80th Anniversary Reunion Weekend

Reunion Sessions

The National Headquarters of The Salvation Army in the United States, located in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from the Nation's Capital, was the venue for the celebration of 80 years of continuous service for the National Capital Band. 117 delegates, some traveling from as far as California, the Caribbean, and Sweden, gathered for a Reunion Weekend celebrating the ministry and music of the band over its long history. In addition to the Reunion Sessions held at the National Headquarters, the weekend also featured an Anniversary Festival concert by the National Capital Band on Saturday evening, and a Reunion Concert featuring a Reunion Band and Chorus, on Sunday afternoon.

The weekend began on Friday, 11 November 2005, with the first of three Reunion Sessions. These sessions, held in the dining hall of National Headquarters on Friday evening and Saturday morning, featured various members of the band, current and former, relating their memories of service with the band. Interspersed with the reunion sessions were rehearsals for the Reunion Band and the Reunion Chorus. In the Catherine Booth Room on the first floor of the Headquarters building an historical display with many photographs and other memorabilia from the band's history was set up, with items from the official band archives and also brought in by various current and former members from their personal collections.

Perhaps the greatest highlight of the reunion sessions was Commissioner Paul Kellner's devotional talk during the second session on Saturday. Many think of the ministry of a Salvation Army band as being toward the public and the listeners, but in some cases it is the ministry to the members of the band that is just as important. The commissioner related how his struggle over whether to go to the mission field was ended after hearing Bob Goodier play the cornet solo Clear Skies during an NCB concert. This moment confirmed his call to the mission field, and sent him on his way to appointments in Haiti and central Africa. His emotional and moving depiction of the effect that the band had on his ministry was exceptional.