Salvation Army world leader visits Kettering
The Salvation Army’s world leader has made a weekend visit to Kettering.
General Lyndon Buckingham and his wife Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham were principal speakers during the 140th anniversary celebrations of the local Salvation Army church and community centre that is situated on Rockingham Road.
Born in New Zealand, and a Salvation Army officer (minister of religion) for 35 years, he was elected The Salvation Army’s 22nd General by the High Council in May 2023 and as global leader has responsibility for the church and charity’s work in 134 countries.
Having recently returned from addressing Salvation Army congresses in western USA and across Australia, he and his wife were making their first visit to a corps in the United Kingdom since becoming the Army’s international leaders.
They presided at a Saturday evening concert at which local MP Rosie Wrighting, Kettering’s Deputy Mayor Councillor Alex Evelyn, and several former commanding officers of Kettering Citadel were special guests.
In conversation with the General, Ms Wrighting (at age 26 the youngest female MP in the House of Commons) and Councillor Evelyn praised the work and influence of The Salvation Army locally and worldwide.
Music items in the concert featured the renowned Kettering Citadel Band, the songster brigade (senior choir), also youth and children’s groups. Speakers included 94-year-old Joy Thompson, a lifelong Salvationist in Kettering, who shared personal reminiscences from the corps’s history.
Saturday afternoon’s ‘Open House’ exhibition of photographs, memorabilia, videos and recordings featured aspects of Kettering Salvation Army’s history and present activities. During this, the General and his wife readily opened up to their audience in a Q & A session with four teenaged members of the youth group. They also enjoyed ‘A Taste of Africa’ as some of the Zimbabwean Salvationists in the corps sang and danced to their accompaniment of timbrels, drum and hoshos (traditional Shona musical instruments).
The weekend concluded with a service of Christian worship on Sunday, with General Buckingham preaching the sermon. This and the Saturday concert were both filmed and can be viewed on YouTube.