St. Mary’s in Nantwich have the best church singers in Staffordshire and south Cheshire – and that’s official! The congregation have been named the champions in BBC Radio Stoke’s "Songs From The Aisle"s competition for 2005. They narrowly beat off the challenge from Sandford Hill Primary School, Trinity Church in Leek, and Stoke’s Salvation Army to win the first ever contest of its kind.
See photos of the four finalists by clicking on the "gallery" link on the right hand side of this page. PerformanceThe competition pitted all the congregations, schools and music groups featured during BBC Radio Stoke’s regular Sunday programme In Praise of God against one another.
The top four were invited to perform in the Grand Final at Lichfield Cathedral – and the outcome is a combination of the results of votes from an expert panel of judges, and votes cast by listeners online and via the phone. | "In Praise of God turns ordinary people in local communities throughout North Staffordshire and South Cheshire into programme-makers" | | Gavin Drake, Lichfield Cathedral |
St. Mary’s were chosen for their melodic performances of such famous hymns as “Be Still For the Presence of the Lord” and “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind,” and receive an engraved Doulton glass cross and a cheque for £500. The fourteenth century church, known as the "Cathedral of South Cheshire" is already a major tourist attraction, bringing in around 50,000 visitors a year. Looking backMore than 40 local churches competed for the top prize of £500 in the 2005 Staffordshire & South Cheshire "Songs from the Aisles" contest.
Throughout the year we compiled a list of songs and hymns that were sung during Radio Stoke's weekly visits to local places of worship.
The aim of 'Songs from the Aisles' was to find the best congregational singing in our area in 2005, and in so doing encourage our local churches to sing up - and not just leave the singing to their choir or worship group!
The finalists were chosen after judges decided whose ‘songs of praise’ were the best, as they listened to recordings of BBC Radio Stoke’s weekly "In Praise of God" church-service programme.
The four finalists re-recorded their songs in a special event at Lichfield Cathedral earlier this year.
As you know the finalists were: St. Mary's Church from Nantwich; Trinity Church in Leek; The Potteries Salvation Army; and, in case you thought that this competition was for adults only, the children from Sandford Hill Primary School, there to represent the younger generation.
You can still hear the best song from each by clicking on the 'audio links' in the box at the top of this page on the right-hand side. VotingThank you to everyone who voted during August 2005 whether here on the internet or by phone.
For the record, our judges were hymn writer Canon Michael Sayward, conductor and composer Patrick Larley, and Canon Charles Taylor and Gavin Drake from Lichfield Cathedral, who had the majority say in the final placings, each being allowed to allocate twenty per cent of the votes between the four finalists. The public vote accounted for the final twenty per cent.
Almost 350 votes were cast on the internet - and the final distribution of those votes worked out like this: Sandford Hill Primary School (20%); Potteries Salvation Army (48%); Trinity Church in Leek (5%); St. Mary's Church in Nantwich (27%).
The final result was known on 28th August.
"Of all Christian denominations"A wide variety of local churches from all Christian denominations took part in the original qualifying rounds. They included traditional choirs, modern music groups, schools and even prison congregations. Tim Beech, assistant editor of BBC Radio Stoke, commented: “The performances of local congregations during our In Praise of God programme are of an extremely high standard, and we wanted to give those communities an even bigger platform to reward them for their excellence - as well as the chance of becoming the champion congregation for 2005."
"It was an exciting new venture for BBC Radio Stoke, and for all the church communities in our area - and we encouraged as many as possible to get involved and take part.” Great traditions...Gavin Drake, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Lichfield, added: “BBC Radio Stoke’s religious programmes have a tradition of winning awards.
"Songs from the Aisles gave those who contributed to these religious programmes the opportunity to share in Radio Stoke’s success." Gavin Drake also added: “In Praise of Godturns ordinary people in local communities throughout North Staffordshire and South Cheshire into programme makers.
"Those taking part put a lot of effort into the recordings and Songs from the Aisles will provide a mechanism to reward those who take part with pennies from heaven!” What is 'In Praise of God'?On at least three Sundays a month BBC Radio Stoke broadcasts 'In Praise of God' - a Christian act of worship. (See the link in the top right hand corner) These programmes from local churches, schools and other organisations are produced by local people with the help of the radio station. As well as choosing a theme for the broadcast a lot of effort goes into the music.
We spend an hour or so rehearsing the readings and music before recording the service and it is at this time that we often hear the comment 'We didn't think much of the singing last week'. So much so that we will often mark the congregation in a Eurovision style during the rehearsal, to encourage them to sing out. So how do you get involved? Why not submit your church for an "In Praise of God" programme over the coming months? For more information on the 'Songs From The Aisles' project or about "In Praise of God", contact Terry Walsh, Sue Ashford, or Simon Penfold at BBC Radio Stoke on 01782 208080 or e-mail us at terry.walsh@bbc.co.uk | 
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