SAconnects, Volume 5, Number 9 — November 2019

VOL. 5, NO. 9 • NOVEMBER 2019

the magazine

“ Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.”

—Proverbs 22:9

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NOVEMBER

contents VOLUME 5 | NUMBER 9

in every issue 3 from the editor 4 an active army 5 relevents 22 snapshot 30 wholly living

departments 6 to your health Here are five ways to minimize kitchen time as you maximize people time.

24 FAITH in ACTION

At the Briarwood Family Shelter, mothers and children are safe, fed, and hopeful about their futures.

It’s kettle season! Salvation Army volunteers encourage donors to help others at Christmastime.

26 Q & A International leaders General Brian and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle are laser–focused on mission in the year 2020.

7 Veterans

Several veterans of the U.S. military share their inspirational stories of serving their country and The Salvation Army.

32 20/20 vision highlights A marching band, an “Adopt a Family” program, and a cross– generational food distribution effort are just some of the highlights reported this month!

14 Homelessness

Homelessness continues to plague New York City. Find out why and see how The Salvation Army is changing and even saving lives.

19 Design Thinking

Dr. Gary Oster, professor of innovation at Regent University, shares what he calls the Five Principles of Design Thinking—steps that can change the way you see and influence the future.

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Para leer los artículos en español por favor visite SACONNECTS.ORG/ENESPANOL

2019 NOVEMBER

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C A N D I D A T E S’ S E M I N A R 2 0 2 0

VISI

N 614

A CALL TO: REBUILD RESTORE RENEW AD

They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

—Isaiah 61:4 (NIV)

F E B R U A R Y 7– 9 VISIT SACONNECTS.ORG/CANDIDATES SEMINAR

from the editor your connection to The Salvation Army

USA EASTERN TERRITORY TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioner William A. Bamford III Commissioner G. Lorraine Bamford CHIEF SECRETARY Colonel Kenneth O. Johnson, Jr. COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY Lt. Colonel Kathleen J. Steele EDITOR IN CHIEF Warren L. Maye

Use Your Voice

MANAGING EDITOR Robert Mitchell EDITOR / HISPANIC CORRESPONDENT Hugo Bravo KOREAN EDITOR Lt. Colonel Chongwon D. Kim HISPANIC EDITOR Minerva Colon–Pino ART DIRECTOR Reginald Raines PUBLICATION MANAGING DESIGNER Lea La Notte Greene GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Keri Johnson, Joe Marino, Mabel Zorzano STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ryan Love PHOTOGRAPHY INTERN Ben Glassman CIRCULATION Doris Marasigan

THE SALVATION ARMY

MISSION STATEMENT

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Member since 2015 Award winner 2016, 2017, 2019

www.saconnects.org www.facebook.com/saconnects www.twitter.com/saconnects

This year, making your financial contribution could be as easy as saying “Alexa, please send my donation to The Salvation Army!” Thanks to other technologies such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, giving to the Army can be literally a tap, a swipe, or a voice command away.* Your donation can help people who are too poor to afford an Alexa in their home. Many of the persons helped by the Army are too poor to even afford a home.

They live in shelters, rehab centers, halfway houses, and hostels. Others survive the night in cardboard boxes in damp corners of dirty and dangerous streets.

This Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s important for us, who enjoy the luxury of reading this magazine in comfort—either in print or online—to remember these individuals. Because of illness and hardship, lots of them can’t read, can’t hold things in their hands, can’t sit up, or can’t afford a computer or smartphone.

In our next SAconnects magazine, you’ll read the testimonies of people who have used their blessed privilege and social capital to lift downtrodden lives. They do it because they care. Their answers to the question “why?” are so compelling that they will give you chills.

May I tell you something from my heart? The ability to speak is a wonderful honor. I know because, as a child, I had completely lost my capability to do it for several years.

May these stories compel you to use your compassionate voice to speak healing, love, and hope into the lives of people. Please say “yes” to God and boldly proclaim the change you want to see in our world.

I’ll talk to you next time. *see pages 24–25, and the back cover

SAconnects is published monthly by The Salvation Army USA’s Eastern Territory. Bulk rate is $12.00 per month for 25–100 copies.

Single subscriptions are available. Write to: SAconnects, The Salvation Army, 440 W. Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994–1739.

Vol. 5, No. 9, November Issue 2019. Printed in USA. Postmaster: Send

— Warren L. Maye, Editor in Chief

all address changes to: SAconnects, 440 West Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994–1739. SAconnects accepts advertising. Copyright © 2019

by The Salvation Army, USA Eastern Territory. Articles may be reprinted only with written permission. All scripture references are taken from the New International Version (NIV) unless indicated otherwise.

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an active army

FOOD PANTRIES

by Hugo Bravo

Lieutenants Joseph and Rebecca Smith came to the Salvation Army corps in Boyertown, Pa. with the goal of opening a food pantry where people had choices. “We wanted to make it more welcoming and interactive than just handing out bags of groceries,” says Lieutenant Joseph.

Visitors could already pick out their own pastries, but the officers hoped to create a ministry that could offer more.

“We wanted to expand the choices that guests had for dessert to also include choices for produce, meats, drinks, and everything else we had to

offer,” says Lieutenant Joseph.

The Smiths learned to make maximum use of limited space at the corps. All rooms were too small to accommodate a walk–in pantry, so the hallways became food aisles.

Every Friday, the Smiths lined them with shelves and crates stacked with produce, canned goods, and cereal provided by a local food bank and donations from community stores.

Shopping carts gave the pantry a real market atmosphere. Guests could order meat when they walked in; volunteers gathered the frozen meats in a small, cold room, and had them ready as the guests exited the pantry.

Boyertown pantry volunteers also help guests Also available are prepared foods with recipe ideas. Here are two recipes in plastic containers, donated by local volunteers say are perfect for Thanksgiving. markets and convenience stores. These are perfect for families that may only RUTABAGA FRIES have a microwave at home or for hungry ch 1. Peel and cut rutabaga into fren individuals who come in from the street. fry shapes.

“Supermarkets make food such as fried with 2. Place in roasting pan and sprinkle chicken and sandwiches every day, but salt, pepper, and oil. at a certain hour, they have to take it 3. Cover with foil and bake at 400 all off the shelves. Yet it’s still perfectly degrees for 45 minutes. good food. So, instead of throwing it turn 4. Check for softness; the fries will away, the stores freeze the food and orange when they are done. Bake call us to pick it up for our pantry,” says longer if necessary.

Jessica Fick, a social worker at the corps who greets guests and helps them with their orders.

BAKED YE LLOW SQU “Teamwork, communicaASH 1. Cut squ ash in ¼ in tion, and a lot of volunteers ch slices an arrange them d on a greased keep our Choice Pantry baking shee 2. Sprinkle t. salt and pe running,” says Lieutenant p per over eac slice. Garlic h salt works Rebecca.

“This could not be well too.

3. Add 1 ta blespoon o done without the people of the f Parmesa cheese to n each slice. community who give their time 4. Bake at 3 75 degrees to the Army.” until squash is so ft and bubb Volunteers include retirees ling. to girls’ basketball teams to kids who need to complete hours

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of community service. Many of those kids, says Lieutenant Joseph, return to volunteer at the corps even after their required service is done.

“Our food pantry coordinator, Kevin Hartman, talks to each of our volunteers and asks for their perspective on how to improve our ministry. We take a lot of suggestions from them, because they know the community’s needs,” says Lieutenant Joseph.

Hartman was originally the corps custodian, but the Smiths soon recognized his energy and commitment to the food pantry. He understands what is needed in the pantry and presents the officers with detailed spreadsheets, which update them on how much certain stores have donated. “I’m a numbers guy,” says Lieutenant Joseph, a former engineer. “I love reading Kevin’s stats and seeing how our donations grow, year after year.”

“Our next step is possibly adding an extra day of Choice Pantry,” says Lieutenant Rebecca. “We’d love to have a Thursday night pantry for the people who work on Fridays. But the volunteer numbers and logistics would have to change to keep up with Thursday, Friday, and the daily meals we serve to the community.”

