Easter at North York Temple

Easter at North York Temple was a wonderful time of fellowship and celebration of the Resurrected Lord.

The weekend began with a reflective and moving Good Friday morning service led by Major Lloyd Boone.

On Good Friday evening, a packed North York Temple sanctuary celebrated the Easter season with participation from the North York Temple Band, Songsters, YP Band, Singing Company and Singing Company Timbrels. Soloists Robert Venables (Life Abundant) and Cameron Rawlins (The King Is Coming) gave excellent performances. Easter Glory, the classic band selection by Leslie Condon, was well-received and brought back many memories for several stalwart bandsmen in the crowd.

Kenneth Downie’s Victory! was also a welcome addition to the program, as was Walking With Heroes (Paul Lovett-Cooper). The evening ended with the band accompanying everyone in the hall in Charles Skinner’s timeless arrangement of Crown Him With Many Crowns.

The band thanked Colonel Robert Redhead who did a wonderful job as compére and moved the evening along, providing a spiritual anchor to the program.

Easter Sunday was a busy day for the band and for the corps as a whole. For the first time, the traditional Easter Breakfast was taken to the community and widely publicized. The result was over 250 in attendance. Following breakfast, the children had their opportunity to hunt for over 500 Easter eggs at the front of the corps. The excitement was barely contained as over 85 children scoured the church property for their treasure.

Events then moved into the sanctuary where worship was led by retired General and Mrs. Bramwell Tillsley. The spirit of the Lord was truly moving and many new faces to the Army and some to church in general gave their lives to the Lord.

Following the service, the band led an Easter march around the streets of North York to proclaim the message – HE IS RISEN!