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CREATIVE THE SALVATION ARMY AUSTRALIA EASTERN TERRITORY October 2013 | VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 4

STAY TUNED

preparing for a new gospel beat

ALSO INSIDE:

Salvonista success L arsson sharpens a potent weapon Freedom Celebration Highlight s

Perfect pitch Has change ever been anything but painful?

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s it ever easy to navigate the challenges of holding to the traditions of the past, reinvigorating them in the present and at times leaving them behind for the purpose of moving into the future?

And when that change involves music in church worship, has it ever felt less than a seismic shift?

While is seems laughable now, the introduction of the organ into public worship was the matter of deep debate among many churches in the mid-1800s.

The use of drinking songs played by a brass band to distract (and attract) crowds in the 1860s was regarded by some church-goers as unseemly.

In the 1950s, the use of modern styles of music for worship, which was starting to attract a new population of young people to church, was greeted with suspicion by religious conservatives.

The introduction of non-hymnbook praise and worship choruses in the 1970s and of the appearance of drumkits and electric guitars remain, in some places, contentious and questionable, even today.

Music has been at the heart of The Salvation Army’s witness and worship since William Booth began work in London’s East End 148 years ago. It was a key part of its early success.

Over the years brass bands, songster and timbrel brigades developed into hallmarks of

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Salvation Army worship. However, in the past 50 years sweeping changes in culture and in the church at large have brought a new landscape to sunday worship in many corps.

What does the future look like?

Will we cling to the past, reinvent it or allow the emerging generations to shape a new direction?

This edition of Creative Ministry looks at some of the issues facing the future of Christian worship in our corps, many of which no longer have traditional musical sections.

John Larsson, along with his collaborator, the late John Gowans, both former Generals, are arguably The Salvation Army’s most wellknown musical innovators, producing music that inspired and created new possibilities.

In this edition of Creative Ministry General Larsson writes of his hopes for the future Salvation Army’s musical heart. An innovative approach to music in the Southern Territory is bringing the gospel to youth outside the Salvation Army and a Sydney Youth Band member speaks about how their brand of brass is working for a new generation of Salvationists. Nathaniel Brown, part of the team responsible for EQUIP asks what it will take to keep our musical edge sharp enough to take us into the future.

As Catherine Booth so prophetically commented: “There is no improving the future without disturbing the present.” May our mission to the lost always be the driving-force behind our method.

Anne Halliday Editor Creative Ministry

CREATIVE MINISTRY The Salvation Army WILLIAM BOOTH Founder INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 101 Queen Victoria Street London EC4P 4EP AUSTRALIA EASTERN TERRITORY 140 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000 JAMES CONDON Commissioner, Territorial Commander BRUCE HARMER Major, Territorial Communications and Public Relations Secretary EDITOR Anne Halliday GRAPHIC DESIGN Kem Pobjie COVER PHOTO Shairon Paterson CREATIVE MINISTRY is a publication of the Communications Department Editorial and correspondence PO Box A435 Sydney South NSW 1235 PHONE (02) 9266 9690 EMAIL eastern.editorial@aue.salvationarmy.org Published for The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory by Commissioner James Condon Printed by SOS Print + Media Group, 65 Burrows Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia All materials are copyright of The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory and cannot be reproduced without permission

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Cover story Stay Tuned

Preparing for a new gospel beat

Features

Photo: Shairon Paterson at the Freedom Celebration

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Salvonista success

John Larsson looks to the future

A thousand years of music-making

Freedom Celebration Pictorial

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Perfect Pitch CD REVIEW THE CUTTING EDGE PICTORIAL C R E AT I V E

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In September last year, Salvo Stores launched their Salvonista brand, encouraging justiceconscious consumers to shop with heart.

Over the past 12 months the Salvonista Mobile Boutique has travelled 6000km throughout NSW, Queensland and ACT, while the cause itself has attracted 4600 facebook fans, given away 2600 Salvonista bags and drawn 3700 people to their website.

Playing on the idea of a fashionista, someone who slavishly follows fashion trends, a Salvonista “is someone who prides themselves not only on how they look on the outside but also on the inside – helping the community and others,” says Salvos Store retail and marketing manager Freddy Choo.

“People want to shop for a cause.

The Salvonista brand is about choosing recycled, environmentally sensitive clothing and accessories that support people in need. It is a way to not only look good but to feel good too.”

Self-confessed Salvonista Rachel Campbell, 35, (pictured right) says her love for pre-loved bric-a-brac and second-hand clothes came directly from her mum.

“My mum was has always been an Op Shopper. In fact, she still refuses to buy anything new,” she laughs.

