THAT FARAWAY FEELING

feature

The Salvation Army’s colourful history of hotel ministry

opinion

Worship trend swamping Army’s unique flavour

living our vision

Capturing the National Vision Statement around the country

others connecting salvos in mission

THAT FARAWAY FEELING february 2018 issue 02 volume 02 aud $2.00

Ministry in Australia’s most remote corps

feature

Lindsay Cox draws on Army’s idiosyncrasies

others

editorial

Going the distance for God.

scott simpson

managing editor

almost a decade ago, not long after I started my employment with The Salvation Army, I had the opportunity to travel on assignment, as part of a three-member team, to Papua New Guinea. The purpose of the trip was to produce content for the annual Self Denial Appeal.

Establishing our base in the Eastern Highlands Province city of Goroka, one of the stories we focused on was the exploitation, and subsequent poverty, of people in the rural coffee-growing villages of PNG. This necessitated our team being driven by four-wheel drive vehicle several hours deeper into the highlands to a small airfield. From there, we were transferred to a helicopter and flown even deeper into the mountainous wilderness.

The overwhelming sense of remoteness that I experienced upon finally landing in a dirt clearing alongside a village of bamboo huts, is an emotion that I can still vividly recall. Despite the warm welcome we received from the villagers and their obvious excitement at our arrival, I could not help but think that we were a long, long way from anywhere.

A few years earlier, while living in the United Kingdom, I travelled on holiday to Orkney, a cluster of small islands located in the North Sea off the top of Scotland. It involved a long drive to the northern tip of the Scottish mainland through what was at times, by British standards, a deserted landscape, a two-hour ferry journey and then another, shorter car trip before we eventually arrived at our destination. Similar to my PNG experience, my arrival in Orkney also prompted an overwhelming sense of remoteness; of being a long, long way from the rest of civilisation.

It’s that faraway feeling that is the theme of our cover story in this month’s issue of Others. There’s

nowhere more remote in Australia, in Salvation Army terms at least, than the township of Karratha.

Situated on the north-west coast of Western Australia, Karratha Corps is more than 1100km from its nearest Salvation Army neighbour. In fact, it is a shorter distance to the coast of Indonesia than it is to Perth, the capital city of WA. In a fascinating feature article, Others writer Simone Worthing tells the story of Salvation Army ministry in remote Karratha through the eyes of its corps officers, Captains David and Lynn Boughton.

Simone’s article starts on page 22 of this issue.

Also in this issue, we chart The Salvation Army’s long and colourful history of hotel ministry, the seed of which was planted way back in 1865 when Army founder William Booth, referring to the crowds in the public houses of London, famously told his then-young son, Bramwell: “These are our people...”

Hotel ministry in its original form continues in Australia today, but as our feature article reveals, it has also evolved to include modern expressions of a work that has for so long been synonymous with the mission of The Salvation Army.

As always, our intention here at Others is to not only inform, but to stimulate you to think, challenge you to pray and inspire you to action. Please let us know what you think about the articles that appear in this issue by contributing to our Mailbox section; your comments and feedback are always appreciated.

Scott Simpson is the Managing Editor of Others

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contents str ap

others

34 Summer Carnival, The Salvation Army's annual youth camp on Phillip Island, has been a life-changing festival of fun and ministry.

Photo: Justin Sebastian

opinion

David Robertson on the biggest fake news story of them all

feature

The Salvation Army’s colourful history of hotel ministry

feature

global focus

The Reformation and Word of God remain as relevant as ever

The United Kingdom with the Republic of Ireland Territory

value statement

The social enterprise law firm that epitomises the Salvos

others others opinion

Worship trend swamping Army’s unique flavour

living our vision

Capturing the National Vision Statement around the country

feature

Lindsay Cox draws on Army’s idiosyncrasies

connecting salvos in mission

Managing Editor scott simpson

connecting salvos in mission

Sub-Editor

dean simpson Addressing gender inequity.

