Salvationist + Faith & Friends June 2021

Study Group Seeks to Decolonize Faith

What to Do When Kids Are Bored Silly

Camp-in-a-Box and Other Creative Summer Ideas

THE VOICE OF THE ARMY

June 2021

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New officers ready to share God’s grace through a pandemic and beyond

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June 2021 • Volume 16, Number 6

DEPARTMENTS 5 Inbox 6 Frontlines 25 Millennial Voices We Are Vectors of God’s Love

by Jordan Pinksen

27 Cross Culture 28 People & Places 30 Not Called?

Rolling Up Her Sleeves

by Ken Ramstead

COLUMNS 4 Editorial Inoculated, Not Isolated

by Geoff Moulton

9 Onward How We Do Things Around Here

by Commissioner Floyd Tidd

26 Family Matters Bored Silly

by Captain Bhreagh Rowe

SALVATIONIST.CA IS MORE THAN JUST MAGAZINE ARTICLES!

20 FEATURES 10 Thy Will Be Done New officers ready to share God’s grace through a pandemic and beyond.

16 A Summer to Remember How Salvation Army camping ministry is adapting in 2021.

by Major Terence Hale

18 The Lord’s Prayer Seventy short words that change the world.

by Donald E. Burke

20 Decolonizing Faith Learning to dismantle systems of exploitation as we seek shalom.

by Captain Ashley Bungay, Mandy Marsland, Lieutenant Jennifer Henson, Cadet Nathanael Hoeft and Ruth Moulton

23 Valued and Equal How a Salvation Army school is transforming the lives of children with albinism in Tanzania.

by Major Heather Matondo

We serve as a hub for all THQ-related resources for the territory—from finance to women’s ministries to international development.

Take time today to visit Salvationist.ca to check out our latest sub-sites for volunteer services, modern slavery and human trafficking, and emergency disaster services.

Cover photos: Symon Ptashnick

READ AND SHARE IT! If the Shoe Fits ...

Finding a Father

HELPING THE ARMY P.10 AN OPEN DOOR P.12

A Mentor’s Advice

“DON’T QUIT” P.26

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

JUNE 2021

PHIL CALLAWAY PRAYED FOR “HELP” THAT HIS SON AND DAUGHTER-INLAW WOULD FIND A BABY TO ADOPT. P.16

24 Another Brick in the Wall

30

Booth University College’s new fundraising campaign aims at building the institution one block at a time.

by Ken Ramstead

Finding Ezra Salvationist June 2021 3

EDITORIAL

Inoculated, Not Isolated

N

ever have I been so happy to have a needle stuck in my arm. In the first week of May, like thousands of other Canadians, I lined up at the pharmacy, rolled up my sleeve and received my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

At the time of writing, roughly 50 percent of Canadians had been vaccinated.

There’s still a long way to go. Of course, I’m acutely aware of the tremendous privilege it is to even receive a vaccine when so many around the world are struggling.

Here’s a sobering perspective from a doctor in India, where the pandemic is raging: “Social distancing is a privilege. It means you live in a house large enough to practise it. Hand washing is a privilege, too. It means you have access to clean, running water. Hand sanitizers are a privilege. It means you have money to buy them. Lockdowns are a privilege.

It means you can afford to be at home.

A disease spread by the rich as they flew around the world will now kill millions of the poor.”

Never before has our Salvation Army mission been so critical, to help those in desperate circumstances, to share our wealth and resources so that no one goes without, and to empower people to be healthy and whole in body and spirit—to be who God created them to be.

Vaccines are an apt metaphor for the

Salvationist

is a monthly publication of The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory Brian Peddle General Commissioner Floyd Tidd Territorial Commander Lt-Colonel John P. Murray Secretary for Communications Geoff Moulton Editor-in-Chief and Literary Secretary Giselle Randall Features Editor (416-467-3185) Pamela Richardson News Editor, Copy Editor and Production Co-ordinator (416-422-6112) Kristin Ostensen Associate Editor and Staff Writer 4 June 2021 Salvationist

Christian life. In a sense, we have been inoculated by the power of the gospel and Christ’s salvation against the forces of evil at loose in the world. Inoculated, but not insulated. Our mission is to take that power of Christ that is within us and share it with the whosoever.

That’s the goal of the Messengers of Grace (page 10), the 26 cadets who will be commissioned as officers this month.

They are being “sent” into the world to be conduits of God’s grace and mercy. As Acts 1:8 puts it, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Elsewhere in this issue, we hear from Salvationists who are listening to Indigenous voices and learning what it means to “decolonize” the church (page 20). We read about innovative camp-from-home programs that are helping kids stay connected to their faith through the pandemic (page 16). And Dr. Donald Burke unpacks the Lord’s Prayer as we collectively long for “on earth as it is in heaven” (page 18).

Jesus told a story in response to the question, “Who is my neighbour?” It was about a Good Samaritan who stopped by the side

Brandon Laird Senior Graphic Designer Hannah Saley Digital Media Specialist Ada Leung Circulation Co-ordinator Ken Ramstead Contributor Agreement No. 40064794, ISSN 1718-5769.

Member, The Canadian Christian Communicators Association. All Scripture references from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV) © 2011.

All articles are copyright The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory and can be reprinted only with written permission.

of the road to tend to a stranger in dire straights. The priest and the Levite passed him by, for fear that they would be defiled.

But the Samaritan eschewed caution and reached out with a practical expression of love.

In the midst of this pandemic, let us be Good Samaritans. Let us bind each other’s wounds. Dry each other’s tears.

Help each other stand. And point each other to the Source of life and love.

GEOFF MOULTON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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Mission

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INBOX

ETHICALLY SPEAKING

What happens when a candidate for Medical Assistance in Dying requests pastoral care?

Photo: PIKSEL/iStock via Getty Images Plus

BY AIMEE PATTERSON

eople matter. Life matters. Dying matters. Death matters. We believe these statements. We see them at work when corps host food banks, run moms-and-tots programs, teach English classes, offer intercessory prayer or knit prayer shawls. They are signs of compassionate love that expects nothing in return.

Not all corps officers are knitters, nor are they expected to be. But corps officers are expected to journey with dying people.

This is an essential part of pastoral care.

And it’s becoming more complex.

With the addition of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canadian law and health care, we have witnessed a big shift in the way many Canadians think about death, dying and human life. MAiD is the intentional ending of human life.

Physicians and nurse practitioners are legally permitted to perform MAiD to eligible patients who request it. Since its inception in 2016, MAiD has been given to thousands of people. Some have called 14 September 2020

on Salvation Army officers for pastoral care. This is new territory. Let’s take a closer look at what journeying with a person considering MAiD can look like.

Nurturing Compassion The Salvation Army stands firmly against MAiD. This position is grounded in the belief that all people are created in God’s image. Everyone has God-given intrinsic value, which we call human dignity.

Human dignity means our lives are sacred. Our value cannot be removed by action or health condition. Instead, we deserve compassion and care throughout our lives. This is no less true when we are dying. However, MAiD is not an acceptable response of care. Contrary to those who advocate for MAiD, The Salvation Army holds that the direct and intentional ending of life goes against human dignity.

Instead, The Salvation Army champions palliative care. Palliative care offers comfort and pain relief when cure and

control are not possible. An interdisciplinary team attends to a person’s physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual needs. Palliative care extends to the point of a person’s natural death. It also extends to the person’s family and loved ones as they cope with loss and grief. It works toward a good death without ending the life of a person, because that person is always worth caring for.

Palliative care recognizes a paradox in human suffering. Suffering cannot be left unaddressed. But it cannot be stricken from human experience. There is labour in coming into life and there is labour going out. That is part of what it is to be human.

We find this idea in Scripture, too. The Apostle Paul writes about his own sufferings. They don’t go away. Yet he finds something to hope in that is greater than physical healing (see 2 Corinthians 12:710). Helping people find this hope, even in profound suffering, is part of the work of a pastor. When a person considering

Salvationist

Captain Lynda Wakelin Candidates Fellowship has been reimagined to better help Salvationists explore God’s call to officership.

BY MAJOR JENNIFER HALE

1. Building Character Candidates Connect will actively develop spiritual maturity, practical faith, and holiness of life and witness of the members.

The Orders and Regulations for the Training of Salvation Army Officers notes the importance of “discipleship— expressed in spiritual growth, character formation and Salvationist identification.”

One of the goals of Candidates Connect will be to facilitate and further the discipleship of its members through opportunities, such as mentoring, small group Bible study and other helps for discerning God’s call. In a lecture at the recent Officership Information Weekend, Major Andrew Morgan, training principal at the College for Officer Training, gave this word of encouragement to all delegates: “If we are going to be good leaders, Salvation Army officers, we must be paying attention to our character and our holiness and spiritual health.”

Candidates Connect will actively develop spiritual maturity, practical faith and holiness of life.

2. Building Capacity Candidates Connect will actively develop the practical, academic and leadership skills, and knowledge base of members.

This will be facilitated through various leadership opportunities in the context of the local corps and perhaps even some service opportunities in your division. The goal will be to give individuals as much experience as possible to prepare them for training as officers.

3. Building Community Candidates Connect will actively develop comradery and fellowship among members through their shared experience

of exploring God’s call on their lives.

Our hope is that you will find a place of belonging and friendship, where you can be sharpened as you interact with others on a similar journey.

This framework will be the means by which the purpose of Candidates Connect will be accomplished. Each division has taken time to vision and plan the implementation of the framework in their contexts. Divisional secretaries for candidates will be communicating next steps and inviting you to join in these new efforts through prayer, partnership or participation.

Is Candidates Connect For You? The language of building has been intentionally chosen to emphasize that God’s call and the consideration of Salvation Army officership is a process. Joining Candidates Connect in your division does not mean that you already have all the skills and experience needed to enter officer training; neither does it mean that you have fully resolved that officership is the way forward for your life. But it does mean that you are open to God’s leading in your life, specifically as it relates to officership, and that you are interested in learning, growing and developing to that end.

Candidates Connect is more than a simple rebranding or relaunch of an existing program. Rather, it is an intentional effort to engage with one another as together we explore the best way to fulfil God’s purpose in our lives and our role as Salvationists in carrying out the mission to share the love of Jesus, meet human needs and be a transforming influence in the communities in which we live. As Candidates Connect launches, we invite you to join us in this exciting journey.

Donny Melanson

For more information on Candidates Connect visit SACandidates.ca.

February 2021

Major Colleen Winter

FAMILY MATTERS

Living Lent It’s more than just giving up coffee or chocolate.

BY CAPTAIN BHREAGH ROWE

I

t’s that time of year when we all decide to give up something for Lent, whether it’s coffee, chocolate or social media. But lately, I’ve been wondering if this approach is a discipleship shortcut—a way to make us feel like we’re following Jesus without any meaningful growth.

Are we trying to “life hack” Lent?

Lent is the 40-day period—not including Sundays—before Easter, a time when Christians are called to prayer and repentance, representing the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before starting his earthly ministry. The Spirit led Jesus into the desert to pray, fast and seek God’s will. During that time, the devil tempted him over and over again, physically, mentally and spiritually, trying to push him over the edge. Jesus resisted the temptation because he had been fasting for 40 days, replacing physical food with spiritual reliance on the Father.

For me, whenever a big Christian holiday comes up, I always try to think about what we can learn as a family, and how we can apply that learning in our everyday lives. With Lent, the lessons vary, but all 24 February 2021

fall under the same theme—to remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice and to reflect on what it means to be a Christ-follower.

“

In giving up these things, are we actually learning to be more like Jesus?

”

Insert our life-hacking skills. Instead of taking a deep dive into our souls and allowing God to search our hearts for the sin we refuse to acknowledge, we try to make things a little more comfortable. We journey toward the cross, feeling accomplished if we give up our Starbucks addiction, sweet-tooth fix or daily Facebook preoccupation. But in giving up these things, are we actually learning to be more like Jesus? I might be wrong, but I think the answer is no.

Jesus made a huge sacrifice for us.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to model that sacrifice. As parents, we have the responsibility to teach that sacrifice.

Not the life-hacked version but the true, meaningful, gospel-centred, hard version.

Jesus went through “hard” in the desert in order to continue his holy purpose.

He calls us to that same hard because, let’s be honest, giving up coffee is the worst, but it’s not hard.

These are some big lessons for us.

These are some big lessons for our kids.

Lessons that will serve our kids much more than just learning to give up something. So how do we explain this deep, meaningful and fundamental piece of our belief system?

Live those lessons ourselves. Nothing will teach your kids more than modelling the lessons of Lent, which means more than just giving up chocolate or coffee.

Read the Gospels. I know this may sound silly, and there’s nothing wrong with children’s Bible story books. But if Lent is about Jesus and God’s big plan for our littles, we need to open that Word and help our kids develop the skill of reading the Bible.

Tell them what Jesus did and why. I am a big proponent of not oversharing world news with our children, but in this case, there is no such thing as oversharing. Let your kids know how badly Jesus was treated and how he went through all those horrible things because he loves them so much.

Finally, use Lent to help your kids develop healthy spiritual rhythms. No matter how old they are, it’s not too soon to teach them the importance of sacrificing some stuff that we may want to do and fill ourselves with Jesus, prayer and his Word instead.

Lent is easily overlooked as something that we just always do. But when we look at it through the lens of teaching our children to be strong, knowledgeable and passionate Jesus-followers, Lent becomes a significant opportunity. I want to teach my kids that Jesus gave up so much more than his daily caffeine fix—he died for them. He calls us to quit the life-hacking and to build our lives upon that beautiful sacrifice.

Captain Bhreagh Rowe is the community ministries officer at St. Albert Church and Community Centre in Edmonton.

Salvationist

What’s Old is New I’m writing in response to an article I about the new auxiliary-lieutenant program (“Rallying Cry,” March 2021). Call it what you want, however, non-commissioned officership is not new. We have had envoys, then there was a brief time when the rank lieutenant was a three-year, non-commissioned, renewable term. Now we have the auxiliary-lieutenant program. I trust this time it sticks around.

I wonder when the Army will open its doors to accepting outside clergy as leaders. We have lost, over time, many officers to other denominations, and in the beginning of the Army, we accepted outside clergy. Maybe it’s time to consider adopting those from other denominations to fill some vacancies.

Something to discuss.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENTS

Rallying Cry

BY MAJOR DEANA ZELINSKY

Illustration: Intpro/iStock via Getty Images Plus

will never forget the day Major Helen Hastie came to talk to me and my husband, Rick, about Salvation Army officership. Before leaving, she pulled a VHS tape from her purse—some of you reading this may not even know what that is—entitled “A Proud Day in June,” referring to when Salvation Army officers are commissioned in the Canada and Bermuda Territory, and promised a follow-up visit to continue the conversation. At the time, we didn’t feel God calling us to officership, and certainly not to move away from home for formal training, but we were open to full-time ministry if an opportunity became available.

Major Hastie felt comfortable having that conversation because she had a relationship with us as members and leaders in her corps. Personal relationship and conversation remain vital to helping people explore their calling to ministry.

However, in our ever-changing world, the paths we take to get to that place of calling and ministry have grown, and our territory recognizes the need to create new ways for people to explore and confirm a calling to full-time ministry.

Throughout our history, the Canada and Bermuda Territory has promoted different paths to officership and full-time service, such as field-based training and

auxiliary-captaincy. These opportunities continue along with accredited, residential programs at the College for Officer Training. Increasingly, there is renewed interest in lay ministry opportunities and that, along with a decline in our active officer rolls, has prompted territorial leadership to seek a solution to the need for leadership by creating an alternative form of non-officer service.

The new auxiliary-lieutenant program offers a full-time, non-officer position for those considering spiritual leadership in The Salvation Army. It will benefit those who feel called to officership as an avenue to explore ministry, and it can also serve as an opportunity for Salvationists who are not certain they feel called to be an officer but think a short-term ministry opportunity may help. In either case, it is a means by which people can consider and confirm a calling to full-time ministry as an officer.

This program requires an initial threeyear commitment to ministry, after which time the suitability for extending this term will be reassessed. The auxiliarylieutenant program is encouraged for Salvationists age 18 years and older, whether you are a young adult who has not committed to a career path and want to engage with the ministry and mission

of the Army, or someone entering early retirement and wanting to use your experience and expertise in ministry.

The role of auxiliary-lieutenant is not a lesser or an “officer-lite” version of leadership, as it still requires the spiritual maturity of a committed believer in Christ and the spiritual leadership they will bring to this ministry. This necessitates the applicant has local, divisional and territorial leadership support, and careful vetting through the territorial candidates council.

Following acceptance, auxiliary-lieutenants will receive training and coaching in the field to orient them to the requirements and expectations of ministry. This will include instruction in Salvation Army systems, policies and processes, with an emphasis on pastoral ministry, theology and preaching. The development of an auxiliary-lieutenant’s spiritual leadership is of key importance and will be tailored to prior learning and experience.

Auxiliary-lieutenants will also be required to complete the course, “Introduction to Officership,” offered through Booth University College. While the auxiliarylieutenant role is not a commissioned or ordained officer role, it will function like one in ministry responsibility, and the Booth course is designed to augment the understanding of those responsibilities.

I believe that at some point in our lives as Salvationists, we need to consider a call to serve God in full-time ministry. I hope and pray that as you read this, you might consider what it could look like for you to serve in a full-time, short-term capacity in our territory. If you have been waiting for an opportunity like this and feel God is calling you to something new, I encourage you to reach out to your corps officer and set up a time to chat more about ministry opportunities.

