Around the territory
CSB Hosts St. John’s Citadel Band Salvationists in Toronto and nearby Whitby, Ont., were treated to a little taste of “The Rock” in November. The occasion was the visit of the St. John’s Citadel Band, which travelled from Newfoundland to take part in the Canadian Staff Band’s Fall Festival and march in the Toronto Santa Claus Parade. Visiting band members were kept busy from the moment they arrived, presenting a concert to a packed house at Whitby Community Church on Friday evening. The audience appreciated the warmth
and humour of the guest musicians who performed a variety of music to suit all tastes. After a busy day of rehearsals on Saturday, the visiting group joined the Canadian Staff Band and the Ontario Central-East Divisional Youth Chorus for an enjoyable concert at Scarborough Citadel in Toronto. Participating in the program were Commissioner William W. Francis, territorial commander, and Lt-Colonel Alf Richardson, divisional commander for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Among several lighter items, the Canadian Staff Band, under Bandmaster John Lam, played two larger works, Robert Redhead’s Corpus Christi and Dmitri Shostakovich’s lively Festive Overture, arranged by William Gordon. The youth chorus, under leader Cathie Koehnen, added significantly to the program with their energetic presentations of Praise the Lord, All You Servants of the Lord, an arrangement of Psalm 134 by Canadian Jason Locke, and the dynamic Alive Forever Amen, as well as two more meditative selections. On Sunday morning, the visiting band participated in worship at Toronto’s Bloor Central, then marched downtown in the 105th annual Toronto Santa Claus Parade. With the St. John’s Citadel Band and the Canadian Staff Band, as well as players from many corps bands from Toronto and southern Ontario, this year’s group of 165—including territorial and divisional leaders, the colour party and timbrellists— was the largest since The Salvation Army re-commenced participating in this event in 2005. The group provided a lively witness to the 500,000 who lined the parade route as well as the millions more who watched on TV throughout Canada and around the world. Members of the St. John’s Citadel Band, the Canadian Staff Band and southern Ontario corps bands take part in the Toronto Santa Claus Parade
Fleury of Excitement at Gateway When former Calgary Flames hockey player Theoren Fleury was in Toronto in November to attend the induction ceremony for some of his colleagues into the Hockey Hall of Fame, he chose The Salvation Army’s Gateway shelter as the setting for an interview with The Sports Network (TSN). Despite his professional success, Fleury has spent much of his adult life battling addictions. He has a rapport with men who are struggling and was happy to work as spokesman for Hockey for 6 I February 2010 I Salvationist
the Homeless, from whom Gateway received a generous donation last year. His interview with TSN covered the release of his autobiography, Playing With Fire, in which he outlines the story of his experience of abuse and addiction. While at Gateway, Fleury chatted with the men living there. “He really related to our guys. He obviously has a heart for this group,” says Theoren Fleury poses with members of the Gateway community during a recent visit
Dion Oxford, executive director. “He said that for the rest of his life he will be giving back
to the community and using his name and his leverage to help in any way he can.”