“I do remember wishing I could just be like the other kids and go out shopping for my clothes on a Thursday night at the shops. But she taught me the idea that shopping second-hand was a much more affordable way to buy unique pieces.”

She gestures to the vintage jacket she is wearing. “This coat is probably 40 years old, but you are not going to get the quality or the styling in a new design,” she says. Rachel bought it a couple of years back at the Salvos at Tempe, one of her favourite Salvo Stores alongside Dee Why and Mona Vale.

“I usually look for a print or colours that catch my eye to start with. But really, I just love the foraging and the hunting around for unusual pieces. I am always on the hunt for bric-a-brac.”

Photo: Shairon Paterson

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Making proper use of a

weapon

One of the most acclaimed composers in The Salvation Army, General JOHN LARSSON (Ret.), writes about his hopes for the future of Army music

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ne way of disarming The Salvation Army,” wrote Bernard Watson in his history of the Army published for the 1965 centenary, “would be to remove its music!”

Fortunately there has never been any danger of that happening. The Army and music are synonymous.

Music has always been and will always be, one of our chief weapons for ministry and mission – and nobody is going to disarm us!

But in the almost 50 years since 1965, music-making in the Army has been through a revolution – a sometimes painful one. And now that we approach our 150th anniversary in 2015, it is a good time to look back on

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that half-century, and to look ahead to the future of Army music.

Participative music

Probably the biggest change has come in our participative music – as contrasted with performed music – and my hope for the future of this aspect is that congregational singing in every corps will be a true balance of the old and the new.

Such a hope may seem so obvious that it is hardly worth stating. But speak to soldiers who still bear the wounds of their corps going through a worship war, where the battle raged between those advocating praise and worship songs sung off the wall, and those who insisted that songs must be Army and be sung from the song

book, and the hope will not seem out of place.

The flood of praise and worship songs that swept over us in the latter stages of the last century – coinciding with the advent of words on screen, the electric guitar and worship bands – knocked us off our feet. It was an international phenomenon. And there is no doubting the divine inspiration and popularity of this new gift to the church.

But the way some corps suddenly abandoned the singing of the classic hymns and songs was a tragedy. Older Salvationists found themselves starved of what had nourished their faith all of their lives.

Fortunately the pendulum has swung back from that extreme – not

“Salvation Army music has always been functional – it is music with a purpose and must remain so.”

only in the Army but in churches generally. There is now a greater acceptance that the riches of centuries of hymn writing – and for Salvationists the treasury of Army songs built up over 150 years – cannot simply be written off. They are as much God’s gift to the church as the latest composition.

Congregational singing lies at the very heart of worship, and my hope is that every corps will provide for its participative singing a balance of the traditional and contemporary, the old and the new, the classic and the Army, so that all of the vast riches of God’s gift of music to his people are used.

Performed music

When it comes to performed music my hope is that greater use will be made of music-making, as contrasted with music-listening, for mission and outreach.

As an Army we show admirable ingenuity in devising ways of reaching out to people and attracting them into our halls. But we have shown a strange reluctance to use the thing we know most about, namely music-making, as a way of reaching out and attracting people.

Our philosophy and structures have worked against us here. In traditional Army thinking you have to be a signed-up uniform-wearing soldier to participate in the musical sections, senior and junior. And there is no doubt that this has given the Army a remarkable body of musicians who have upheld, and still do, the most admirable standards of music-making and discipline.

But my hope for the future is that, in parallel with these sections where they function, we may increasingly

use open groups, open to those who have not yet come to faith, and let music-making become a means of evangelism.

The use of open groups is already happening in many parts of the world including Australia, and takes many forms. In some corps the established sections have non-uniformed and non-Salvationist members, other corps offer music lessons to young people, or form youth or gospel choruses.

What I hope to see in the future is more use being made of this means of mission, with open groups not only flourishing on the fringes of corps but being part of their Sunday worship.

A third hope I have is that these open groups may involve a substantial proportion of those who attend our meetings. God has given music as a spiritual gift to a great number of his children, and in the body of Christ we need to provide opportunities for those personal giftings to be used.

It pains me when I attend an Army meeting and see that only a very few are given the opportunity to exercise their spiritual gift of music.

Part of the genius of the Army’s traditional approach to music has been that a brass band and a songster brigade give a large number of people the opportunity to use their spiritual gift of music. Any open replacement or addition to these groups should therefore provide opportunity for many to take part.

A fourth hope, and here I address music publishers and leaders, is that Army music in the future will remain truly relevant to the mission and ministry occasions when it is used.