If you are an officer and have identified people in your corps who are suitable for spiritual ministry leadership, but haven’t outwardly expressed a calling, I encourage you to send them this article, with the following message: “I read this article and thought of you. I’d love to talk more about it.” You just might plant a seed like the one my corps officer did over coffee and a VHS tape.

Major Deana Zelinsky is an area commander in the Ontario Division and the territorial training and development officer.

26 March 2021 Salvationist

Donald Jefcoat

Practising the art of making do.

BY CAPTAIN LAURA VAN SCHAICK

A

lot happened in 2020. But buried under headlines about the pandemic, the U.S. election and other important issues was a December report announcing that humanity had passed an important milestone: humanmade materials—1.1 teratons of anything from concrete to plastic to glass—now outweigh natural life on Earth.

That fact hit me like a ton of bricks.

While much of this weight is tied up in infrastructure such as roads and buildings, a good amount inevitably comes from our household possessions, the stuff we surround ourselves with every day—and we’re drowning in it.

Over the past few years, many voices have spoken in favour of minimalism in a world that values bigger, better and more.

Most notably, Marie Kondo’s KonMari method invites us to ask of our possessions, “Does this thing I own spark joy for me?” If not, it is to be discarded.

Nearly two years ago, I explored the KonMari method, documenting my thoughts in an article for Salvationist (“Sparking Joy,” May 2019.) While I have

implemented some of Kondo’s methods in my household, I later discovered that I was asking the wrong question of my clothes and other possessions. It was no longer about whether a simple piece of fabric or plastic could bring me joy.

Even the matter of whether I desired the item became a moot point. Rather, the question I began to ask was, “Does this thing I own fulfil my need today?”

With this in mind, I set out to practise the art of making do.

Making do is not another form of minimalist living. If Marie Kondo delights in discarding, making do is nearly the exact opposite. If an item still serves its function, even if it is no longer shiny or new, it should still be utilized. If an article of clothing has a hole in it, it should be mended rather than thrown out and replaced. Making do mitigates thoughtless consumption and unnecessary waste, and it causes us to reorient our relationship with things and to reconsider their value.

My early days of making do weren’t easy, and there have been days that

I loved this article. It speaks to me and I try to live with that concept in mind. It’s a journey, but I’m getting better every day! Thank you for reminding me that abundance is within, not outside us.

Captain Laura Van Schaick is the divisional secretary for women’s ministries in the Ontario Division.

Salvationist

March 2021 25

Brigitte St-Germain

My Neighbour, William What do we miss when we say, “Not in my backyard”?

BY DANI SHAW

P

“

romise me you will eat this, because I know what it’s like to go hungry.” It was a homeless man who spoke these words to me one evening last September. He was one of the more than 35 new men who moved into our neighbourhood after a 24-7 drop-in centre opened on our street just a few months earlier.

The drop-in centre was met with mixed reactions. Some of my neighbours welcomed the new residents with open arms, care packages and books to help pass the time during Toronto’s first COVID-19 lockdown. Others were angry. Angry that the drop-in centre was located right next to a seniors’ apartment building and across the street from one of the many co-op and subsidized housing buildings in our neighbourhood. Angry that local residents had no input—or warning. Angry that this would affect property values for condo owners, some of whom were already living and raising a family in cramped quarters and hoping to move into a larger house one day.

Although I supported the city’s decision and was confident our neighbourhood would adjust to this new reality, I tried to understand my neighbours’ concerns.

I suspect COVID-19 had a particularly noticeable impact on high-density, urbancore neighbourhoods because of the lack of both indoor and outdoor spaces where family members and roommates could get a break from each other or, conversely, gather with neighbours and friends.

Within our own building, COVID-19 and related public health measures turned our typically friendly, welcoming and tightknit vertical community into something quite different and almost unrecognizable.

Our indoor and outdoor common areas were closed to prevent social gatherings with anyone outside of our immediate household. Taped lines appeared in our lobby and elevators, reminding us to keep our distance. Mask wearing was strongly encouraged inside the building long before the city made it mandatory. The concierge desk and lobby, once the condo equivalent of the office water cooler, were now off limits as casual conversations with our neighbours and building staff were discouraged.

There was no hiding or ignoring the reality of poverty, homelessness, addiction or precarious mental health in our neighbourhood.

our hands and avoid social interaction with our neighbours. Condo dwellers were already on edge in their own “homes” and physically distanced sidewalk chats on the streets in our neighbourhood became the only opportunity to relax and reclaim some semblance of normalcy and community.

The drop-in centre further disrupted the sense of normalcy. Within days of its opening, men began hanging out near the loading dock behind our building. The dumpster containing cardboard recycling was set on fire one night. Drug dealers and drug paraphernalia began appearing on the sidewalk. Throughout the summer months, it became a regular occurrence to see someone walking down the street yelling and screaming and swearing at passersby—both real and perceived—“for no reason.” In August, my neighbours reported that a woman was assaulted in a local park when she set up a lemonade stand with her two young children. Just before Labour Day, a 71-year-old man who was living in a bus shelter outside the drop-in centre was stabbed. Weeks later, he succumbed to his injuries, while still living in the bus shelter.

There was no hiding or ignoring the reality of poverty, homelessness, addiction or precarious mental health in our neighbourhood. It was out there, on the sidewalk, for all of us to see. Many of the “us” in my neighbourhood did not see “them” as our neighbours.

I juxtapose these events with a conversation I had with a man—whose name I

In the Neighbourhood Thank you, Dani Shaw, for sharing this story (“My Neighbour, William,” March 2021). Well said. It was insightful and thought-provoking in many ways. Clearly, you’ve got a good neighbour in your neighbourhood!

Christine LeBlanc

Thank you, Dani, for showing love and compassion to all those in need.

It really makes you think of your own neighbourhood and how we judge before we know our neighbours.

From the moment we opened our apartment door to the moment we exited the building, we were reminded to keep our distance, not touch anything, wash

19

True Repentance So beautifully written, Captain Bhreagh (“Living Lent,” February 2021). Lent is a wonderful season and as we set time aside and go deeper into our meditation with the Lord, allowing him to really search our hearts, we realize it is much more than giving up our daily fix of caffeine or sugar.

New auxiliary-lieutenant program offers a path to full-time, non-officer service.

Abundant Life With Less

I’ve slipped up. In Matthew 6:21, Jesus reminds us that, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Hundreds of advertisements vie for our attention each day, pleading with us to consider their products a treasure. If we aren’t intentional about deciding what we treasure, the world will decide for us.

But since committing to making do, I’ve gone months at a time without buying an item of clothing, most of the gifts I give now are consumable, and I’m spending significantly less time filling online shopping carts. The result has been a healthier relationship with the possessions around me, and a greater emphasis on the relationships that really do matter: relationships with God, family and friends.

In times of scarcity, making do is rather straightforward. If we only have access to a limited supply of items, we will inevitably make things last. In times of abundance, however, it can be difficult to practise self-control when more or new is easily within reach. And we are living in a land of plenty.

What is necessary is a redefining of the term abundance. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” But what does it mean to have abundant life?

I’m sure Rachelle Crawford, author of the blog Abundant Life With Less, is not alone when she shares, “For as long as I can remember, I was under the impression that an abundant life had to do with more. More comfort, more success, more money, nicer stuff, a better life, greater health.…”

Making do teaches that abundant life has nothing to do with the accumulation of more, or always having new.

Instead, making do teaches that abundant life can, and should, exist alongside our accumulated possessions, not because of them. Living abundantly means living with more loving relationships, more peace, more contentment, more trusting in God’s provision. Making do reminds us that possessions fill a physical need, not an emotional or relational need. We are called to love God and people, not things.

Dan Millar

Major Jennifer Hale is the secretary for candidates and assistant territorial children and youth secretary for Canada and Bermuda.

Salvationist

Sue Derby

GRACE NOTES

22 March 2021 Salvationist

Photo: isara/stock.Adobe.com

A

t a young age, I knew that God had placed a call on my life for Salvation Army officership. I was enrolled as a senior soldier at the age of 14 and eagerly awaited my 15th birthday so that I could enrol in the Candidates Fellowship. I continue to be grateful for the way in which my corps officers and local leaders invested in me in those formative years. They were patient with me through the ups and downs of my teenage journey while also pointing out my gifts and giving me opportunities to test my call through various opportunities in the corps. I watched my corps officers, now Lt-Colonels Eddie and Genevera Vincent, with eagerness as they led Sunday meetings and provided pastoral and spiritual leadership to our corps and community.

It was under their leadership and influence that I was enrolled as a soldier and became a member of the Candidates Fellowship.

The Candidates Fellowship was a place of connection where I was able to interact with my divisional youth secretaries and other like-minded individuals who were also exploring God’s call on their lives for officership. Now, 25 years later, it’s been my privilege to work with our team of divisional secretaries for candidates across the territory to reimagine the Candidates Fellowship and to officially launch a new expression of this important ministry: Candidates Connect.

Candidates Connect was birthed out of some strategic thinking in February 2020 when we identified four strategic priorities to help us continue our momentum in officer recruitment. It will exist to create space for individuals exploring God’s call on their lives for ministry in The Salvation Army and provide opportunity to discern if officership is the avenue to obediently respond. Individuals will be able to experience community while engaging in intentional spiritual growth and development. The foundation and mission of Candidates Connect have been captured in the following three pillars:

Developing Candidates Thank you for prayerfully considering this new approach to candidates (“Candidates Connect,” February 2021). I believe this is a win, and helpful for our development together.

Abundant Life Captain Laura Van Schaick’s article about reorienting our relationship with things was excellent (“Making Do,” March 2021). Love the concept, and how she wove in Jesus’ expression of abundance. Thank you!

Photo: Image Source/Image Source via Getty Images

Shared Suffering Final Words Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is such an important topic and I appreciate the multiple dimensions Dr. Aimee Patterson has considered (“Final Words,” September 2020). Over the decades, the public perspective on P euthanasia/MAiD has focused on the dying individual and what suffering is experienced by that one person.

However, the reality is that suffering is always a shared experience when we live in community. The impact on caregivers (family and professional) is a poorly explored aspect of this conversation. Hearing stories from people in the years following an assisted death would help people to be better informed in these decisions.

Thank you for sharing this meaningful experience, Dani. It reminds me of a philosophy of ministry from years ago: acknowledge “community capacity.” Many of those whom we may consider “they” have much to offer toward the well-being of the whole community.

Lt-Colonel Jean Moulton

Well Done I was interested to read about Major Jim Mercer’s journey to officership (“Intersection,” March 2021). Jim and I taught together at Cape John Collegiate in La Scie, N.L. He was a true example of what a patient, caring teacher should be, and I am confident those qualities have served him well as he serves the Lord. Well done, Jim! Alexia Ward

NOT CALLED?

Intersection “I didn’t choose officership,” says Major Jim Mercer. “God chose me.”

BY KEN RAMSTEAD “Officership consumed my thoughts,” says Mjr Jim Mercer

J

im Mercer’s life was in turmoil. The 30-year-old teacher had two university degrees, was employed, and things were going well. But there was something missing.

That missing something? Officership.

“I Need to Make Some Changes” Jim’s father was Anglican and his mother was Catholic. As a child, he was encouraged to attend church, and he did so until he was about 11 or 12, even though neither of his parents were regular churchgoers.

Though Jim stayed connected to his faith, he stopped attending church when he became a teenager, finished his schooling in his hometown of Grand FallsWindsor, N.L., and went off to university.

He got his first teaching position in La Scie, N.L., a little community of 1,200.

“Interestingly enough, I was renting a downstairs apartment from a Salvationist family,” Jim says.

As he watched how that family lived their lives, and through a few moments of crisis in his own life, the thought of going to church occasionally crossed his mind.

Then one Saturday afternoon at his favourite social gathering spot in his hometown, the thought came to him: I need to make some changes in my life.

Growing Conviction Jim left the social gathering that day and, for the next six months, his story was a journey of God doing work in his life.

“I had no idea what was happening other than the fact that I started going to church at The Salvation Army. That was the talk of the town because they hadn’t had a teacher go to church for some time.”

A conviction started to grow in him. “I can’t explain it other than the fact that it consumed me, both in and out of school.”

On February 12, 1995, Jim called his landlord and said he wanted to go to church again. That morning, he walked to the mercy seat and gave his life to God. Imaginings of an Officer Six weeks after he came to Christ, Jim was laid off.

“That didn’t make sense to me. Now that I was a Christian, things were sup-

posed to work out, right?” he smiles.

Soon, however, an overwhelming sense of peace came to him, a feeling that, whatever happened, “It was going to be OK. “A few weeks later, I interviewed for a job on the east coast of Newfoundland, in Bonavista, and I got it. After a few months, I felt I needed to take that next step to be a soldier. I took my soldiership courses at Bonavista Corps and soon became involved in every element of ministry that I could at the church.”

Now 34 and a soldier, Jim felt a deeper calling.

“Officership consumed my thoughts.

There were days in the classroom where I would turn my back as I wrote on the board, tears running down my face because I didn’t want to be there. I’d imagine what it would be like to be an officer.”

Two for CFOT Up to now, Jim had resigned himself to entering the College for Officer Training (CFOT) as a singleton but after his candidate’s interview in January 1999, a youth pastor who worked with him in his capacity as a youth leader, contacted him.

“I just called to see how your interview went,” Michelle Jacobs told him.

The conversation, which lasted four hours, led Jim and Michelle to a journey of sharing life, ministry and officership together.

Jim was accepted for the 1999 Ambassadors of Grace session, but encouraged by his officers, he decided to wait another year. In that time, he resigned his teaching position, he and Michelle became engaged and were married, and the couple went in to CFOT together in 2000.

Full Circle At first, Jim worried that his years as a teacher would be wasted when he became an officer.

“But all I learned in those teaching days came full circle,” he explains. “My appointments often led me to minister to families who were broken and, as a teacher, I now saw how God had worked everything together for good.

“I didn’t choose officership,” he explains. “God chose me, and I had to respond to his calling. God intersected my life and I had to surrender, which I did. It’s all about what God can do through you.”

Read Major Michelle Mercer’s story in the April Salvationist.

14 March 2021 Salvationist

Critical Care It’s great to hear about the peer supI port team that helps shelter workers in Peel Region, Ont., cope after a critical incident (“Keeping Pace,” March 2021).

While working in Peel many years ago, we did experience the removal of children from the shelter and probably the worst case was the death of a former client by her abuser. We did have debriefing sessions as staff, but I think what you are doing is awesome.

Keeping Pace

Peer support team helps shelter workers cope after a critical incident.

BY GISELLE RANDALL

n 2016, Canada was in the middle of a growing opioid crisis, with fentanyl—a synthetic pain medication 100 times more powerful than morphine—fuelling an explosion of overdoses and deaths.

“There was a four-month period, from June to September, when we lost a lot of our clients—guys that we knew well,” says Paul Puhringer, a front-line worker at The Salvation Army’s Wilkinson Road Shelter, in Brampton, Ont. “Fentanyl came in, and it just started downing them real fast. We were trained to administer naloxone and we’d be running to help several times a week.”

“It was a scary time,” agrees Tanisha Bryan, an outreach housing support worker at the Army’s Honeychurch Family Life Resource Centre in Brampton.

“It was just overdose after overdose after overdose.”

When anyone encounters the threat of serious injury or death, it’s a traumatic experience that can evoke feelings of fear and helplessness, undermine a person’s sense of safety and security, and interfere with their ability to function. Acute stress, if left untreated, can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“We realized we needed to be here for each other as staff,” says Bryan. “So we came together as a team, with employees from the various Salvation Army shelters in Peel Region, to offer support during and after critical incidents.”

The P.A.C.E. (peers aiding in critical experiences) team, launched in June 2019 and led by Puhringer and Bryan, is modelled on a method for helping first responders called critical incident stress management (CISM). Durham Regional Police, which has successfully used this method with their force, provided training in group and individual crisis intervention.

Although the overdose epidemic was the catalyst for forming the P.A.C.E. team, shelter workers are exposed to other distressing experiences.

“The type of critical incident depends on the type of shelter,” says Bryan. “For Paul, it could be an overdose. In my work at an emergency shelter for abused

women and children, it could be helping a woman with her injuries, or a situation where a child is removed from a family.

“It’s heavy work that we do. It causes a lot of burnout in our peers.”

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has only added to the weight, with increased safety measures, worries over the possibility of outbreak and wary landlords making it difficult to find housing. Another consequence has been an increase in domestic violence, as families contend with stress over job loss and spend more time together.

“There’s a lot of pressure on people,” says Bryan. “We’re dealing with our own fears, plus the fears of our clients, but we have to be the calm, reassuring ones. We still have a service to provide—we have to make sure we’re the best we can be when we’re at work.”

After a critical incident, the team is called to provide one-on-one, confidential support, following the S.A.F.E.R. model— a form of psychological first aid.

“It’s about creating a safe space,” says Bryan. “We stabilize the situation, acknowledge the crisis, facilitate understanding, encourage effective coping and

refer to external resources, such as our employee assistance program. We’re not there to fix someone—we’re there for support.”

Captains Robert and Laura Burrell, chaplains at Peel Shelter and Housing Services, are also part of the P.A.C.E. team and offer spiritual care when requested.

After the initial meeting, the team always follows up to let the individual know they aren’t alone and help is available.