As the pantry continues to grow, the Lieutenants say they are grateful to see their vision come to life. Lieutenant Joseph takes time in the middle of each pantry day to host a devotional for the guests. It’s a reminder to the Smiths that their plan succeeded because it is work done in the name of God. “We’re only here through His glory.

It’s God that provides us with every piece of food that goes in and out of our corps,” says Lieutenant Joseph.

relevents

Major Mark Unruh, administrator for business at the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Scranton, Pa., talks about surrendering to God, how welding became part of his ministry, and what he says to beneficiaries when they arrive at the ARC. interview by Hugo Bravo

One day while welding some metal in the ARC, some beneficiaries said they were interested in learning how to weld too. Using my experience as a welder, I made a syllabus, lesson plan, and held classes for them. When you’re an addict living on the streets, your I enjoyed being part of the men’s fellowship at the self–worth feels non–existent, but keeping yourself Harrisburg ARC. They had activities and events with the active and creating something helps you overcome Harrisburg Corps Home League, where I met my wife, Major those feelings. One of the men who took my class was Mary Unruh. She was a 3rd generation Salvationist with her recruited by a local gas company to continue his eduown call to serve. At first, I only wanted to talk about the path cation so they could hire him to weld gas to becoming an officer, but God pipes. This young man suffered through placed us in each other’s lives. years of addiction; but now he has his At 13 years old, I began a 20–year Today, we’re partners in ministry. own home, a car, and a career path. It all drug and alcohol addiction. I was a I’m 13 years older than she is, but started in my ARC welding shop. “rounder,” someone who goes in and they say that when people start out of rehab programs. In the winter using drugs, they stop growing of 1993 I took my last drink, went to emotionally. I joke that, if it’s true, detox, and to the Salvation Army’s then we’re about the same age!

ARC in Harrisburg, Pa. For the first I was on my way to Camp Ladore time, I was going to rehab and not when my sister called to tell me that our drinking or getting high on the way. I father, who was suffering from renal failfelt that God could never forgive me ure, was about to die. I was able to get When addicts come to the for my years of sin, but to make this to Philadelphia in time to be at his side.

ARC I remind them that people rehab attempt work, I had to surrenPraying with my father in his last moments in their lives will not accept their der to Him. I went to my room, got on was a blessing from God. My mother, change overnight; it will take time, my knees, and said to God, “Now I’m who passed away more recently, lived possibly years, to make amends to ready.” I finally surrendered. in Philadelphia while I was serving in people they have hurt. I know this Portland, Maine. But every time I preached because, even though I was 10 a sermon, I recorded and posted it to years clean and a Salvation Army YouTube so she could watch me. Today, I still upload officer in uniform, my mother still followed me into the bathmy sermons. My parents always had faith in me and room to make sure I left the medicine cabinet as it was. prayed for my well–being. I’m happy to say that they both lived long enough to see their prayers answered.

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to your health

Holiday Dinner Tips Sharing meals with friends and family is a special part of the festive holiday season. Here are five ways to minimize kitchen time as you maximize people time.

1. Don’t do all of the work yourself. Invite guests to bring a dish and share the work. Even if they don’t cook, guests can help by creating a fruit platter, bringing beverages or buying dessert.

2. Forget about fancy. Trying chicken cordon bleu for the first time when you have 20 guests coming is not a good idea. Make your tried–and–true, well–loved recipes that you can pull off with ease.

And make as much as you can in advance.

3. Prepare salad in advance and refrigerate it. For a lettuce– based salad, add dressing just before serving. For a grain–based salad (pasta or quinoa), dress it in advance so the flavors have a chance to blend.

4. If you have a dish that must be cooked and served immediately, measure and prep all of your ingredients in advance.

5. Know about likes and dislikes before you plan your menu.

Vegetarian guests? Any food allergies or intolerances? Avoid last– minute cooking; when you invite guests, ask about preferences.

How NOT to go on a DIET Before you start the latest fad diet, consider this: “Diets don’t work, but lifestyle changes do.” Most people who go on a diet eventually go off it, which means the plan was not sustainable. Repeated dieting also may lead to the yo–yo effect of weight going up and down, making it harder to reach your ultimate healthy weight.

It’s time for a new approach. By eating nutritiously, getting more exercise, and reducing stress, you can slowly improve your overall health with no fads or gimmicks.

TRY THESE 5 STEPS: 1. Think beyond a number on the scale. Make weight loss a bonus, not the sole objective. Your goal may be to lower your cholesterol levels or feel more energetic.

2. Identify your obstacles. Do you eat when you’re stressed? Do you use food as a reward after exercise?

Track what you eat and how you feel at the time. Look for patterns.

Gather the ple special peo and in your life enjoy more and socializing g. in less cook

3. Try one change per week and stick to it; then add another. For example, swap soft drinks for water one week, and add an extra serving of vegetables the next.

4. Practice patience. You didn’t get here overnight, and change won’t happen overnight either.

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

—3 JOHN 1:2

© 2018 Ebix Inc. dba Personal Best. All rights reserved. Not intended as a substitute for professional care.

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5. Don’t go it alone. Dietitians, psychologists, and trainers can help you make a plan you can use for life. If they promise a quick fix, seek a different practitioner.

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Meet five veterans who overcame personal struggles and found God through The Salvation Army.

This Veterans Day, let us remember: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” —JOHN 15:13

photography by Ryan Love

interviews by Robert Mitchell and Hugo Bravo

and Country

Serving God

In 1972, “Butch” Theodore Burgner lost his right leg during the Vietnam war and was awarded a Purple Heart.

About a decade ago, doctors diagnosed him with throat cancer and gave him only a 10 percent chance of survival.

They believed the cancer could have been caused by the defoliant Agent Orange, which he had been exposed to during the war. Today, Burgner has a prosthetic leg and is a faithful senior soldier at the Chambersburg Corps.

I was born and raised in Chambersburg, Pa., a town famous for its Civil War history. I joined the U.S. Army to escape an abusive childhood. I was just 18 when I landed in Vietnam. I served from 1970–72 as an infantry “grunt” with the 101st Airborne Division.

I was trained in demolition. My job was to blow the tops off of every hill. That way, if anybody came under enemy fire or needed to be medevaced out, all they had to do was go to the nearest flattop hill.

One day, my officer told me to go up and secure my squad. Right where everyone stood, I walked up and said, “Let’s spread it out. If Charlie lobs one in here, it will get you all in one shot!” Suddenly the ground just caved in. At that moment, I pretty much knew I had stepped on a mine. At the time, I had about 100 pounds of equipment on me. I froze, but the mine still blew. It disintegrated everything, including my clothes. I was smoking.

When that happened, I began speaking to something. People call the experience shellshock or whatever, but I know there is a God because that day, I discovered a love beyond this earth that was so pure I could feel it. It told me that I had to go back, that I couldn’t stay, and that it wasn’t my time.

I pleaded, “I don’t want to go back in the war zone!” But the next thing I knew, my medic was standing over me. He said, “I thought you were dead!” I said, “I think I was.”

That experience always stuck with me. I know that there is a God. I know that I felt what a taste of heaven has to be like because I can’t describe the love and purity that I felt.

I’ve never felt that on this earth.

If I take my best moment in life, the most love I’ve ever felt, and multiply it by tens of thousands, it doesn’t even compare to what I felt at that moment. I know that there’s a God because I’ve been in His presence. No, it wasn’t shellshock or something I envisioned in my mind.

After I got hit, I spent close to a year and a half in Valley Forge Hospital. Initially, they gave me two pain pills and two beers to help the pain pills work. They did work, but unfortunately after about a year or a year and a half of that, I became addicted to pain pills and also to alcohol.

For the next 15 to 20 years of my life, I lived that way. One day, I knew that if I didn’t quit, I was going to end up killing myself or someone else. So, for two years I gave up the drugs and alcohol. I was sober, but I felt empty. I thought,

There has to be more to this!” I prayed to the Lord that He would take it all from me.

I was a functional alcoholic. I would drink a beer as I was going to bed and finish it when I got up in the morning. I would drink all day and all night while I held down a job for the government.