Salvation Army music has always been functional – it is music with a purpose and must remain so.

Bright future

The pattern of our Sunday meetings and ways of outreach have undergone a dramatic change since 1965, and Army composers and publishing departments have had to scramble to make the huge adjustments necessary to provide music appropriate for the new demands. Long since gone is the traditional Sunday evening selection by the band. In its stead has come shorter and snappier pieces that fit the modern-style Sunday morning meeting. A similar revolution has happened with vocal music. May our music writing and publishing keep providing all that is needed to match the new demands that are sure to come.

With the changes permitting nonArmy music to be used, music leaders in our corps now have a vast arsenal of music on which to draw. There is music available that is exactly right for any conceivable ministry or mission occasion. May our music leaders be inspired in their choices so that Army music remains music with a purpose.

As we reach the Army’s 150th anniversary we can be absolutely sure that music will continue to be one of our chief methods for ministry and outreach. And if we grasp hold of the new opportunities that lie before us, the future for Army music in all its many variety of forms will be bright.

General John Larsson (Ret.) is a former world leader of The Salvation Army C R E AT I V E

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changes Tim Dowley tells PHILIP HALCROW about thousands of years of music-making

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he scope of his music book is on a major scale. Tim Dowley has looked back over time and across the world to write Christian Music – A Global History. The book’s index gives some clues to the variety of material in this A (Amazing Grace), B (Bach), C (Cash, Johnny) of Christian music.

It sounds like a challenge to cover the subject, which stretches back millennia. Some of the difficulties can be guessed – for instance, the fact that music has been recorded for only about 130 years. Sitting in his home in south London, Tim notes some further problems for the music historian.

“Even music notation was introduced only in about the 9th or 10th century, so a lot of our ideas about music earlier than that are based

on descriptions. There are some very early examples where we have a form of notation, but we don’t really know what it means.”

No-one knows the tunes to them but there are probably hymns included in the text of the New Testament.

“There are several passages in Paul’s letters where he has taken a bit of what was probably an early Christian hymn and quoted it,” says Tim. “Greek scholars can show the scansion and the way the lines would have ended. There are almost certainly four or five passages in the New Testament that are hymns, and possibly more.”

But the story goes back even further in time to the Hebrew Scriptures or the Christian Old Testament.

“The Psalms were almost certainly chanted in some way, though we don’t know how,” says Tim. “That chanting tradition was probably carried into the Early Church and then became formalised in the Gregorian chant of the Church in the Middle Ages. Gregorian chant was normally unaccompanied and was focused on the Eucharist or Mass. The Mass has continued to be an important part of the use of music in church. A lot of the sacred music in the classical tradition has been a setting of all or parts of the Mass.”

Devotional approach

Throughout the centuries, from the time of the Psalms, praise was a

Modern worship music has its foundations tracing back thousands of years, says Tim Dowley.

recurring motif in Christian music.

It would continue to be repeated, but Christian music also developed.

“The hymn-writing tradition grew out of the chant tradition,” says Tim. “Early hymns were almost solely paraphrases of Scripture. The Protestants started chanting Psalms in the vernacular – English or German – rather than in Latin. Then, to help people remember them – because they would not have had psalm books or hymn books – people started to make simple versifications of the Psalms.

Often they were not particularly good in terms of verse.

Some of the rhymes were pretty awful.

“So people such as Isaac Watts and John Wesley began to write hymns that were not word-forword translations of Scripture but a better form of verse. Gradually, the hymns were not so closely linked with a particular Scripture passage.

“Watts and Wesley and hymns such as Amazing Grace helped to develop a more personal devotional approach to hymn-writing. Hymns became much more a personal testimony, and that fed into the gospel and the Afro-American spiritual traditions.”

Tim says some of the spirituals, sung by slaves in the United States, are among the pieces of Christian music that have had a great effect.

“They were extremely powerful because they were expressions of religious freedom and political freedom. They were coded freedom songs. It seems that when people sing them today, those songs still have the power to send a shiver down the back.”

Tim adds that the hymn Amazing Grace has a similar effect, though in this case it was written by John Newton, a slave ship captain who became a priest and abolitionist.

And he also points out that Amazing Grace is an example of a piece of Christian music that not only

hymn needs a strong tune. The tune for Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah is almost more well known than the words.”

Diverse traditions

Hymn-writing is only one of the traditions in Christian music around the world, and Tim has drafted in other experts to write on the sounds of the Pacific Islands, China, SouthEast Asia and other areas.

“Even within Africa there are various traditions,” he says.

“The Ethiopian tradition goes back a long way and is quite distinctive, whereas African music generally has been influenced by vernacular traditions as well as American gospel coming in. In most areas there is a fusion of influences.”

