Easter Sunday, March 23
Morning did indeed come bright and early. Up at 4 a.m., we changed in the dark (the dormitory lights were beyond our control) and somehow were ready to board the bus by 5 to get to the corps for the 6 o’clock sunrise service.
Although it was an early start, the meeting started off in an upbeat way with the band’s two prelude items, Shine, Jesus, Shine and Majesty. Our main musical contribution to the morning was Brian Bowen’s setting of the Easter Hymn (Christ the Lord is risen today). Having now been at the corps for two previous meetings, I noticed that the woman taking up the offering would stand by the band until we finished our offertory selection, then pass the plate around. Usually at home, the ushers would just pass on by. But this dear soul was determined to extract all the cash available. I couldn’t help thinking, Someone should make her the corps treasurer!
During the meeting, nine new senior soldiers were sworn in. The band played a verse of O Boundless Salvation as the new recruits marched in from the back of the hall behind the Salvation Army and Mexican flags. Then after they gave their declaration and were accepted as soldiers, several members of the band and some members of the corps presented them with their shirt epaulettes-a different but nice idea. Following a prayer, they were then presented with their framed Soldier’s Covenants and welcomed enthusiastically by the congregation. Most were young adults, which was encouraging. Some faces we recognized from attending the music institute.
Once again, Commissioner William Francis was the main speaker, ably interpreted by the divisional commander, Major Doug Danielson, who had been the main translator throughout the weekend. The title of his address was “Our Lamb Has Conquered,” in which he juxtaposed the story of Abraham taking Isaac up Mount Moriah to make the sacrifice as God had directed him and Jesus’ sacrifice as our sacrificial Lamb on Mount Calvary. The familiar Old Testament story tells how, at the last minute, God spoke to Abraham, spared Isaac and provided a sacrifice. In Jesus, God provided the ultimate sacrifice once and for all. I thought the commissioner made a brilliant point when he was talking about the difference between new life and death. He said that when we are born and the nurse delivers the slap, we come into the world crying even as everyone else in the delivery room is laughing and rejoicing. But then at the end of life, when we die, everyone else is crying but we are rejoicing-if we have our sins forgiven and our name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The band took part in two other services Easter Sunday morning-one at 8.30 and another at 11. The first was an outdoor event on the grounds of the Capital City Baptist Church, where the pastor was an American by the name of Reverend Lyn Sasser. It was a bilingual service, with a mixture of English- and Spanish-speaking congregants. Afterwards we even had time to enjoy hot coffee and a continental breakfast while sharing fellowship with church members.
To our surprise, the 11 a.m. service at the Union Church was in English only. Like the Baptist Church, many members seemed to be American workers-business executives, diplomats, etc.-who obviously preferred worshipping in their own language. Although this service was more liturgical in content, the minister, Reverend Michael Payne, delivered a challenging and thought-provoking message.
After the service the band formed up outside the church to have a group picture taken for the record books. The only difficulty was that it was hard getting a proper photograph taken due to various church members who kept coming up and wanting their pictures taken with the band. That plus all the amateur photographers wanting their own pictures made it feel somewhat like a wedding reception!
Following the picture, the band took some private moments to gather around Bandmaster Brian Burditt, for whom this tour represented his final appearance with the band. Commissioner William Francis spoke a few words of appreciation for Brian’s faithful and dedicated ministry over many years, and Deputy Bandmaster John Lam concluded with a word of prayer asking God to continue using and blessing Brian in his ongoing ministry as territorial director of world missions.
Following an excellent lunch at the church, we headed off for our final event of the weekend. Mexico City is a sprawling metropolis of some 20 million, and in the heart of the city is Chapultepec Park. I’m not sure what the acreage of this place is, but it’s got to be pretty huge. The French Emperor, Maximilian, when he invaded Mexico, captured the military college, which sits up on a large hill near the Pueblo Kiosk where we presented our concert. He built a huge castle on the grounds of the college in an architectural style reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles. It’s quite an imposing structure and a big tourist attraction in the park.
We assembled on the bandstand to present an hour-long program-our first and only real concert of the weekend. It was a mix of marches and music of a lighter fare to suit the large but uninformed audience in attendance. Items included Malagueña (Lecuona, arr. Mark Freeh), Assignment (Dudley Bright), Libertango (Piazzola, arr. Burgmayer), Love Changes Everything (Lloyd Webber, arr. Bulla), Cossack Fire Dance (Peter Graham), Entry of the Gladiators (Fucik, arr. Langford) and The Canadian (James Merritt). Two of the band’s soloists were featured-Barrington Venables on trombone with Kevin Hayward’s arrangement of Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, and Noel Samuels with a cheeky version of the Mexican Hat Dance appropriately dubbed Mexican Tuba Dance (arr. Ralph Pearce). Pepé Sanchez was given the baton again for a reprise performance of his Grandé es El Señor, much to the delight of the audience. To bring the concert to an exciting conclusion, Bandmaster Burditt steered the band through Ray Farr’s exhilarating arrangement of Bach’s Toccata in D Minor. The crowd responded with a standing ovation.
The day ended with an all-you-can-eat buffet meal at the Sirloin Stockade restaurant, which was enjoyed by all. The official part of our trip now over, we looked forward to heading home the next day, full of memories of the warmth and friendliness of Mexican Salvationists. One of the purposes of the music institute was to try to create interest in forming a divisional youth band under the leadership of Pepé Sanchez. Will it succeed after our short stint with the young folk? I think the answer is a resounding “Yes!” as they have the desire and the commitment necessary to make a go of it. We wish them all the best and look forward to future progress reports.