Finally, I just told the Lord, “I need Your help. I can’t do this on my own.” All I know is when I got up from my knees, the Lord took it.

I never had a craving to drink or drug again, I never had a desire, I never had any shakes or anything physical from it. The Lord took it. The Lord spoke to my heart and turned it around. I just didn’t know I could have such joy without drink or drugs.

I went to various churches, then ended up here at The Salvation Army, which is where the Lord led me. I’ve been a senior soldier for about 15 years. An old major told me, “You used to soldier for the army, now you soldier for the Lord.” That also stuck with me. It’s not about what I did. I served the American flag and for freedom. It isn’t about me. It’s about God and what He has done for me and where He has brought me. The Lord keeps me going. Through everything, God has given me peace.

“ One day, I knew that if I didn’t quit, I was going to end up killing myself or someone else. So, for two years I gave up the drugs and alcohol. I was sober, but I felt empty. I thought, There has to be more to this!” I prayed to the Lord that He would take it all from me.”

—Theodore Burgner

By the time I went to Vietnam at age 26, I had already done a tour in Korea and a tour in Germany. I was considered an old man for that era.

I would not be at liberty to discuss a lot of the classified stuff I took pictures of. But some of the stuff I took was for distribution and public information, for psychological warfare, and for historical records.

I was a believer when I was in Vietnam. One of my best friends was the first person in my unit to get killed. When that happened, I stepped out in the open and said, “Lord, here I am. Do with me what you will.” The thing that really got me the most was that there were four of us who kind of ran together. I was among them taking fire but not a shot came in my direction.

God had plans for me. He got me through.

Then my family came here to The Salvation Army and the rest is history. They invited us and we found a home. My youngest daughter married someone who was involved in the Army. I’ve volunteered in the lunch program and served on the corps council for a number of years. God has been watching out for me in my life.

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John Tribble saw most of the Vietnam war through a camera lens while he served as a photographer in the U.S. Army from 1965–66. But he also saw plenty of combat.

Later as a photojournalist, he would spend the next 30 years taking photos and performing other tasks for the Public Opinion, a newspaper in Chambersburg, Pa. Today, Tribble is a senior soldier at the Chambersburg, Pa., Corps.

Richard Smith served in Vietnam from 1968–69 with the U.S. Marines. He earned two Purple Hearts and also lost a leg for his country. A lifelong Salvationist and former Salvation Army officer, he also retired after 31 years with Chase Bank.

Today he is the corps treasurer at the Chapel at Worthington Woods in Columbus, Ohio.

I had been in Vietnam a little over six months when I got shot. That, to me, was more traumatic than losing my leg.

In November of ’68, there were a bunch of us along the side of this road that was always getting booby–trapped and mined. We were kind of set up to prevent that. Most everybody slept while one of us stayed awake. I had just woken up my relief and he came on. I really felt bad because I should have made him pick up his rifle. He just came over and sat by the radio without his rifle.

Next thing I know, I’m half awake and I look up and there are four North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers standing on the other side where he is sitting. They just opened up on us. I didn’t even know where my rifle was. It should have been right beside me, but the attack happened so quickly, I couldn’t even feel to pick it up.

He took the brunt of it and was killed. I was sure that I was going to be killed, but I wasn’t.

Eventually everyone else woke up, but by then the four NVA soldiers took off. I didn’t even know I was hit, so it wasn’t really serious, but they were real deep flesh wounds, as deep as they could go without hitting any organs. I spent about six weeks in the hospital.

So there I was, a scared kid raised in The Salvation Army having been nurtured in the

faith as a junior soldier, corps cadet, and senior soldier. I had accepted Jesus Christ as a youngster but was not really living for Him. I was keenly aware of the danger I was in both from the perspective of the war and my eternal destiny as it related to Christ. This weighed heavily upon my mind, yet I continued in my folly.

In January of ’69, we were out on a patrol and had just come through this village. We were right outside our perimeter on this rice paddy dike, and headed back. Everyone in my squad had already passed by this narrow dike, which was only 15 inches wide.

It baffles me that seven others missed the booby trap, but I hit it. The next thing I knew, I’m in the air and flipped over. I noticed the trap had blown off my foot, above the ankle.

I was pretty fortunate because it did it in such a way that it cauterized the arteries. I didn’t even need a tourniquet. I was the radio man, so I called in the medevac.

When I think about everything, I realize that in comparison I was pretty fortunate because, while I went through some traumatic stuff, I really didn’t see a lot of action. There were other friends of mine who went through so much more.

The worst thing about being over there was the constant pressure of not knowing what’s

going to happen. It’s terrifying being on the edge and not knowing what’s going on. I don’t know why God spared my life. I even did some bargaining with God. I said, “Lord, get me out of here unharmed and I’ll give You my life.”

Eventually I said, “I don’t care how You get me out of here.” Well, I got shot; then I stepped on a mine. It just seemed like God had a plan.

I don’t know how the one guy with me was killed and I was just grazed. I can never get that out of my head.

When I got back from Vietnam, I kind of ignored God for a while. I did some heavy drinking and went to college. The Lord started speaking to me and reminded me He had a plan for my life and that’s why I started helping at the corps in Utica, N.Y. In 1986, I went into banking. But my years were filled with ups and downs both physically and spiritually. I got to the point where I felt like I was just going through the motions. I believed in the Lord. I was raised in The Salvation Army, but I felt like I was doing everything in my own strength. I didn’t feel like I was living as a Christian should. I laid it all out before this corps officer, Major Kenneth Lance, who was like a spiritual father to me.

Lance prayed with me and when I went back to my room in the corps building, it was as if a light came on. The Lord was saying, “I’ve got your back.” You might say that was a time I experienced the release of the Holy Spirit in a fresh way. It began a good process where things started to change, and I had a hunger and really wanted to know the Lord.

I went to officer training and served as an officer for about six years. I met my wife in training school and married her six months after commissioning. We left the work in 1981.

I learned to depend upon and trust God to see me through many challenges and victories. He has proved faithful every step of the way. It was a time of real growth and healing.

In May 2017, I stepped away from banking.

Today, I’m looking forward to what God has planned for my retirement years. I’m trusting Him for new opportunities, always remembering that God said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

I basically do whatever veterans need.

My main component is helping homeless veterans find housing. But most of the time the veterans I get don’t have benefits and they don’t have awareness of how to access Veterans Administration (VA) services. I also get them medical services and I hook them up with VA case managers to get them into subsidized housing. I get them VA benefits, Social Security, and whatever it is they need to make them successful.

When they come in, they’re often not aware of services. Most of the veterans coming out of the service now are aware of services, but those who came out during the Vietnam War era are not aware. Eventually some of them become homeless. Sometimes they find out there is funding available to get housing. I do outreach in Chester. If I see somebody who is a veteran, I will get them connected.

I come from an addiction background. But once I got clean, I came to work for The Salvation Army. Since that time, I’ve been following God’s will. I’m a veteran myself. I’ve been working for The Salvation Army a long while and it’s my mission. God got ahold of me and redirected me. I believe God directs you in the mission He wants you to accept. This is the direction He has sent me. I understand it’s a spiritual journey. I’m here to help every veteran I can.

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As the Vietnam War raged, Harry Dorsey served in the U.S. Army in Korea as a supply clerk from 1969–71.

For the past 30 years, he has also served in various capacities for The Salvation Army in Chester, Pa., including helping veterans find housing through the Supportive Services to Veterans Program.

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Luis Morales enrolled in the U.S. Army in 1977 at age 17, two years after the Vietnam War had ended. Though family matters kept him from continuing a career in the military, he used his skills to earn a living as a truck driver, until health issues made his driving career unsafe. Today, he volunteers at the Salvation Army corps in Bound Brook, N.J., and takes pride in being the liaison between the corps and the veterans in his community.

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Even during times of relative peace, the U.S. military remains busy. In 1977, our country was in a Cold War; the United States had a base in every segment of Germany that belonged to Russia. The city of Berlin was on one side democratic, and on the other side communist. Even though we were stationed in the communist sections, we were in charge of protecting the democratic side. If there was ever a feeling that conflict would arise at the Berlin wall, I was sent out. I’m proud to have served in such a historic time in world history.