Composers are still writing classical pieces based on Christian liturgy and texts. New hymns are touching people. Recordings of Gregorian chants reach the album charts. Rock, gospel, country and folk musicians are singing about their experience of God. Musicians are using music in the same way as those who used the Psalms thousands of years ago.

“From the start,” says Tim, “music has been used as praise.”

“Some hymns are just great to sing (but) a good hymn needs a strong tune.” gradually gained layers of meaning, but also took time to become the song it is today.

“John Newton wrote Amazing Grace not as a hymn to be sung with a tune, but as a verse. He wrote it as a summary of one of his sermons. It was only later that it would have been sung to any of a number of tunes, and it was only when his words were put together with the tune that we know today, that the hymn became so powerful.

For a hymn to work, a good tune is needed, suggests Tim. “Some hymns are just great to sing [but] a good

Used by permission of UK War Cry C R E AT I V E

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The musical traditions of The Salvation Army are increasingly diverse, but as Anne Halliday discovers, behind them remains a gospel heartbeat.

Nathan’s music a hit with unchurched kids

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here’s nothing traditional about the music that youth worker Nathan Casey uses to attract young people from his local community in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

It’s the music they listen to every day – rock, punk, dance, pop – the kind of music that is unlikely to be played on a Sunday in most Salvation Army corps.

In fact, many of the kids Nathan (pictured above) works with have

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never attended a Sunday morning holiness meeting; they are unfamiliar with the music and culture of the Salvation Army. But they are encountering the gospel. And that’s the point.

Working with musical collaborators Dan Casey and Benni Knop, Nathan is deeply passionate about seeing the gospel communicated in the language of an emerging generation.

“One of the aims of the music we

make is to cut down as many barriers as we can,” says Nathan, who works primarily with youth connected with the Ingle Farm corps community programs.

“Kids are fickle – but we don’t want the music we play to stand in the way of the Good News. The music we write is always about how life was before and how life can be now with Jesus.

“We are always looking at what is happening at the moment – the sounds and music that push the boundaries – and then we try to create music like that.”

The music is a central part of their Friday night youth event, which attracts around 90 young people. The night includes worship and preaching and a hang-out time.

Brass bands strike chord with Adele

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hatswood Salvationist and Sydney Youth Band trombonist Adele Masters, 18, confesses that two-thirds of her iPod playlist is brass music.

“I really enjoy playing brass”, says Adele, who has played with the SYB for the past five years.

“It gives me the chance to play more challenging music and I love that it’s a spiritual environment. Being a part of the SYB means I get to spend time with people who will encourage me in my spiritual life.”

Adele, who is studying Creative Arts at Wollongong University, says that Sydney Youth Band is a musical group who “hold the past and future together”.

“At our end-of-year concert last year, we found there were many generations together in one room – from older people who knew a lot of the traditional music – to those who came to watch friends from younger generations. A lot of the music also reflects the past and the future – we play classic pieces from the past as well as newer music or a jazz arrangement of an older piece.”

Adele is realistic about the contribution a band like SYB might

make to the future of Salvation Army music.

“I don’t think our band alone can shape the future, but I do believe that youth bands around the world who are doing similar things to SYB can shape the future. I think SYB has hit the nail on the head.”

But Adele says it’s not brass bands that are the focus for her, but about using music to worship God. “Sometimes I will be at something like youth councils and (the contemporary worship music) is not as familiar to me so it is not as comfortable as the traditional music I have grown up with – so I know the lyrics and the tune. But I don’t really care what flavour the worship music has. We don’t have to be cool and hip, we just need to worship God with whatever we have – a guitar or drums or brass. It doesn’t matter.

“Banding is a tool for bringing people closer to God. Earlier this year we travelled to Orange as part of a brass festival and we were playing Army music in a local park. A whole lot of people were there who would never step inside a church but we were able to talk about what God had done for us and what He’s done for everyone.”

“We are pioneering a new way,” says Nathan. “Many of our youth aren’t going to graduate into our Sunday morning service – our church and our leadership know this. So we are having to pioneer how this works.”

Nathan’s traditional Salvation Army heritage seem incongruous with his passionate pursuit of the innovative.

The son of officers, Nathan grew up playing in a Salvation Army band, went on to study brass at the Victorian College of Arts and was a member of the Melbourne Staff Band. But, as a teenager, his friends were into punk music, so he played in a band with them, too.

In his mid-20s, he formed hardcore punk band Nazarite Vow, writing and performing a genre of music that others considered unchristian.

