I had the wonderful and almost surreal opportunity to be a part of The Global Day of Prayer in London 2008. As a Psalm Drummer, I met up with other Psalm Drummers from around the country to take part part in the day as we performed various pieces of rhythm to thousands of people at the Millwall stadium in London.

The day started quite early for us as we arrived in the morning to get our equipment out, consolidate the members and then rehearse through the various pieces which Mike Simpson had prepared for us to play. We had all been sent the compositions earlier that week so most of us had a pretty good idea of what we were going to play that day. The rehearsal was great and everyone was very good at locking in quite quickly to their various parts. I am always amazed at the incredible sense of unity that is present when the Psalm Drummers get together and play together. The best part of the sound check, for me, was our very first isolated note : one massive BANG that echoed in the empty stadium and seemed to run through all the chairs along the sides, then to the back wall, and then bounced back again… wow! What a sound! What a beautiful sound that was! To me, it felt and sounded almost prophetic and symbolic in a way of how God would use the Psalm Drummers in ministry.

Groups
We had big toms, djembes and snares as the main three groups and then four soloists. The core of the team were placed in front of the stage on the ground with cameras flying about us and the soloists were up on stage. Each ‘group’ had a team leader who would act as the middle-man between Mike, who was conducting us all, and the players. I was the leader for the snare drummers - poor guys! I had a snare hanging from a harness around my shoulders but the darn thing would not stay still while I tried playing it! Matters were made more ‘interesting’ when we had to sway from side to side and then, at one point, jump up into the air! Needless to say, it was a learning experience for me. I don’t really know how much of my team actually followed me in the end as I was so busy watching Mike I nearly forgot about them! Sorry guys!

one massive BANG that echoed in the empty stadium and seemed to run through all the chairs along the sides

Rehearsal and soundcheck
The rehearsals went well, the sound check went well. We had all registered with the organisers, had some nice snacks and then spent some time in prayer together for the day. Terl was there and gave us all some encouragement as he usually does so well. The interaction between the drummers always inspires me as I see I am part of something and we all share the same passions. I have new friends every time I meet other Psalm Drummers in other countries. I also got to chat a bit to Troy Miller (drummer for Amy Winehouse at the moment) and he played with us on kit, which was great. He will be featured on the site quite soon in an interview along with Paul Evans from Delirious?.

As much as possible in as little as possible!
We had two sets, one near the beginning of the day and one near the end. Although we were well prepared and had a good number of wonderful grooves to perform, our two sets were cut quite short by the event organisers, unfortunately, due to time constraints. I did feel slightly frustrated by it but realised that there was a bigger picture than just us Psalm Drummers doing our thing and just the time we got on stage was a wonderful privilege and opportunity. Mike Simpson did a fantastic job in organising all of us and what we would play and was very professional at getting us to play as much as possible in the shortest time possible! Well done Mike!

We played what we could in the time we had been given. Again, the inspiring and unmistakable sounds of the drums declared to all present (and there were many!) that God’s rhythm dwelt in us as drummers and we prayed as we played. Unity was demonstrated as our set pieces locked into other in rhythms of foot-moving appeal and the crowds danced and clapped and cheered with us in unison. The name of Jesus being chanted out after one of our pieces. Some of our performance was broadcast globally on GodTV live and I got the chance to see it later on that day, brilliant footage!

At the end of the day
After we were done and the day was over, we all left to go our separate ways and I could see that we really were part of something so much bigger than ourselves. God is going to use Psalm Drummers in wonderful things, all over the world, I believe. I am so glad to be a part of it. It’s a humbling experience and, yet, such a challenging one.

I did record some video and took some photos, which I will be adding soon to the site.

Here are some photos:

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For those of you who didn’t make it, that’s ok. There’s always next year! For me, it will be an experience and a day I will never forget because I never could have imagined, while living in South Africa so far away, that I would be a part of that. Look now at what God has done in my life … wow! Unbelieveable.

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