The message is getting out. From June 2019 to June 2020, the P.A.C.E. team made more than 1,000 contacts, most often related to work stress.

“The number of calls shows that our peers think we are trustworthy, that they can depend on us,” says Bryan. “They can come to us and share whatever it is that they’re feeling, and we can help.”

That’s why Puhringer first joined the team.

“Dealing with overdoses and other work stressors affected me, but I didn’t want to go and talk to a stranger,” he says.

“It’s more comfortable to open up to a peer, someone you know.”

Tanisha Bryan and Paul Puhringer lead the P.A.C.E. (peers aiding in critical experiences) team for Peel Shelter and Housing Services

24 March 2021 Salvationist

Florence Gruer

Salvationist June 2021 5

FRONTLINES

Salvation Army Media Wins 14 Awards

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he Salvation Army’s territorial magazines, website and digital media won 14 awards from the Canadian Christian Communicators Association (formerly Canadian Church Press) in a virtual ceremony in April.

Salvationist took home seven awards, Faith & Friends received four and digital media garnered three. Magazine award categories ranged from Biblical/Theological Reflection to Feature Layout and Design to the new category of Feature Series.

The territorial headquarters’ marketing and communications department and Grey Canada took home first place in the

Marketing Campaign category for their COVID-19-related “Everyone Needs an Army” campaign. Also highlighted was the editorial department’s Salvationist Podcast in second place, and social media, which earned an honourable mention. The awards were given for work published in the 2020 calendar year.

“These awards are a credit to our Salvationist writers, designers, artists and videographers,” notes Lt-Colonel John P. Murray, secretary for communications.

“Contributions from the Ethics Centre, international development, program and youth departments, and many others from

around the territory have made our communications products a standout in their field.”

The Canadian Christian Communicators Association has 68 members, individuals and representatives from publications of mainline, Catholic and evangelical churches. Member publications were invited to enter in more than 30 categories.

The awards were judged by accomplished journalists and academics from both the religious and secular media.

For a full list of the awards, visit salvationist.ca/awards.

Corps Ministry Restructured in Halifax ajor Wade Budgell, divisional commander, Maritime Division, announced a plan for the restructuring of Salvation Army corps ministry in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in March. Implementation will commence concurrently with the 2021 officer personnel change.

Key components of the plan include the closure of all five corps located in the HRM by mid-June, including Spryfield Community Church, Fairview Citadel, Sackville Citadel Corps, Halifax Citadel Community Church and Dartmouth Community Church. Two new corps will open in July and carry the temporary names of Halifax East Community Church and Halifax West Community Church until official names are identified.

Effective July 2, Captains Brent and Melissa Haas, currently serving as the corps officers of Fairview Citadel, will assume leadership of Halifax East Community Church. Majors Jennifer and Terence Hale, currently serving as territorial secretary for candidates and territorial youth secretary, respectively, will assume leadership of Halifax West Community Church on the same date.

“Salvationists are encouraged to reflect upon and pray about these significant changes, and where they will devote their time, talents and energies in support of the mission as we partner together in this next chapter of Salvation Army ministry and service in the City of Halifax,” says Major Budgell.

Halifax East Community Church will 6 June 2021 Salvationist

Photo: dk_photos/iStock via Getty Images Plus

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operate out of the current Sackville and Dartmouth buildings, with a view to securing permanent meeting space in Bedford and retaining current locations for community and family services (CFS) ministries.

Halifax West Community Church will be primarily based at the former Fairview Citadel location. Other CFS in the HRM will also remain in their current locations with no change to day-to-day operations.

“Although these two new corps will have official corps status as of July 2,” Major Budgell explains, “the summer will be a transition period leading to a September 2021 launch under the leadership of the new officers.”

With the exceptions of Sunday worship and CFS, all programming will be suspended throughout the summer. One in-person weekly worship service will be offered at a single location during this

time with an online streaming option to be explored.

Staffing components have been built into budgets to help support and position the corps for effective mission. There will be no job loss associated with the restructuring.

A meeting will be held in due course to allow divisional headquarters personnel to present the go-forward vision and plan for the restructuring. It is anticipated that both an in-person and online option will be provided for attendance and that registration will be required to comply with public health requirements.

“The Christian journey is a faith journey,” concludes Major Budgell. “I am asking Salvationists to believe and pray for success as we seek to be ‘inspired for mission—positioned for growth.’ ”

FRONTLINES

Booth University College Welcomes New Interim President

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t-Colonel (Dr.) Susan van Duinen has been appointed the next interim president and vice-chancellor of Booth University College in Winnipeg, effective June 14. She succeeds Dr. Donald Burke, who served as interim president from June 10, 2020, to May 31, 2021.

Lt-Colonel van Duinen was dean of the School for Continuing Studies at Booth University College from 2014 to 2017. As dean, she successfully used project and change management principles to bring about the formation of a solid structure for the school, helping fulfil its mission of providing “Education for a Better World.”

In addition, Lt-Colonel van Duinen has taught cadets at the College for Officer Training in Winnipeg and certificate courses at Booth. She launched her own

practice as a certified executive leadership and life coach in 2017.

Lt-Colonel van Duinen has a doctor of ministry in counselling and psychotherapy from Providence University College and Seminary in Winnipeg and a master of divinity from Tyndale University in Toronto.

Prior to her retirement from officership, Lt-Colonel van Duinen served as divisional commander in the former Manitoba and North West Ontario Division, the British Columbia Division and the former Ontario Central-East Division. Lt-Colonel van Duinen and her husband, Dirk, were commissioned in 1978 and enjoyed various appointments over their 36 years in ministry, including church, youth, administrative and overseas ministry, before Dirk’s

passing in 2013.

“There’s a thrill that comes with starting a new chapter at Booth,” comments Lt-Colonel van Duinen. “Over the years, Booth University College has cultivated a reputation for excellence, and where it was yesterday and where it finds itself today matter for tomorrow. I believe the road ahead is going to be a catch-your-breath experience. At Booth, we will continue to focus on ‘Education for a Better World’ and in so doing encircle the world and equip those serving on the front lines.”

“It’s with confidence and a grateful heart that we welcome Lt-Colonel Susan van Duinen to her new role as interim president,” says Commissioner Floyd Tidd, territorial commander. “Her years of service as an officer, her experience in education and her passion for Christian ministry have all contributed to make her an exceptional leader. We look forward to a bright future at Booth.

“We also wish Dr. Donald Burke the best and thank him for his many years of service,” Commissioner Tidd continues.

“He has guided Booth University College through formative years as it transitioned to a university college and grew its programming substantially.”

Dr. Burke also served as president and vice-chancellor of Booth from 2006 to 2016 and vice-president and academic dean from 2000 to 2006. He has taught as a professor of biblical studies since 1982 and will continue in that role with Booth.

COVID Relief Fund Helps Nova Scotians

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n partnership with the Government of Nova Scotia, The Salvation Army has established a new program to help low-income Nova Scotians who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 to catch up on their home heating and electrical bills.

The Nova Scotia COVID Relief (NSCR) Fund is valued at $3.5 million and will provide one-time, on-bill credits of $400 to more than 8,000 households. Funding was provided by the provincial government from the Federal Safe Restart Program.

“This funding, through the COVID Relief Fund, will assist thousands of individuals and families,” says Major Wade Budgell, divisional commander, Maritime Division. “It will ultimately help Nova Scotians get back on their feet.”

Kelly Regan, Nova Scotia minister of community services, and Mjr Vaden Vincent, executive director, Halifax Centre of Hope, discuss the new Nova Scotia COVID Relief Fund

Salvationist June 2021 7

FRONTLINES

Drumheller Army Opens Safe House ndividuals and families fleeing domestic violence in Drumheller, Alta., now have a safe place to stay thanks to The Salvation Army.

Colton’s Place Temporary Domestic Violence Unit, which opened in March, provides short-term housing for people in crisis. A one-bedroom apartment, the unit is a collaboration between the Army, which manages the operations, and a collection of local organizations that form the Big County Anti-Violence Association (BCAVA).

Colton’s Place is the only shelter of any kind in Drumheller. Prior to its opening, if someone came to the Army looking for assistance, “we would put them in a hotel for one night, and then we would have to utilize other agencies to transport them to a larger centre,” explains Captain Ben Lippers, corps officer.

With Colton’s Place, those needing safe accommodation can now stay in town while they figure out their next steps. “It’s a stabilization unit,” says Captain Lippers.

“We look at what’s best for them, and then

8 June 2021 Salvationist

Representatives from The Salvation Army and the Big County Anti-Violence Association mark the opening of a domestic violence shelter in Drumheller, Alta.

we link them to the resources they need.”

The unit opens at a time when domestic violence is on the rise in Drumheller.

“Since last May, The Salvation Army has put more than 70 people in hotels with grant funding from the government,”

says Captain Lippers. “Now 40 percent of those people are fleeing violence. We didn’t have those numbers before.

“I’m so grateful that we have something we can offer when somebody is in distress,” he concludes.

Photo: Courtesy of The Drumheller Mail

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ONWARD

How We Do Things Around Here Fulfilling our mission will depend on kingdom culture.

BY COMMISSIONER FLOYD TIDD

Illustration: VectorInspiration/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

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eter Drucker, considered the founder of modern management, famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This is the same Peter Drucker who described The Salvation Army as the “most effective organization in the United States,” declaring, “No one even comes close to it in respect of clarity of mission, ability to innovate, measurable results, dedication and putting money to maximum use.” Drucker’s management theory is based on aspects of Christian thinking.

After his Resurrection and Ascension to heaven, Jesus left a relatively small band of followers to start a movement that God would use to transform the world. When a movement understands its mission as the reason it exists and has captured a vision of what can be when the mission is accomplished, a strategy is needed to achieve that vision.

Jesus gave his disciples a vision of the kingdom of God. Through his teaching, miracles and example, he showed them what the kingdom of God was like. He left them with a clear mission, to go into all the world and make disciples. And he gave this fledgling movement, still trying to fully grasp the vision of this new kingdom, a strategy to guide them in fulfilling his purpose for them. “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised … you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4, 8 NLT).

But along with understanding their

mission, grasping the vision of the kingdom of God and following Jesus’ strategy, there was one more critical piece for this movement of Christ-followers to be effective: kingdom culture.

Culture has been defined simply as “the way we do things around here.” The behaviours that demonstrate how we do things around here are, in fact, a reflection of our values.

In his time on earth, Jesus challenged the established answers to the question of “how we do things around here.”

The Sermon on the Mount became the manifesto of how things are done in the kingdom. His interactions with people modelled the values of this kingdom culture. He rejected a business-as-usual approach. He turned the law on its head.

He included the outcast and cast out the in-crowd. He loved people with a love that would die for them. He called his followers to love the way he had loved them.

Jesus knew that without a kingdom culture, reflecting his attitude and actions, they could never fulfil their mission and realize the vision of God’s kingdom on earth. A strategy of being witnesses, starting in Jerusalem, moving outward to Judea and to the whole world, would not be enough without kingdom culture.

The followers of Jesus, now entrusted with a message of reconciliation and hope for the world, would have the Holy Spirit to guide them into kingdom culture.

The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda has a clear understanding of our mission, and a new territorial vision. In the coming months, a territorial strategy

will be released.

Our effectiveness in living out our mission and seeing that vision become a reality, in life after life and community after community, will depend on our culture. Our strategy will assist us in making decisions and pursuing actions, but our culture will define us and our success as God’s Army.

Our culture is the expression of our values through our attitudes and actions.

As we rely on the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we demonstrate our value of HOPE. Each time we reach out to support others without discrimination, we reflect our value of SERVICE. As we respect and value each other, recognizing everyone’s worth, we express our value of DIGNITY. We responsibly manage the resources entrusted to us because of our value of STEWARDSHIP. These kingdom values, expressed in our behaviour, build a kingdom culture.

Committed to the mission that God has given The Salvation Army, we will strive after the vision God has shown us, as our strategic plan provides direction and supports decision-making. If “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” let us hold fast to our values so that “the way we do things around here” truly reflects Jesus and his kingdom.

Commissioner Floyd Tidd is the territorial commander of the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

Our Mission The Salvation Army exists to share the love of Jesus Christ, meet human needs and be a transforming influence in the communities of our world.

Our Vision We are an innovative partner, mobilized to share hope wherever there is hardship, building communities that are just and know the love of Jesus.

Salvationist June 2021 9

Thy Will Be Done

Photo: Carson Samson

New officers ready to share God’s grace through a pandemic and beyond.

The Messengers of Grace arrive at CFOT for training in 2019

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Photos: Symon Ptashnick

f a true display of God’s grace has ever been seen, it is that more than one year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Canada and Bermuda Territory will commission 26 officers in the Messengers of Grace Session this month. As these Salvationists prepare to carry out the mission of The Salvation Army, they reflect on their calling, their ministry during the pandemic and how they have seen God’s grace in their own lives.

Principal’s Commendation On behalf of the College for Officer Training (CFOT) staff, it is my privilege to present the newest session of cadets to be commissioned and ordained as officers in the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

I commend these Messengers of Grace to you with the firm conviction that they are full of grace and power. Their power is the active work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. These cadets are like the Apostles—with great power, they testify to the Lord’s Resurrection and much grace is upon them all (see Acts 4:33). Join me in praying that these Messengers of Grace will also be like Stephen, full of God’s grace and power (see Acts 6:8).

During 22 months of training, these Salvationists have developed in character and competency

10 June 2021 Salvationist

through spiritual formation, academic studies and practical field training. They are equipped to be Messengers of Grace, mobilized to share hope wherever there is hardship, and build communities that are just and know the love of Jesus.

These Salvationists are convinced of their calling and now commit, by God’s grace, to prove themselves as worthy officers, loving Jesus and serving him all their days. I am confident, as the Messengers of Grace continue to learn, gain experience and grow into the fullness of their calling, that the power of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will be upon them. It has been a joy to journey with these cadets during their time of training. The CFOT staff now release these new officers, full of God’s grace and power.

Major Andrew Morgan, CFOT Principal Mjr Andrew Morgan with his wife, Mjr Darlene Morgan, director of spiritual formation, CFOT

Roger Barrow I had a tremendous experience of hearing God’s call at the divisional congress in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2017. From that moment, I witnessed God moving mountains for me to go to CFOT. During my winter assignment in Orangeville, Ont., I saw how God uses the Army in partnership with others to provide hope at Christmastime. It goes far beyond gifts and hampers as people share the love of Christ. I would like to see God breathe new fire into the souls of Salvationists, igniting a passion and a burning desire to see souls saved.

Glenda Barrow Messengers of Grace is far more than just a sessional name to me. It embodies who I am. I came to know Christ at 34 years old and personally know the transformative power of his grace at work. One meaningful experience I had at CFOT was my field placement in correctional and justice services. It was eye-opening to see Christ’s love in action in the darkest of situations. My vision for The Salvation Army is that God would speak new life into what some may perceive as dry bones through a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Appointed corps officers, New Hope Community Church, Orangeville, Ont.

Kelsie Burford April Barthau I have felt the call to officership since I was a child, but it was a journey to come to CFOT. When my husband and I were serving in Papua New Guinea as laypeople for The Salvation Army, our calling was confirmed—we were not simply following in the footsteps of our officer parents. My vision for The Salvation Army is that we would go back to our roots of meeting people where they are and spreading the love of Jesus in practical and meaningful ways, taking time with people and focusing on holiness rather than just statistical success.

Dr. Marco Herrera Lopizic Being a Messenger of Grace reminds me that the grace of God is what we want and need. I am growing in grace and I reach for God’s grace in my everyday life. I pray that our territory will grow closer to the grace of God. I have felt the call to officership since I was a child.

Growing up, I could see the hand of God in my life and my family’s life. God has shown me what he can do through us and how we can deliver the gospel to everyone. He’s shaped me and moulded me to be his servant.

God has been calling me to officership my whole life, though it took time for me to know and accept this. Each step that I’ve taken with the Lord’s guidance has led me to places I’ve needed to be to serve him, and I know he will continue to guide me. My hope for the Canada and Bermuda Territory is that we would be a place of love and acceptance. Through our teaching and serving, it is important that we portray a God who loves nonexclusively. I believe we are to create safe spaces for those who don’t have them, and through this show and teach the love of Christ.

Mark Burford During our summer assignment in Portage La Prairie, Man., my wife and I performed a baby dedication. We were able to connect with a family who used to attend the corps and heard stories of their time at the corps. We were blessed by the opportunity to minister to them.

My vision for our territory is that we would be an Army on its knees praying, an Army that accepts and adapts to change, accepts and loves all people for who they are, just as Jesus loves us for who we are, and an Army that listens to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Appointed corps officers, Flin Flon, Man.

Awaiting international appointments.

Salvationist June 2021 11 Salvationist June 2021 11

Beverly Burton The idea of officership had been in the back of my mind for many years, and when the time was right, God made it possible. A highlight of my time at CFOT was my winter assignment in Chilliwack, B.C. Watching a community pull together in difficult times to make sure no one went without a merry Christmas was very inspiring. I will never forget helping with the drive-through hamper distribution in the middle of a snowstorm and the positive attitudes of the workers on that cold day.

John Burton I have always had a strong awareness of impoverished and marginalized people, and The Salvation Army has facilitated my desire to help those suffering from poverty and injustice. My call to officership is the result of listening to God as he laid the needs of others on my heart. I felt an immediate sense of God’s presence when I heard our sessional name. Grace is an amazing gift from God, and I feel privileged to be able to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and spread this message of grace to all people.

