With Majors Alec and Andrea Still away next Sunday (12 February) we have excellent leadership to replace them.

Majors Andrea & Alec Still

The morning meeting, at the normal time of 10am, will be led by Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen and we look forward to a great time with this vastly experienced officer. His subject will be ‘No claim on grace’.

Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Alllen

In the evening (6pm) our friends from the Emmaus Church Centre will be joining us. The meeting will be led by the Songsters and the preacher will be Rev Brian Adams (Emmaus).

Due to inclement weather this evening’s meeting (5 February) has been cancelled. This afternoon’s meeting of the Discipleship Group has also been cancelled as has the Mainly Music Group tomorrow morning. Further announcements will be made here when we receive more information.

Update: We can now confirm that the Monday Lunch will not take place tomorrow and the Hub Cafe will not be open. This includes the Foodbank Drop-in Centre. The Costa Book Club scheduled for Monday evening is also cancelled.

There will only be one meeting on Sunday – at 10am. This will be led by Majors Alma & Jim Brown in the absence of Majors Alec & Andrea Still who are taking a few days holiday.

Sunrise

The funeral service for Rose Reynolds will take place at the Salvation Army hall, Church Street, Chatham, ME4 4BT on Friday 25 November at 12noon. This will be followed by the Committal at the Medway Crematorium, Robin Hood Lane, ME5 9QU, at 1.20pm. After the Committal guests are invited to return to the Chatham Salvation Army hall for refreshments.

FREEDOM is the title for this year’s Adult & Family Ministries conference run by the London South East Division of The Salvation Army when the guest speaker will be Elaine Storkey.  Click on the poster below for details.

Elaine

For those of you who were unable to visit Maidstone Salvation Army on the week-end of 3/4 September when the Corps celebrated General Albert Orsborn and the LSE Candidates Farewell took place, we are told that two DVDs have been produced for sale through the Maidstone Band’s website.

For further details click here or here

Albert Orsborn Weekend / Divisional Candidates farewell – DVD

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Over the weekend of September 3^rd/4^th (2011) Maidstone Corps celebrated a weekend of music from ‘the Poet General’ General Albert Orsborn.  He was the 6th General of the Salvation Army, and was born in Maidstone.

They were also privileged to have General Shaw Clifton (retired) with them to lead the celebrations over the weekend.

• Disc 1 features the Saturday evening event, with Maidstone Band and Songsters, and the Sunday morning service with the addition of our divisional leaders, Lt.Col’s Anthony & Gillian Cotterill.

• Disc 2 features the Sunday evening service and Divisional Candidates Farewell, with General Shaw Clifton and our divisional leaders, and support from Chatham Songsters and Maidstone Band.

This double disc set with over six hours of video, is priced at £7.00 including 1^st class postage* and packaging.

If you have any problems ordering these, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will try and sort it out for you.

Readers of yesterday’s Monday Spot were promised more detail regarding the installation of Majors Alec and Andrea Still as our new Commanding Officers.

Majors Alec & Andrea Still

The installation of new Commanding Officers arriving to take up a new appointment is an important time of commitment in which they are challenged about the way in which they will carry out that appointment. We have included below a copy of the ceremony of installation conducted by Lt. Col. Gillian Cotterill, one of our Divisional Leaders. Click on each image to enlarge to readable size. Click here to read the scripture portion taken from Ephesians which began the ceremony.

For more information please contact us or visit us at Church Street on Sundays at 10am and/or 6pm to meet Majors Alec and Andrea Still in person. Readers may also contact us for an appointment.

Here’s how to find us:

Click on the maps to enlarge

It has been ‘end of term’ for many of our groups and sections during the last couple of weeks as we approach the main holiday season.

Some of our activities are shutting down for the summer break (music section rehearsals, Parent & Toddler groups for example). These will get back into full swing in September. Details will be provided by the section/group leaders concerned.

Our Sunday worship will continue as normal throughout the holiday period (10am and 6pm each Sunday for the whole family and 10.30am for the children)

Happy holidays to everyone!

The following Press Release has been issued to local media by the Press Officer for the London South East Division (Bill Shaw) concerning the appointments of Majors Alec and Andrea Still to Chatham.

Majors Alec & Andrea Still

SALVATION ARMY WELCOMES NEW
LOCAL LEADER(S)

The Salvation Army in Chatham is welcoming new leader(s). Majors Alec and Andrea Still have arrived to take over the Salvation Army’s work at the community church/centre in Church Street.

The official welcome meeting will be held at The Salvation Army hall, Church Street at 10am on Sunday 31^st July

Alec and Andrea have spent the last 6 years as leaders in the Bellshill Corps, near Glasgow, and have a particular experience of developing new expressions of Salvation Army work and ministry. They became Salvation Army officers (ministers) in 1992 after working as an engineer and a P.A. respectively. The couple married in 1988 and have 3 children.

Alec and Andrea are keen to get to know the town and to develop The Salvation Army’s ministry within the local community.

Alec said: “We are delighted to be in Chatham and to share in an exciting time in the life of Chatham Salvation Army. We are about to embark on some major building redevelopments, which in turn will lead to an opportunity to also redevelop the programmes we can offer to the wider community.”