“We had heard our whole lives that we needed to be out there living the gospel and so we just did it,” he says.

Nathan’s resolute commitment to the missional heart of The Salvation Army continues to drive him.

“Our Friday nights are a different expression from our Sunday morning,

Holding together the past and future is part of Sydney Youth Band’s creative appeal for Adele Masters.

wider audience in recent years through its incorporation into the Southern Territory’s major youth event, Summer Carnival. “(Territorial Youth Secretary) Rowan Castle was at Ingle Farm as the youth worker before I was, so he understands what we are trying to do.

“To be honest what we are doing makes least sense to church kids. They are generally entrenched in what they know.

We are not in any way opposed to that.

“It’s not about one way but how you can express the gospel message most effectively – but I do think that the more we resist pushing music forward in our churches, the further we fall behind and the gap gets wider.

If we are interested in breaking down barriers and reaching our neighbourhoods and communities, we have to move forward.”

“We are always looking at what is happening ... and then we try to create music like that.” but it is the same values, the same DNA. Our kids are sold out for the vision and mission of the Army. They get what we are about and if we build a solid foundation, then what we are doing now could shape how the future looks at Ingle Farm.”

This evolutionary, cutting-edge gospel music has been reaching a

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Openness to creative change is the key

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urturing new forms of creative expression in The Salvation Army is often an uncomfortable but essential discipline of the heart, according to EQUIP camp director Nate Brown.

“It is not be about mastering a particular style or expression, but about having a forward-thinking attitude and innovative culture,” he says.

“Diverse and new art forms have always presented a challenge,” Nathaniel says. “We hear screamo metal and think “that can’t be Christian”. But where there is creativity, God can be in it.

“We cannot predict the direction

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that music will take in the future but what is important is having an openness to what happens. The biggest thing is addressing our own comfort.

We have to be more passionate about people coming to the kingdom than our own comfort in worship. And that involves sacrifice.”

Holding together the traditional and new forms of musical expression is a hallmark of the EQUIP camp, which is held in early October each year. In line with their mandate to equip young people for mission and ministry in their community, they will be offering young people the chance to hone their skills in traditional creative forms such as timbrels and brass alongside more cutting-edge genres such as hip hop dance, graphic design and electronic music, to name a few.

“The key thing is we don’t want to lose either the old or the new,” says Nate. “The challenge is to equip people to minister in that new space while also equipping those who are ministering through more traditional expressions. We have youth in corps where both are represented. We need to validate both.”

Nate says that the support of territory’s leadership is crucial to that validation.“We are blessed to have such empowering leadership in our territory

who are supportive of new ventures.

Even if it feels uncomfortable they are prepared to do those things that make it possible by providing both the permission and the resources.“In the broader Army community, we need to help people see that we are fighting the same battle and that every expression is valid and necessary. Whether we are using brass or electronic music, we are part of the same cause and the same vision.”

The ongoing standard of excellence of all creative expressions is a challenge for The Salvation Army, Nate says.

“In places where brass bands and songsters have diminished, the ‘new’ expressions that have replaced them have rarely done so with the same standard of creative excellence as what the banding and songsters were done at. Even with banding and songsters, we’ve got to continue to strive for excellence despite a smaller drawing pool. For me, the two main questions are, how can we develop an open and innovative culture within our movement that embraces diversity of creative expression, and how can we invest into these expressions to ensure they have clear missional purpose whilst maintaining a high standard of creative excellence.”

Review

CD Review Latest offering promises a rich blessing John Larsson Plays – Volume 4

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he name John Larsson is synonymous with singable melodies so John Larsson Plays could be just another collection of easy-listening piano music.

The four musicals which provide the repertoire for this CD are, as he notes, not as well known as the other six.

(Those six formed the basis of the previous three volumes of John Larsson Plays).

However, the printed provision of the lyrics for each track – all penned by John Gowans – supplies a devotional aid which can help focus on first things and the call of Jesus to each of us to follow him. Because each of these pieces comes from one of the musicals, they often reflect the personal or group conversations and responses of drama. Again and again the words are in the first person, so reading/praying them alongside the sympathetic melodies of John Larsson can draw us into deeper fellowship with the Spirit.

Whether it’s the lilting melody of “When I came to him he came to me” from White Rose; the aspirations of Peter in Son of Man, “I’ve often tried, I’ve always failed, … In Jesus I shall find the strength I need. In him I see the man I want to be”; or the simple love song from The Meeting, “I can’t help but love him, He’s forgiven me so much”; this CD has the potential to be very confronting, very personal, and also very affirming.

