Faces we'll never forget...

He was one of the naughty boys, the ones who couldn’t settle to their work, who were always in trouble after playtime, who had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

He sidled up to me during ‘Golden Time’, the magic half hour at the end of the day when the children were allowed to choose what to do.

“Miss,” he said, leaning towards me.

“Yes?”

“What story are you telling today?”

“Well…” I said. “I can’t tell you the story, cos it would spoil it…”

His face fell a little.

“But… I could give you a hint or two…”

He looked up at me.

“There’s a frog in it,” I said. “And a princess. And a talking tree.”

He pondered this information briefly, then announced, “I’m going to draw the tree!”

And off he went. When he returned a few minutes later, he brought with him a sheet of paper with a felt tip drawing of a tree in the middle, orange and green, with a face carved into the trunk. And it was beautiful. He had a real talent.

“Would you like to stand and hold your picture up when we get to the bit with the tree?” I asked.

He nodded.

So that’s what we did. When I got to the bit with the tree and he stood up, there was a brief moment when his teacher wasn’t sure, when she assumed that he was doing something he shouldn’t, because that’s what he always did. But the moment passed, and he stood there, proudly holding his picture, for the rest of the story.

It was a small moment, just a brief passing of time in one hour of one day of his whole life. But that moment made a difference. Because in that moment he knew what it was to be proud of himself, to feel like he’d achieved something. It was a good moment that he could share with his mum as they left school together.

And from that moment, I knew that this was what I needed to do.

I still have the tree picture...

Zephaniah Archive: 1996...

Way back in February 1996, Jenny was 19 and in her first year of university, Julie was 15 and in her first year of GCSEs, and John was ... well ... still quite old. And Zephaniah? Well, the Trust had just turned two and was holding its first ever birthday bash to celebrate!

Quoting from the press release, "most new charitable agencies apparently fold within the first twenty-four months. To be still up and running is something worth celebrating. John is now currently working regularly in some twenty-five schools."

On Thursday 29 February, guests enjoyed fruit punch, a two-course meal and wine, magic from Mark Greenwood, an auction of donated items including signed photographs of David Suchet, and music from John and the Zephaniah band. 

 

The programme contained handwritten messages from the original board of trustees, including these prophetic words from Linda Chapman: "Thanks for all your support over the past two years. Here's to the next twenty!"

If you were there, we'd love to hear your memories!

Sing a Song...

Carol Barwick, Zeph friend, talented writer, and all-round lovely lady, will soon become our newest Associate - here's what she's penned in celebration of our 20th year!

Sing a song of Habibs 

And Kidz Klub and "that van"
This was when I met John Froud
And how it all began

Sing a song of Easter, Fast Forward and Rewind
This was when we worked with year 6 of every kind!


Sing a song of Pentecost
And all John's well known songs
Up and down and all round the park
They joined his sing alongs!

Sing a song of fashion shows and 27 dresses
Vintage, second hand and new, each outfit did impress us!


Sing a song of makings things
And music, words and art

And of St Peters Shipley
Of which we've been a part

Sing a song of summer clubs and David Tennant blues

This is how we came to write for Julie and her muse

Sing a song of Halloween

Or not, let's sing of light
Of Daryll Hackett and his knives
That gave the kids a fright!

So Happy Birthday Zeph Trust
My prayer in all you do
Is every day remember this -
God's singing over you!! 

Beginnings...

A long, long time ago, in the legendary Wycliffe CE Middle School in Shipley, there was a big, beardy teacher of children. In those far off days, teachers did teach children how to read, write and do arithmetic, and knew that those words don’t all begin with the same letter, but they also knew how to play games like football and how to create beautiful music.

So it was in the 1980s, the decade of big hair and Graham Kendrick, that Mr Froud discovered the joy of seeing children in lots of different schools, enjoying the music that he and “The Band With No Name” (should have copyrighted that name!) played for them at Christmas and at the end of the year in July. He saw that it was good and he noted that the children listened.

Of course, music wasn’t as important as subjects like English, Maths and Science and Mr Froud was told to concentrate on those, but by the 1990s he knew there was something else he must do... but how?

