Salvation Army in Kirkcaldy appoints a new leader

Lieutenant Andrew Manley, who has been a Salvation Army officer for four years, took up the role last week and is looking forward to his new posting. He will be based at the Salvation Army hall in Hayfield Road when it is ready to open.

Lieutenant Manley was born in June 1976 in Basildon, Essex and spent his childhood in Yorkshire.

He told The Press he doesn’t come from a Salvation Army family and in fact, his first introduction to church was as a scout which involved attending a church parade every few months.

He said: “I have been a member of the Scout movement for 36 years and it was through scouting that I was introduced to the Army by a man who eventually led me to Christ. An invitation to a Young People’s weekend at my home corps (church) in Shipley is how my journey of faith started. After attending worship for a few months, I gave my heart to Jesus.

“In September 1992 I became a senior solider in the Salvation Army and in 1994 I went to university in Manchester to study music and science in primary education. I left uni four years later with a bachelor of education honours degree and started a career in teaching, one of the gracious gifts God has given me.

“Over the next 16 years I was allowed to grow and develop as firstly the Sergeant Major responsible for the children’s work, then the corps mission secretary and finally the corps secretary – all roles that allowed me to grow further in my faith journey.”

In his career, Lt Manley led several schools, first as a deputy head and then as an acting headteacher and it was during this time that he was called to serve full time ministry as an officer. After training he was commissioned in 2016 as an officer in the Salvation Army and started his first appointment at Berwick-Upon-Tweed corps.

He continued: “ Unlike most jobs, when you commit your life to being a Salvation Army officer, you promise to use all the gifts and talents God has given you for the growth of the church and its mission.

“And so, you do not ‘apply for jobs’ but are ‘sent’ by The Salvation Army’ to where you are needed. This means I didn’t chose to come to Kirkcaldy, instead and more importantly, God has brought me here to fulfil his mission to share the gospel of love, compassion and grace and to allow Him to use me to transform lives and the community He has sent me to.”

Lt Manley, who revealed he is partially sighted and has a black Labrador called Haydn, added: “It is truly a priviledge and blessing to be posted to Kirkcaldy and I would love to get to know as many of you as possible over the next few years.”

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