Tracey Tidd talks about Australia's groundbreaking strategy

july 2017 issue 06 volume 01 aud $2.00

february 2018

THAT FARAWAY FEELING Ministry in Australia's most remote corps

issue 02 volume 02 aud $2.00

Issue 02 February 2018 General

International Editor simone worthing

Social Media Coordinator lauren martin

Online Editor

anne halliday

andré cox

National Commander

Contributors

Others is a monthly publication of The Salvation Army in Australia.

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Contents

Cover story

22 That faraway feeling Life and ministry in Karratha, Australia’s most remote Salvation Army corps

Features

16 ‘These are our people’ The Salvation Army’s long and colourful history of hotel ministry

Regulars

07 From the National Commander

08 National Focus

10

28

Viewpoint

Drawing on Army life

14

Lindsay Cox and his art of depicting the whimsical side of being a Salvo

Living Our Vision

30 Army Archives

31 New Releases

32 Big Picture

34 News

46 Salvation Story

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from the national comman der

Taking our vision forward.

‘Booster’ campaign a chance to demonstrate commitment words

commissioner floyd tidd

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV).

over the course of the last month I’ve taken the

opportunity to read in greater depth about some of the well-known, as well as the less prominent, stories of leadership throughout the Word of God. My eyes have been glued to the pages as I have read about biblical giants like Abraham, Josiah, Nehemiah, Deborah, David, Miriam and, of course, Jesus. God innately bestowed these leaders with unique gifts and talents so they would have impact far beyond their earthly lives. Piecing together in my mind the common link in each of these remarkable lives was vision.

God inspired their vision and trusted them to stay true to his calling.

In reading these stories, key attributes from each one confirmed God’s vision to his Army here in Australia. Our national vision is: • Spiritual – it is inspired by God and his Word.

• Verified – over 2500 Salvos played a role in articulating it.

• Exciting – it generates enthusiasm and a sense of anticipation for our future.

• Unique – it defines our extraordinary ministry in this nation.

• Challenging – it will stretch us beyond anything we’ve ever accomplished.

In the first part of this year, my wife Tracey and I will be touring every week throughout our Army’s diverse and varied mission expressions in this great

southland of the Holy Spirit. We will be listening to Salvos firsthand about how our national vision is coming to life in every corner of our nation.

We can’t wait to get out there.

For all Salvos, the first half of this year is packed with important opportunities for us to share in our experiences of living our vision through all mission expressions of our Army. Over the next two months, all corps and social centres will take part in the “Vision Booster” campaign. From Sunday 11 February, this campaign will begin with a weekly focus on every line of the new national vision statement. The campaign will culminate in a National Day of Commitment and Covenant Renewal on Sunday 18 March. This will be an opportunity for all Senior and Junior Soldiers to renew their covenants and an opportunity for all Salvos to demonstrate their solidarity and commitment to our national vision.

This campaign comes right before the Easter period, which, I believe is the perfect precursor to this season of recognising the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for his people. As a Jesus-focused movement, unpacking and reflecting on our vision is a very relevant lead-up to this holy observance. I urge you to get along to your local Salvos or social centre to “go deeper” in our national vision during the Vision Booster campaign. As God’s Army we will boldly march forward with the love of Jesus, convicted by his vision to transform this nation one life at a time.

To download Vision Booster resources head to: resources.australiaone.info/vision

Commissioner Floyd Tidd is National Commander of The Salvation Army in Australia

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others

national focus

QUEENSLAND – MEETING VARIED NEEDS IN A VAST LAND.

The state of Queensland dominates the north-east of Australia, with a coastline stretching almost 7000km and a land mass covering more than 1.85 million sq km. So vast is the state that there are corps in Victoria that are closer (approx.

1450km) to the capital, Brisbane, than Cairns Corps (1700km) in the far north of Queensland.