In 1979, my mother became sick, and when a mother with two boys in the service falls ill, one of them is coming home. My older brother, who also served in the Army, was infantry. I was a driver in special weapons. Being the younger and less experienced brother, I was ordered to come home. This led to some resentment on my part; my mother had been firmly against me joining the Army. Now I felt I was being taken out because of her.

Since I already knew how to drive every type of Army vehicle, I took a job as a trucker.

My new role was suited to my new attitude; I was quiet but aggressive, and really did not want to interact with other people. If I got into a discussion with someone, I would be arguing

in their face without even realizing what I was doing. Years later, I learned that these traits were common for someone coming out of the military.

In 2013, I suffered a stroke that went untreated. This left the peripheral vision of my right eye permanently damaged. However, I didn’t realize it until two years later when I was in an accident that left my truck dangling over a guardrail off a cliff, and another car destroyed. Though the other driver and I were fortunate to not be hurt, it would be the last time I would ever operate a vehicle.

With no job and my health issues soon taking what little money I had, I became homeless. But in a shelter in Irvington, N.J. my veteran status was recognized thanks to another fellow vet. I finally got the help I needed for my physical health from the Veterans Administration. My doctors said the worse thing I did was not immediately going to the hospital to be treated after my stroke. It had left me suffering from seizures and migraines.

I also got help handling my self–control issues. Vets needs that, whether they see active service or not. They need to be taught how to adjust back into society. In the service, you are programmed to attack if you ever feel scared.

It’s like a switch that they turn on inside of you, but they never show you how to turn it off.

Today, I divide my time between volunteering at the Bound Brook Corps and the local Elks Lodge. I bring the veterans I meet at the lodge to the corps. When they come here, I’m their guide. I show them what the corps has for them, and how they can receive help.

When they hear this coming from another veteran, they listen, and they take it to heart.

Due to my past, some people thought that I wouldn’t fit in a place like The Salvation Army.

But I’ve been here for over a year and I’m doing what I love. It’s my way of giving thanks to God. Even in my worst times, He never forgot about me. He spared my life after my accident.

He brought me to the shelter and to the VA to be healed. He introduced me to the Elks to be with fellow veterans. And finally, he brought me to The Salvation Army, where I can work on getting my relationship with Him back.

“ If you think of a hotel having a concierge, that’s our role. The really important thing is for veterans to be with veterans and for veterans to help other veterans. They come in, talk, and network.”

— Diane Nadeau

Brewing help for veterans

by Robert Mitchell

If you’re a veteran living in the Willimantic, Conn., area, The Salvation Army and other community groups certainly have you covered.

The Willimantic Corps hosts a Veterans Coffeehouse every Wednesday from 9–11 a.m. in conjunction with the Windham Region Chamber of Commerce and the Willimantic Elks Club. The coffeehouse, which draws about 30 people each week, started this spring and features guest speakers who address issues important to veterans.

“It’s a great time for them to get together and maybe learn about benefits they might not know they’re entitled to as veterans,” said Lieutenant Denise Salmon, the corps officer in Willimantic.

Salmon said the Windham Region Chamber of Commerce asked The Salvation Army to host the coffeehouse. Chamber President Diane Nadeau is the chair of the corps advisory board.

“We were definitely on board and wanted to see how we could help,” Salmon said. “They asked about using our facilities and we were more than happy to do that.

“I feel like veterans are underserved here in our community and they’re kind of forgotten. The coffeehouse provides a safe place for them to come together and to just be able to fellowship with one another. It is such a great opportunity for them.”

Salmon said she enjoys the introductions at the coffeehouse meetings, when the veterans share what branch of the military they served.

“You can tell they’re excited for one another and they like to listen to each other’s stories,” she said. “They always have stories to share. I think it’s a great service that’s provided for them.”

Nadeau said veterans are often aware of the government benefits available, but there are also

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non–profits that can help with health benefits, suicide prevention, mental health, employment, housing, transitioning back into civilian life, burial plots, and being honored with medals of recognition.

“If you think of a hotel having a concierge, that’s our role,” Nadeau said. “The really important thing is for veterans to be with veterans and for veterans to help other veterans. They come in, talk, and network.

“However, even with all of the benefits available to veterans, there are still problems.

“These people put their lives on the line for our country, yet we’re still not able to reach them and make sure they’re cared for when they come home. The whole idea here was to bring people together who can help make a difference.

“The coffeehouse was designed to bring together all of the organizations doing wonderful things for vets and for them all to share information. When there is a hole in one person’s program, such as if they don’t have the money or it’s not directly in their program’s mission to handle an issue, there’s someone sitting next to them who can do that for them.”

Nadeau, who comes from a family with several veterans, said The Salvation Army is a member of the Chamber’s Military Service Council, which also raises money for veterans throughout the year.

“They’re dynamic people at The Salvation Army,” she said. “Their hearts and souls are in the right place. I felt a great connection with them and felt they were going to do great things for the community. They reach out to our community and really make a difference.”

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A place to lay his head

by Robert Mitchell

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

—MATTHEW 8:20

Johnny Minor grew up in a house with strict rules. When he didn’t follow them, the consequences were harsh.

“I was kicked out of the house to try to teach me a lesson, but instead of me coming back when I learned my lesson, I stayed in the streets,” Minor says. “It’s been that way since 2011.”

Minor, a Harlem native, spent time in several men’s shelters. But when he suffered a mental breakdown, he entered the Kingsboro Men’s Shelter in Brooklyn run by The Salvation Army.

“When I came here, I was welcomed like family,” Minor says. “It changed my perspective on being homeless. I found comfort with people. Growing up, I really wasn’t a ‘people person.’ But here, I’m learning how to deal with different people and situations.

“I’ve learned how to take on rules, so when I get out of here, I don’t have to start back where I was seven or eight years ago.”

Minor said he also loves the Kingsboro’s staff who compassionately help him get treatment for his mental health issues.

“I’m the first person there every morning to take my meds,” he said. “Because I’m around people who welcomed me, I’ve become welcoming myself. My mental health is an issue, but not like when I first became homeless. Dealing with people in the streets and not being able to wash up played a whole role in my mental health too. I have to be comfortable in my surroundings in order for my mental health to improve.”

Kingsboro is one of three homeless shelters operated by The Salvation Army in New York, a city that continues to struggle with the problem of homelessness. The other shelters are the Briarwood Family Residence and Springfield Family Residence, both in the Jamaica section of Queens.

In New York City, homelessness has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression. The Coalition for the Homeless reported that in June, 60,849 homeless people—including 14,589 families and 21,295 children—were sleeping in New York City shelters each night. The city’s homeless population is 67 percent higher than a decade ago,

while the number of homeless single adults is 142 percent higher, the coalition said.

Karen Cotugno, director of social services for The Salvation Army’s Greater New York Division, said Briarwood can accommodate 91 families and Springfield 82. Kingsboro is a temporary home for 143 men.

Cotugno said a “lack of affordable housing” is driving the homeless crisis, but there are also other issues at play.

“Many of the people on the streets are mentally ill,” she said. “The rents in New York City are high. If you have someone who is in some kind of chaotic crisis with mental health, it’s maybe difficult for them to get a job. Even if they can get a job, can they maintain it? What’s their education level? Are they going to be able to get a job that pays enough money to afford New York City rents, even with a subsidy?

“A lot of times people will say, ‘The shelters aren’t safe.’ Some of them aren’t, but I think for the most part they are. There also are rules to follow and I think a lot of times people don’t want to follow the rules and they prefer to stay out on the street. We have a lot of people who come into the system and fewer people who leave and that’s why we’re kind of bursting at the seams.”

COMING UP SHORT Charisse Palmer, the program director at the Springfield Family Residence, agreed that the “high cost of living” is the main culprit.

“I feel like the rents in New York City are at an all–time high,” Palmer says. “A lot of the housing subsidies that we are currently receiving to give to these families is not equaling the amount of what a normal New Yorker would pay for rent.”

