The Salvation Army, Parramatta

Template:Infobox MCC Congregation Parramatta Salvation Army is a Salvation Army Corps located in the CBD of Parramatta, New South Wales. It is one of the oldest active Salvation Army Corps in Australia. It is the largest of its kind within the Greater-West Division. Situated in the western suburbs of Sydney it has survived two World Wars, an arson attack, and countless other disasters, it has been led by some of the most prominent Australian Salvation Army officers of the modern era, it has held onto the traditional Salvation Army image by maintaining a Brass Band and Timbrel Brigade since its inception, and, most importantly, its soldiers have ministered to the people of Parramatta and the surrounding regions for over 120 years.

History

Current Officers

File:Pethy2.jpg

Current Corps Officers Majors Kelvin and Cherylinne Pethybridge

Majors Kelvin and Cheralynne Pethybridge were commissioned by The Salvation Army as Officers in 1983. Throughout their service with the Salvation Army they have served as corps officers (or C.O's) for most of this time. As corps officers they have served in Blackwater (Central Queensland), Campbelltown, Shoalhaven and Wollongong, prior to coming to Parramatta Corps in January, 2002. They also have spent five years as Divisional Youth & Candidates Secretary (Kelvin) and the Divisional Guard Organiser (Cheralynne).

In 1998, they attended the Brengle Fellowship in Wellington, New Zealand and in 2003 Kelvin attended the International College for Officers[1] in London, UK.

2007 is their sixth year as Parramatta's Corps Officers, and is the longest any Corps Officers have been posted there.

Brass Band

Parramatta Salvation Army Brass Band (aka PSA Band) is an atypical Salvation Army Band with a membership of approximately 30-35 people. It is currently under the leadership of Graham Ainsworth and his assistant, band intern, Adam Wright. The band is one of the largest Salvation Army brass bands in Sydney and is also one of the youngest by average age. Its purpose is to minister the word of God to the people of Parramatta and its surrounding area's through the use of music found in the Salvation Army Brass Band Tune Books, they also commonly use arranged music of both secular and Christian origin for open-airs and concerts.

The band has been part of Parramatta Corps for some time and is beloved by both Salvationist's and Non-Salvationist's alike. PSA Band is a common feature at the annual dawn service on ANZAC Day and features "around town" playing Christmas carols from mid-November to December 25th of each year. They have been on overseas tours but their last one was some time ago. It is also common for them to attend other Salvation Army Corps on "band trips", the most recent being to Dubbo, Perth and Hamilton (in Newcastle). In June 2007, they made a trip to Forbes.

For some time, to be able to join the band, it was necessary to be enrolled as a Soldier of The Salvation Army. This rule, however, has been relaxed in recent years, but under the pretense that you are looking to be enrolled at some point in the immediate future. Many poeple were wary of allowing this to occur, but having seen the impact joining the band has on younger players, soon warmed to it.

Songsters

The ‘Songsters’ have been a long-standing fixture of the Parramatta Corps. Songsters are a four part choral group that aim to bring the message of Jesus Christ to those that don’t know him and also bless the congregation each Sunday through song. The group toured Asia in 2002 and Perth in 2006, as well as other New South Wales regional centres such as Tamworth and Dubbo. The group also sings within the community at Christmas time, sharing carols and christmas songs in shopping centres and carol services.

Through a program of modern, relevant music, evangelistic concerts, prayer and caring community, the Parramatta Songsters have become one of the premier Salvation Army choirs in Australia, boasting a wide range of generations within their healthy membership.

As well as providing musical support for the Sunday church services at Parramatta Corps, the Songsters are active with a busy concert schedule and are currently finishing their first solo record, to be released with an album launch concert, Saturday October 20th, 2007.

The group currently has nine members that are also part of the Sydney Staff Songsters [2](or SSS), a group that was formerly only for the highest performance level vocalist's in the territory. In previous years, it was a condition that no more than four people join the SSS from any one Corps Songster Brigade. But this has been avoided in recent years by the use of a loophole that allows people to maintain membership if they originally joined whilst at another Corps.

The songsters are supported by a small ensemble of fine musicians on instruments including piano, bass guitar, and drums, and led by Songster Leader Matthew Pethybridge, assisted by Deputy Songster Leader Margaret Poore and Intern Gemima Gray.

YP Band

The Parramatta YP (Young Peoples) Band is a brass band and was formed in 1944, it's main objective is to provide a medium in which young people can worship God (through the playing of brass instrument's) and also partake in fellowship with other like minded young men and women. The band is made up of young people ranging from ages 7 to 21 and has experienced varying levels of membership over the years. In previous years up to 35 players were regularly involved, but currently there are more like 12-14.

The Parramatta YP Band has toured all around New South Wales, this usually consists of a Saturday night concert, followed by a worship service at the local Salvation Army Corps on the Sunday morning. The men that have led the YP Band over the years have been some of the finest musicians in the state and include the likes of Bandmasters (B.M(s)) Ray Entwistle, Peter Godkin, and Rodney Everett.

The current YP Band Master is Mark Roberts. He has been in this role since October 2005.

Generals Football

A 'Generals' player in action

Parramatta Corps is the home of the Parramatta Salvation Army Football Club, the 'Generals'[3]. PSAFC is a member club of the New South Wales Churches Football Association. They are a Senior team that play in the NSWCFA's Raahauge Cup, North Division. Little is known about the history of the club other than that it has existed in several stints over the past 30 years. The records that are available indicate that Parramatta Salvation Army, as they were known then, tasted success in 1992, as All-Age Division 4 Runners-up and in 1994, as All-Age Division 3 Premiers. On both these occasions the teams were under the coaching of Arthur Hodge. This team also notoriously received a 'lifetime ban' from participating in Church competition in the mid 1990's.

Some 10 years later (in 2006)the ban was unprecedently lifted. And hence, they currently field both a first and reserve grade side. In the 2007 season the first grade team is currently undefeated with 7 wins from 8 league matches, and 1 draw. The reserve grade team has 2 wins and 2 draws from 7 league matches (though they have been plagued with many injuries). Both teams have also qualified for the quarter final's of their respective cup knock-out competitions.

Trivia

The corps weekly newsletter is known as the 'Parra Matters'.