Because many of the songs on this production are less well known, some will avoid the CD, but for those who allow the Spirit to minister his grace through these melodies and the printed word, they will be richly blessed for their effort.

Major Cecil Woodward (Ret.)

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Steph’s step up an inspired move An innovative dance program for troubled young people had been at risk of folding until, as ESTHER PINN fOUND out, a determined mum got involved

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teph Allen is an inspiring woman. After Justice Crew shot to fame, the talented hiphop dance group who won the Seven Network’s Australia’s Got Talent, were unable to commit to the dance classes they held at various Salvation Army corps for troubled young people.

Steph, whose son was among those attending the classes, was concerned that the program would stop completely. So, she stepped up to the challenge.

“When Justice Crew won Australia’s Got Talent, the programs fell down and I couldn’t really allow that to happen,” she says. “The program run by Justice Crew changed my son’s life. He was engaged in problematic drinking, drug-taking, and would disappear for days on end. He would get involved in fights and was looking at joining a crime gang. I constantly worried about him and his well-being.”

After Justice Crew moved on in 2010, Steph, together with three other leaders, has been running hip-hop dance classes called Inspired Avenue, at The Salvation Army’s Miranda Corps, where the program started, and Padstow Community Baptist Church.

They also ran a group for a while at Panania Salvation Army.

Between 60 and 90 children and young people, aged from seven to early 20s, turn up to four classes every week, and it’s all run by volunteers.

“I was a mum who had a heart to do a program and I didn’t really think what that meant,” Steph says. “I just thought it was kids and dancing. And then it evolved into 90 kids.”

Inspired Avenue now has a number of hip-hop crews including Inspired, I.N.Spire, a junior group and even a mum’s group.

The purpose of the dance classes

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is to build self-esteem. By using dance to engage young people, Steph and her team have assembled a healthy community that promotes Kingdom values, removes troubled behaviour and gives young people direction.

Act of faith

A Christian for five years, Steph attends Seechange Community Church an Jannali in southern Sydney. She says her faith was crucial to restarting the dance programs.

“Faith played a vital role in bringing the programs back together,” she says. “I saw the need to introduce Kingdom values into the lives of our young people in a way they understand and respond well to. Dance and the mentoring component is an amazing way to open these young minds to the idea that there is something bigger than themselves out there.”

Steph says there is a zero tolerance for alcohol and inappropriate language at Inspired Avenue, that stems from Salvation Army values.

“There’s really a sense of belonging; something bigger than themselves.

And when they’re at the Salvos, they’re respectful. They know the culture.”

The Salvation Army’s role with Inspired is more than just providing a building, says Miranda Corps Officer, Major Sharon Clanfield.

“Our role is to mentor, encourage and invest into kids,” Major Clanfield says. “It also gives them a connection.

Some kids don’t look beyond themselves so bringing them into this environment gives them a community, support and encouragement.”

This environment is created through the role of a mentor. For much of this year, Miranda Salvationist Cal Harmer has been mentoring the Inspired Avenue students. He spends

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30 minutes with each class every week, connecting with the young people and having small group discussion.

They discuss topics relevant to young people such as bullying, self-image and depression.

“The dancing part is just a segue to developing a community around us,” explains Cal. “The whole idea of the program is to build life skills and build relationships.”

Through these discussions and relationship-building sessions Cal has seen an openness from the students towards spirituality.

“They all have some understanding about God, but I just let the conversation go where it wants with the spiritual side and they’re the ones who will bring it up.”

Along with promoting healthy values and a Christian perspective, Inspired Avenue also develops dance teachers and leaders. A natural progression occurs as the young people improve at Inspired Avenue. They are taught to be dance teachers who go on to teach the new young people who come through Inspired.

Both Justice Crew and Royalty Crew, a hip-hop dance crew who aim to develop new talent, are ambassadors for Inspired Avenue and help develop new dance teachers.

Steph says they are always looking for sponsors. To donate, go to: www.inspiredavenue.com.au

Esther Pinn is a staff writer for Creative Ministry

The Inspired Avenue hiphop dance classes, run by Steph Allen, are extremely popular with young people.

the Sound Lounge taps into youth culture

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ot content with tranforming lives through the use of hiphop dance, The Salvation Army is now looking to make a difference with hip-hop music.

About 18 months ago, the Army’s Lake Community Church, which runs Street Dreams, a hip-hop dance program aimed at helping troubled young people, introduced Sound Lounge.

Every Friday afternoon, about 15 young people regularly attend Sound Lounge to hang out, write hip-hop music, record their own songs and build relationships.

“Hip-hop is more than just music, it’s a culture and a place for young people to express themselves,” says Warren McKenzie, Sound Lounge facilitator and youth support worker.

