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What's the weirdest place you've led worship in?
Title speaks for itself really.
I've done a few nightclubs in Liverpool city centre, which were hired out privately, and Ormskirk town centre once on a cold and windy day (I hate playing guitar with cold hands), but the prize for the strangest location has to go to...
From a ship docked in Liverpool's Albert Dock with the congregation gathered on the waterfront edge.
This was last spring (2007) and the Diocese of Liverpool wanted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade at the place that was pretty much the global centre of that same trade.
The boat was a bright red lightship and it was terrifying carrying all our instruments and sound gear across a 10 inch wide gangplank. We set up under the heli-pad, and the Bishop with all the clergy and official dignitaries from all over the place (including Africa) were on top of the pad.
Here's a link to the story: http://www.southportreporter.com/284/284-13.shtml - it's the story in the right hand column.
If you scroll down to the bottom and click on the green button you can see pictures of the boat and if you look very closely, you can just make me and the team out on the boat.
It was a good day - the weather was fine if a little windy - one of my music pages blew away into the Mersey - let's hope some unsuspecting sailor or docker finds it and his life is changed!
And for fun, for a warm up we played Beatles songs, which helped create something of a crowd!
The whole thing was recorded for the Sunday Programme on BBC Radio Merseyside, which was very exciting - although when we listened to it, it was mostly the talking - we were only in it for about three seconds singing 'And Can It Be'. Still pretty cool though.
I've done a few nightclubs in Liverpool city centre, which were hired out privately, and Ormskirk town centre once on a cold and windy day (I hate playing guitar with cold hands), but the prize for the strangest location has to go to...
From a ship docked in Liverpool's Albert Dock with the congregation gathered on the waterfront edge.
This was last spring (2007) and the Diocese of Liverpool wanted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade at the place that was pretty much the global centre of that same trade.
The boat was a bright red lightship and it was terrifying carrying all our instruments and sound gear across a 10 inch wide gangplank. We set up under the heli-pad, and the Bishop with all the clergy and official dignitaries from all over the place (including Africa) were on top of the pad.
Here's a link to the story: http://www.southportreporter.com/284/284-13.shtml - it's the story in the right hand column.
If you scroll down to the bottom and click on the green button you can see pictures of the boat and if you look very closely, you can just make me and the team out on the boat.
It was a good day - the weather was fine if a little windy - one of my music pages blew away into the Mersey - let's hope some unsuspecting sailor or docker finds it and his life is changed!
And for fun, for a warm up we played Beatles songs, which helped create something of a crowd!
The whole thing was recorded for the Sunday Programme on BBC Radio Merseyside, which was very exciting - although when we listened to it, it was mostly the talking - we were only in it for about three seconds singing 'And Can It Be'. Still pretty cool though.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Woodman on -
Oh alright, on the back of a truck at the grand opening of the first Domino's Pizza franchise in Belgium... on December 15th.... minus 15 degrees.....what's the prize???
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Permalink Reply by Nathaniel Freeman on
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lol
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Permalink Reply by Colin on -
A few years ago a large group of us from church went up to London for one of the March for Jesus events. I took a guiatr with me so we could chill out in Hyde Park afterwards. When we got on the train a lot of the group told me they didn't know the songs in the songbook, so I whipped out the guitar and I took them through the songs. The music practice moved into a time of worship all the way to Waterloo :)
Blessings
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Permalink Reply by Diane Luna on -
Women's prison in China... on the beach leading worship and the local druggies came and started dancing in the space between us and the congregation... inner city outreach scheduled between two different rap bands - I was on stage while there was a street football game going on in front of me... and one time I sang in a 200 voice choir that sang worship songs out in front of Walmart. Oh, and weddings/funerals always are a bit weird in their own sort of way.
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Permalink Reply by Diane Luna on
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Hmmm... Dominoes Pizza or Walmart... which one is weirder?
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Permalink Reply by Alun Allford on -
In the middle of a bike rally with people lying wronud drunk around you. Early on a Sunday Morning. It might be the weirdest but also the best experience I have had. The first time. Have done it many times since but the first just was so strange.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Goddard on -
I got a text one night at about half seven from a mate of mine, saying that there was an open mic at the Beyton Bear Pub just down the road from where I live, and did I fancy going along?
So we took a group of about 10 or 15 of us down to this pub which has a bit of a reputation and shared the gospel and sung a few worship songs, and we worshipped...in a pub on an open mic evening!!
It really was amazing...but quite surreal...not your average saturday night at the pub!
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Girling on
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We've led worship off the back of an open topped lorry for quite a few year's running at Easter in Debden (Loughton, Essex). It is often cramped and scarey, espcially being a singer wedged between two guitarists. There was also a bass player, keyboard player, drummer and full kit (my husband!) and a generator. Please understand that this was a small lorry too. This year it snowed and so we opted for going under the shopping parade - it was so cold. Don't know what's worse though - being electrified or freezing my butt off!
Erm, the reason why men end up playing at women's events is that there aren't enough women worship leaders! Or PA women, etc
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Permalink Reply by Nick Mangiapane on -
A construction lot...and my butt got burnt on the hot pipe I sat on. haha.
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Permalink Reply by Lee Wyatt on -
Weirdest place was my old Church...90% of the congregation were over 60 (not being ageist there!) and hated the music I was playing. No one was singing except me, the vicar calmly asked to to use the church worship books and thus began a love of old anglican hymns!!! But still no one sang ha!!
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Permalink Reply by Diane Luna on
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I just remembered a time years back when I sang in a gospel choir at Sea World, San Diego, for Easter sunrise service. There were about 100 of us singing and it was SO COLD! The main campus of our church has held sunrise service at Sea World for over 10 years... once was on a stage set out in the middle of Shamu Stadium. I'm sure Shamu loved the songs :)
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Permalink Reply by Dave Clemo on -
Um..
On the steps of a town centre church on Good Friday (more than once)
Gartree Prison Chapel,
Kettering Town Football Club (on the pitch in front of the stand)
In an empty marquee at seven in the morning at Cross Rhythms Festival 72 hour continuous worship event (Just me and Tony Cummings)
In College Street Baptist Church Northampton complete with box pews and the congregation (about 20) sitting in a church built for 600- in the same seats that they'd always sat in- one in the balcony. one on the left a couple at the back etc. I also preached that they'd better find a new way of reaching people or the church would die. It closed two years later.
In a Roman Catholic Church in Peterborough where I was welcomed as someone from a different faith
In a marquee on a sports field near my house.
Singing Christmas Carols in a pub car garden two days before Christmas- that was cold!
A baptism service using an inflatable baptistry in Gartree Prison following a week long mission. Six inmates were baptised and when the call went out, two more stepped up and were baptised there and then.
On a pavement in Kettering in the middle of a one way system with the traffic all around,
bandstands in Kettering Pleasure Park and Corby shopping centre.
I expect there are others I'm trying to forget
Oh, in a marquee in someone's back garden near Scarborough
In a tiny village church with no electricity (they only held services in the summer when the sun was shining)
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"An excellent resource for anyone involved in worship music. The video clips make for a more relevant and refined collection than you find on YouTube and there are plenty of diverse but interesting subjects being debated in the forum as well."
Marie Page, Director, Musicademy
"He Must Increase .com is the UK Worship Leader Network, with a UK worship forum, blogs, groups, videos, photos, set lists, discussions, UK worship events & worship music! Meet Christian UK worship leaders and musicians here."
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