright and Jon Cole have done superbly in looking after us and have moved on to full time jobs in sound engineering. Again, we cannot claim the credit for that, but I am delighted that we could give them the opportunity to really get their teeth into something to assist in their development.

And so, to prayer requests …

The new lineup: Please pray that the new members will settle in quickly and be blessed as they get to grips with what we are doing. Leading worship should never be a chore.

96: A lot of hard work has gone into putting the album together (mostly by John Osbourne if truth be told). Please pray for the final stages to come together and a suitable launch date present itself sooner rather than later.

Technical Crew: With Jon Cole moving on, Tim and Joel will be under greater pressure on sound and light. Please pray for them to be blessed as they work with us.

Future Opportunities: Please pray that the Lord will continue to open doors for us to lead his people in worship, and continue to bless what we do in His name.

I think that pretty much brings everything bang up to date. Sorry for my tardiness in getting part 3 completed … real life and the day job have kind of got in the way over the last few weeks.

If you get the chance to catch us at an upcoming event, we look forward to seeing you. If not, 96 will soon be available via the website, at very reasonable rates!

Every blessing,
David