For example, a rent assistance voucher for a one–bedroom apartment is $1,268. That figure increases to $1,515 for a two–bedroom and $1,956 for a three–bedroom apartment, but those figures fall short of what the housing market is demanding.

“Even though we’re being given these vouchers by the New York City Department of Homeless Services, we’re still having problems moving these families back out into the

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In New York City, homelessness has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression.

The Coalition for the Homeless reported that in June,

60,849 homeless people were sleeping in New York City shelters each night.

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At Briarwood and Springfield, families live in small studio apartments with refrigerators and stoves, allowing residents to cook.

Briarwood and Springfield shelters offer a food pantry,

playground, and libraries.

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community,” Palmer said. “We’re trying to persuade these landlords and brokers to rent to these families, but it’s really not realistic and the price of rents just keeps going up and up and up.”

Michelle Robinson, the program director at Briarwood Family Residence, said some landlords fail to make repairs and turn off the heat to get tenants to leave so they can hike the rent even higher. She agreed that dealing with landlords is difficult.

“We have families that have active vouchers, but landlords that are not accepting the voucher amounts,” she said.

Robinson said homelessness has changed over the last 20 years.

“The demographics of homelessness has changed tremendously, mostly due to poor mental health and substance abuse,” Robinson said. “Those are the two main challenges we see among individuals and families leading to homelessness.”

Tracy Appia, the program director at Kingsboro, agrees that poor mental health is a contributing factor. Clients must suffer a mental health issue to stay at Kingsboro. However, Appia also mentioned the high cost of housing.

“At this point, there’s a lot of turnover in housing,” she said. “There’s a lot of inventory that is being sold and being redeveloped at rents that the average person just cannot pay.”

Families with children apply for shelter at a Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH) intake center operated by the city’s Department of Homeless Services.

Single men, women, and adult families apply at shelters. New York has a right–to–shelter law requiring that any homeless person be housed.

Cotugno said the shelters run by The Salvation Army provide comprehensive case management and clinical social workers.

Residents have access to medical care, mental health services, employment and housing specialists, and childcare at the family shelters. Local corps officers provide spiritual care.

At Briarwood and Springfield, families live in small studio apartments with refrigerators and stoves, allowing residents to cook.

Briarwood and Springfield also offer a food

pantry, playground, and libraries. Kingsboro features a recreation room to watch videos or play board games.

CORPS CONNECTION Robinson said residents are matched up with a housing specialist and “then we try our very best and pray hard.”

“It’s very difficult,” she said. “Many landlords and brokers have had really negative experiences with renting out their homes. They’ve had legal issues and they’ve had their property damaged. It takes a lot of encouragement to get some landlords to open up their homes to families in a shelter. There’s a stigma.”

Once someone leaves a shelter, Cotugno said she asks the program directors to point them toward the various Salvation Army corps for childcare, after–school programs, and worship.

“No matter where they’re going, there’s always a Salvation Army corps nearby,” she said.

“Since I’ve become the director of social services, one of the things I’m pushing for is an integration between the corps and social services.”

The average stay in the shelters is about nine months, but Robinson said that can vary.

“We try to work with families right away by identifying the barriers,” she said. “We know every family’s challenges are different. There are some families that can actually get out in a nine–month period because there are few barriers other than finances.

“If they start working and saving, sometimes all they need is to be matched with the right apartment. There are some families, however, where there are several needs, such as mental health. Being able to find the right referral, the right therapist, those can all take time. For the most part, we meet our target, but it takes a lot of day–to–day effort.”

Palmer said the residents are reminded that a shelter is supposed to be temporary.

“There is a slew of services we offer here on–site,” she said. “However, what we also like to do is refer families outside. We don’t want them to get comfortable with the services we provide here on the inside. If they do, it’s almost like they’re lost when they go back out

There are 21,295 children classified as homeless in New York City. —The Coalition for Homeless, June 2019

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Briarwood family shelter provides a clean and safe environment for families to get off the streets and transition into permanent housing.

“My mother taught me kindness, empathy, and to ‘value people.’

That’s important because the homeless can feel broken and beaten down by the system.”

— Robinson

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into the community.”

For Appia, who deals with the mental health population, it can be more challenging.

“There are people who are chronically homeless who will be here for a long duration,” she said. “There are others who are very focused and will do what they have to do and get out, but we like to average about nine months.”

When it comes to solutions, Cotugno said the city needs more affordable housing and higher housing subsidies. She also likes the idea pushed by Mayor Bill DeBlasio for more supportive housing, which features on–site services for those who have substance abuse and mental health issues.

Robinson said while the homeless issue is a “cash cow” for some, she sees many abandoned buildings in the tri–state area that could be turned into affordable housing if officials had the political will.

Cotugno and the three shelter program directors in the Greater New York Division are all Christians and said their faith is a motivating factor in why they chose to work in the field of social services.

LIVING BY FAITH Cotugno, who has worked in homeless services for both The Salvation Army and New York City since 1994, said the stories of success “keep me going.”

“I think every time I think I’ve heard it all, there’s always another story that I haven’t heard that kind of touches my heart in some way,” she said. “That still happens to me after 25 years.”

Palmer said she enjoys helping clients get the services they need for their children, while securing employment and getting into permanent housing.

“I enjoy helping people to succeed,” she said. “If I’m able to help a family break that cycle, to me, that’s a big deal.”

Appia begins her day with Bible reading and the following prayer: “May I bless someone as You have richly blessed me.”

“I seek out those opportunities to do that for people,” Appia said. “Sometimes they just present themselves and I don’t even know when I have blessed somebody, but I enjoy

what I do. I enjoy being God’s representative when I come here.

“If you express to me a faith or God puts it on my heart that you can hear what I’m going to tell you, I will give you a word. But we don’t go around just randomly preaching to people.”

Appia, who grew up in East London, has an affinity for The Salvation Army beyond the average employee.

“My nanny took me there when I was a little child and it’s always had a special place in my heart,” she said. “That’s where I went to Sunday school and it’s always been a part of my life. I guess that’s how God plotted it out for me to work here, too. My Christianity will follow me wherever I go. I’m just fortunate enough to do it here.”

Robinson thought about a career in marketing but developed a passion for the homelessness issue when she worked nine years for the advocacy group Homes for the Homeless.

“I love working with people,” she said. “It was a huge blessing getting hired here. It was through The Salvation Army that I was able to take the skills from Homes for the Homeless and apply them here. I’ve applied everything I learned and use it with a whole new level of kindness. The Salvation Army has allowed me to grow even further.”

Robinson said her mother taught her kindness, empathy, and to “value people.” That’s important because the homeless can feel broken and beaten down by the system, she added.

“The biggest thing I pray for every day is just to be able to use my words for kindness, to stay silent when necessary, and to listen actively,” she said. “That’s the biggest part of the job here—to be able to listen with an open mind and heart. When working with families that have suffered ongoing trauma, it’s important to instill faith in people. I praise the Lord every single day. He guides my words and actions.

“We strive to work in a different way with our families because they have been in other facilities where they were treated less than kindly. When they get here, we try to work pro–actively to make sure that their feelings of brokenness are addressed. We try to make them whole again.”

The five principles of design thinking

by Warren L. Maye

What makes success possible tends to be invisible to the eye and intangible to the touch.

When those factors do appear, they seem to be the things least worthy of our attention. But according to Dr. Gary W. Oster, editor of the Journal of Transformative Innovation, and author of The Light Prize: Perspectives on Christian Innovation, they are actually essential to the best and most effective use of our precious hours.

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1. EMPATHIZE: Focus on the needs of others.

Oster remembers the day when he began to focus on the needs of others.

“I worked for technology companies before I became a teacher. I was always amazed that there would be, say, 15 companies in our market, but one would always seem to effortlessly move ahead, do better financially, and employ happier workers. Did they have more money? No. Did they have better conditions? Most of the time, their conditions were poorer. I kept thinking, why is my team not as happy as those guys over there?

“I wanted to study how to have a bunch of people who were energized, had good ideas, and were willing to work together to make those ideas happen. I soon learned that everything that I thought should be against them being successful weren’t the real issues at all. I learned that people want to spend their lives working on different things that are meaningful. They want to look back 20 years from now and say, ‘I did this; I did that; and I’m happy that I spent my time doing those things.’”

