Fond farewell to Bognor Regis Salvation Army leaders

Members of The Salvation Army in Bognor Regis said a heartfelt goodbye to their leaders, Majors Matt and Sarah Butler, who will move onto new positions later this month.

Matt and Sarah have led the church and charity in the town for seven years and held a community farewell at the church on Canada Grove on Saturday before leading their final worship in the town on Sunday. Their last act as leaders came at Open House the following Wednesday, a community drop-in service offering support and connection three days a week.

Matt said that he and Sarah have focussed on strengthening The Salvation Army’s connection with the wider community.

He said: “Bognor Regis benefits from a number of charities including The Trussell Trust Food Bank and Citizens Advice. To avoid duplication of support in the town, we focused on signposting, supporting and referring people to the best place to meet their needs. I was a trustee for the Bognor Foodbank and saw the churches in the town come together to support this ministry, which meant there was greater resourcing of one specialist service.  During my trusteeship, The Foodbank employed a Citizens Advice Financial Inclusion worker to support people through tough circumstances. Our aim was to move people forward to an independent, sustainable way of living.”

Matt praised the reaction of people in the town and beyond during the pandemic and said although his focus was on supporting members of The Salvation Army, he also noticed that the heart of the community really came to the foreground.

He explained: “Our focus was on our people internally and we stayed in regular contact with our families who came to the church for weekday activities. We moved things online and tried to deliver activity packs to give them a focus on things they could do together. Loneliness was a big issue. We emerged from the pandemic strong and kept connected. When we emerged, we didn’t want it to feel like a pause button on a tape player, and thought if we were going to change anything this would be the time to do it.

“It was an opportunity to move from transactional to relationship ministry. We used to hold a breakfast for people who were experiencing homelessness which we rebranded Open House. The basic premise of Open House is that our doors are open so if you want to come in, come in. In this space, people have forged relationships, and our support has been more individually focused. I think we know everybody who comes in and these are people aged from three weeks to 93 years old. It’s a joy to see people come in and made to feel welcome. There’s a strong sense of community cohesion in the town, and I will really miss being by the sea and walking along the seafront. Our new roles will be strange after 21 years of leading local churches.” 

Matt will shortly take up a role supporting and encouraging Salvation Army churches across the South East while Sarah will be supporting Salvation Army leaders tasked with developing new expressions of the church across all of the UK and Ireland. Sarah said she and Matt will look back on their time in Bognor fondly.

She said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to serve in Bognor Regis. This community has welcomed us, walked with us, and helped shape us. We’ve seen lives transformed and friendships blossom, not because of anything we’ve done alone, but because of what God has done through a community that truly cares for each other. We’ll carry the people of Bognor Regis in our hearts for ever.”

Captains Luke and Katy Johnson will be taking over at The Salvation Army in Bognor Regis later in the summer.