“Students learn a range of skills in music production and songwriting, however there is more to it that just this – there is a positive community being built. It’s a place to be accepted and be able to build relationships with others.”

Sound Lounge came about in response to concerns of a lack of school engagement within the Samoan and Pacific Islander communities at Forest Lake, in the south-west of Brisbane.

Warren and Phil Staines, who helped instigate the program and is now missions champion and internship coordinator for the Army’s South Queensland Division, found hip-hop music to be a popular part of youth culture in the Forest Lake community.

Having a background in hip-hop as a producer, and also a youth worker, Warren was asked to head up Sound Lounge. But before he established the program he began working at the local high school, assisting with its music program.

“Many students had a love for this art form [hip-hop music],” says Warren. “However, generally there are not a lot of outlets or people around to help them better their skills.

“The school thought it would be great if I could help record students and develop their abilities, so I began attending once a week to teach hip-hop music production, help with assignments and projects and just be around to lend a hand to young people in general.

“Once connected, they started coming across to Sound Lounge.

That’s how it kind of kicked off.”

Finding faith

Warren now runs a similar program at both the local high school and Sound Lounge. As a result of engaging young people with hiphop music, a Bible study for teenage boys has evolved out of Sound Lounge with a number of young people becoming Christians.

“We’ve found Sound Lounge to be a platform for building relationships,” he says. “We’re all genuine about our faith, questions have been asked and we’ve been able to start getting into [God’s] word, understanding the Bible and how that might apply to youth.”

Aside from the weekly program, many young people from Sound Lounge have been able to perform their songs at community events.

Warren says two boys from Sound Lounge were given the opportunity to showcase their music when The Salvation Army and Sony Foundation Youth and Community Centre opened at nearby Goodna last year.

Alongside his work with Sound Lounge, for the past three years Warren has been running Krosswerdz South Queensland, a church that seeks to connect with people through hip-hop music. Many young people who attend Sound Lounge now also go to Krosswerdz.

Fellowship band’s new recording has something for everyone

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ou don’t have to be brass-minded to find something to enjoy about the Brisbane Divisional Fellowship Band’s latest album, according to Bandmaster Ray Simpson.

The third recording from the band, Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone), is the result of months of rehearsals and six days in the recording studio in August.

The album includes a range of musical genres – from traditional marches, devotional music and contemporary works to instrumental soloists and secular music. Also included are vocal tracks sung by the full band and their 12-member male vocal party.

Bandmaster Simpson says the selection’s diversity is intentional.

“We kept in mind the places that we visit throughout the year and we were looking for a selection which would have a broad appeal, not just to salvationists but to non-salvationist audiences as well. We

wanted it to be a light, easy-listening CD which included many of the performance pieces our audiences would hear.”

The band typically performs 12 to 14 events each year, mostly mid-week concerts for senior citizens and nursing homes, but also at a number of weekend concerts including the upcoming Five Bands Festival at Brisbane City Temple on Sunday 10 November.

The Brisbane Divisional Fellowship band, formed in 2002, draws its members from corps across Brisbane as well as from Ipswich, Redcliffe and the Gold Coast. A number of non-Salvationists are also included in its ranks. The band previously released recordings in 2010 and 2011.

The album is now available for $20 and can be purchased from Salvationist Supplies in Sydney and Melbourne as well as on the band’s website, salvosfellowshipbandbrisbane.org.au C R E AT I V E

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Melbourne Staff Band puts out welcome mat

The Melbourne Staff Band will bring their brand of musical excellence to Sydney over the weekend of 12-13 October.

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he Melbourne Staff Band band’s visit to Sydney this month came from a desire to support the Australia Eastern Territory’s “Welcome Home” initative, says Bandmaster Steven Reay.

The weekend of 12-13 October will be an opportunity for brass band enthusiasts to “reach out to former Salvation Army band members” and invite them to the performances.

“The reputation of the band within banding circles gives corps members the opportunity to outreach to the wider brass band community,” Bandmaster Reay says.

“And the visit of the MSB will give many the opportunity to hear a high quality brass band that has the gospel message at the centre of all it does.”

The band will perform a Saturday evening concert at North Parramatta on 12 October. The performance will feature vocal soloist Rebecca Raymond. The band will also lead the meetings at Hurstville Corps at 10am and 2pm on Sunday 13 October.

Tickets for the Saturday evening performance are $10 and $5 for students (under 16). For bookings phone (02) 95702617.