Appointed corps officers, Glace Bay, N.S.

Dion Durdle Tony DaSilva My calling to full-time ministry happened when I fully surrendered to God during the 2019 commissioning weekend in Vancouver. One of the best experiences I had at CFOT was having meaningful conversations with Joseph, a janitor at the Centre of Hope in Winnipeg who was new to the Christian faith. Another meaningful experience was our winter assignment in Sherbrooke, Que. Going to a Frenchspeaking city when we did not speak French was a challenge. But God allowed me to receive from those in the ministry—the officers there were genuine and full of love.

Anjie DaSilva One of my most meaningful experiences at CFOT was sharing a message about the incredible, eternal value of our souls.

I found my truest self in the preparation and delivery of that message. While at CFOT, I learned the ability to shout “Grace, grace!” to the mountains I face within myself and around me. My vision for myself and my hope for The Salvation Army is that we would have the flexibility to include and accommodate the Holy Spirit in everything.

Appointed corps officers, Nelson Community Church, B.C.

12 June 2021 Salvationist

Within the first week of arriving at CFOT, a number of our session-mates gathered in my living room for a praise time and we sang Grace Is Flowing Like a River. As I think of that chorus, I pray that our session will carry the freshness of the grace of Jesus with us as we love and serve him. During my second year at CFOT, I ministered in the Winnipeg North End Church Plant. I had never had an opportunity to be a part of a new faith community at the beginning stages of growth. It was exciting to witness the fresh sense of hope and expectation among the people.

Jenelle Durdle One day during my placement at the Winnipeg Centre of Hope, I was cleaning the chapel pews with a volunteer.

I learned about this individual’s life with God and we prayed together.

Her passion for knowing God was inspiring and the evident work of the Holy Spirit in her life and her family was humbling. Although we were essentially strangers, separated by masks and COVID-regulation physical distancing, God united us in a moment of deep connection that I will never forget.

Appointed corps officer and community ministries officer, Sydney Community Church, N.S.

Rebecca Hewson I knew at the age of 13 that God called me to be a funeral director and I thought that was it. Then in 2010, we attended an Officership Information Weekend. We sensed God’s calling but weren’t ready to commit to officership yet. In August 2018, new corps officers came to our church and I had an overwhelming sense of God telling me these officers would guide us into training. I told Jory about the reaffirmation of my calling and he felt the same! We thought we had given up on officership, but all along God was still tugging at our hearts.

Jory Hewson Our experiences of hands-on ministry during our time at CFOT looked quite different than we expected, due to the pandemic. We had hoped to travel within the territory to gain exposure and field experience, but instead we remained in Winnipeg. Though we were disappointed initially, God in his faithfulness provided an amazing time of growth and blessing through our assignment at Southlands Community Church. It has been a joy to journey with this faithful and encouraging community and its exceptional leadership, who have provided us with so many intentional learning opportunities and loving support.

David Hipperson I was first called to officership while helping at senior music camp at Jackson’s Point, Ont., in 2010. I was walking to my cabin when I heard a voice say, “You can do that.” During my winter assignment in Medicine Hat, Alta., I met a man who was experiencing homelessness and battling a drug addiction. We spoke about life and his journey, and he showed me the pickup truck his father left him when he died. I was able to share an encouraging word with him, and my heart was warmed to know that God is there, even in conversations about a truck.

Appointed corps officer, Georgina Community Church, Jackson’s Point, Ont.

Tina Jatzkowski I am the only German Messenger of Grace at CFOT and therefore the only “Botschafter der Gnade.” I love my sessional name because God’s grace brought me to The Salvation Army and to Canada. Because he is graceful when I am not the best version of myself, I can be graceful to the people around me. This is what the world needs! We can only change the world around us by showing this grace. Let us be a community of brothers and sisters who deeply care for each other. Let us bring God’s love and mercy to our communities so people can find Jesus as their Saviour.

Appointed corps officer, Korps Bielefeld und Osnabrück, Germany, Lithuania and Poland Territory.

Appointed corps officers, Owen Sound Community Church, Ont.

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Aimee Thomas The most meaningful experience I had at CFOT was my second-year placement at Winnipeg’s Weston Community Church. It allowed me to see how God is moving in the Weston community and how a small church can be mighty with the Holy Spirit. It also showed me that a church is not just a building with four walls; it is a body of people who come together in the community and worship God. This inspiring group made pandemic preaching a pure joy, and I will always remember Weston and be thankful for their impact on me.

Amy Patrick My journey to officership was gradual.

After I graduated from high school seven years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka. My grandparents, Majors Glenn and Jaqueline Patrick, had been stationed in Sri Lanka, and their overseas work had always inspired me. Sri Lanka is where my inclination toward officership began. When I went to Booth University College, my desire for officership grew.

Then after graduating, during a Sunday service, I heard a voice clearly saying, “Stop making excuses; you’re doing this.” I felt many emotions through the application process, but I was reminded time and again that I was following God’s path for me.

Appointed corps officer, Edmonton Crossroads Community Church.

Patrick Penton

John Thomas

My calling to officership came at a young age, and I publicly committed to serve the Lord in this way at a 1999 congress in Newfoundland and Labrador. After graduating from Booth University College, I lived and served in South Korea for nearly 14 years, with my last ministry appointment being acting corps officer at the Korea International Corps. I enjoyed my ministry there, but I still wasn’t living the commitment I had made to serve God in full-time ministry as an officer. The Lord was calling me home to Canada. It took longer than anticipated to be commissioned, but the time has come. I am humbled and honoured to serve the Lord in this capacity and preach that there is still salvation for the world.

My time at CFOT has been blessed with community—community with God, my session-mates, the faculty and those I have met through field placements.

As a family with three boys, it was important for us to have them involved in our ministry, and some of the most meaningful experiences we’ve had were times when our families came together at community life events and monthly “in Sunday” gatherings. To see God at work in our studies and field placements was affirming, as was seeing God’s loving grace working through our family and bringing us closer to him and to each other.

Appointed corps officer, Glovertown—Circuit with Charlottetown, N.L.

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Appointed corps officers, Midland Community Church, Ont.

Lester Ward

Amanda Thompson My husband and I went to an Officership Information Weekend in 2018, and two weeks later he sent me a text saying, “We have to go.” My only response was, “I know.” Although this journey has not always been easy, I have never felt such peace that we are following the path God has called us to. COVID19 has changed some of our training experiences, but God has still provided opportunities for connection during the pandemic. It has been amazing to see how even though we are working within restrictions, God is moving in people’s lives and in my own. God’s grace is not limited.

Jeremy Thompson These two years at CFOT have been a time when I have visioned for the future.

I have been able to see purpose behind all my classes, field work and community living, and how these experiences will prepare me for ministry with forward momentum in the 21st century. My vision for The Salvation Army is that we will continually seek creative ways to be transformative in our communities through the intentional communication of Scripture.

Appointed corps officers, Downtown East Community Church, Toronto.

In my second year of training as a fieldbased cadet, I was serving lunch to people in need in Moose Jaw, Sask. One gentleman approached me and asked if he could speak with me privately. He told me that my presence expressed to him and others experiencing homelessness that they were loved and cared for. It was not just about doing, but about being present in their reality.

This really tugged on my heart as I knew I was where God needed me to be.

Spending time connecting with these beautiful people has made my ministry so worth it.

Almeta Ward My call to officership did not include any dramatic experiences but was an ongoing awareness. I knew God was calling me but was unsure of what that would look like. Initially I was excited, then doubt and fear began to overcome me. I was shy, quiet and from a small town, and yet God was calling me into the unknown to serve him in ministry.

I was overwhelmed at first, but as time went on, I realized saying yes to God was what I must do. I feel blessed to have this sessional name because it is through God’s grace that I can be who he has called me to be.

Appointed community ministries director and corps officer, and corps officer and community ministries officer, Moose Jaw, Sask.

Amber Wareham God called me to officership in 2017 at women’s camp in the Maritime Division.

Then the calling of my husband, Brent, confirmed my own calling. God has shown me time and time again that his grace is sufficient. God is the ultimate example of showing grace and I will strive to live in it, offering grace to others and to myself. My vision for The Salvation Army is one of transformation.

May we allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to bring glory to the Most High.

Brent Wareham Our sessional name is a constant reminder of my calling to lead a graceful life of loving service to our true King. My vision for The Salvation Army is to seek justice for our youth, have mercy for the aged and walk humbly with our God. My most meaningful experience at CFOT was during my first-year placement which included having to preach at a prison. I spoke about Jesus openly and plainly to six inmates. The next week I found out they asked when I would be returning. I was humbled at how God used me to show his love for those young men that night.

Appointed corps officers, Thompson, Man.

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A Summer to Remember How Salvation Army camping ministry is adapting in 2021.

BY MAJOR TERENCE HALE

J

ust like the morning wind catches the flag as it runs up the camp flagpole, we feel the wind of the Spirit stirring as we look forward to a summer of ministry to young people. This fresh wind whispers the word “opportunity” to our hearts.

What makes something an opportunity instead of a setback?

Is it optimism? Hope? Faith? I suggest that it is about gaining the Father’s perspective. Jesus calls us to have healthy—or generous— eyes in Matthew 6:22. Can we see that our circumstances—an The Maritime Division’s Scotian Glen Camp (SGC) in Nova Scotia is looking forward to road-tripping this summer to engage in ministry and camp-like fun in local communities. We’re pleased to offer a “Camp in a Box” resource, which includes a virtual connection to camp.

We’ve also planned fun days on site at SGC, where ministry units can plan to visit with a group of campers.

Major Carson Decker is the divisional youth secretary and divisional secretary for candidates in the Maritime Division.

ongoing pandemic that has caused us to change our camping model for a second summer—are not a setback? What if they are an opportunity for a new thing?

We like to have plans and backup plans, but with God, there is no plan B—there is just his plan. As we prepare for the 2021 camping season, some of our divisional youth leaders share the opportunities God has given them for the days ahead.

with. We are celebrating the constancy and evidence of the Lord’s presence working in our planning and preparation.

Captain Joyce Downer is the divisional youth secretary and divisional secretary for candidates in the British Columbia Division.

In the Ontario Division, we are looking forward to new ventures this summer.

In addition to virtual programs and “Camp on Screen,” we will be hosting adventure days at Jackson’s Point Camp, when children and youth will

come to share in a day of swimming, having fun on the new climbing wall, playing outdoor games, a campfire and a delicious picnic lunch. We are also launching Soul Leadership, a great summer experience for 20-25 young adults who will be involved in new camping ministry opportunities and be part of intentional leadership development and discipleship opportunities.

Captain Jodi Dunstan is the divisional youth secretary, divisional secretary for candidates and assistant executive director of Ontario Camping Ministries in the Ontario Division.

In Bermuda, we are excited to minister in new ways. We have two weeks of “Camp at Home” planned and have decided to introduce both “Camp in a Box” and virtual camp days. Most exciting is the way we are preparing to spend time with our staff, with a focus on leadership development. God has pushed us out of our box, and we are the better for it!

Lieutenant Adriane Cartmell is the corps officer at West End Community Church in Sandys, Bermuda, and the divisional youth secretary and divisional secretary for candidates in the Bermuda Division.

The British Columbia Division is thrilled to engage with campers where they are this summer. Our constant passion is to share the love of Jesus with children; to invest in our teens and young adults by providing leadership and discipleship opportunities; to partner with ministry units, supporting them in connecting with families in their communities; and to be good stewards of the beautiful camps that we have been entrusted 16 June 2021 Salvationist

Mjr Carson Decker enjoys a s’more

(left) Mjr Carson Decker and Cdts Zach and Julia Marshall host a virtual campfire (below) Mjr Teresa Decker (right) joins the campfire crew

This summer, we are getting creative and will be hiring on-site staff at Beaver Creek Camp (BCC) in Saskatchewan to provide a virtual experience for campers across the division. Some ministry units will host children at their site, building relationships as they tune in to the interactive sessions that we will provide live from BCC. Other units will connect with families and deliver boxes so that they have the material and can tune in from home. We will also be providing leadership training with an Indigenous perspective for all our staff to equip them to return to their corps, ready to lead.

Captain Norm Porter is the divisional youth secretary and divisional secretary for candidates in the Prairie Division.

There is a fresh start ahead of us this summer—what will we learn? What new kingdom initiatives will change the face of ministry to children and youth? How many children and young people will come into dynamic contact with Christ and go on to chart a path of eternal impact through their lives? Jesus still plans on saving and changing lives. We invite you to join us in prayer and ministry in the days ahead. It’s going to be a summer to remember.

Major Terence Hale is the territorial children and youth secretary.

“Camp in a Box” is one way The Salvation Army is reaching out to young people this summer

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Illustration: Raphael Silva/Lightstock.com

The Lord’s Prayer Seventy short words that change the world.

BY DONALD E. BURKE

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ith just 70 words in English and taking less than a minute to recite, the Lord’s Prayer, nevertheless, is the most frequently used prayer in Christianity. Its importance was recognized early in Christian history; the late-first-century Christian manual of instruction, known as the Didache, required that the Lord’s Prayer be recited three times each day. Since then, the 18 June 2021 Salvationist

prayer has been a standard component of Christian worship and devotion. But more than this, the Lord’s Prayer addresses and expresses our unique human composition as earthy creatures who are yet drawn upward toward God. In effect, the Lord’s Prayer draws heaven and earth together.

Of course, the Lord’s Prayer is important in the first instance because it was given to us by Jesus. As recounted in Luke

11, the disciples had observed Jesus’ discipline of prayer and how it shaped his life.

They wanted to share in that experience, so they requested that Jesus teach them how to pray. We, as the successors to the disciples, receive this prayer as Jesus’ pattern for prayer.

But I think the resonance that the Lord’s Prayer has for us goes deeper. I would argue that we were born to pray.

It’s built into the core of who we are as human beings, since we were brought into existence by God and we continue to exist because of God’s provision and active concern for us. Thus, human life finds its meaning and purpose—its beginning and end—in God, and our lives are most fully human when they are grounded in God. Heaven and Earth From another angle, the Lord’s Prayer reflects our human constitution. On the one hand, we are created from the dust of the ground, fragile and fraught with the limitations of our earthiness. We hunger, we thirst, we bleed and we suffer. As a result, we search for food, we seek out water, we long for healing and we chase after peace and rest. We are creatures of the earth. Yet on the other hand, we are also given life by the very breath of God. Thus, while we are tied to the earth, we are also drawn toward heaven. While we are finite, we snatch glimpses of things that transcend our limitations. So, while limited by our earthy frame and all its constraints, we nevertheless have within us a drive to see beyond ourselves; we have a thirst for something or Someone beyond us. While we are earthy, we also know that we have been created for more.

It is for this reason, I think, that the Lord’s Prayer opens with a focus on God, our heavenly Father. We pray for the hallowing of God’s name, the coming of God’s kingdom and the doing of God’s will. This focus on heaven resonates with the divine breath that gives us life.

The prayer, however, goes on to focus on more earthly matters: daily bread, forgiveness for ourselves and others, deliverance from temptation and protection from evil.

This is the stuff of our everyday, earthy existence. The Lord’s Prayer holds us together—dust of the ground and divine breath—and places us before God. It draws together heaven and earth in 70 short words.

Finally, in the doxology with which it closes, Jesus’ prayer reminds us that the glory, kingdom and power belong to God; always have and always will.

Human claims of sovereignty are puny, to say nothing of idolatrous. With this conclusion, the Lord’s Prayer returns us to where it started—focused on God, our heavenly Father.

A Far Country Across the pages of Scripture, we find

that humans are both summoned to prayer and are drawn to prayer. It is part of our makeup to search for God, to pursue God. Either that, or we will try to fill the void in our hearts with all kinds of obsessions. We will be restless, seeking to achieve for ourselves what can be given to us only by God. Indeed, if there is one thing that characterizes our time and place in history, it is the restlessness and the boredom that come from our diminished lives. The Lord’s Prayer helps us to hold our lives together.

It points us toward God, the source and ground of our existence.

cupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him. He weeps over our obsessions with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence…. For too long we have been in a far country: a country of noise and hurry and crowds, a country of climb and push and shove, a country of frustration and fear and intimidation. And he welcomes us home: home to serenity and peace and joy, home to friendship and fellowship and openness, home to intimacy and acceptance and affirmation.”

The Lord’s Prayer holds us together— dust of the ground and divine breath— and places us before God.

Coming Home The Bible is united in its affirmation that God is passionate about us. God seeks us out. God loves us. And when we are estranged from God, the Lord moves toward us, going to extremes to call us back, to pave the pathway, and to lead us home.

In giving the Lord’s Prayer to his disciples, as with the rest of his ministry, Jesus was inviting them—and us— to come home, to find our place, our rest, in our heavenly Father. The Lord’s Prayer unites God’s own love for us with our need of God in one brief prayer. By accepting Jesus’ invitation to pray this prayer, we unite our voices and our hearts with the disciples of Jesus, with countless generations of Christians and ultimately with Jesus himself, as we place ourselves before our Father in heaven, acknowledging both our dependence upon God and God’s deepest love for us.

But Jesus also invited us to pray this prayer because God is listening actively.

God is leaning in to hear our petitions and receive our affirmations. God longs for our love and aches to shower his love upon us. The Lord’s Prayer is like a bridge over which that transaction—or better, that relationship—can be completed.

It’s no wonder that the Didache exhorts Christians to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day. We could do worse.

