91Èȱ¬

Majors Denis and Olive Lomax have just been appointed as the new leaders of Norwich's Salvation Army citadel in St Giles' Street.

The couple have taken over from Majors Ray and Carelle Begley, who left the city in July to work at the army's Newcastle headquarters.

Warm welcome

It's an exciting time for the Lomaxes, who say they've been warmly welcomed by their new congregation and are feeling settled although they've only been in the city for a few weeks.

Denis' dedication to the Salvation Army started when he met his future wife, Olive. As a boy he went to Sunday school on Merseyside, but he wasn't a regular church-goer.

Then he met Olive, who was already a member of the Salvation Army. She told Denis that if he wanted to see her, he knew where to find her: at the local Salvation Army meeting place.

Denis says he thought it was a bit strange at first but gradually he got a feeling within that he wanted to spend the rest of his life working with the Salvation Army.

He changed from believing the church was irrelevant to wanting to spread the word that Christianity had meaning for everyone.

Variety of postings

He and Olive went to a London Salvation Army training college and from there the couple were posted to various locations as officers rarely get to choose their location.

They stayed in north-east England before moving on to Newark, Liverpool, Carlisle and then Edinburgh for five years, before coming to Norwich.

In Scotland their work was far-reaching as they were part of a team guiding around 30 congregations in the area.

They helped Salvation Army members discover a vision for the future and assisted them with that journey.

Plans realised

As far as the couple's own destiny was concerned, they had always planned to come to Norfolk.

Denis says he and Olive have always had a soft spot for Norfolk as they came here on holiday 35 years ago for five years running.

The couple first visited in March for a few days during a warm spell and Denis remembers sitting at the end of Cromer Pier thinking the county would be a great place to work.

The pair recently had their installation ceremony and were overcome with the warmth of the reception from congregation.

The Lomaxes will be leading a sizeable church with up to 270 people worshipping at the city centre citadel on a Sunday morning and around 140 in the evening.

They will be overseeing the army's many activities which includes its brass band (Denis says he joined the army too late to learn to play an instrument!) along with a day centre, soup run and the Toys And Tins Christmas Appeal which the church runs with 91Èȱ¬ Radio Norfolk.

The couple are keen to make their mark in Norwich, and want to help people recognise that the Christian church is still appropriate in life today.

"Culture changes but Christianity is relevant," said Denis, "we all need a Saviour."