Bedworth Salvation Army celebrates 25th birthday

A local church and charity is celebrating 25 years of transforming lives in Bedworth.

Bedworth Salvation Army on Leicester Street is marking the milestone by marching through the town from their hall at 3pm to Life Church on 17 Bulkington Road on Sunday 25th March. Everyone is invited to a free concert at Life Church from 3.30pm with the Nexus Youth Choir, a West Midlands youth collective of The Salvation Army and Nuneaton Corps band.

Church leader, Envoy John Vale said: "We are excited to be doing this concert to mark such a great occasion for The Salvation Army in Bedworth. Bedworth Corps is a wonderful expression of the work of The Salvation Army. The church was born as an outpost from the Nuneaton Salvation Army church.”

Envoy John Vale heads up an amazing team who constantly display Christian faith in action as they seek to love their community.

In addition to church services every Sunday, The Salvation Army runs a lunch club for older people, a come and meet each other group and a monthly meeting for those living with dementia and others. 

The church is open daily except Wednesdays and Saturdays and runs a charity shop and café. On the days the church is open there is a service for people looking to improve their employability skills called ‘Employment Plus Local’. 

Every Christmas the church runs a campaign to make sure every child in Bedworth receives a present. The Salvation Army has provided food and toys for families who would otherwise do without at Christmas. The church gave out more than 1000 toys and 87 food parcels last Christmas, helped by the local community. They also organised 500 toiletry bags for people experiencing homelessness in and around the county.

“The Salvation Army is dedicated to caring for the local community,” Envoy John Vale added, “but without local people’s generosity we wouldn’t be here today. We would love to see you at our community concert on Sunday 25th March at 3.30pm at Life Church on the Bulkington Road. It’s our way of saying thank you.”

In 2015 The Salvation Army celebrated 150 years of Christian service. The Salvation Army was founded in London’s East End in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth. Today this Christian church and registered charity is active in 128 countries worldwide.