If I push a little deeper, I also come to the conclusion that not only do we need God, but also that, in some sense, God needs us. Since God is revealed most clearly in divine love, it seems reasonable to think that such love must have someone to love. How else can we account for the persistent, unrelenting pursuit of us by God? Is God not motivated by an overwhelming, consuming love for the world? Has God not “so loved the world”? It seems to me that our alienation from God—our sin—is not so much the product of breaking rules or divine laws as it is a betrayal of God’s love for the world. Like the prodigal, we have gone off to a far country.

In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster has written beautifully about our fundamental human need to find our “home” in God and God’s aching heart, which longs to welcome us home: “Today, the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoc-

Donald E. Burke is professor of biblical studies at Booth University College in Winnipeg. This is an excerpt from his book, The Lord’s Prayer: Drawing Heaven and Earth Together, which is available at Amazon.ca.

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Decolonizing Faith Learning to dismantle systems of exploitation as we seek shalom.

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ast fall, when The Salvation Army’s Ethics Centre hosted a four-part webinar series called “Moving Salvationists Beyond ‘I’m Not Racist,’ ” people wanted to continue learning about the barriers that need to be addressed, especially within the church. So, a group of Salvationists formed a study group to read Decolonizing Evangelicalism by Randy Woodley, an Indigenous theologian, and Bo Sanders, a United Methodist minister.

In the conversation of Indigenous peoples, the term “decolonization”—the process of deconstructing colonial perspectives and practices—is more than a buzzword. It is a transformational experience.

Throughout the study, participants wrestled with the implications of decolonization for themselves and for the church. In this article, they share what they learned and the impact it has made on their lives.

Damian Azak (Nisga’a Nation), corps leader, Gitwinksihlkw, B.C., carries the Salvation Army flag during the Army’s Celebration of Culture: A Journey of Reconciliation in 2018

Building Just Communities In the spring of 2020, when the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked protests around the world, it opened my eyes to the racial injustice millions of people experience. That Canada Day, as I listened to the voices of Indigenous peoples with fresh ears, I felt uncomfortable tension for the first time in my life. I had a choice: bury my head in the sand or continue listening and learning with the help of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour).

Months later, when Major Shari Russell, territorial Indigenous ministries consultant, offered a study group as a space to learn, I was eager to sit at the table with her.

20 June 2021 Salvationist

As I continue to reflect on Decolonizing Evangelicalism, I keep returning to the notion that no one people group holds all the truth. In the past, I would quickly have become defensive at such a statement, not even questioning why that was. I now realize that some of that defensiveness comes from the western, white theological views I have been taught. This book helped me understand that with colonialism comes exploitation, inequality and whole communities trapped in despair, and a history of pushing its way as the right and only way. Not only have these views not brought people into a better understanding of Christ, but they have also often moved them fur-

ther away from God’s intended shalom community, lived out so abundantly in the life of Jesus Christ. Does the gospel not call us to expose and work to dismantle such systems?

Indigenous theologies understand shalom as a welcoming community that holds co-operation over competition, community above the individual and recognizes the sacredness of all creation. Reading Randy Woodley’s words, “A shalom community may not be a perfect community, but it should be a just community,” my mind immediately thought of the Canada and Bermuda Territory’s new vision statement. If we are committed to “building communities that are just” and “walking a journey of reconciliation” as an organization, what does this mean in a practical sense? How will these statements shape our future?

May the Great Spirit lead us into shalom.

Captain Ashley Bungay is the divisional youth secretary and divisional secretary for candidates in the Newfoundland and Labrador Division.

creation, particularly how one thing is not above or below the other, it stirred me to the core. They shared how God created all things in perfect harmony, “and God saw that it was good.”

(Genesis 1:10). It was a perfect symbiosis of all things. But when humans chose to put themselves above God and went their own way, shalom was lost. All relationships were broken—our relationship with God, with creation, with ourselves and with others. For those who follow Jesus, we are called to live as citizens of the kingdom and part of that means choosing to live in the harmony way.

One way we can honour God and live this harmony way is by caring for and protecting the land. I’m a gardener and over the past few years I have been finding that I connect deeply with God when I’m in my garden. When my hands are in the dirt and I’m tending to plants I feel a connectedness to God that I rarely feel elsewhere. I feel like I’m in a place of co-sustaining creation, caring for it as it richly cares for me. One thing that stands out from the book is where the author says something along the lines of: Creation cared for you today far more than you cared for it. Isn’t that so true? God cares for us through his gift of creation, which sustains our lives.

I want to acknowledge that gift and worship God by caring for this earth and all that is in it.

Lieutenant Jennifer Henson is the corps officer at The Salvation Army’s Renew Church in West Kelowna, B.C.

The Gift of Creation I was drawn to this book club because I feel a particular invitation to pay attention to marginalized voices. The more I listen, the more I realize there is so much of God and the kingdom of heaven that I’ve missed, because I grew up with a Eurocentric lens. This new-tome perspective is enriching my relationship with God and helping me to know more about him and his ways and to grow deeper in my relationship with all he has created.

As I listened to the authors converse about the interconnectedness of all

downtown Winnipeg, we serve a large Indigenous population, and I wanted to understand the historical trauma that many of our clients bring to their interactions with us today. Reading this book made me, in turns, sad, angry, embarrassed and remorseful. I came to realize that what I was taught about how Europeans settled North America was a sanitized narrative, and that the formal end of colonialism didn’t undo the harms of colonization. The ripple effects still impact the people I work with every day, and these harms can’t be remedied by simply thinking, “It’s over—just move on.” Being trauma-informed is as vital to our work as teaching literacy or employment skills.

The biggest takeaway for me was that it’s not good enough to just feel bad or upset about the crimes of the past, or about the racial harms that I see occurring today, and not get involved. I have learned from this book that “listening bestows dignity,” especially when the listening is hard, when it hurts my feelings, when I want to interrupt with a “Yes, but.…” We all have the power for change, regardless of where we live, what we do or how small we think our sphere of influence may be. We can all learn to really listen.

Finally, the authors discuss the concept of shalom, demonstrating how the Indigenous culture is much closer to this concept than modern western culture. The shalom that God intended includes co-operation, respect, tolerance, understanding of diversity and a spirit of consensus-making. These are pillars of Indigenous culture. In contrast, western culture is characterized by a more competitive spirit, where many people put themselves and their own well-being above others.

The authors conclude their book with this quote: “The exploitation of the poor and the marginalized, is the very opposite of the shalom empire of love.”

I pray that my life and my work will recognize, understand and not recreate the trauma of the past. May my life provide shalom to those with whom I am blessed to share this land.

Mandy Marsland is a program supervisor at The Salvation Army’s Weetamah Corps and Community Services in Winnipeg.

Listening Bestows Dignity In my work with The Salvation Army in Salvationist June 2021 21

lands outside Europe) ever was.

My personal process of decolonizing is just beginning, and I recognize that this process will challenge my preconceived framework of belief. Participating in this book study helped in moving me along in what I am sure will be a lifelong process.

Cadet Nathanael Hoeft is a member of the Messengers of Reconciliation Session at the College for Officer Training in Winnipeg.

Doctrine of Discovery While reading and discussing this book, I learned some of the ways that a settler mindset can put our Creator into a box and perhaps limit the ways we perceive him. I have also been reminded of all the times that the Bible speaks against the ways of empire. Alongside this, I was challenged by the question asked in the book: “Has your denomination benefited from its relationship with colonial powers?” In response to this question, it is hard not to notice Salvation Army history pointing to a colonial expansion largely across the British territories of the world.

This is not to say that our entire structure needs to be upended and started from scratch. Through discussion and reflection, I believe there are many ways for our movement to continue forward in a process of decolonization.

There are different parts of life to decolonize, including our personal past, our organizational structure and our theology. There must be an active effort on our part since change will not happen without putting in the work and time and being willing to sit in the resulting discomfort. The more people who engage in this difficult process, the more widespread the impact will be. Our theology, and our God, for that matter, transcend our methods of understanding. So when we decolonize our theological systems, we start to find answers to our theological questions in places we didn’t expect and in people who the colonizers thought of as “savage” and “heathen,” and yet whose beliefs are more connected to our Creator than the “Doctrine of Discovery” (the legal framework that justified the colonization of 22 June 2021 Salvationist

less than we were created to be.

Finally, I learned more about the deep connectedness that Indigenous peoples have to land. As Woodley so beautifully describes: “For Indigenous people, land gives us identity but is also part of the covenant story between the people and the Creator. It is seen as both a gift and a responsibility for cosustaining. Indigenous peoples believe that if the divine spirit is in everything, everything is sacred. Every place. The land itself. Given this, one cannot abuse the land or the people on the land without violating its sacredness.”

This book has taught me that shalom is more than a greeting, as I previously understood it. It is about expressing practical love through structures and systems and creating room for the marginalized to be empowered. It’s about expressing tangible love through hospitality and getting rid of imbalances of power that create and recreate injustices. If justice doesn’t exist, shalom is shallow. Shalom is real, concrete and practical.

Ruth Moulton attends Heritage Park Temple in Winnipeg.

The Way Forward In 2018, Heritage Park Temple in Winnipeg sent delegates to a lay leadership conference, where they attended a session led by Major Shari Russell.

Afterwards, they expressed a strong desire to learn more about the history, culture and beliefs of Indigenous peoples, and put together a team to plan a weekend (since deferred due to the pandemic). When I learned through the Indigenous ministries Facebook page that Major Shari would be leading a book club, it seemed like a great way for me to personally keep this vision alive.

One of the significant things I learned is that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather indifference and disconnectedness. There is a real danger of repeating the past if those who have been oppressed and marginalized are not part of charting the way forward.

Their experiences and desires must be heard with open minds and hearts.

Another thing that will stay with me is Woodley’s assertion that if power is used in an unjust way, both those wielding the power and those being treated unjustly suffer, as we understand ourselves as

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada. Although it’s important to learn about the experience of Indigenous peoples, it’s even more important to learn from Indigenous peoples, because they have much to teach us.

For further resources, including an introduction to First Nations theology, guidelines on land acknowledgments and ceremonies, and how to build positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, visit: salvationist.ca/indigenousministries.

Valued and Equal How a Salvation Army school is transforming the lives of children with albinism in Tanzania.

BY MAJOR HEATHER MATONDO

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n June 13, people around the world will observe International Albinism Awareness Day. While it is a rare condition, it is important to bring attention to people with albinism and, ultimately, fight the stigma many of them face. The Salvation Army in Tanzania has been instrumental in this fight.

Albinism is a genetic condition that results in a lack of pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes, causing vulnerability to the sun and bright light. As a result, most individuals with albinism are visually impaired and are more prone to developing skin cancer.

Albinism is more prevalent in SubSaharan Africa, and it is estimated that one in every 1,400 people in Tanzania has albinism. Unfortunately, individuals born with albinism often experience many challenges. Along with health concerns, they face discrimination, violence and even death due to beliefs, myths and superstitions, especially in areas where most people are dark-skinned.

A Safe Place for Learning In Swahili, the word matumaini means hope, and that is exactly what The Salvation Army gives at the Matumaini Primary School for Children with Disabilities in Tanzania. Established in 1969, Matumaini is a primary boarding school for nearly 200 children aged 7-20. It is the largest school of its kind in the country with children coming from communities across Tanzania.

Matumaini provides a safe place of learning for children who are disabled, including individuals with albinism. Children are reminded that, in the eyes of God, all people are valued and equal.

At Matumaini, children with albinism not only receive high-quality education, but also necessary care catered to their individual needs. Children with albinism are very sensitive to the sun and therefore require sunscreen, sunglasses and sun-protective clothing and hats when outside. Matumaini provides all of the necessary precautionary measures for children with albinism, as well as provid-

At Matumaini Primary School for Children with Disabilities in Tanzania, children with albinism receive a highquality education

ing regular health checkups and arranging for any necessary medical treatments.

But Matumaini is not just about meeting the needs of the children today. They are also given the opportunity to dream of the future and set goals for when they leave Matumaini. While the social environment of Tanzania doesn’t always provide an atmosphere that would bring hope for a great future, The Salvation Army is building hope in the children.

The after-school program at Matumaini provides an opportunity for students to learn skills such as sewing and shoemaking. These skills will be a great asset when the children complete school and begin life on their own, as they can use these skills to earn an income.

Matumaini also has an active recreation program where the children can build their social skills and learn to work together as a team and independently.

All of these activities help to build selfesteem and confidence.

Life-Changing Impact Heri Abdallah is a 14-year-old boy who has albinism and lives at Matumaini. His mother, a single parent, brought him to Matumaini when he was seven years old. She took him out of a local public school for security reasons; because of the assumptions many people in Tanzania have regarding people with albinism, his safety was at risk.

Today, Heri is in Standard 7 at Matumaini. According to Heri, life at Matumaini is wonderful and pleasant. He says that his life has changed so much since he came to the school. He has been positively impacted spiritually, mentally and physically through the services provided there. Heri’s dream is to study science and become a scientist. He has hope for a bright future, thanks to his experiences at Matumaini and the support of the staff.

The Canada and Bermuda Territory’s Brighter Futures Children’s Sponsorship Program has been supporting Matumaini for more than four years, and continues to provide funding through a partnership with four other territories. Because of the support of our sponsors, we are able to invest in the children at Matumaini, who are treated with dignity and have hope thanks to the care and support they receive from The Salvation Army.

Major Heather Matondo is the sponsorship co-ordinator for the Brighter Futures Children’s Sponsorship Program.

Salvationist June 2021 23

Another Brick in the Wall Booth University College’s Bricks in the Bistro fundraising campaign aims at building the institution one block at a time.

BY KEN RAMSTEAD

Happy Booth University College staff, students and visitors gather at Booth Bistro

O

ne of the first things Georgine Van de Mosselaer noticed when she arrived at Winnipeg’s Booth University College in 2017 was the bricks.

“They’re everywhere, and you learn to love them,” the college’s director of advancement smiles. “It’s part of the sense of permanence and stability of Booth UC. Other than Hetherington Chapel, the place where students, staff and faculty gather the most is Booth Bistro, and, again, two of the four sides are clad with bricks.”

The other thing that was immediately apparent to Van de Mosselaer was that there was no donor wall on the premises of Booth UC, recognizing those generous people—past, present and future—who have played a pivotal part in the growth of the institution.

Out of these two observations came the Bricks in the Bistro fundraising campaign.

A Great Need “There’s never ever enough money for higher education. It’s as simple as that,” says Lt-Colonel Lloyd Hetherington, second president of the college. “Education is costly. Real estate, bricks, mortar and personnel cost a lot of money. But you’ve got to have them; that’s just being realistic.”

That need is compounded by student bursary funding and financial aid. And COVID-19 has only amplified that need.

Key Spot “This is the first significant fundraising campaign that Booth UC has ever run,” 24 June 2021 Salvationist

says Dr. Donald Burke, formerly interim president.

“We wanted to do something to recognize donors that would be visual both on campus and virtually,” he continues.

“And we wanted recognition levels that were affordable, acknowledging that not everyone can contribute in a major way, though every contribution is major to us.”

In her time as a fundraiser, Van de Mosselaer has seen commemorative floor tiles and staircases, but she also knew that it was not uncommon to use bricks in this fashion.

“There are a lot of bricks in the Waldron Building, where Booth Bistro is located,” she says. “I thought it would be nice to have a donor recognition there, because every student that comes through our doors, past and present, has spent time there. And being a fan of alliteration when it comes to campaigns, ‘Bricks in the Bistro’ came to mind.”

If you would like to purchase a Brick in the Bistro, go to boothuc.ca/ bricks-in-the-bistro

Dedicated to the Future Instead of engraving the bricks, an acrylic panel will be suspended just in front of the walls. There will be three sizes of bricks depending on the donation level, and there is the opportunity to commemorate someone special with a dedication.

For instance, Lt-Colonel Hetherington’s wife had recently passed away when he received the fundraising mailing for Bricks in the Bistro.

What a beautiful way to build a memorial to her by buying a brick to place there in the college where we spent six years together, he thought.

Students, staff, teachers and visitors will see this and other inspirational messages when they sit and dine in Booth Bistro.

During the pandemic, the donor wall will be virtual and located on the Booth UC website. The physical donor wall will be unveiled at the college’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2022.

Building Booth UC For Van de Mosselaer, the bricks are apropos.

“When you buy a brick, usually you’re building something—a patio, a garden wall—so by donating bricks to Booth Bistro, you’re helping to metaphorically build the institution.

“Building knowledge, building faith, building community. A brick builds many things. It builds students. It builds a better world.”

MILLENNIAL VOICES

We Are Vectors of God’s Love If we want to reach the millennial generation, we need to rediscover our place among outsiders and other misfits.

A

lthough I grew up in a Christian family, I never really felt like I belonged in church. As a teenager, questions of sexuality, peer pressure and the desire for social belonging were things we wrestled with outside of church, not at youth group. I remember thinking, Am I the only one more concerned about my school bully than I am about my church involvement? Is it wrong for me to bring up the issues I’m facing? Are they taboo or too complex?

I began to feel like an outsider, and not welcomed as my true self.

The places I experienced belonging were outside the church, where I had permission to be the “real” Jordan, where I was not expected to dress or act a certain way, where it was OK to explore and ask questions.

One Sunday, our church band unexpectedly ended up without percussion.

As a trained drummer, I offered to help.