According to Queensland’s divisional leaders, Lieutenant-Colonels David and Sandra Godkin, the state is so huge and so varied that it is a place of multiple personalities. “Queensland’s geography and culture is so diverse from place to place,” says Lieut-Colonel David. “We have the Gold and Sunshine coasts so close to Brisbane, yet so different. There are the satellite cities of Brisbane, the scattered regional centres and remote rural communities. The enormous distances present unique challenges to our local centres and communities, but Queenslanders are resilient and community-minded. They love their state and stick together to support it.”

From Indigenous ministry in Cairns, ministry with Chinese people in Brisbane, the Outback Flying Service in Mt Isa and Dalby, thriving youth outreach in the Lockyer Valley, anti-trafficking and anti-slavery training in Bundaberg, and rural ministry in Emerald, The Salvation 08

As part of the transition to a national territory, The Salvation Army in Australia, as of January 2018, now operates with six divisions. Throughout this year, Others will profile each of these divisions, starting with Queensland.

Army in Queensland is serving unique communities and doing “whatever it takes” to change people’s lives. key ministries

•

Indigenous ministry in the division, under the state’s coordinator for Indigenous Engagement, Lucy Davis, is growing in both rural and metropolitan centres and is a focus area. “Lucy is creating warm and open spaces where Indigenous people feel comfortable and connected,” says Lieut-Colonel Sandra. “This is not about programs, but about listening, learning and growing together.”

•

The Brisbane-based Youth Outreach Service (YOS), since its inception in 1987, has helped transform the lives of more than 60,000 young people through the support and guidance of specialist educators, case managers, support workers, mentors and volunteers. “From its humble beginnings 30 years ago, YOS now operates a non-state independent school, tailored education programs, a learner-driver mentor program, and accommodation support services from four campuses in Spring Hill, Stafford, Lawnton and Goodna,” says Darren McGhee, YOS Manager.

“We want to show young people who are at risk today that there is hope and support for them to make a

The Divisions

QLD WA NT & SA NSW VIC TAS

Australia

others

national focus

at a glance

positive change for the future.”

•

•

Recovery services centres, homelessness services, prison ministry, court ministry and an extensive rural ministry also play a big part in the Army’s Queensland mission. Rural ministry is particularly challenging in the state. “Many people in rural areas are experiencing great hardship and injustice,” says Lieut-Colonel Sandra. “Many of their communities are in decline and we don’t want to get up and walk out on them too.

We have to look at how we can develop healthy faith communities in a way that is different to what we’ve done before and that is a challenge we are working on.”

Research is also in the early stages for a new Streetlevel plant on the north side of Brisbane, under the leadership of Captain Narelle Unicomb. “The Streetlevel model is the grassroots Army, where a lot of our kingdom goals will be met,” says Lieut-Colonel David.

divisional vision

“The Australia One Vision Statement – ‘Wherever there is hardship or injustice, Salvos will live, love and fight alongside others to transform Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus’ – is perfect for Queensland and is an umbrella under

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Corps

02

Outposts

07

Missions

2719

Senior Soldiers

850

Adherents

261

Junior Soldiers

800

Employees

249

Officers

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW The official history of The Salvation Army in Queensland says that Adjutant and Mrs Edward Wright, Staff-Officer Reuben Edwards and Captain Bowerman held meetings in Brisbane in June 1885. Recent research by Salvation Army historian Garth Hentzschel, however, shows that Hester Robinson, an Irishwoman, began the work of the Army in the state prior to 1878, when the organisation was still known as the Christian Mission.

The research also revealed that Captain Peter Cairns arrived in Queensland in 1883 and started additional corps, and that prior to 1885 there were at least six corps operating in Queensland.

Over time, Salvation Army corps, outposts and social institutions became so numerous that there were five divisions in the state, with the most northerly corps situated on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.