His wife, Sheena, and both of their children, Alex and Cath, knew what he must do... but how?

And God knew there was something else that the Hairy Man ought to do and he wanted to tell him… but how? Mr Froud wasn’t very good at listening…

One day as he was driving South down the A1 through North Yorkshire - which must be one of the dullest roads in England - God spoke, and this time the Beardy Man was listening. There was not much to occupy his brain. The road was straight, flat and grey; the weather was grey; and the light came on.

“What you need is a sabbatical to test the idea of leaving teaching to work in schools.”

“Genius!” said the Hairy One, probably out loud. “God, you are clever.” Slightly embarrassed to have only just realised that God does know what He’s doing, he listened more to The Plan: speak to your headteacher, speak to your minister, speak to teachers in other schools - and listen!

And so on 28 February, 1994, the Zephaniah Music Trust was legally established as registered charity 1036478. That summer Mr Froud left his teaching job at the world famous Wycliffe CE Middle to begin his new work.

Many stories have been written and told; many songs have been borrowed or written and sung in these last 20 years; many people enlisted to help as volunteers, work experience and placement students, and salaried staff, all to help take “Light into dark corners.”

And why “Zephaniah?”

Zephaniah 3:17 (in the Bible) says “The Lord your God...will sing.” Listen.

Be part of the celebrations!

The last twenty years wouldn't have been possible without you - our Zephaniah friends and supporters. And our 20th birthday celebrations won't be complete without you either!

Whether you've supported us by giving your time, your money, your prayers, your listening ears, your support, or your interest; whether you can be there in the Cathedral on 22 March or not - we want you to be part of our birthday celebrations.

So, we've created an online form - available here - which we'd love you to complete and send to us. You don't have to fill in every box. Here's what we're asking for:

1) A Birthday Greeting
We're compiling a birthday book full of birthday greetings. This will be available at the Cathedral on 22 March for you to write in personally, but if you can't be there or you'd rather do it now so you don't forget, you can send us your greetings now.

2) Zephaniah Memories
Release your inner storyteller and tell us what Zephaniah means to you - do you remember when you first discovered us? Have an anecdote, funny story, or memory to share? Has one of John's songs or albums stayed with you over the years? Or has one of Julie's stories spoken to you? We want to know! Share your stories with us!

3) A Birthday Poem
We want to create a big community birthday poem in the style of John's poetry workshops - so we're challenging you to capture something of Zephaniah and the last twenty years in a single line of ten syllables or less. Feel free to send more than one line - just make it clear where one line ends and another begins. We'll be sharing examples on here as we go, but if you stick to the ten syllable guideline, you can't possibly get it wrong!

What d'you say? Will you join us? Follow the link here and let your creativity run riot...

Celebrate our 20th birthday with us!

28 February 2014 marks 20 years since the foundation of the Trust deed - and 20 years of taking light into dark corners in schools and communities in Bradford and beyond.

Back in 1994, Founder and Trust Director John Froud dared to dream about a tenth anniversary; a twentieth seemed too far away even to contemplate - yet here we are! 

To mark the occasion, we'll be looking back over the last 20 years, remembering some of the people who joined us for the journey, retelling favourite anecdotes, digging into our photo archives, and indulging in some good old-fashioned nostalgia - and we intend to thoroughly enjoy ourselves while doing so! We may be doing this primarily for our own amusement, but we'd love you to join us - posts will be appearing regularly on this blog so stop by now and again for a rummage through the collective Zephaniah memory.

All this nostalgia will culminate in a Big Birthday Bash at Bradford Cathedral on Saturday 22 March 2014, with a Family Praise Party in the afternoon at 3pm, and a Thanksgiving Celebration in the evening at 7.30pm. John, Julie, Jenny and Band will be joined by special guests including Mark Greenwood (of the Forty:Three Trust) and Stewart Henderson (poet, songwriter, broadcaster). Join us for some or all of the day - get in touch to reserve your free tickets on 01274 533732 or office@zephaniah.org.uk. (As space is limited, you must reserve a ticket to be sure of joining us on the day!)

Here's to the celebrations!