Although I followed Jesus, I didn’t belong to that church as a full member, so my offer was declined. This is not a good strategy to encourage young people or build a church. Experiences like these left a bad taste in my mouth, as I felt there was more emphasis on belonging in a certain way rather than being a follower of Jesus. Eventually, I left church behind me.

Years later, my parents, who are Salvation Army officers, were appointed to a “mission” corps with a focus on ministry to people who were experiencing homelessness, streetworkers and people who lived on the margins of the community. We offered community and family services, a drop-in café and a food bank. Witnessing the mission of The Salvation Army resonated with me so much that I completely changed my life plans to pursue joining this movement. I was now able to use my spiritual gifts, to serve marginalized people and to be among outsiders. I felt like I was living like Jesus.

I had finally found a place where faith was practiced in a way that made sense to me, where I could be part of The Salvation Army, where I felt I belonged.

BY JORDAN PINKSEN The focus wasn’t on how you looked on a Sunday, what group you belonged to or your position on a hierarchy. The ground was level—social and economic barriers seemed to disappear. Judgment was absent and all people were welcomed.

service, prayer, worship and sacrifice. It is both who we are and the direction we are headed as Jesus’ followers.

I think I speak for the millennial generation to say that if we can recapture this sense of mission as The Salvation Army, we would see a revival and the return of passionate young adults to the church. My generation is hungry for purpose in their lives and willing to commit to a cause we believe in. We want to be our unique selves, without shame, and we are seeking meaningful relationships with other shamelessly unique people. We are not ashamed to have questions, doubts and fears, and we gravitate toward places where we feel our voices are heard. Ultimately, we want to positively impact our world.

“

My generation is hungry for purpose in their lives and willing to commit to a cause we believe in.

”

It was church taken right from the playbook of Jesus himself. He showed us what it meant to be the church—that it was for everyone. Jesus’ life demonstrates that following him is not about gathering for an hour once a week. It is a lifestyle in which we open ourselves to be vectors of God’s love to others through acts of

“The Salvation Army exists to share the love of Jesus Christ, meet human needs and be a transforming influence in the communities of our world.” These words are powerful because this generation is passionate about social and economic justice. If we want to attract a new generation to take up the mission and transform our communities, we need to look to Jesus’ example and find ourselves among outsiders and other misfits. What would it mean for us if our churches looked more like a drop-in café, where we grow together through service, and everyone is welcomed just as they are? It may just change the course of this generation, like it did for my life.

Jordan Pinksen is the business manager at The Salvation Army Downtown East Community Church and Family Services in Toronto.

Salvationist June 2021 25

FAMILY MATTERS

Bored Silly An invitation to unstructured time.

Photo: D-Keine/E+ via Getty Images

BY CAPTAIN BHREAGH ROWE

B

“

ut Mom, that’s boring!” I remember the first time I heard my son, Maverick, say those words. My heart sank just a little. For the first five years of his life, everything was an adventure. He could get excited about watching paint dry. But then the word bored was introduced into his vocabulary, and all of a sudden, this momma was deep in the trenches of parenting.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. One of the greatest tragedies of our time is just how quickly kids are forced to grow up. They see more, hear more and know more, at an earlier age, than ever before. All this knowledge is creating anxious, bored kids, with a constant need for entertainment.

Are we surprised? As adults, we are numbing our boredom every day with the latest and greatest (or trashiest) reality TV and mindless scrolling on social media.

We don’t even remember what it’s like to be bored so, directly or indirectly, we are raising kids who do not know this feeling 26 June 2021 Salvationist

either. It’s a problem now, and it will only get worse as these kids grow into adults.

You might be thinking that this is just the world we live in and we need to prepare our kids for what it will be like. That’s what I thought for a quick second, too, but then I realized just how dangerous that thinking is.

Imagine this situation. You go to a sporting event for one of your kids, and the other gets bored watching. What do most of us do? We hand them a screen, and, bam, the boredom is gone. I’m not here to judge; my husband and I do this, too, and we are still trying to break bad screen habits developed during the pandemic. But consider what the child will miss with a screen in their face: cheering or encouraging their sibling or friend, making friends, enjoying nature, engaging with grown-ups, unstructured play, learning the skill of patience, spending time with you.

We over-schedule, overstimulate and over-busy our kids all in the name of learning when, in reality, all that over-

structuring is creating exactly what we are trying to avoid—kids with little-to-no imagination, creativity or basic life skills.

It might sound harsh, but it’s the hard truth that can result in the biggest and most beautiful changes.

Let’s address one thing before we look at what to do. Those of you from previous generations (I’m looking at you, boomers!) are probably clapping right now, because this is what you believe and have no idea why we do things the way we do. But no matter how much you think “parenting is parenting,” it’s just not the case. We are raising kids in a world and a culture that is completely different than when you raised kids. We are raising kids in a world different than it was just a year ago (hello, COVID-19). Most parents today have the best intentions, so when you see us struggling or doing something you think is “wrong,” give us some love and grace, please!

Here are some ideas and things to remember: • Boredom sparks creativity. You do not always need to fix your kid’s boredom.

• Don’t be afraid to be the uncool parent.

• Provide child-sized explanations and experiences, not adultsized.

• If your child’s basic needs are met, letting them have uninterrupted downtime is a beautiful gift.

• Make a list of all the things they can do that do not involve screens just within the boundaries of your home.

• Schedule one Saturday a month where you do nothing together as a family.

• Bring back the Sunday afternoon drive.

Remember your parenting mission—is it to raise little humans who go with the flow and are consumed by this adult world, or is it to raise passionate followers of Jesus who live in, but are not of, the world? One of the best foundations for life is to give kids the gift of white space, adventure and innocence. Friends, let them be bored.

Captain Bhreagh Rowe is the community ministries officer at St. Albert Church and Community Centre in Edmonton.

CROSS CULTURE

The Science-Fiction Makers New film highlights authors of Christian sci-fi.

REVIEW BY KRISTIN OSTENSEN

S

ince the first work of science fiction, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, was written 200 years ago, the genre has only grown in popularity and cultural influence. Over the past decade, box offices and bestseller lists have been dominated by works of science fiction such as Star Wars and The Hunger Games.

While there are many sub-genres of science fiction, from space opera to steampunk to Afrofuturism, there is one category that is not often talked about: Christian science fiction. A new feature-length documentary film hopes to change that.

The Science-Fiction Makers focuses its attention on three Christian science fiction pioneers: Victor Rousseau, C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L’Engle. It is the second film in the Faith in Imagination Series by Winnipeg-based writer and director Andrew Hall, and features interviews with academics, authors and ministers, including Booth University College’s Dr. Michael Boyce.

Before delving into its three main subjects, the film sets the stage with a brief historical look at science fiction. Since its beginning, the film asserts, the genre has been concerned with the “big questions.” Frankenstein, with its Creature, asks questions about the nature of the soul and what it means to be human. Later authors such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells look at the relationship between humans and the machines they make, asking how technology is going to shape humanity.

With those themes in mind, the film introduces its first subject, Victor Rousseau. Though he is largely unknown today, the film identifies Rousseau as the first writer of Christian science fiction.

His The Messiah of the Cylinder, written in 1914 and published in 1917, is a response to secularism. Using cryogenics as time travel, Rousseau imagines a future society where science has

replaced faith. His book shows how the absence of faith creates a loss—the world needs Christianity to deal with ethical issues raised by science and technology.

The second author explored in the film should be very familiar to viewers, though perhaps not as a science fiction writer. While he’s better known for his Narnia series, C.S. Lewis wrote a trilogy of Christian science fiction first. The Science-Fiction Makers goes through each book in detail, demonstrating how Lewis uses science fiction to explore ideas in his own life. Out of the Silent Planet, the first in the trilogy, is a sharp critique of colonialism; Voyage to Venus, the second book, is a retelling of the story of the Fall; and That Hideous Strength, written during the Second World War, depicts a totalitarian society where human life is devalued. The Science-Fiction Makers does a great job of situating these works in their historical context, as well as Lewis’ other theological writings.

Finally, the film turns its attention to Madeleine L’Engle, best known for A Wrinkle in Time. Easily the most popular book of those discussed in the documentary, Wrinkle was fairly radical for its time, featuring a young girl as its lead character whose flaws are actually her strengths. As a work of Christian science fiction, Wrinkle is notable for how it combines science and spirituality, as well as its depiction of evil.

If there is one thread that connects all the books discussed in The Science-Fiction Makers, it is that religion and science are not at war with each other. Christian science fiction provides a counter-narrative to the idea that science makes faith irrelevant— we need theology in dialogue with technology.

If the film has one flaw, however, it’s that it makes it seem like Christian science fiction ended with L’Engle. Let’s hope that’s not the case.

The Science-Fiction Makers is available on demand through Super Channel and Amazon Prime.

IN THE NEWS Report: COVID-19 Impacts Christian Charities

A

new report from Waybase has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the well-being of Canadian Christian charities and leaders. The report is based on a survey of more than 3,100 leaders from 2,700 churches and ministries from every province and territory, representing 141 Christian denominations and traditions.

Results of the survey were mixed. While 13 percent of leaders reported thriving during the pandemic, 28 percent said they were struggling with their creativity and work.

Also positive is the finding that three out of four churches (78 percent) have maintained or increased their giving to local and global needs. However, Christian ministries are projected to have declined $0.8-$1.5 billion (seven percent) in revenue for 2020. (The Salvation Army, gratefully, has bucked this trend, raising a record amount of funds in 2020.)

Read the whole report at waybase.com/research/reports.

Salvationist June 2021 27

PEOPLE & PLACES

Painting for Partners in Mission HALIFAX—Mjr Bern Borden was the guest visual artist at Keshen Goodman Public Library in Halifax in January. The art exhibit featured many of his watercolour, acrylic and oil paintings, which were available for purchase. Mjr Borden says he started painting at the encouragement of his Grade 8 teacher while growing up in Corner Brook, N.L., and through the years has taken various art classes and exhibited his work in Winnipeg, Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L., and Halifax.

Now enjoying retirement in Halifax with family and friends, he encourages others to use their God-given talents to bless others. Following the event, Mjr Borden donated $1,000 to the Partners in Mission campaign at Halifax Citadel Community Church in support of the Army’s work in Zambia. “Jesus told his disciples to love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul, but then to love their neighbours as much as they love themselves,” he says. “In this case, my neighbour lives in Zambia.”

ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—It’s an exciting day at St. John’s West Corps as Jake Denine is enrolled as a junior soldier. Celebrating with him are, from left, CSM Sylvia Tulk; Mjrs Reid Colbourne and Phyllis Blundell-Colbourne, COs; Celestine Clarke, holding the flag; Jennifer George, acting JSS; and Cpts Ashley and Sheldon Bungay, DYSs, N.L. Div.

OTTAWA—Ottawa Citadel rejoices as nine junior soldiers are enrolled. Main photo, from left, Josiah, Davina, Eddy, Myriame, Keysha, Kyarah and Joshua.

Inset photo, from left, CJ and Chelsea, who joined the celebration virtually.

GAZETTE INTERNATIONAL Appointments: Aug 1—Lt-Cols Bo/Christina Jeppsson, TC/TPWM, Sweden and Latvia Tty, with rank of col; Mjrs Jan/Kjersti Risan, TC/ TPWM, Denmark and Greenland Tty, with rank of lt-col; Lt-Cols Rajam Daniel/Daniel Raj, TSWM/CS, India South Western Tty; Lt-Cols Jashwant/ Ruth Mahida, CS/TSWM, India Northern Tty TERRITORIAL Appointments: Mjr Sharon Hayward, community and family services officer, Montreal Family Services, Que. Div (additional responsibility); Jul 2—Mjr Linda Budgell, DSWM, N.L. Div; Mjr Wade Budgell, divisional property co-ordinator, N.L. Div; Mjr Keith Pike, DC, Maritime Div; Mjr Shona Pike, divisional secretary for officer personnel, Maritime Div, and associate director of non-campus-based training, CFOT (additional responsibility); Mjr Melisa Tardif Marcoux, DC, Que. Div Retirement: Mjr Mary Avendano Promoted to glory: Mjr Robert Dyck, Apr 4; Mjr Evelyn Stepto, Apr 6; Mjr Joan Dehmel, Apr 12; Mrs. Mjr Evelyn Amos, Apr 20

CALENDAR Commissioners Floyd and Tracey Tidd: Jun 11 retirement of Mjrs Beverly/David Ivany (virtual); Jun 13 covenant day for Messengers of Grace Session, CFOT (virtual); Jun 14 Territorial Executive Conference (virtual); Jun 19-20 commissioning weekend (virtual); Jun 28 Territorial Executive Conference (virtual) Colonel Evie Diaz: Jun 1 review and orientation, CFOT (virtual); Jun 13 covenant day for Messengers of Grace Session, CFOT (virtual); Jun 14 Territorial Executive Conference (virtual); Jun 19-20 commissioning weekend (virtual)

28 June 2021 Salvationist

WINNIPEG—Shayne Stanton is enrolled as a senior soldier at Weetamah Corps.

From left, Mjr Mervyn Halvorsen; Mjr Gordon Taylor, who officiated the enrolment ceremony; Shayne Stanton; and Cpt Bethany and Lt Brian Dueck, COs.

TRIBUTE TORONTO—Major Thomas (Tom) Tuppenney was born to Salvationists Cecil and Verna and raised in the inner city of Toronto. During his rebellious youth, Tom was in a street gang until an invitation to help with a Salvation Army musical led him to rededicate his life to the Lord.

Tom entered the College for Officer Training in Toronto, where he met his future wife, Patricia (Dunn). Commissioned in 1975, he was appointed to Yorkton, Sask., and they married the following year. While in Yorkton, Tom was invited to an AA meeting, which started his lifelong passion for serving those facing addictions and marginalization. After ministering in corps in Regina, Toronto and Napanee, Ont., Tom served at Harbour Light in Winnipeg and Toronto, where he started New Beginnings, a choir comprised largely of recovering addicts. A highlight of Tom’s officership was serving five years at the original, and largest, Harbor Light in Detroit, Mich. Returning to Canada, he was the behavioural health consultant in the THQ social services department and president of the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation. Tom is missed by his wife, Patricia; son, Rob; daughter, Shannon Champ (Brian), with grandsons Ryan and Nathan; sisters Judy Miller (Eric) and Carol Nemeth (Albert); many nephews and nieces.

PEOPLE & PLACES

Build a Better Booth UC with

, BOOTHUC.CA

Our Bricks in the Bistro Campaign gives you the opportunity to purchase a brick on our donor wall, and commemorate you, your family, or honour a loved one or a graduate.

As part of our 2'6" x 10' donor wall in the Booth UC Bistro, your brick could also recognize your grad class or favourite professor.

If you support Education for a Better World, then join us on the Bricks in the Bistro Donor Wall.

All donations will be directed to The Education for a Better World Annual Fund.

!

Thank you

Salvationist June 2021 29

NOT CALLED?

Rolling Up Her Sleeves For Miya Bradburn, becoming a Salvation Army officer is an act of commitment and obedience.

BY KEN RAMSTEAD singing, singing, and I wondered, When does church start? We’ve been singing for an awfully long time,” Miya laughs now.

“Not realizing that that was a big component of the worship service, I wasn’t used to that sort of free-flowing lack of ritual.”

But the more she worshipped with Jeff, the more she started to appreciate the services, the atmosphere and the people.

“

M

“

y journey to officership wasn’t due to any kind of an audible call,” says Miya Bradburn.

“It’s been a gradual realization throughout the process. But my anticipation to become a Salvation Army officer is no less strong for that.”

Church in a Thrift Store?

Unlike her husband, Jeff Robertson, Miya did not grow up in the Army.

“In fact, it’s still a bit of a joke between us that, before I met Jeff, I didn’t realize The Salvation Army was a faith denomination. I’m sure I’m not the only one.”

Other than the Christmas kettles and the thrift stores, that’s where it started and ended for her. And so when Jeff told her that he went to church at The Salvation Army, she was a bit confused.

How could you go to church inside a thrift store? she wondered.

Faith in Action While they were dating, Jeff brought his future wife to worship at Hope Community Church in Ajax, Ont., so Miya soon started learning what The Salvation Army was about. And that it was not just kettles and thrift stores.

“We would start singing and singing, 30 June 2021 Salvationist

“What attracted me to The Salvation Army was the built-in service component, that it was part of what you should do in your faith.”

—Miya Bradburn

”

“What attracted me to The Salvation Army was the built-in service component, that it was part of what you should do in your faith,” she explains. “Not that other denominations don’t do that sort of thing, but with The Salvation Army, it’s so intentional and so intertwined that people like me don’t even realize it’s a faith community in action, that the Army loves people and helps them.”

Unafraid Miya became a soldier three years after she and Jeff were married. As a former Catholic, she was accustomed to more ritual than there is at The Salvation Army.

“It makes things feel real to me,” she explains. “In terms of who I am in this place, becoming a soldier was something I could do as a sort of outward sign of my faith.”

So when Jeff emailed her that officership was on his heart and she did not immediately answer (“Very high school,” Jeff smiles.), he asked her in the kitchen a few weeks later if she had received his message.

Matter-of-factly, she replied, “Yes.” “Does it scare you?” Jeff continued.

“Well, if this is God’s calling, then why would it scare me?” she told him.

Later that year, the couple attended an Officership Information Weekend at the College for Officer Training (CFOT) in Winnipeg.

