Essential Celebration
Sunbury Court was the setting for the Essential Celebration 2010. The stage was set and the excitement was building as parents, placement leaders, corps officers, DYO's and friends and family gathered to see the Essential trainees graduate.
The evening opened with a video message from Majors Mark and Andrea Sawyer as they welcomed people via video link to the event. Mark and Andrea were not able to be there in person as they were in Sweden for the World Youth Convention. Their message offered words of encouragement as well as sharing the verse from Jeremiah 29:11
‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' They wished everyone a good evening and then shared how proud they were of all of the Essentials and what they had achieved over the past year.
Phil Ball (ALOVE UK's Training and Programme Officer) has the role of overseeing the work of the Essential programme. Phil opened the evening in prayer, followed by everyone joining together in sung worship led by Matt Leeder.
The Essential Celebration this year featured those who were finishing their time on the Essential2 programme as well as those finishing the Essential1 gap year. The Essential2 
programme gives people the opportunity to follow on from their gap year in their own vocational context. We met some of those who have now reached the end of their time on Essential2 and Alastair Jones, ALOVE UK's Youth Worker Development Manager interviewed them to find out what they had been up to and what plans they had for life after Essential. Alastair spoke to Craig Gaudion who has been working in the West Midlands division as the associate Divisional Youth Officer as well as studying for a masters in theology. He shared with those gathered how he has a passion for getting alongside young people who may not feel that they fit in and to help them blossom and realise their worth not only to The Salvation Army, but to life in general.
We also heard from Alex Banks who has just finished his Essential2 time at Hedge End corps, Becca Hall who has represented Wombwell corps in a local high school supporting teenagers, Wes Williams who has been working with a Salvation Army music mentoring 
project in Poole, Amanda Shearer who has spent time at Openshaw and Jon Hares who has finished his placement at Fitton Hill and is now a trained youth worker. All of the Essential2 students shared with us where they had seen God's love around them in their communities over the years.
The theme for the evening was ‘love is all you need' inspired by Ephesians 5:1-2 where Paul is encouraging the community to ‘Be imitators of God...and live a life of love'. The programme was interspersed with well known ‘ad breaks' featuring various versions of the song ‘All you need is love' which were played throughout the night.
Amy Pinwill (ALOVE UK's Training and Programme Manager) led the next part of the evening where we met the trainees who have been on the Essential1 gap year programme this year. We met Holly Paterson and Megan Bell who had been placed in Abergavenny and heard about the exciting things that had taken place there including being involved in the 7Corners youth club. Nick Ward shared how he has taken part in the training aspect of Essential1 whilst being the Divisonal Youth Worker in the Central South Division. Laura Mitchell from Bellshill corps shared with us how she has learnt the importance of following God's vision and not her own. Laura Wilde has loved being part of the community at Hastings Temple and has decided to stay there to train to become a youth worker.
We heard from Phil Ball that there has been 81 Essentials involved in the programme over the past 4 years who have given nearly 90,000 hours of youth work to The Salvation Army. This encouraging and exciting fact helped to reinforce that this was indeed a celebration of all that God has done through those who have been involved in the programme. The final Essential students to be interviewed were Tony Squires and Grace Fletcher who had been placed at Wetherby and had particularly enjoyed their work with the local primary school and Street Angels. Helen Pegram and Helen Billard were placed at Nottingham Arnold and both testified to the fact that they had seen God's love in those around them in their community and corps family.
Major Paul Main gave the address for the evening where he spoke about the importance of representing God to a world that needs to see Him. He encouraged those present to be imitators of God and challenged us that we all need to be cutting holes in the darkness. Commissioner Betty Matear led everyone in to a time of reflection and response as she commissioned the Essential trainees to share the gospel with their peers in order to transform the nation. All of the trainees were encouraged to each go and find a mirror around the room decorated with a heart that their friends and families then covered with prayers and messages of encouragement. They were asked to take these mirrors away, look into them and be reminded of the words that people had written as they go out and ‘live a life of love'.
The Essential trainees were then presented with their certificates by the Territorial Leaders in recognition of the fact that they have completed the Essential programme and served The Salvation Army. The Territorial Commander, Commissioner John Matear, concluded by reminding the Essential1 trainees that as well as The Salvation Army and placements investing in them, they should be encouraged that most importantly God invests in them.
Find out more about the Essential gap year programme