Methodist Central Hall Westminster

The Royal Gala Concert of Reconciliation commemorating the 60^th Anniversary of the End of World War 2.

  PRESS RELEASE

METHODIST CENTRAL HALL WESTMINSTER HOST  MAJOR  NATIONAL EVENT.

After teams of workers toiled night and day the Great Hall of Methodist Central Hall was finally handed back just hours before the start of the Royal Gala Concert of Reconciliation commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the End of World War 2.

2500 people packed the newly refurbished Great Hall to hear The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The London Symphony Chorus, The Central Band of The Royal British Legion, The Fanfare Trumpeters of Kneller Hall, choristers from The Chapel Royal Hampton Court Palace, The Chapel Royal St. James’s Palace, St Georges’s Chapel Windsor,  St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.   

The Concert was attended by Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were greeted by the President of the Royal British Legion The Earl of Effingham and then by the Superintendent Minister The Rev’d Martin Turner. As a symbol of the reconciliation since the end of World War 2 the Ambassadors of France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Japan and the USA were also present.

The musical programme consisted of works from the different countries represented, but the focus of the evening was the world premiere of a new cantata written by the Master of the Queens Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Conducting this enormous group of musicians himself the audience were led through a musical picture staring with “diplomatic breakdown” and leading to a great cacophony of sound in “armed conflict”. Suddenly the tumult and shouting dies” and the huge chorus starts to sing the words of Isaiah, the Prince of Peace has come, swords will be beaten into ploughshares.   Then the children from the six choirs broke into a 13th century medieval carol. the work ended with the prayer from peace from the Latin Mass, with a magnificent climax of music leaving a note of hope. This was a deeply spiritual composition, commissioned jointly by Her majesty the Queen and the British Legion.

After greeting the composer and musicians Her Majesty and the Duke returned to the entrance area where they were greeting again  by the Superintendent, who introduced them to the Rev’d Martin  Broadbent, Chair of the Trustees, who invited Her Majesty to unveil the newly positioned life sized statue of John Wesley. To mark the refurbishment programme a wall plaque noted the event .

The evening done the Superintendent escorted the Queen from the building and said farewell – the Chair of the Trustees has since had a letter from the Palace saying that “The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were most impressed by the quality of the refurbishment work and by the efforts of the Central Hall staff to ensure that all requirements were met in  time for a most enjoyable evening”.   Meanwhile back in the Library and Lecture Theatre 800 guests mingled as they ate snacks and drank wine donated to the British Legion, Methodist Central Hall using one of it’s allocation of occasional licences as the main licence application has been delayed.  The Superintendent Minister the Rev’d Martin Turner said after the event,

“I felt so very proud that Methodist Central Hall was able to host such a significant event in our national life, and to present such a positive witness for Methodism.  I would like to thank the Methodist Conference for their courage and vision in allowing us to serve alcohol, without that change we would not have had this event – there would simply have been a record of a manager saying “no” when an initial enquiry was made. This is exactly why we wanted a licence.  We have made very little money from this booking, but we have positioned ourselves at the heart of national life and have offered a ministry of positive hospitality which we could not have done  previously. I know that the decision of Conference last year has caused some Methodists hurt and that they strongly disagree, but this very first event back in the Great Hall, enabled only because we were able to offer the reception afterwards, is the proof that the decision was the right one”.