Getting It Done Now lay leaders at Fenelon Falls, Ont., Miya and Jeff have been asked to stay there for another year as field-based tailored training (FBTT) cadets starting in July. At the end of the FBTT, they will be commissioned as Salvation Army officers.

“Jeff is more the up-front leader,” says Miya. “I’ve always preferred to be the background person doing the work that needs to be done. But becoming a Salvation Army officer is an act of commitment and obedience. If they need me to lead, I’ll do that. I’ll roll up my sleeves and get it done.”

“I’ve always preferred to be the background person doing the work that needs to be done,” says Miya Bradburn. “But if The Salvation Army needs me to lead, I’ll do that”

Because I want to advance social justice in my city

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If the Shoe Fits ...

Finding a Father

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A Mentor’s Wisdom

“DON’T QUIT” P.22

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

JUNE 2021

PHIL CALLAWAY PRAYED FOR “HELP” THAT HIS SON AND DAUGHTER-INLAW WOULD FIND A BABY TO ADOPT. P.14

Finding Ezra

Feeling Washed Up? A woman once met a young girl while walking along the beach. The girl was picking up washed-up starfish and tossing them back into the sea.

“Why are you wasting your time doing that?” the woman asked. “There are thousands of starfish. You can’t throw them all back. Does it matter?”

The girl held up a starfish and said, “It matters to this one.”

Are you feeling stranded, defeated or “washed up”? Like the starfish, we matter to God. He sent Jesus into the world to save us and show us how to live full lives. “ He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and assigns each a name. Our Lord is great, with limitless strength.”

—Psalm 147:3-5 (The Message)

 T o begin a relationship with God today, visit our website faithandfriends.ca, contact us at The Salvation Army Editorial Department, 2 Overlea Blvd., Toronto, Ont. M4H 1P4, or visit your nearest Salvation Army church.

June 2021

VOLUME 24 NUMBER 6

FAITH BUILDERS

5 A New Hope

Flora & Ulysses teaches that there is a (super) hero in all of us.

COMMON GROUND

5

8 If the Shoe Fits …

Salmon Arm community steps up to support Salvation Army ministry.

FEATURES

If the Shoe Fits ...

Finding a Father

HELPING THE ARMY P.8 AN OPEN DOOR P.10

A Mentor’s Wisdom

“DON’T QUIT” P.22

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

JUNE 2021

10

PHIL CALLAWAY PRAYED FOR “HELP” THAT HIS SON AND DAUGHTER-INLAW WOULD FIND A BABY TO ADOPT. P.14

Finding Ezra

14

COVER STORY 20

An Open Door

How a DNA test was the missing piece to Tina Mitchell’s family puzzle.

Finding Ezra

Phil Callaway prayed for “help” that his son and his wife would find a baby to adopt.

Stories of Serving

The Salvation Army Prince George Community Church provides comfort, hope and friendship.

GOD IN MY LIFE 22 A Mentor’s Wisdom

She taught me an important lesson, both for my faith and my life.

LITE STUFF 26 Eating Healthy With Erin

Sudoku, Quick Quiz, Word Search.

NIFTY THRIFTY

10

29 From Drab to Fab

Restyle a humble socket plate into a work of art.

faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

•3

Faith&Friends

FROM THE EDITOR

Crossing That Bridge “

A

person’s story is the bridge that connects the past to the present and the future,” believes Major Tina Mitchell. This is why she felt compelled to tell her own story of adoption and highlight the process of finding her birth parents. “Historically, stories have served as vehicles to convey messages,” she says. “While only a tiny minority of children and families are touched by adoption, as a symbol of identity and belonging, adoption speaks to everyone.

And adoption stories are read eagerly by people relieved to discover that others feel the same.”

Telling Major Tina’s story fulfilled many needs: the need to discover the reality associated with the mysteries of her origin and an incomplete birth certificate; the need to search for her natal heritage; and the deep need for the connection of physical resemblance.

“I wanted to fill in the gaps in my life so that I could pass this information on to my own children,” she says.

“While it was emotionally difficult to walk through that open door,” Major Tina continues, “I had to overcome that fear and begin the search in order to live the rest of my life without regret.

It was important for me to put my story into a written narrative as a way to pass on to others the courage to possibly consider this adventure for themselves.”

Major Tina’s story is on page 10.

Elsewhere in this issue, see how a mentor taught one young woman a lesson that changed her life, and discover how one man gave his “sole” to the Army.

Ken Ramstead 4 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

Mission Statement To show Christ at work in the lives of real people, and to provide spiritual resources for those who are new to the Christian faith.

Faith & Friends is published monthly by: The Salvation Army 2 Overlea Blvd, Toronto Ontario, M4H 1P4 International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4P 4EP, England William and Catherine Booth FOUNDERS

Brian Peddle, GENERAL Commissioner Floyd Tidd TERRITORIAL COMMANDER

Lt-Colonel John P. Murray SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS Geoff Moulton, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ken Ramstead, EDITOR

Brandon Laird SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Hannah Saley DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Pamela Richardson, COPY EDITOR, PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR

Ada Leung CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR

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Giselle Randall STAFF WRITER Scripture Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from New International Version Contact Us P. (416) 467-3188, F. (416) 422-6217 Websites faithandfriends.ca, salvationist.ca, salvationarmy.ca Email faithandfriends@salvationarmy.ca Subscription for one year: Canada $17 (includes GST/HST); U.S. $22; foreign $24 P. (416) 422-6119 circulation@salvationarmy.ca All articles are copyright The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda and cannot be reproduced without permission.

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Faith&Friends

FAITH BUILDERS

A New Hope Movie teaches that there is a (super) hero in all of us.

Photos: Courtesy of Disney+

by Diane Stark

F

lora & Ulysses, streaming now on Disney+, is a children’s movie based on Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Award-winning novel by the same name.

“Born Anew” Flora Buckman (Matilda Lawler) is only 10 years old, but she already describes herself as a cynic. An avid reader, one of Flora’s favourite books is called Terrible Things Can Hap-

pen to You. And something terrible has happened to her. Her mom, a romance novelist (Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother), and her dad, a struggling comic-book writer turned hardware-store manager (Ben Schwartz), have recently separated.

Flora lives with her mom, but they have a strained relationship, and she wishes she lived with her dad.

One day, a quirky neighbour is vacuuming her lawn and accidentally

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FAITH BUILDERS

sucks up a squirrel. Flora hears the commotion and hurries to help. She performs CPR to resuscitate the little guy and then decides to take him home. She names him Ulysses after the brand of the vacuum cleaner that sucked him up.

That night, Ulysses types a message on Flora’s mom’s computer: “Squirtel. I am. Ulysses. Born anew.”

Can Flora overcome her cynicism and allow this unexpected hero to help her fix the broken pieces in her life?

Feeling Super Superhero squirrels only exist in the movies, but ordinary people with special gifts and talents are everywhere. Some of us have the

Flora believes that every superhero has a purpose, and she is determined to help Ulysses find his.

Unexpected Hero That’s when Flora decides that Ulysses’ vacuum cleaner incident has turned him into a superhero. Not only can Ulysses spell (sort of), he can fly and has super strength, too!

Flora believes that every superhero has a purpose, and she is determined to help Ulysses find his. She soon discovers that he has a real knack for helping people, including her. The little squirrel brings something into Flora’s life that she’s never allowed herself to feel: hope. But when her mom decides that Ulysses’ odd behaviour indicates that he has rabies and calls animal control to take him away, Flora stands to lose her only true friend.

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wonderful ability to read other people and intuitively know how to help them. Others have a way of making another person feel loved and accepted with just a simple smile.

Some people are sacrificially generous with their time and money, and others use a talent, such as cooking or being great with kids, to serve others.

These abilities might not seem like superpowers, but they are granted to us by God for a specific purpose. He wants us to use our talents to help others and show them His love.

When Flora was sad about her family’s problems, she said that people often look to the skies for someone to save them, and she felt

Salvation Army Media Wins 14 Awards

that Ulysses was sent to save her. But the more time she spent with him, the more she realized that she could help people, too.

“The best part of having a superhero around is how you start to feel like one, too,” she says.

A Hero in All of Us Flora’s words can be true for us as well. Spending time with kind and generous people could inspire us to be more thoughtful ourselves. Good deeds can often be contagious and helping another person can remind us that there’s always a reason to feel hopeful.

In today’s world, there are a lot of reasons to feel cynical. One look at the headlines can make us feel apprehensive about the future. Like Flora, we might look to the skies for Someone to save us. While God does save His people, He often uses other people to do it.

We don’t have to have superpowers, either. We just need to reach out and love people using the gifts that God has given us. Doing that makes each of us a superhero.

The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory’s magazines, website (Salvationist.ca) and digital media won 14 awards at the annual Canadian Christian Communicators Association ceremony this spring. The CCCA (formerly the Canadian Church Press) has 68 members, including individuals and representatives from publications of mainline, Catholic and evangelical churches. The awards are judged by accomplished secular journalists and academics.

Faith & Friends received four awards for articles published in 2020. Tricks of the Trade, a profile of magician Sawyer Bullock in the March issue, won second place in the Biographical Profile category. Dennis Jones’ drawings for October’s Best Breakfast, Quarantined, secured third place for Original Artwork.

The December Jacob’s Bell Front Cover/Page also won a third-place nod, as did May’s Ordeal in the Operating Room, for Feature Layout and Design.

Our sister magazine, Salvationist, received seven awards. Salvationist.ca took home two and our marketing and communications department received a well-deserved first place in the Marketing Campaign category for its COVID-19 national campaign: “Everyone Needs an Army.” Check out all of our winning entries online.

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COMMON GROUND

Photo: Cara Archer

Faith&Friends

If the Shoe Fits …

Salmon Arm community steps up to support Salvation Army ministry.

by Melissa Yue Wallace

F

or the third year, the owner of Kintec Salmon Arm, an orthotics and footwear company in British Columbia, collected shoes for distribution through community services at New Hope Community

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Church.

“The idea was to try to find different ways to give back to the community, and shoes are what I know, so it all just kind of fit,” says Graham Archer. As an extra

Saved Soles Graham Archer poses in front of the shoes he collected for The Salvation Army in Salmon Arm, B.C. David Byers, community services director for the past 19 years, says he was amazed by the number of shoes that Graham brought in. “He had to bring them in two different trucks because there were so many,” he laughs

incentive to his campaign, Graham matches each pair with a one-dollar cash donation.

In 2019, he collected 170 pairs and, in 2020, that number increased to 349 pairs. “It’s great to have com-

“ It’s always been my passion to give back when I can.”

GRAHAM ARCHER

munity support,” says Graham. “We doubled the amount we collected, so we’ll see how many shoes are out there in 2021!”

Since moving from Port Coquit-

lam, B.C., to Salmon Arm in 2018 for a change in lifestyle and to escape the corporate world, he and his family have enjoyed being a part of a smaller community and have involved themselves with several charitable organizations.

“It’s always been my passion to give back when I can,” he says. His 10- and 13-year-old daughters have developed a similar spirit of generosity, choosing to collect donations instead of presents for their birthdays.

Graham hopes this small effort of collecting donated shoes will make a difference to people in need in some way.

“It’s just one little thing that will allow people to get to the next step in their lives, whatever that may be,” he says.

(left) Melissa Yue Wallace is a journalism graduate and freelance writer who has a passion to help people in need and to encourage the organizations that work tirelessly to care for them. Through her writing, she has raised awareness and funds for earthquake victims in Haiti, orphaned children in South Africa, vulnerable families in Paraguay, people affected by leprosy in India, as well as local organizations in Canada. Melissa lives in Richmond Hill, Ont., with her husband and twin children.

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

Family Reunion Majors Cecil and Tina Mitchell (left) meet Bernie Cormier and his partner, Lola Ogden, for the first time

An Open Door HOW A DNA TEST WAS THE MISSING PIECE TO MY FAMILY PUZZLE.

by Tina Mitchell

I

always knew I was adopted. There were no secrets in my family. As an infant, two incredible members of The Salvation Army, William and Laura Moulton from Burin Bay, N.L., took me into their home.

I lived most of my life believing God had a special plan for my life 10 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

because they had chosen me.

I always prayed that, one day, I would meet my birth parents. My adoptive parents—now deceased— had encouraged me to find my biological family since childhood.

As I grew older, married and had children of my own, I became more

inquisitive about my birth parents.

I had many unanswered questions: I wanted to know where my ancestors were from, find out more information about my genetic makeup and obtain a health history.

While I believe that deciding to trace a birth family is an individual decision, I was hesitant and spent many years contemplating how this decision would impact other lives as well. It’s critical to have a proper support network in place before setting out on this journey.

The Adventure of a Lifetime Through my own research using government adoption records, I was fortunate to track down my birth mother’s family, the Yetmans from Bay Roberts, N.L., about 15 years ago. Sadly, I learned that my birth mother, Margaret Rose, had been tragically killed by a drunk driver when I was four years old.

This gave me a greater desire to find the missing piece of the puzzle: my biological father.

That proved to be a time-consuming and difficult process. My birth mother, unable to care for me properly as a young, unwed woman, had placed me for adoption without a word to anyone of my birth father’s name.

Approximately 10 years ago, a colleague suggested I register with an ancestry DNA company, which

might provide some links to my past. It was time to walk through the open door from God. Little did I know that swabbing my cheek could result in family connections across Canada, some with Indigenous roots. I truly began the adventure of a lifetime.

An Extended Family In January 2020, I received an email claiming a significant DNA match had been made. Even though I did not have my birth father’s name, my DNA was matched to one of his sisters who had registered with the same public DNA bank. It was the missing piece that I had long been waiting for. I had been connected with an aunt on my father’s side.

I also received numerous notifications of DNA matches, all stemming from the community of Stephenville, N.L. It seems I had hundreds of second, third and fourth cousins— an entire extended family.

Getting to Know Each Other Of a family of six boys and six girls, Bernard Cormier was the only living brother of my Aunt Hazel, and he had had no idea I existed. Receiving support from my husband, my newly found aunt and my half-sister, God gave me a peace and a strength to telephone “Bernie” with this news.

Bernie’s sister had informed him already of the possible match, and faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

Connected Hearts “Adoption is a wonderful way to start a family,” says Major Tina, here with her father, Bernie

that one of his daughters was willing to submit her DNA for confirmation.

He was shocked and surprised, but happy. I assured him that I had hoped and prayed that discovering a daughter he never knew existed would not be upsetting to him or his family.

“My darling, it is going to take more than this to upset me!” he lovingly replied. I was struck by this comment. I’ve often said the same thing on numerous occasions.

The conversation was lighthearted and enjoyable. We laughed over the 12 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

similarities in our voice expressions and looked forward to chatting again soon.

Within a couple of weeks, a DNA match with his daughter revealed we were half-sisters, confirming Bernard Cormier was indeed my father.

His daughter telephoned him with the news, and I talked to him again later that evening. His immediate acceptance was heartwarming and it brought tears to my eyes.

Sensing my tears, he asked, “Are you OK?” “Yes,” I replied. “My tears are tears

of joy when I realize God’s grace and faithfulness throughout all my life and especially in this moment.”

We both agreed that the events of the past were all a part of God’s perfect plan and that we would spend the rest of our lives enjoying getting to know each other better.

who look like me.

When my father and I first embraced, it was an instant family connection, and a sense of comfort and belonging. There was a remarkable resemblance, and why not?

I was looking at my own flesh and blood.

I now know what it is like to walk into a room full of people who look like me. TINA MITCHELL A Gift From God With my husband, Cecil, I reunited with my father and his partner, Lola Ogden, in Newfoundland and Labrador in July 2020 during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was thrilled when the provincial government granted me permission to travel there for this long-awaited reunion.

It was an amazing experience meeting both the Yetman and Cormier families, the highlight of my life. I now know what it is like to walk into a room full of people

Finding my biological family has truly been a gift from God. I have a beautiful new family. My life is now complete.

Today, nearly one year later, my bond is strong with both families.

We speak with each other regularly, we text and visit frequently, and we thank God for allowing us to have found each other after 50 years apart.

Adoption is a wonderful way to start a family, and I am blessed to have had this life chosen for me.

(left) Major Tina Mitchell is the corps and community ministries officer at The Salvation Army’s Cedarbrae Community Church in Toronto. faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Finding Ezra

WHEN I PRAYED FOR “HELP” THAT MY SON AND HIS WIFE WOULD FIND A BABY TO ADOPT, I HAD NO IDEA THAT GOD WOULD TAKE ME SO LITERALLY.

by Phil Callaway

“ARE YOU CATHOLIC OR Mormon?” people sometimes ask when they discover my wife, Ramona, and I have been blessed with 13 grandkids in five years.

“Neither. We’re exhausted,” I reply. “And very, very happy.”

Of course, no one is more spent than parents who wander about the house saying things like, “Why is it

that the people who want to go to bed have to put the people to bed who don’t want to go to bed?”

They do this with a sluggish smile, remembering in their better moments that these kids arrived with God’s fingerprints all over them, and that each has a story, some more intriguing than others.

(left) Holding On Ezra on a “walk” with his parents (right) Where’s Ezra?

Ramona and Phil Callaway with 12 of their 13 grandchildren

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Home at Last Raelyn and Jeff Callaway with their new arrival, Ezra

Offering a Chance In July 2019, our son, Jeff, and his wife, Raelyn, received the call they’d longed for. Quickly, they arranged babysitting and drove three hours to a restaurant, anxious to meet with the adoption worker and a very pregnant mother who was searching for a family to love her baby.