Adopting a new perspective for Oster started simply and humbly. “I first tried innovation on my own. I sat down and looked at my daily calendar. I said to myself, Where are you spending your time? If something was really a higher priority, then I should be spending much more of my time on it. That realization caused me to change my personal schedule. I also sat down with other people and apologized. I said, ‘Hey, look, I’ve been doing this whole thing incorrectly. I know that I’m wrong. I’ve been doing things traditionally that have probably been a pain in the neck to you.’”

Starting with an apology would probably be a big hurdle for most people, but for Oster, it was a breakthrough. “It was like losing 50 pounds in a single exercise. I realized that I’m not responsible for everything.

I’ve got this whole team that has all of these capabilities.

I felt so relieved. I started to go through all of my stuff routinely and say ‘wait a minute, Joe is just as capable of doing this as I am.’ I came to realize that there were a lot of people who are just as smart or even smarter than me working on my team.”

Today, Oster shares many assignments with his team and they are excited. “It’s like a promotion for everybody. Yes, we still have to do the day–to–day grind.

But I’m also giving them the authority to take action.

When I do that, people start showing all of their abilities. It’s stunning. I’m seeing things from them that I never expected.”

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2. DEFINE: Create a “how might we …?” question to steer the creative process.

Experimentation is an acquired mindset, rather than an inclination. “The reason for that is fear. We’ve already been conditioned to know what is a ‘right’ answer and a ‘wrong’ answer,” says Oster. “The fact of the matter is, you have to truly define for yourself what a right answer looks like—and it may not look like what everybody else is doing.”

As an adjunct professor in Michigan, Oster realized that his teaching was highly representative of firms that have been around for a long time but weren’t necessarily successful today. Becoming experimental helped to bring positive change to his relationships with students and faculty. “Rather than everybody operating as lone rangers, we began asking, ‘What can we do together?

What can be exceptional that we can work on together?

Indeed, they developed a point of view that asked, ‘How might we do this better?’”

“

I learned that people want to spend their lives working on different things

“

that are meaningful.

3. IDEATE: Brainstorm with others to come up with possible answers.

“When I’m talking to students, I basically ask ‘what’s bugging you?’ ‘What drives you nuts in your life?’ At first, they will say, ‘nothing, everything is fine.’ Then I say, ‘Really? That’s amazing because I have a fairly long list of things that bug me in my life.’

“Then they start thinking about it and they come up with ideas. Ultimately, I say, ‘Pick one of those problems.

Actually, the simplest one.’ Then I ask, ‘What could you do today without any money and without spending a lot

of time, to change that?’ It takes them a few minutes to come up with some ideas.

“And then I say, ‘OK, do it. Try it for a couple of days and see what happens.’ As soon as I do that, and they actually follow through on it, they say, ‘Tell me more about this innovation stuff.’”

This is a alternative strategy when one considers how stressful classrooms can be when students are forced to compete with each other rather than collaborate.

“It’s actually painful. Nobody ever got promoted because they gave all their ideas away,” says Oster. “It takes a little while for them to get used to the idea and that’s a big hurdle to get over. Schools are still set up exactly the way they were 100 years ago. One of the things I’m so happy about at Regent is that we’re able to analyze our orthodoxies. We can freely ask questions such as, ‘what can we do that can be done differently?’”

Oster is quick to point out that brainstorming sessions can also come with lightning and thunder.

As such, do they always make for good collaborations?

“I get really nervous when I don’t see the storms,” he says. “I want people to actually bring passion with their ideas. If there’s no creative friction, there’s no change; there’s no success. I want to walk by a conference room, see people really getting into it—and they’re not being personal—and then they go to lunch together. That’s what we need—excitement and positive energy!”

4. PROTOTYPE: Using the best idea, create a quick, inexpensive model of the concept.

Oster believes that the biggest and best ideas start small. “We spend so much time talking about what we’re going to do and how much it’s going to cost.

But the people who are truly innovative speedily test something that’s small and inexpensive. If it doesn’t work, they discard it and move on to something else. So, experimentation is really crucial to the process.”

He calls it creating a “low–fidelity” product that will help determine the feasibility of the concept. Sketching, scribbling, role playing, and building a model are ways of quickly visualizing the solution in 3D so feedback from all stakeholders is possible.

“There was a pastor who wanted to move a piano over to the other side of the sanctuary,” said Oster. “But the congregation rejected the idea. However, during the course of a year, he moved the piano incrementally by one inch. Today, it’s on the other side of the room.”

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5. TEST: Use feedback to quickly make adjustments to the developing prototype.

Oster says the final phase in the process involves testing the prototype with the target audience and then using their feedback to quickly make adjustments to the prototype. Asking questions such as, “What works?” “What doesn’t work?” are key.

Oster believes that kind of interplay happens when confident managers invite others to criticize their ideas.

“We can all do this without truly offending each other.

It’s an attitude of experimentation. If it fails. So what?

But if it succeeds, we move the needle a little further.”

STARTING THE DIALOGUE Oster says starting a dialogue about innovation can be as easy as making an appointment. “It just takes a person to pick up a phone and say, ‘May I stop over and talk?’ Sitting and having a cup of coffee, and asking questions such as ‘What bugs you?’ or ‘What have you done in your ministry that is really exciting and fun?’

What I’ve discovered about people in The Salvation Army is that they have an incredible number of abilities that are not necessarily being used in the workplace.

“When I read what William and Catherine Booth had to say, I was shocked by how direct, precise, and profound their words were. They could have easily written a book just on innovation. Their ideas are being played out right now in Silicon Valley. Their phrasing was slightly different to fit their era, but the things that they said are absolutely as important today as they were when they said them back then.”

Dr. Oster joined the faculty of the School of Business & Leadership (SBL) in the summer of 2007 after more than two years as associate dean for academics in the Regent University School of Undergraduate Studies and a decade in senior administrative roles at William Tyndale College.

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snapshot

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A MONUMENT TO HOMELESSNESS Flesh and blood formed this creation. Its apparent veneer belies the human frailty hidden beneath the snow–covered hat and blanket. This homeless man sits in the midst of a storm that is both literal and figurative.

Will he survive the night? Or will his life end here, as did the person burned to death in Los Angeles or the four men bludgeoned to death in Chinatown, N.Y. or the man who froze to death in Buffalo, N.Y.?

The Salvation Army strives to make sure such people actually survive, rise up, and live. “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house...” (1 Peter 2:5).

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

FAITH in ACTION

It’s Kettle Season!

Salvation Army volunteers encourage donors to help others at Christmastime.

by Warren L. Maye

“How do we increase volunteer hours at the kettle?”

“How do we keep this aim at the top of our mind throughout the year?”

These are just a few of the questions Salvation Army corps officers and their staffs contemplate annually. With calendar in hand, they think, here is what we should be doing this month and in this place. Time to work the schedule; let’s stay focused by using the best ways to present our volunteer recruitment ideas!

This year, Commissioner William A. Bamford, territorial commander, has set a goal of increasing kettle volunteerism by 25 percent. That declaration has created a buzz among officers and kettle workers as they brainstorm ideas for the Christmas season.

“I’m grateful for Chaz Watson and the development team at Territorial Headquarters who are working together with the development

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directors all across the territory to really get a good grasp on our kettle effort for this coming year,” said Major Evan Hickman, divisional commander in Northeastern Ohio. “I believe our territorial commander has really energized us with this reachable and aggressive goal. It encourages us as a division to reach out to all of our community partners and schools and organizations.”

Hickman said friendly competitions are part of the energy behind many successes. “We’ve always had the ‘Battle of the Bells’ competition such as Rotary vs Kiwanis clubs, and Lions vs the Eagles clubs. We’ve got one location in Toledo where the fire chief and the police chief are going head–to–head on opposite sides of town on different kettles.

So, I’ve always asked our officers to up–the–ante a little bit and establish different niches like these.”

Along with all the fun, Hickman also emphasizes that the bottom line is really spiritual, rather than financial.

