6 minute read
Interview 10 and
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?
The portfolio is vast and diverse, having been acquired over a period of more than 150 years. Some of the older properties require significant attention owing to their age and the inevitable need for renewal of certain parts. Property by its nature is subject to a variety of regulations and laws designed to ensure that it is safe for use and occupation. These cover not only compliance of the building and assets but also how works are conducted on site. Unfortunately, the construction industry is one in which accidents can and do happen – hence the regulations. One of our challenges is therefore to ensure we fully comply with regulations and also support local mission flourishing.
HOW DID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AFFECT THE PROPERTY TEAM?
It was a big challenge. About 90 per cent of the team were furloughed early on. The Army was concerned about the cost implication of the pandemic, and furloughing people was a response to that. As a result we have a large number of projects that have been delayed and it will remain a challenge to clear the backlog for a while to come. Some maintenance work by contractors was possible, but not in quite the same way or with the same speed. So that has had an impact on us. In the same way that we’ve seen shortages on supermarket shelves, building materials and labour costs are going up because of supply issues.
HOW WELL DOES THE ARMY’S PROPERTY SUPPORT MISSION?
The answer varies based on the missional requirements for each site. The strategic challenge we face is to optimise our properties, first and foremost in relation to supporting mission. However, some buildings are no longer really fit for purpose and these merit review.
The aim is to identify whether we could make better use of them, relocate them or even dispose of the asset and thereby recycle the proceeds into supporting mission differently.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS?
Global warming and the consumption of the Earth’s finite resources are wellknown issues. ‘To care for creation’ is part of The Salvation Army’s mission. Property by its nature consumes a vast amount of energy in relation to heating and lighting, but also construction materials. Steel, glass and concrete all require huge amounts of energy in their production. We therefore need to develop a strategy that reduces our consumption via energy-saving initiatives, introducing micro generation but also adapting building design. With this in mind we are recruiting a sustainability manager to help develop our strategy towards a ‘net zero carbon’ position.
WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE PROPERTY DEPARTMENT?
The team are talented and want to do the very best they can, but they are sometimes prevented from doing so due to processes or resource constraints. I am leading a transformation programme within the team, which we have called ‘Making It Easier’. Property will never be easy but I do believe it can be made easier for our customers and also those in the team. As part of this programme we have reset the Property Department’s vision as: ‘To deliver the right property solutions at the right time at the right cost, delighting our customers and enabling mission to flourish.’
As you can imagine, there has been lots of debate among team members concerning the aspiration to ‘delight’ our customers. Indeed, this is very much an aspiration as we don’t yet have as many delighted customers as we would wish. The word does, however, signpost our desire to do more than just meet requirements.
The ‘Making It Easier’ plan is extensive and includes redesigning our structure into key delivery streams. It is an ambitious plan, which will take time to deliver, but the team and I are committed to its success.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LAND’S END TO JOHN O’ GROATS CYCLING CHALLENGE
Last year my brother, David, and I cycled the length of the South Downs Way (100 miles off-road) in a single day. David is a strong runner and recently completed a 60-mile running event just prior to his 60th birthday. On the back of this he suggested we could cycle from Land’s End to John o’ Groats – almost 1,000 miles. Perhaps thinking he wasn’t really serious, I agreed. Well, he was deadly serious, so we will be setting off on 9 April with the aim of reaching John o’ Groats by 23 April.
Given my new role, we have decided to undertake this challenge to raise funds for The Salvation Army. We would both therefore be grateful to anyone who can sponsor us. People can go to
justgiving.com/davepeterlejog2022
to show their support.
Peter’s brother, David, joins him for a ride
There are hundreds of corps and centres in our territory, but what makes them The Salvation Army? In this series we discover just that!
We are imperfect people brought together
says Welling corps officer Captain Katy Shubotham
AS a corps we are committed to feeding every hungry mouth and to making sure people don’t go without the basic things they need not just to survive but thrive.
Before the Covid-19 lockdowns I was busy being busy. The corps was also busy being busy. And being busy wasn’t exactly yielding great results. We had a thousand great ideas every day but we never had the time to follow up on them. We had a toddler group twice a week, a Turkish day centre, a community choir, a community drop-in, a coffee morning and Sunday worship. We believed revival was coming but we weren’t seeing any physical signs of it.
And then the pandemic showed us that we weren’t an inclusive corps. We had many members who, due to ill health, were unable to join us physically for worship each week, but it hadn’t occurred to us to try and address this.
During the lockdowns our worship took the form of a physical paper pack. We had really positive feedback and suddenly realised that, for the first time in years, we were all worshipping together on a Sunday. God quickly began to bless this. We more than doubled our weekly worship packs, welcomed two new adherents and a soldier and started a prayer meeting that is now full to capacity every week.
The lockdowns meant that we couldn’t be busy being busy; instead we had to prayerfully take our time before starting anything. We now have a food bank, which has resulted in many people beginning to explore faith.
We have hundreds of tins of soup – in particular potato and leek soup – but still we need continued donations, especially of fresh and frozen food, nappies, sanitary products and toiletries. We also need finances to maintain and build our mission here. We have been supremely blessed by donations and give thanks for them as we keep praying for God’s continued provision. We need his continued guidance as we seek his vision for us in a post-pandemic world.
The single biggest need our community has is their desire for friendship and connection. God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation, but the events of the past year have made this a reality for so many of us. We meet these needs by opening the door.
We are also installing a new rule: mobile phones for volunteers are not permitted. This is because we want people to see we are there for them. So often, mobile phones are picked up to pass the time when we are bored, but it’s very hard to approach someone who has a phone in their hand. We hope that a phone ban will mean that people find it easier to approach each other and that it will help us to be in the moment instead of being distracted.
Christmas packs ready for distribution Weekly worship packs delivered in person