But as they talked, flags were raised. Red ones. Unsavoury friends.

Drug abuse. Impending prison.

Believing love that doesn’t make you just a little bit crazy is no love at all, they said yes.

“We have three biological kids,” says Jeff. “But we believe God wanted us to adopt.”

Raelyn agrees. “My sister, Mya, was adopted from China. So adoption has always been something that’s on our hearts.”

As the due date neared and the papers were signed, more questions surfaced. Most weeks, Raelyn faithfully drove six hours each way for prenatal appointments. Twice, the mother didn’t show up. “Could you be there when he’s born?” she asked one day. “I have no one.”

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Raelyn held her hand and said yes.

Day Eight My daughter-in-law coached and prayed and celebrated when the precious little guy finally arrived, all short, dark and handsome. Jeff held him every chance he got. Photos were sent to family and friends, cheerleaders and babysitters.

“ All I heard was, ‘Baby. Hospital.

We have to go.’

I freaked out.”

JEFF CALLAWAY

“Pray,” Raelyn begged. “The mother is angry. And high as a kite.

They keep calling security.”

A nurse confided: “He’s the most addicted baby we’ve ever seen in the NICU.” Jeff and Raelyn stayed at a nearby

hotel, and learned how to administer doses of morphine every four hours. Though the mother was headed for jail, she kept threatening to take her baby back. By law, she had 10 days to revoke her consent.

And on day eight, she did.

Devastated and numb, Jeff and Raelyn returned home. Before they arrived, we removed a colourful welcome-home poster we’d worked on with their kids, who were five, three and two. They couldn’t understand.

Nor could we.

Three days later the birth mom

begged them to take him back. They did.

Ten days later, she again revoked her consent.

Unbearable Heartache A Walmart parking lot may not be the holiest place on earth, but it was a cathedral that day.

Ramona and I stood in a puddle of shattered dreams, arms around our dazed and heartbroken children, crying like little kids, and me praying my favourite prayer: “Help!”

Jeff prayed the same words I’d faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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COVER STORY

prayed for their almost-son, “The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.”

You try to shield those you love from unbearable heartache. Yet sometimes you’re surprised at their resilience, grateful they’re an improvement on you.

“Let’s Go” Nine days later, the phone buzzed.

A teen had given birth. She wanted her baby boy placed in a Christian home. In the country. One with siblings. “You guys are our only option,” the lady from the agency smiled.

“It was the most insane moment of my life,” says Raelyn. “We were in the middle of harvest. I was cooking supper for 10 guys on the crew.

The van was loaded with kids and enough food for an army. I called Jeff but the cell coverage was bad.”

Jeff laughs. “All I heard was, ‘Baby.

Hospital. We have to go.’ I freaked out.”

When Raelyn jumped from the 18 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

van, she yelled, “There’s a baby waiting. Let’s go.”

One Year Later Like eager kids on Christmas morning, the two rallied family to babysit and took off.

“We were so excited,” recalls Raelyn. “A social worker sent us a picture. He had the cutest cheeks.”

With the birth mom eager to leave the next morning, they were asked to name him. “I just happened to bring a list of baby names we liked,” says Raelyn.

The birth mom was peaceful, kind and grateful. As they talked, she said, “I can’t believe I found you.”

They pulled out the list. “Would you help us name him?” Jeff asked.

Her eyes scanned the baby names and stopped. “I love that one, too,” she said. “Ezra.”

A judge would reject the adoption twice and offer the birth father the opportunity to contest it. He didn’t.

“We were called to this together,” says Jeff. “We were on the same page. We didn’t fear losing him.”

Surrounded by Love Ezra with some of his brand-new family.

From left, Andrey, Sophia, Ezra, Myah, Claira and Macy

One year from the day we stood in that Walmart cathedral, Ezra’s adoption was finalized in court.

“Help” Today, as we visit, six-year-old Sophia feeds him, comforts him and soothes him with loud country music. Macy, aged three, dresses him funny, and shows him how to hold a kitten. Claira, four, is convinced that her brother came straight from heaven via the front door. It’s hard to disagree.

Jeff and Raelyn are not naive enough to think that all will come up roses from here to eternity. But they believe God never calls us with-

out equipping us, and they have a message for those who are hunkered down, waiting and hurting and praying and hoping: Don’t give up.

“God’s schedule seems so much slower than mine,” Jeff admits. “But all along, we clung to the seemingly ridiculous notion that He was working even this together for our good.

So we just tried to take the next right step.”

As for what they would tell adoptive parents, the two say in unison: “You’re awesome!”

As Grandpa, it is my duty to bounce this laughing little boy on my knee. “This is the way the Ezra rides ….”

And, suddenly, I’m laughing, too.

You see, Ezra is the Hebrew word for “help.” When I prayed for “help,” I had no idea God would take me so literally.

Grampa Time Phil and Ezra faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

On Duty Terra Laflamme, community ministries supervisor, is just one of the amazing volunteers and staff who daily meet the needs of the most vulnerable at Prince George Community Church

Stories of Serving THE SALVATION ARMY PRINCE GEORGE COMMUNITY CHURCH PROVIDES COMFORT, HOPE AND FRIENDSHIP.

by Melissa Yue Wallace

O

ne evening last winter, Salvation Army pastor Major Neil Wilkinson noticed a car parked in the lot of the Army’s Prince George Community Church in British Columbia. It was cold and late, so he tapped on the window and met John.* Prior to moving to Prince George, John lived in a small community in northern British Columbia. Facing dwindling job prospects, he packed all of his belongings and drove to the city to look for work. Unfortunately, opportunities passed him by, and he could not afford housing. But he preferred the comfort of living in his vehicle to staying in a shelter.

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“John’s immediate concern was whether he could sleep in his car on our lot,” recalls Major Neil. “He didn’t need anything, only permission to use our property.” In response, Major Neil gave him an electric heater and an extension cord from the thrift store and plugged it into the church, so John could stay warm and safe without running his engine at night.

To this day, John and Major Neil continue to get to know each other, and John keeps watch over the church building at night.

“Sometimes the kindness of Jesus that we show is honouring the choices people make while loving

unconditionally,” says Major Neil who, along with his wife, Major Crystal, have pastored at the Prince George Community Church for 10 years. The ministry serves people of all ages through its thrift store, food bank, recycling depot and other programs.

The following are stories of how the Army brings hope to people such as John who come for help.

S.O.UL. Mate When Sonya,* 15, first came to the Army, she didn’t have many friends.

to fill her days, so she came to The Salvation Army to explore volunteer opportunities. Beth now spends three days a week volunteering in the food bank, repackaging bulk food items for distribution to people in need.

“Even though I don’t get to see the faces of the people that we are supporting, I find so much joy in knowing that the work I’m doing is changing lives. Best of all, the Army makes provisions for my disability so that I can serve every week.”

“Sometimes the kindness of Jesus that we show is honouring the choices people make while loving unconditionally.” MAJOR NEIL WILKINSON She came from a broken family with a father who had abandoned her and her mother. She joined the Army’s S.O.UL. (Serving Only U Lord) dance group, where she not only found God but also a creative outlet for worship and family.

“It’s fun and gives me something to do,” she says. “Sometimes, life is really hard and my friends at S.O.UL. help me cope.”

Life Changer Beth* retired early as a health-care worker after suffering with her own health concerns. She suddenly found herself lacking meaningful activities

Not Just Words The Army has walked with David* through many seasons of life. “The difference with The Salvation Army is that they care about you—not just with their words,” he says. “It’s great to be able to meet with the chaplain, talk about the stresses of life and find support to make little changes.”

After years of regular visits, this January marked the first month he didn’t need to visit the food bank at all. But he still keeps in touch with the Army to let everyone know how he’s doing. *Names and identifying details have been changed for privacy. faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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GOD IN MY LIFE

Photo: Анастасия Семашко/stock.Adobe.com

Faith&Friends

A Mentor’s Wisdom She taught me an important lesson, both for my faith and my life.

by Joyce Starr Macias

I

watched the elderly woman step off the bus, gripping the handrail tightly as she balanced a large canvas bag with the other hand.

I was too far away to help her but close enough to notice that her midcalf length skirt didn’t quite cover the prosthesis that substituted for

22 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

her right leg.

She was a retired missionary who did nursing-home visitation for my church, and I was a new Christian who was eager to serve God. I was happy, although a little apprehensive, when she invited me to go to one of the services with her.

Sleepy Prayer “It’s so easy, and two or three others will join us,” she told me. “You can pass out the song sheets, and we’ll sing a few familiar hymns. I’ll give a short message from the Bible, and then we’ll visit some rooms.”

It didn’t sound simple to me.

Though I was 30 years old, I had no church background at all. The “familiar hymns” that everybody else knew were brand-new to me.

every resident I visited would be sound asleep.

Total Failure That happened at the first room.

One bed was empty, and the woman in the other one was out like a light.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I placed a pamphlet on each nightstand and tiptoed out quietly.

Not so in the next room. A heavyset man with a shock of white hair

I prayed all right, but I prayed that every resident I visited would be sound asleep. JOYCE STARR MACIAS I was sure I’d enjoy helping during the service, but the thought of talking to residents in their rooms scared me to death.

The woman went with me the first two or three times and introduced me to residents she already knew.

But a few minutes later, she gave me a smile, handed me some Christian literature and pointed down the hall.

“Don’t forget to pray before you go into each room,” she counselled.

And then she was gone.

I prayed all right, but I prayed that

was very much awake.

“Well, who are you?” he asked gruffly as I walked in.

I told him I was part of the group that held weekly Christian services at the facility.

“Christian, huh?” he said. “Well, I’m Jewish.”

I stuttered a bit as I wondered what I’d say. But I didn’t need to worry since he started talking again right away.

“So you’re a Christian, eh?” he began. “What do you know about the Old Testament?”

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Faith&Friends

GOD IN MY LIFE

Reluctant Missionary Joyce Starr Macias, taken around the time that she had become a Christian

Now I really started stuttering.

“Not much,” I admitted. I explained that I was new at all this because I had become a Christian just a few weeks earlier.

“Right now, I’m reading the New Testament for the first time. But I’m sure I’ll get to the Old Testament soon,” I said.

“Don’t you know that the Jesus you believe in was Jewish? The New Testament wasn’t even written back in His time,” he growled. “You come back and see me after you learn what’s in the Old Testament.”

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Muttering something like, “God bless you, sir,” I rushed into the hall, feeling like a total failure. I don’t think I even left him anything to read.

Never Give Up I was nearly in tears as I told my mentor what a terrible job I’d done. But, instead of scolding, she spoke words of comfort and encouraged me to keep coming back.

“Don’t quit when God is calling you to serve Him,” she said. “Trust in Him, keep studying your Bible

and ask Him to teach you what you need to know.”

I took the Jewish man’s advice and began to immerse myself in my Bible, devouring it every day in addition to doing Sunday school lessons and attending services every time the church door was open.

Although I kept going to the nursing home service, I purposely avoided the Jewish man’s room.

And when I finally tried to visit him again, he wasn’t there. I wasn’t too surprised at that since he was able to get around on a walker and had friends and family who often took him out. But due to my husband’s job change, I moved to another town a few months later without ever seeing the Jewish man again.

However, his challenge and my mentor’s support gave me the encouragement I needed to continue visiting care facilities in other towns. At one point, I led weekly services in three different facilities and wasn’t scared at all to chat with the residents at the services or in their rooms.

I find it amazing that God can take the little bit we offer Him and miraculously grow it into enough to help meet the needs of others.

It reminds me of the miracle Jesus performed when He fed 5,000 men and their families by multiplying a young boy’s small offering of just five barley loaves and two fish.

Luke 9:16-17 records what Jesus did in this way: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied.” The leftover pieces filled 12 baskets.

It was God’s same miracle-working power that enabled a brand-new Christian and a physically challenged retired missionary to touch people’s hearts with a message of hope. And He is still doing the same thing for those who will persevere in whatever task He leads them to perform.

As my mentor told me, “Don’t quit when God is calling you to serve Him.”

(left) Joyce Starr Macias is a retired newspaper reporter who lives in Apache Junction, Arizona, with her husband, Everett, who is a deacon at their church. As a freelance writer, her stories have been published in numerous Christian magazines and short-story collections.

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Faith&Friends

LITE STUFF

Eating Healthy With Erin LEMON BASIL HUMMUS

Recipe photos: Erin Stanley

TIME 15 min MAKES 3 servings SERVE WITH warm pita or naan bread

30 ml (2 tbsp) olive or avocado oil 1 garlic clove, diced 5 ml (1 tsp) dry chives 15 ml (3 tsp) lemon juice 60 ml (¼ cup) fresh basil 400 ml (14 oz.) chickpeas 125 ml (½ cup) water 5 ml (1 tsp) paprika salt and pepper to taste olive oil to garnish (optional) paprika to garnish (optional) basil to garnish (optional)

1. Heat oil over medium heat in frying pan and add garlic, chives and lemon juice. Cook until garlic is soft and fragrant. Stir in basil and cook for 2 additional minutes. Set aside.

2. Set aside 30 ml (2 tbsp) of chickpeas for garnish. Remove shells from rest of chickpeas by squeezing the bean until shell slips off.

3. Add shelled chickpeas and ingredients from frying pan to blender. Use spatula to get remaining oil in pan in the blender.

4. Add water and blend for 30 seconds or until smooth consistency is achieved.

Add more water if consistency isn’t smooth or it is too thick.

5. In same frying pan, toast chickpeas for garnish for 2 minutes on each side.

Sprinkle paprika, salt and pepper to taste as they toast.

6. Place hummus in bowl and add toasted chickpea garnish, paprika and olive oil (optional).

RASPBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE TIME 5 min MAKES 1 serving SERVE WITH oatmeal or fruit salad

250 ml (1 cup) milk 125 ml (½ cup) frozen raspberries 1 banana 4-5 ice cubes 15 ml (1 tbsp) chia seeds 30 ml (2 tbsp) granola raspberry garnish (optional)

26 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

1. Blend milk, raspberries, banana and ice until smooth.

2. Sprinkle chia seeds on top and allow to sit for 3 minutes.

3. Add granola and raspberry garnish (optional).

Mayor Gives to Army

THE RIGHT THING P.26

Gerry’s Story

HERE TO HELP P.12

Making a Difference

ACTS OF LOVE P.10

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

MAY 2021

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• inspiring true stories of hope and salvation • practical resources that will rejuvenate your spirit • uplifting articles that you can share with friends The Call

IT CHANGED THE LIVES OF TRINA GALLOP BLANK AND HER ADOPTED DAUGHTER, ELLIANA, FOREVER. P.16

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Sudoku Puzzle

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3 × 3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

1

5 8

5 3

QUICK QUIZ 1. What is a baby hedgehog called?

2. What Middle Eastern country was once known as Persia?

3. What golfer won the 2020 Masters Tournament?

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© www.kevinfrank.net

HEAVEN’S LOVE THRIFT SHOP by Kevin Frank

Answers on next page.

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faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2021

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Faith&Friends

LITE STUFF

Word Search Row, Row, Row Your Boat F

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CANOE FAERING FERRY FREIGHTER GALLEON GONDOLA HIGGINS HOVERCRAFT HYDROFOIL INFLATABLE JUKUNG KAYAK

KETTUVALLAM LANGSCHIFF LONGSHIP LUGGER PADDLE PINNACE PIROGUE PONTOON RAFT SCHOONER SKIFF SKIPJACK

28 • JUNE 2021 I faithandfriends.ca

STEAMER SUBMARINE TANKER TJOTTER TRAWLER TRIMARAN TUGBOAT UMIAK WEIDLING XEBEC YACHT ZILLE

Quick Quiz Answers: 1. A hoglet; 2. Iran; 3. Dustin Johnson.

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Faith&Friends

NIFTY THRIFTY

From Drab to Fab Restyle a humble socket plate into a work of art.

W

ho knew socket plates could make great frames for either art or photos?

Supplies Needed: plastic socket plate, Mod Podge, sponge brush, tissue paper, acrylic paint, stamps or photos, cardboard.

Step 1 Source a plastic socket plate.

I chose plastic since it would be easy to decoupage paper to the surface.

Step 2 Decoupage the surface of the socket plate using pieces of tissue paper and Mod Podge. This doesn’t need to be perfect as creating a texture helps give the DIY frame personality and texture. Allow to dry. Rub paint and foil on the surface to create a personalized finish. Once done, add a coat of Mod Podge and allow to dry.

Step 3 When the decoupage and paint have dried, trim the edges of your socket plate and cut out the openings.

You now have your frame!

Step 4 Next, you’re ready to choose either your images, photos or art for the frames. Use scrap cardboard for the back of your frame. Trace the socket plate on the cardboard, cut out the cardboard then tape your art or photo to the cardboard. You may need to fiddle a bit to make sure the placement works with the openings in your frame.

Step 5 Brush Mod Podge on the back of the socket cover, then place on cardboard. Allow to dry.

Step 6 To display your socket plate, you can either glue magnets to the back to feature on your fridge or add a wire for hanging on your wall.

(left) Denise Corcoran (aka Thrifty By Design) is an author, upcycler, community builder and workshop facilitator based in North Vancouver. She shares her enthusiasm for crafting and upcycling by facilitating “Crafternoons” throughout Vancouver. She is also a creative expert for The Salvation Army’s thrift stores.

Find a thrift store near you at thriftstore.ca.

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