“When someone comes up and sees the kettle, prayer requests and God’s word are shared, burdens are lifted, and we become a better nation and world as a result. It’s not about income, it’s about outcome. It’s about us being on the streets where we’ve always been and where we still need to be.”

Kettle workers are already in the throes of the Christmas fundraising season, the time of year when The Salvation Army works its hardest to raise funds needed to do the most good

Paying it Forward for people struggling to maintain the holiday spirit, despite life’s challenges.

Even now, teams of workers are delivering supplies and holding orientations; they’re meeting with volunteers and sharing important information about procedures and expectations.

They’re reviewing vital tips for better bellringing in both English and in Spanish. They’re talking with seasonal employees about the Army’s goals, priorities, and opportunities.

Corps officers are promoting volunteer recruitment campaigns via email, newsletters, and on multiple social media platforms. Local radio and TV networks are spreading the word via the internet and over airwaves. Throughout the territory they’re broadcasting plans for kettle kickoff events and then covering them as they happen.

Corps officers are monitoring progress at strategic kettle locations. They’re taking note of worker performance and making adjustments as needed. By the end of this month, they’ll send “thank you” emails to all of those hard–working volunteers and employees.

The volunteer recruitment campaign will continue throughout the month of December through additional social media, email, and newsletter communications. By December 31, corps officers will have recorded all incomes, received and evaluated feedback, and made adjustments for next year.

Christine A. Coiner, a volunteer and Salvation Army board member in Portage County near Cleveland, Ohio, enjoys the acquaintances she’s made during moments at the kettle. “I enjoy meeting people; I greet everyone with a big smile. I try to make some kind of connection with them,” says the retired General Motors plant manager. “I look at the apparel that they’re wearing, be it from a sports team or high school, just to make some small talk. I think it’s important to make eye contact, make

them feel at ease, and be friendly.

“I ask the smaller children if they would like to ring the bell. I always buy bags of Hershey Kisses for the kids and adults.” Rather than wish them a happy holiday, Chris makes sure the reason for the season is clear. “It’s all about why we celebrate.” I stand by the kettle, so I am visible to the people.

I ring that bell all the time.”

Seeking volunteers has helped her form long–lasting friendships, particularly with members from her United Methodist Church in Kent, Ohio. “One couple invites me over for football games because they know I’m a big Ohio State fan and a Cleveland Browns fan.”

As a Youngstown State University and Geneva College graduate, she says such relationships have been rewarding.

Coiner also enjoys the competitive nature of the campaign. “I always ask, ‘how much did we make today?’ because I want to show that a personal approach makes a difference vs people just walking by. But I just want people to feel important. I don’t care if they give a penny.”

As a landlord, Coiner has provided housing to families in her community.

One day, a longtime friend invited her to volunteer. “She was just telling me about The Salvation Army. She said, ‘If you ever want to donate some time, come on over.” I said, ‘Jeanene, that’s really strange because I’m looking for something!’” Today as a Salvation Army board member, Coiner continues to influence positive outcomes in neighborhoods.

Years before Coiner was born, The Salvation Army impressed upon her dad’s heart a desire to support its work. She says of the WW2 and Korean War veteran, “He’s been deceased for 19 years, but my mom always tells me that my dad spoke so highly of the charity The Salvation Army gave to servicemen.”

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Since last year, The Salvation Army has partnered with electronic donation systems that have made giving easier, more convenient, and faster than ever before. This year, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Pay, and Apple Pay will all be accessible through a new innovation called Kettle Pay. Scan or bump to donate:

WHAT IS KETTLE PAY? This Thanksgiving and Christmas season, The Salvation Army is rolling out its Kettle Pay project that will include a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag on every kettle across the country. NFC tags are small microchips that will allow individuals to make payments with their smartphones. In an increasingly cashless society, giving people an opportunity to donate using credit/debit cards via their smartphones is a huge opportunity for the Army.

HOW WILL IT LOOK? Each kettle or kettle stand will be branded with an Apple and Google Pay sticker, in addition to the QR Code which the Army has used in the past (see photo of bell ringer).

HOW DOES IT WORK? • The NFC tag and branded sticker is placed on the kettle or kettle sign.

• The donors, who must have their Apple or Google pay activated, simply tap their smartphone on the tag image.

• A donation form then appears on their phone.

• The form will have predetermined giving amounts, but the donors also have the option to give in any increment they choose.

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Q & A

General and Commissioner Peddle

by Warren L. Maye

As the USA Eastern Territory pursues its plan for a 2020 Vision Congress, international leaders General Brian and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle talk about inspiring situations they’ve seen, avoiding shortsightedness, and how The Salvation Army is laser–focused on mission for the sake of future generations.

What was the main takeaway from your recent visit to the Old Orchard Beach camp meetings in Maine?

The General: We’ve seen the Salvation Army’s flesh and blood—in an engaged, committed, and covenanted relationship with God. The mission of the Army is in their hearts. We stepped away sensing it’s okay; God is here and is using The Salvation Army. God is descending in the form of the Holy Spirit and that’s what is apparent from visits like this. We just know that what we’re hoping for is in fact our reality.

Commissioner Peddle: People’s hearts have been opened to expectation and I think their love for their international leaders is evident.

They’ve enjoyed conversation with us, and we enjoyed conversation with them. They are hungry for the things of God.

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What would you like to see the Army do to bring its mission to fruition in terms of people, programs, and provisions?

The General: We think that each Army territory, the USA East in particular, has to make its own assessment about that. For instance, International Headquarters doesn’t cast a global vision for how we deal with homelessness, because it is so situational. Peoples’ needs are situational. My expectation would be for territorial and divisional leadership to help officers find what are the strategic priorities for The Salvation Army to make its greatest mark where they live.

In a macro sense, there are common themes from my office at International Headquarters that, in no uncertain terms, are calling us to mission. We’re asking the Army to be engaged with the gospel. I want us to be an army that takes responsibility for the generations to come.

So, let’s not be complacent; let’s not be stuck anywhere in the continuum of God revealing Himself to us. These are big things. Territorial leaders here have shown us how they interpret and inculcate their plans and priorities for 2020.

Our 2020 Vision Congress will give us a platform to talk more about those kinds of things.

In your travels, what situations or events have influenced your vision for the future?

Commissioner Peddle: As we travel the world, we see Salvationists doing amazing things. They’re taking on the mantle of mission and leadership and love of The Salvation Army.

The General: For me, the strand of thinking would be resilience. I see an incredible resilient expression by Salvationists in the context of people living day by day; no promises for tomorrow, where we have economically desperate countries.

Places such as Indonesia where a whole landmass changed overnight, and hundreds of people died. I did a service of Thanksgiving and 17,000 people gathered. Thousands rushed forward for prayer. Rather than focus on what they didn’t have or what they’d lost or what they’d wished they had, we heard the joy of the Lord.

Commissioner Peddle: That joy was

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overwhelming because I saw even in the midst of devastation, people singing their praise to God. I saw their dependency upon God still.

The General: We are equally resilient in other parts of the world where the devil uses different but equally severe techniques to attack our Christian framework. He is situational. His techniques are situational. For instance, the secularization of our Western World and our preoccupation with materialism can create a shortsightedness where we can completely miss the significance of eternal values.

So, I think what encourages us is the resilience we’ve seen, whether people have or have not. I’m seeing faith being clearly demonstrated, clearly protected, and clearly shared.

What concerns you about the world today?

I think some of the realities of living in a transparent Salvation Army in many countries where corruption is how people do business is challenging. We work in environments where things are in play that are not compatible with our values. A huge concern is the lack of opportunity for everyone. There are no level playing fields. A Salvation Army soldier in one part of the world versus one in another part of the world; an officer in one part of the world and one in another part of the world. It’s not just about money. It’s about opportunity. How do we close these gaps? How do we get our heads into educating people? We have a million students in schools around the world. But that’s only a flash in the pan compared to the great need.

Is there a crisis in evangelicalism?

I’m not sure I would call it a crisis. I still believe the devil pushes against the Church, but the gates of hell will not prevail.

