Fakenham Salvation Army

02/04/2026

02/02/2026

Thank you to Andrew Simnor who came to our rescue to fix a problem with our AV system today.
Excellent service, efficient and professional but at the same time warm and friendly.

11/01/2026

On Covenant Sunday we welcomed Robert as an Adherent. God bless you Robert!

17/12/2025

Today's advent reading has been prepared by Commissioner Robert Street. Commissioner Bob is a retired officer based at Stotfold corps and this reading is an extract from Bob’s book of daily readings based on his life and ministry, The Privilege of Service.

God Bless you on this 17th day of advent.

Text:
There is a Christmas carol that asks, ‘Do you see what I see?’ It was written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker, as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962. No answers are given in the carol. We are left to think things through, having been guided to the child, ‘sleeping in the night’ – the child who brings goodness and light.
Images of the Baby Jesus have been with us for almost 2,000 years. They vary, some picture him with a halo, or a glow around his head. Others show the scene in stark, poverty-stricken reality. Most are respectful, giving a sense of worship and adoration. Often the pictures centre on Mary, depicting her lost in the world of mother and son - deep in thought.
What did she see in her child? We can guess, but we don’t know – exactly. Was she wondering what she had taken on? Was she thinking through what she had been told about him? Could she already be wondering how it would end? Whatever the case, we don’t see what Mary saw when she looked into the face of God. And we don’t see what each other see, either. We each see different things.
At Christmas time, some of us see just another baby. Others see a cute story, or something of no relevance to the 21st century. Yet, seeing beyond the sweetness, there are those whose thoughts take them to the wonder of God becoming human, sharing life with us, beginning with poverty, dependence and danger. They see God making a statement – identifying fully with his creation. They see God breaking into our world, reaching into broken hearts and shattered dreams.
And when God looks back at us? What does he see? He sees what no one else sees – who we really are, what we can become. And, if we ask him, he’ll help us see it too.

14/12/2025

Today's advent reading has been prepared by Lisa Parkin. Lisa is one of our assistant accountants for the East of England division.

God Bless you on this 13th day of advent.

Text:
Follow the Shepherds Example
The angel didn’t actually tell the shepherds to leave their field and find Jesus. He told them where to find the baby but left the decision of what to do with that information up to the shepherds.
Even when God points us in a direction, He gives us the choice to decide which way we will go.
After the angels left, the shepherds looked at each other and said, “Let’s go find that baby!” They knew the right thing to do next was to go seek after that which the angel told them about.
“And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” Luke 2:16
If the shepherds had decided to stay put, they would’ve missed out on the blessing. They didn’t have to be told what to do, yet they knew they needed to do it right away.
Do we feel that same urgency when God is prompting us to do something? His word tells us that ‘every good and perfect gift is from above’ James 1:17 We should feel an urgency to hurry up and do it because we know that if it is from God, it will be amazing.
So run, don’t walk, in the direction God points you to.

14/12/2025

Today's advent reading has been prepared by Captain Wan Gi Lee. Captain Wan Gi Lee is the corps officer at St Albans Salvation Army.

God Bless you on this 11th day of advent.

Text:
(Un)wrapping the Gift: Why Mary in Sending Jesus?
Bible Verses – Luke 1:26–33
Once again, we find ourselves busy preparing Christmas presents for those we love and care about. The more valuable the present, the more beautiful the wrapping tends to be. We are often told that the coming of our Lord Jesus is the greatest gift from God. This invites us to reflect: ‘How did God wrap His most valuable gift—His Son—when presenting Him to us?’
The first wrapping of the gift is Mary. We don’t know much about her beyond a few details as the mother of Jesus. Yet Mary is introduced to us as one who is “highly favoured” by God. Why?
C. S. Lewis offers an important clue to this question of “Why Mary?” in his book Miracles: “The whole thing narrows and narrows, until at last it comes down to a little point, small as the point of a spear — a Jewish girl at her prayers.”
Mary’s prayer and her willingness to obey—embracing uncertainty for the sake of God’s plan—became the vessel that wrapped the gift of Jesus. Beyond that, no other decoration was needed: not position, wealth, security, comfort, or power.
Christmas is a time to witness divine love wrapped in the coming of Jesus. Yet it is also a time to unwrap our own decorations—so we may see the raw reality of divine love revealed in the Incarnation, setting aside the trimmings of the season to behold the true gift.

14/12/2025

Today's advent reading has been prepared by Ruth Beattie. Ruth is one of our Divisional Youth Specialists based at DHQ.

God Bless you on this 12th day of advent.

Text:
Advent invites us to pause before the quiet courage of Mary—young, uncertain, and suddenly asked to bear a mystery she could not fully understand. When the angel spoke, she feared. Yet her answer was not shaped by fear, but by trust: “Let it be done unto me.” Her yes was not naïve; it was faithful. She stepped into motherhood with trembling hands and an open heart, carrying hope even when she could not see the path ahead.
I wonder how she felt in that moment. Was she fearful about what she was going to go through? Did she feel the weight of responsibility, the worry of not being enough, the sleepless wondering if she could protect, guide, and nurture this life entrusted to her? Did she feel overwhelmed by the unknowns that being a new parent brings?
Mary’s yes reminds us that God meets us precisely in those fears. Her faithfulness wasn’t about having all the answers; it was about trusting the One who does. She carried Christ not because she was fearless, but because she allowed grace to move through her fear.
This Advent, Mary’s story whispers to every anxious heart: God is present in our uncertainty. The same God who strengthened her strengthens us. Like Mary, may we find the courage to say yes—imperfect, trembling, hopeful yes—to the holy work of loving, guiding, and nurturing the lives placed in our care.

Perhaps as you stop and pause today, you might want to listen to the attached track:
Mary Did You Know? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifCWN5pJGIE

14/12/2025

Today's advent reading has been prepared by Major Graham Daniels. Major Graham is one of our area officers based at DHQ.

God Bless you on this 14th day of advent.

Text:
Joy
I am sure that we have all noticed how things are sold differently at Christmas. Not just the dressing up of item packaging. “Christmas Lurpak’ ETC. Fruit, which for the rest of the year has managed to stay quite subtle, suddenly appears in grocer style boxes or crates. No longer tide up in a poor looking string bag ‘Clementines’ now fill greengrocer-sized boxes. The citrus mountain of copious fruit declares ‘Go ahead, peel another. There are 43 left’.
Joy , like two other of the Advent candles, is one of the fruit of the Spirit. How appropriate that we might consider an abundance of Joy at Christmas. Joy, not only found by the gifts we received, but in the fruit that we already possess. Overflowing and generous, Joy isn’t about scarcity; it’s about plenty—of laughter, kindness, and citrus segments.
So this Christmas, when you stare at that crate and wonder if you accidentally ordered wholesale, remember: sharing joy is the ‘zest’ thing you can do!

14/12/2025