The long-awaited concert by a Ragamuffin Band took place at the Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival, Cheltenham Racecourse on Sunday 27th August. The weekend itself was attended by around 10,000 people so I decided I needed to get to stage 1 early to get a good place for the Rags. Consequently I arrived 2 hours before 'our boys' were due on and had to sit through two truly awful bands (I'm getting old, I think - the teenagers were loving them!) to work my way to the front. In fact, the place had emptied quite alarmingly by the time the Rags appeared, which I was sad about as the guys deserved a better welcome than this. But contemporary Christian music just does not get the airtime over here, and the Rags are not very well known. But stage 1 is situated where lots of people were passing by going from one venue to another, and I am glad to say that people joined the crowd all through their act and by the end there was a large and enthusiastic audience. I noticed later that dozens of people had signed up to get more information on the Rags, so that is very encouraging.The waiting seemed endless, but finally the guys came on to set up their equipment and do sound checks. There was time to take in the blonde highlights in Rick's hair (a bit of a surprise that) and to see the new drummer before they actually started to play. I couldn't believe I was actually so close to these guys who I listen to almost every day and who have been such a blessing on my life these past three years since we lost Rich.

They opened with 'My Deliverer', which was superbly performed, and got them off to a powerful start, following with 'Surely God Is With Us'. He was! One thing I hadn't realised until Mark told us, was that the band never has a set programme. Rick promptly played a couple of chords and Mark said, "Oh, I like this one" and they went into 'I See You.' Before 'Make Me An Insturment' Rick talked a little about the World Youth Day and shared that he does have problems with some areas of the RC church. I wondered what conversations he might have had with Rich in the past, as we understand Rich was seeking in that direction when he died. Rick also spoke of how they had been friends of Rich before they ever become his band. He told of how Rich never got to play England but that he (Rick) was sure we would have given Rich a warm welcome. Rich had been provisionally booked to play the Greenbelt of August '97 and had to withdraw, and was then expected to play in '98. He died, of course, before that could happen. My joy at having the Rags here mixed with my sadness of never having seen Rich and the tears came as I sang along with now larger crowd to 'Awesome God' . Everyone was singing along now and it sounded really good. The atmosphere had become one of praise and worship. A huge ovation as they left the stage brought the guys back. Mark explained that they didn't normally do encores as they want the acclaim to go to God, not to them (Rick had spoken earlier about how upset he gets with certain un-named Christian musicians who like the acclaim for themselves), but as we didn't know that they would do one more number. This was 'Step By Step', which was just wonderful. Rick then led us in the first verse of a hymn and they quietly left the stage as we sang on.

As I left the stage area, I felt emotionally drained but so very blessed. Rick had said that they would be signing CD's in the ICC Music Store at 9 pm (an hour or so later) and would love to talk to us, so I just sat quietly to get my thoughts and emotions together. Somehow I felt that Rich had been there, looking down at these guys, feeling so proud of them. They have not only continued his musical legacy beautifully, but they have moved on to touch us through songs like 'Help Thou My Unbelief' and 'God Grant Me Tears' - in my opinion, two of the most powerful songs ever written.Rick and Mark finally appeared and I got to chat with them, to tell them how much their visit meant to us, to thank them, and just to let them know that they are very special brothers to us. I had brought along my copy of the book 'Ragamuffin Prayers' and they kindly signed it. Rick wrote "Phil. 2" - which is all about humility, loving others and putting them first. Steve Stockman (seen on the 'Homeless Man' video) gave a seminar the following day when he used Rich as an example of "the first will be last and the last will be first." I learnt more about humility from Rich Mullins than from anyone else, and the Rags are humble in the same way. Much as we love these guys, their music and their words of wisdom, they point us beyond them to the forgiving heart of God and the loving arms of Jesus, in which Rich now rests. 'We'll Be Together Again.'

Gill King