Sunday worship takes place at The Salvation Army hall in Church Street at 10am and 6pm to which everyone is welcome. And there are many weekly activities including parent and toddler groups and youth activities. There is something for everyone and a warm welcome is guaranteed.

For further information on The Salvation Army in Chatham Corps contact Alec or Andrea on 01634 843 689, or call into the hall in Church Street

Alec and Andrea have taken over the leadership of the church and charity from Majors Drew and Beverley McCombe who are looking after The Salvation Army’s mission development at the national headquarters in London.

In addition to the information given in the above Press Release, interested readers may contact us.

The farewell Sunday for Majors Drew and Beverley McCombe will be 10 July.

Drew & Beverley

Drew and  Beverley have been our leaders for the past seven years and are moving to new appointments at Territorial Headquarters in London. Chatham Corps will miss them greatly but we shall be welcoming new leaders, Majors Alec and Andrea Still, on Sunday 31 July Alec and Andrea will undoubtedly soon become part of the fabric of the corps and we anticipate that their leadership will continue to progress the work of the corps in the future.

The farewell will take place in our morning (10am) meeting at Church Street and we anticipate a large crowd. Come early to ensure your seat! In the afternoon (2pm onwards) there will be a fellowship activity at Luton Rec (car park at the bottom of Ash Tree Lane) to which all are invited. This will be a more informal occasion on which to wish our departing leaders the very best for their future ministry. Join us if you can.

…….. and now received!

Our new COs will be Majors Alec and Andrea Still, currently at the Bellshill Corps in West Scotland.

Majors Alec & Andrea Still

The appointments will be taken up on the departure of Majors Drew and Beverley McCombe in the summer. Major Alec’s appointment is full time but Major Andrea will share some of her time with THQ where she will have a role as an ‘emerging mission partner’ (in the same team as Major Drew).

The Still’s have three children all of whom will be coming to Chatham (and all of whom currently play with the YP Band – good news David). They are Tom and Amy (twins), 18, and Simon, 8. They also have ‘a menagerie of small animals, classic cars and a sense of adventure’ (quote).

Entering the Training College in 1990 from nearby Hove Corps, they were commissioned in 1992 to a ‘pioneer’ ministry in Bolton and subsequently spent 13 years in  Greater Manchester, mostly in inner-city areas either starting something new or revamping church to be more appealing and relevant to the needs of a rapidly changing culture.

In a quote from the Bellshill Band website they say:

‘We were able to bring much of what we had learned and our passion for the mission of The Salvation Army, quite easily into a very different situation. Four years on we feel we have a healthy mix of ‘traditional’ and ‘something different’ with many emerging ministries born out of the growing convictions of a bunch of people passionate about sharing the love of God with each other and those who do not know Him. They have given and taught us so much. Yes, we still have the tradition, but what we do with it is increasingly innovative’.

We have already sent words of welcome by telephone and would invite those who wish to do so to use the comments box below.

Steve and Mel Scoulding have now granted us permission to publish their first officer appointment which they are thrilled about. They will be going to St Helier, Jersey (and we understand will have enough accommodation for – guess what!).

The Corps Carol Service, scheduled for 6pm this evening WILL GO AHEAD.

Major Drew McCombe says:

I have been to the hall this morning- the roads are now clearing, the paths have been gritted and the Pentagon Car Park (multi story on the Brook) is open 24hrs – Rhode St Car Park is open, been gritted but not clear of snow.

All in all I think it is safe to hold the Corps Carol Service this evening.

A note to section leaders- can you let me know if your section cannot function as planned.

This morning’s KAOS Carol Service is cancelled due to the extreme weather, road and car parking conditions. A further decision will be taken at 2pm with regard to this evening’s Corps Carol Service and the information posted here as soon as we have it. This will take into account the conditions at the time.

Major Drew McCombe has circulated the following email regarding Sunday’s meetings:

This is an email to alert you regarding the meetings tomorrow. The local weather forecast said we would get the heavy snow at 3.00pm today  – it came at 12noon. There is forecast for more heavy snow at midnight, but who knows if that will come and at what time. The main difficulties for people on the roads today was gridlock and having just retrieved my own car which I abandoned earlier, this now seems to be a lot easier and the roads are passable with extreme care.

Having consulted a few people a decision will be made at 8.00am tomorrow morning about the KAOS carol service and 2.00pm about the evening corps carol service. Please keep a look out on the website (www.chathamsa.org.uk) and Facebook and your own email for the information or phone 01634 683218. If the morning is cancelled I will still be at the hall for 9.15am so that I can at least give those who did not get the message a cup of coffee.

For those who will miss the sermon and that will be many of you!!!!!!- this will be available by email – the long version is £10 the shorter version is £20 and the money will go to the building fund……

Seriously if we don’t manage to meet tomorrow – God is not affected by the snow – he’s still available and just a prayer away and would love to accept your worship.

If you have email addresses for anyone connected at our corps then please can you pass this on……

God Bless

Drew & Beverley