One third of The Salvation Army is in India and Pakistan. That’s over 350,000 soldiers in two countries where people are not supposed to be Christian. We see this in Africa as well. The Salvation Army preaches the gospel and people come. Soldiers are enrolled. I think the evangelical message is needed more today than ever before.

An interesting thing for us is to watch the slight shift in who the missionaries are, where

they’re coming from, and where they’re going. The movement is not from the West to the developing world; I would be bold enough to say that Africa has given more to the western Salvation Army than we would ever be prepared to recognize.

You cannot find corps in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland where Africans did not show up and lift the spirits of the people. They come and they bring their faith. It is a bold faith; an excellent faith.

The day will come when we will see a more international exchange where we’re not going to ”darkest Africa,” but an Africa that is bringing the Light to the world. Not just from Africa, but from Asia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. This is what I see. This is my global, panoramic sense of the world.

Recently, we were at the ninth corps that was formed by Founder William Booth in The Salvation Army. They were having their 150th anniversary in London. Today the congregation has Africans, Asians, and Koreans. The sergeant major is an African. The singing company reflected several nations in the world. I said, “this is it right here. This is what God is doing.”

What are your takeaways in terms of women’s ministry?

Commissioner Peddle: I’m encouraging women to reimagine their own situations. What more can they do? How can they become stronger? How can they become more involved in social action in their communities? We’re already working against human trafficking and domestic violence. We’re already advocating for equity in leadership roles.

We need more education for women.

The General: Women don’t often get the credit they deserve. We’re still stuck in some parts of our world where we think certain cultural norms are biblically defensible. We have to draw lines in the sand and be careful that culture does not captivate The Salvation Army.

Culture and Christianity need to hold hands.

We can have a prime minister who is a woman, but cannot have a territorial commander who is a woman? What’s with that? So, Salvation Army culture needs to be emerged and encouraged to move forward.

C O N G R E S S

WITH

THE GENERAL AND

COMMISSIONER ROSALIE PEDDLE

JUNE 11—14, 2020 PA FARM SHOW COMPLEX • HARRISBURG, PA

COME TO WORSHIP . . . COME TO CELEBRATE . . .

COME TO BE TRANSFORMED To register see your corps officer.

SACONNECTS.ORG/2020CONGRESS USA EASTERN TERRITORY COMMISSIONERS WILLIAM A. AND G. LORRAINE BAMFORD TERRITORIAL LEADERS

wholly living

by Major Santa Correa

Two years ago, my family and I began preparing and serving hot meals in the village of Spring Valley, New York. We joined this ministry, which has been carried out by volunteers representing a collective of religious and community organizations in Rockland County.

For the past 25 years, they’ve been helping people in need.

We serve low–income families, and people who are unemployed, seasonal workers, and homeless. On any given Saturday, we go out on a mobile canteen and stop at several locations along the way to distribute hot and hearty meals.

People know when we are coming and line up to receive their portion.

I like talking to them. I offer them a smile and a friendly face.

On one occasion, my husband was with me when we saw a man coming out of the bushes. He approached my

Where do I start if I want to practice the discipline of service?

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husband, who directed him to stand in line to receive his lunch. The man said, “Thank you, but I was wondering if you could pray for me.”

We surrounded him and asked him if there was something specific he wanted us to pray for. He then told us his story. He lost his job and consequently lost his apartment and was now sleeping in the bushes near the train tracks. “I know there is a God and I need Him to intervene in this situation and for the wellbeing of my family,” the man said. He cried inconsolably as we prayed for him. At the end of our prayer time, he embraced us. “Thank you,” he said as he continued to cry.

After we prayed, I saw his facial expression change. I often ask myself, “What if this mobile canteen wasn’t available to such people in this community who need food, love, and understanding? What if the open hand

Speak to your corps officer about opportunities to serve within your corps or community.

of a brother or sister who is the living reflection of God’s unconditional love wasn’t available?”

It is quite easy to judge our neighbors without taking the time to step out of our comfort zone and to listen to the things happening in our communities. Jesus invites us to have an encounter with Him as we look after our brothers and sisters and meet them in their time of need. Matthew 25: 35–40 says, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a

Pray that God will help you discern where you should serve. Listen to His promptings and the longings of your heart.

No service is too big or too small. Do what you feel most comfortable when asking to help serve.

“ Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you ever can.”

—John Wesley

stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

We are to be Jesus’ ministry partners; His hands and feet, where we go into places of sorrow, need, and hopelessness; touching people who are infirm, alone, and mourning for themselves and others. Through our godly actions and disposition, we can make a difference.

The Salvation Army is readily at the frontlines of our communities to serve and provide time, talents, and opportunities for the good of others in all circumstances. This testimony about an experience with the Spring Valley, N.Y., Corps feeding program is a perfect example of the spiritual disciplines expressed in Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s

book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook.

In it she addresses what she calls the discipline of service. The practices she lists include “walking the talk; being what you profess,” and “using your gifts to build the kingdom of God.” Calhoun also explains that the discipline of service is “a Spirit of Jesus. He was a compassionate, serving Spirit that always worked for the good of others. Jesus maintains how that radical love for others demonstrates whether we know God or not.”

For us to be likeminded in Jesus we must open our eyes to people around us. If we don’t see what is going on, we will not recognize there is a need. The discipline of service does not have to be in leadership positions.

Still, any steps taken to better assist with the outreach to others and its mission is just as valuable.

How can you be of service to your spouse, colleague, or neighbor?

find us on facebook / estamos en facebook www.facebook.com/saconnects

Ask the question, “What can I do for you?” You might be surprised by the response you receive. In this simple way, you may help someone and be surprised to learn of their need for assistance.

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20/20 vision highlights

TONAWANDA, NY, CORPS 46 BROAD STREET

In July, the corps band and timbrels marched in a parade accompanying the Canal Fest of The Tonawandas. Major Celestin Nkounkou, the corps officer in Tonawanda, said more than 200 groups participate annually and the crowd usually numbers 10,000. Judges grade the performance of each marching group in the parade and issue awards following the march.

This year, the corps band and timbrels won the “Mayor’s Award.” “This was a great witness.

We will always remember it—glory to God!” Nkounkou said. The band and timbrels also take part each year in the Twin Cities (Tonawanda and North Tonawanda) Memorial Day parade.

CANTON, OHIO, CITADEL CORPS 420 MARKET AVENUE SOUTH

With boots on the ground, a Salvation Army marching band establishes its footprint in Tonawanda, N.Y.; a senior center in Canton, Ohio creates a cross–generational food distribution program that helps children as well as adults; and an “Adopt a Family” program in Schenectady, N.Y., offers hot meals, toys, and a food box to needy families. Are you catching the vision?

SCHENECTADY, NY, CORPS 222 LAFAYETTE STREET

It’s going to be a busy Christmas season for Majors Kelley and Mike Lutcher, who are in their new appointment. The corps is offering an “Adopt a Family” program, which includes a distribution of toys and food boxes.

Recipients will also receive a hot meal. “This is an exciting year as it is our first one in this appointment so everything is new,” said Major Kelley Lutcher.

The corps delivers weekender food bags to 300 students in conjunction with the Akron, Canton Food Bank and Atlantic Foods, which provides fresh fruit. Heather Morris, the public relations and marketing coordinator for the corps, said the “Red Shield Packs” program is in its second year.“This has become a cross–generational project as the Senior Center has taken on the responsibility of filling the packs each Friday,” Morris said. “Each week our staff delivers this program. As a result, our relationship with the schools has flourished. This project has become a great way to reach children who need a healthy meal on the weekends and to extend our support to the families as a whole.”

ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS CORPS MAIN STREET, MARKET SQUARE

A community Christmas party is scheduled for Dec. 19. Families from the community will enjoy a great meal. Soldiers from the corps will perform sacred dance and timbrels. Corps officers will lead a devotional service for everyone in attendance. To top off the day, children will be treated by an appearance from “Santa.” “This is the second year it’s being done,” says Major Hermas Pearl, the corps officer. “We are excited to see families sitting together and having fun.”

“ The Salvation Army is by far the most effective organization in the U.S. No one even comes close....”

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— Peter Drucker

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