News @ Gloucester Salvation Army

As we begin our season of Advent, I was stunned to read the story of a modern day nativity that happened in New York this week. Many of you will have read the same story of the new born baby found in a church nativity scene.  A member of the church heard the baby crying and found it wrapped in towels in the manger with its umbilical cord still attached. CCTV footage showed the mother arriving at the church with the baby and leaving without him. The mother has since been traced, though no charges will be brought against her. The District Attorney said, “It appears that the mother felt her newborn child would be found safely in the church and chose to place the baby in the manger because it was the warmest place in the church.” I cannot imagine how the church folk must have felt to find a real baby in their manger scene. Churches all around the world will this week be putting up nativity scenes, many of them true to scale, but inevitably featuring statues or models instead of the ‘real thing’. To find real life in the manger as you walk past must be quite overwhelming. Read more...

Every year, Salvation Army Centres throughout the UK distribute parcels to needy families at Christmas time. Last year, we distributed 390 Food Parcels and 425 Toy Parcels through many different agencies across Gloucester and we are hoping to be able to do a similar number again this year. All the recipients are referred to us by Social Services and Family Centres to ensure our parcels go to the neediest families in our City. Read more...

Join us throughout December as we celebrate Christmas! Read more...

Come and join us for Messy Christmas on 22nd December at 4pm! Read more...

This weekend is a weekend to celebrate giving and children!

On Friday we saw the annual Children In Need appeal come to a climax.  This is a great occasion when people all over the UK help children within our own country who are in need by giving money to support various groups who help children to thrive.  The vision of the charity is that every child in the UK has a childhood which is: safe, happy and Secure, and allows them the chance to reach their potential. Read more...

As the country stopped for two minutes at 11am on Wednesday to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom, four members of Gloucester Salvation Army Band played The Last Post at locations in and around Gloucester. Read more...

Today is Remembrance Sunday. It is a day when we remember those who gave their life in war for our freedom today. This year, in particular, is the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and we commemorate and salute those who served in this battle from munitions workers to aircraft engineers, from fighter controllers to radar operators, the aircrew of the coastal and Bombers Commands, and of course, ‘The Few’, who sought to go ‘higher, faster and stronger’! This ‘band of brothers’ retains a unique place in our history because its members did not just inspire – they saved a generation. As ACM Sir Foxley-Norris put it in his poem ‘Fighter Pilot’:
‘he was a common unconsidered man, who for a moment of eternity, held the whole future of mankind in his two sweating hands – and did not let go.’ Read more...

Today is All Saints Day.  This is a day when we give thanks to God for the ‘Saints’ who have shaped our spiritual journey.  None of us ended up here by chance. Our parents, grandparents, friends, pastors, spouses, and others have helped to shape our understanding of who God is and what our callings are in response to the love God has shown us in Christ. Read more...

Last Monday, I was privileged to go along to ‘Family Mayhem’. This was an open evening for Monday Mayhem to which we were all invited. With nearly 50 people attending it was a great evening where adults and children played, worked, and worshipped together. It’s so encouraging to see the growth in Monday Mayhem; from its small beginnings of 7 or 8 children to it now topping 20 children in attendance. That’s credit to the Monday Mayhem team’s perseverance and commitment to the children and to this mission activity; and of course great credit to God! Read more...

On preparing for the Over Sixties Club meeting this past week I found that every day, every month and every year has at least one specific theme to commemorate or celebrate.  So for example, yesterday was Bridge day, International Sloth Day, Sweetest Day, Wear Something Gaudy Day, Spreadsheet Day, Mulligan Day and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty!  Today is Chocolate Cupcake Day; forget about the diet, today is a great excuse to have a nice gooey, fudgy and intensely chocolate cupcake.  Excellent! Read more...

It’s a simple recipe: take 12 people who like cooking, a host of kitchen hardware, plenty of eggs, flour, butter and other fancy ingredients, place them in a tent with a sweet lady and a rather fierce man, add a dash of innuendo and there you have it – the Great British Bake Off. It is addictive viewing for many and this last Wednesday evening a record audience tuned into BBC1 to see Nadiya Hussain crowned as this year’s champion. Read more...

We have all heard the phrase ‘money well spent’. It’s a phrase that speaks for itself and one that we would all like to think applies to our investments or expenditure. However, more and more we hear of occasions where money has been ‘not so well spent’. This is especially the case when it comes to grants that are given to various bodies or organisations. We are left wondering whether some folk are in the ‘real world’. Read more...

As the cricket season draws to a close, there is much to reflect on and be happy about: the Ashes have been won, Yorkshire are league champions again, and Gloucestershire are the one day tournament champions – smiles all round! And yet we hear news that would make the staunchest member of the MCC jump on his trilby – the French claim they invented the game of cricket not the English! French historians claim that a letter to King Louis XI dating from 1478 may contain the first known reference to cricket – or ‘criquet’ – almost a century before experts believe it arrived in England on a village green in Guildford. The letter, written by a young man called Estiavannet, speaks of a ball game involving a wooden post played in Liettres, Northern France. The French taking the credit for inventing cricket? Surely not! Read more...

So I’ve been forty for 2 weeks and already I’ve received a letter from my Doctor’s Surgery asking me to book in for a NHS Vascular Screening Health Check which is being offered to people between the ages of 40 and 74 and will be undertaken every five years.  I’m. Barely. Even. Forty!!!! Read more...

When was the last time you went to the circus?  If you asked me at the beginning of the week I would have said about 30 years ago.  However, this past week I went to the circus!  It was in the playing field at Rosie’s School.  For one night only The Happy Circus came to town!  It was a great evening and I proper belly-laughed throughout it and was amazed at the skill of the various acts: the juggler juggling 5 spinning tennis rackets, the lady balancing a sword on her chin, the Spiderman acrobat, the amazing balancing man and the lady who did all sorts of acrobats through a hoop hanging from the top. Read more...

After our August break it’s good to be in touch with you once again through the corps bulletin. For those of you who were able to get away during the summer months, I hope you were able to enjoy the time away from your normal routine. Read more...

Summer is not only a time for numerous sporting tournaments, it is also a time for many other outdoor events. County and village agricultural shows are a plenty; picnics, teas and barbecues seem to happen everywhere; pop and folk festivals take place up and down the land in farmers fields and stately grounds; funfairs come to town, as will happen in Gloucester this weekend. Read more...

Come and join us in Gloucester Park for a free afternoon of fun and games!