Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Red army invades UK

By Ian Call

Published November 1, 2009 in Witness

“So, it’s a choir tour?” my coworker, Brian, asked after he learned he would be covering my projects.

”Well, no, it’s a mission trip,” I said.

“Aren’t you supposed to go to the jungles on mission trips, where people speak in clicks and clacks and thump your Bibles? Aren’t the English already Christian?”

I wish I could say that Brian’s definition of missions was the only one that needed broadening. MTW missionary Bill Schweitzer, serving in Newcastle, in a letter to J. Marty Cope wrote, “England and Scotland are relatively neglected in terms of the amount of US-sent missions.”

Aware of possible misgivings (my own included), Choir Director J. Marty Cope, Music Director Colin Howland, and the PCPC Missions Committee spurred the Chancel Choir forward, casting a vision for the trip. Meanwhile, we trusted that the looming figure down in front wielding the baton had heard from God and plunged into preparations, musically, prayerfully, and financially.

In 2008 the choir began fundraising efforts. God surpassed all expectations in the way He met the mission trip goals. Approximately 650 households contributed to the trip, and one-third of the choir was able to self-support a portion of their way. Finally, all of the financial goals were met by their set dates and the choir was bound for the United Kingdom.

July 25, just under two decades since the United Kingdom outlasted one red army, a second army landed in Heathrow Airport and staggered bleary-eyed into border control queues. The following morning the choir hopped on the Tube, red robes in tow, to All Souls Church for Sunday morning worship. As 75 singers crammed into the subway cars, crimson locusts devouring car space and chattering on in our American accents, we were slightly noticeable to the sparse and sleepy passengers aboard. One asked, “Who are you people?” This lead to “What are you doing?” Finally, after several questions, one passenger screwed up her face and asked, “You are spending your vacation doing this? What in God’s name motivated you to come halfway across the world with 89 people?” We were a great big, red, American eyesore; we could not hide. It was not the way we had anticipated God would open the door, but it became the most common.

Joy at All Souls

The congregation of All Souls Church, Langham Place, represents over 70 nationalities. To worship at All Souls is to worship with the world. One choir member remarked that it was as if we had bottled a PCPC worship service with trumpet fanfare, strings, organ, and 75-person choir and uncorked it there in All Souls. In the UK, beyond a few churches like All Souls, the combination of good musicality and strong orthodox theology driving worship is a rarity. We enjoy both at PCPC by the grace of God. Mutual encouragement of the saints took place as we saw the congregation's excitement as we sang together “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

Next, the choir traveled to York to sing at York Minster for three evensong services and a mini-concert. The largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, York has roots that go back to the mid-seventh century A.D. Our participation in worship bound us to believers from over the past 1,000 years. The Minster, built for a culture that could not read, employs its architecture and decoration for proclaiming the gospel. As time has drifted and so the culture, many have become illiterate to the Minster’s symbols. People from all over the world flock to it as a historical site. Yet the gospel still whispers through the art that remains on her stained glass and vaulted ceilings. The Chancel Choir prayerfully honed that whisper to a lofty shout by declaring in song the glory of the Triune God.

Tired travelers keep moving

After York, one flat tire and 90 worn poly-blend coach seats later, the choir arrived at Durham Cathedral for the first full concert of the trip. Exhausting most of the pieces in our repertoire, we sang to raise funds for Aquila Way, a charity for homeless young people. Jennifer Baker conveyed it best when she wrote in her journal, “God’s people were blessed that evening … not by our efforts, but by His.” It was said of the choir that beyond musicality, our faces conveyed the message of sincerity, which is the best compliment and may only be attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit.

On to the Promised Land

The end of the trip was spent in the “Other Promised Land,” as one seasoned Scotsman brogued to Brian Marquis. Saturday evening, one week after our arrival, the choir overflowed the small stage of Inverness East Church and performed a full concert in order to raise support for Blythwood Care, a large Christian charity. The following morning the choir split in two: half was sent to Inverness East Church and the other to the Nairn Free Church in a neighboring town. The choir enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the Highlands and received open invitations to return.

Looking back, I am not sure when our preconceptions concerning mission trips were crushed by God. From Speaker’s Corner to Brian Piper’s jazz outreach concert, the reality of the Kingdom advanced, not only in the walls of York Minster, but in our own hearts. Our trip fulfilled PCPC’s mission to extend the transforming presence of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in Dallas and to the world—and perhaps even Scotland, the “Other Promised Land,” as well.