Choirs keep African school project on song

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he Salvation Army’s Auburn-2-Africa project is another step closer to building a primary school in Sierra Leone after a donation of more than $8500 from the inaugural Sydney Eisteddfod Chorale Grand Prix event, held in August.

“This is a very important contribution to the project.” says Ron Smart, a well-known Salvation Army musician who was also an adjudicator on the night.

“To date, we’ve raised about $200,000 which will build and service the school for five years. Now we are just waiting for the final approval to start the build.”

The event, jointly run by the Sydney Eisteddfod and the Rotary Club of Sydney Cove, saw six Sydney choirs compete in an exciting and dynamic musical event which raised around $22,000 for multiple charitable projects.

Sydney Congress Hall was packed for the event, which was compered by Kamahl and included a guest performance by opera singer Amelia Farrugia.

The six participating choirs qualified for the event at the Eisteddfod’s John Lamble Australasian Choral Championships that took place in June.

While the PLC Sydney Chamber Choir (Croydon), Fort Street High School Chamber Choir (Petersham) came first and second respectively, it was third-prize winners Waitara Voices, from Waitara Public School,

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The PLC Sydney Chamber Choir took out the Sydney Eisteddfod’s inaugural Chorale Grand Prix event, which also raised over $8500 for the Auburn-2-Africa.

that won the hearts of the crowd and the loudest ovation.

Comprised of children from various ethnic backgrounds, this choir sang Peter Allen’s I Still Call Australia Home with such pride and sincerity that it secured them the night’s People’s Choice Award.

General give youth chance to share their views

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eneral André Cox has launched a new initiative to give younger members of The Salvation Army an opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas and dreams.

“Tell the General” invites children and young people between the ages of 7 and 25 to submit short videos of themselves talking about the joys and challenges of being part of the international Church.

Openness and honesty are the buzzwords of the project.

“I would like contributors to speak freely – to give their candid views, not just what they think I might want them to say,” explains the General.

While there are no topics that are barred, the General has devised five questions to help focus contributions: 1) Which activities do you most enjoy taking part in at The Salvation Army?;

2) What else could your corps or division do for you and your friends?; 3) What’s it like to be a young person in your corps? (e.g. Do you feel accepted and included? Are your views valued?); 4) How would The Salvation Army have to change to become the church of your dreams?; 5) If you could say just one thing to the General, what would you want him to understand?

Participants are asked to upload their videos – of no more than 90 seconds’ duration – to YouTube and then to submit the link to the special web page at sar.my/tellthegeneral.

The closing date is 1 November, and full terms and conditions are available on the General’s website. Contributions may be in any language. A selection of entries will be used to guide discussions at the General’s Consultative Council in January 2014.

Army honoured in train disaster production

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he story of Lieut-Colonel Don Woodland (Ret.), and his involvement in the Waterfall train disaster 10 years ago, was featured in a theatrical production throughout August.

The play, Dead Man Brake, premiered at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre in Wollongong and over 90 minutes told the sad story of the train crash, which killed seven people and injured 40.

Written by Alana Valentine, the dialogue was taken from emergency service, witness and victim reports of the incident, the special commission of inquiry into the incident and recent interviews with people such as Lieut-Colonel Woodland, who at the time was The Salvation Army’s Territorial Co-ordinator for Pastoral Care, Trauma and Crisis Management.

Seven actors recreated the experiences of the witnesses and victims present in the aftermath of the 31 January crash.

Lieut-Colonel Woodland’s role at the incident was to meet victims’ immediate needs, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. To have his story featured in a play is a great honour, he said.

“The outcome is just overwhelming. You go through life, everything I went through, hoping I might have been able to plant a seed. Ten years after and someone has planted it, nurtured it and grown it [referring to the play written by Alana Valentine].”

Lieut-Colonel Woodland said he will always remember the crash. Spending a large amount of his officership years at the scenes of traumatic incidents, Lieut-Colonel Woodland explained the weight of responsibility he carried when responding to victims at traumatic incidents.

“I’ve been at the forefront of these incidents and I’ve always had my Salvation Army uniform. This is an important part of the uniform. It identifies who you are.

People stand back and let me in because of The Salvation Army uniform. That’s an enormous responsibility.”

Lieut-Colonel Don Woodland stands alongside the advertising poster for the Merrigong Theatre Company Production’s Dead Man Brake.

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Spend awhile on the nile

A highlight of the Freedom Celebration weekend in Sydney was the production of Spend Awhile on the Nile, a musical which follows the journey of a father and daughter who tell stories from the Bible on a boat on the Nile River. The musical, a project of the Sydney Staff Songsters, starred Roscoe Holland and Madelaine Muir (above). Photos: Carolyn Hide