Gates Open for Good: A 5 Year Reflection
10th September, 2024
One of the highlights of my officership was unlocking the front doors of The Salvation Army’s pioneering new visitor centre at Strawberry Field on September 14th 2019 and declaring, “Gates Open for Good”! Getting to that point had taken more than a decade of concerted effort and passionate innovating by The Salvation Army and a host of local, national and international stakeholders. It was so moving to see the joy on the faces of those who had travelled from far and near to walk through our doors on that first day - and the many others that have followed since then.
Almost a year before this, however, long before the construction of our new centre was complete, the Steps team had recruited and begun training our first Steps to Work Cohort, working from a local unoccupied Salvation Army building to demonstrate the ‘good’ at the very heart of our new vision and mission for Strawberry Field.
20 cohorts and almost 300 Steps trainees later, it is a joy to celebrate the latest group of Steps graduates, as well as the amazing people that have moved mountains to make this moment of celebration possible: the fabulous Strawberry Field team, partners across the Liverpool City Region, and our neighbours and friends from around the world.
Today we celebrate the power of unity, of working together to realise potential and defy expectations. Today we celebrate the transformation that comes to us and through us when we commit to sowing seeds of kindness, hope and peace, even in the face of adversity. And today I want to celebrate the presence and provision of a God who has blessed the Strawberry Field community in unexpected ways over the past five years: the miracle of John’s beloved piano arriving at Strawberry Field just in time for his 80th birthday celebrations, thanks to the benevolence of the George Michael Estate; the honour of being entrusted with the Ukrainian Peace Monument ahead of Eurovision 2023; and the gifting of the inspirational Strawberry Field bandstand which calls us to imagine and then work together for a kinder, fairer, more peaceful world. Thank you to each and everyone who has embraced our vision and worked alongside us over these past five years to do just that.
We are not done, however. There is more work to do to ensure the gates of Strawberry Field remain open for good, forever! There are more trainees that need our support. There are more locals that need to find a place of sanctuary, friendship and opportunity, more visitors that need to find a glimmer of hope within the challenges of everyday life. There are many more ways for us all to work together to model best practice within the world of work and demonstrate the positive impact on communities that shared endeavour brings.
Join with us. Share our story, tell of the successes of our Steps trainees, volunteer, visit, sign up to a membership, fundraise, choose us as your charity for 2025. And for those who have explored all - or even just some - of the above, why not join in our latest initiative, Strawberry Field Community Church, which meets in our Training Room on a Sunday morning from 10am. Come and see what puts the ‘forever’ in our Strawberry Field story!
Major Kathy Versfeld
Mission Director