Queensland became a single division in 2016.

which all expressions of the Army here can sit comfortably,” adds Lieut-Colonel David. “This is in the forefront of our thinking wherever we travel around the state.” In line with this, the Army in Queensland is embracing areas of ministry which reach out to people experiencing particular hardship and injustice. This includes recovery-based congregations and centres. “We are seeing solid kingdom growth in these places, such as Brisbane’s Moonyah, Townsville Riverway Recovery and Fairhaven on the Gold Coast,” says Lieut-Colonel Sandra. “We’re also seeing this growth in corps where people have engaged with those from the community facing injustice and hardship.”

The Godkins and their team are excited by the focus on this Salvation Army distinctive – reaching out to suffering humanity, helping meet physical needs and introducing people to the gospel.

“This is why places like Streetlevel and God’s Sports Arena are seeing people embrace the gospel, because they have this sense of belonging,” says LieutColonel David. “For many, it’s the first time in their life that they feel loved, nurtured and totally accepted for who they are and it’s from this position that we can begin to share the love of Jesus with them. This is what drives us, seeing lives transformed by the love of Jesus.”

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others

vie wpoint

We bring you a selection of opinion, critical thought, and topical writing to get you engaging with the world around you. To read more of this type of writing, please go to: others.org.au/viewpoint

been thinking ?

words david woodbury

Out of tune.

Worship trend swamping Army’s unique flavour

as a mission-focused organisation, the early Salvation Army effec-

tively utilised its own particular style of distinctive and unique music to drive its missional focus. Perhaps of all our early mission officers, William Pearson stands out as one who had a clear and focused missional mindset, reflected in the words of the song he penned: We’re an Army fighting for a glorious King; We will make the world with hallelujahs ring; With victorious voices we will ever sing: There’s salvation for the world.

For the world, for the world, Jesus died, Jesus died, For the world, for the world, there is room in Jesus’ side.

All the world to save, to battle we will go, And we ever will our colours boldly show, With a trumpet voice we’ ll let the millions know There’s salvation for the world.

(Song 940 – The Song Book of The Salvation Army) During my active years as an officer I was required by the then-Territorial Commander, Commissioner John Gowans, to move throughout the Australia Eastern Territory reporting through our printed and electronic media, on corps activity, particularly in newer corps. I quickly became aware of a trend towards worship 10

music, generally sourced from other contemporary churches. It was not unusual to hear the same worship music in a number of different corps.

Since my retirement, I have noticed this trend growing and becoming more entrenched to the point where, at times, the only music utilised is what is termed, worship songs. Such music has a legitimate place in Christian movements.

However, there is a sense in which an over-emphasis on it gives a one-dimensional aspect to our meetings. That emphasis not only narrows our focus but also impacts our mindset, turning us more and more inward in our thinking and our attitude. I find a resonance with General André Cox’s words in an issue of The Officer magazine last year when he wrote: “I fear that The Salvation Army has become more of a worshipping community than a serving community.”

Worship music is what it says it is: simply music written to worship God. Its one-directional influence tends to be inwardly focused, and an over-emphasis on it may well engender a more cloistered and narrow mindset. Salvation Army music is multi-directional and in essence more missional than either the traditional or the contemporary church, and tends to broaden our mindset to include evangelism and compassionate action.

To sideline these aspects of our music is to disengage a crucial aspect of the Army’s calling.

Perhaps it is that our focus on worship music has heavily influenced our corporate mindset to the degree where mission is relegated to a lesser place. If our worship of God does not result in service for God, then it may well be unbalanced. A quick perusal of the latest Song Book of The Salvation Army reveals that our music includes not only worship of God, but also a wide variety of other aspects of Salvation Army mission, theology and philos-

ophy. Perhaps in some way we have been seduced by the music philosophy from other apparently successful denominations. However, some of their music may well not fit the ethos or spiritual philosophy of The Salvation Army.

In many ways the significant focus in the earthly ministry of Jesus centred on the spiritual development and the equipping of his disciples for mission. While there are a number of oblique references to worship, only on two occasions does he directly reference worship; his confrontation with Satan and his discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well. The final words of Jesus were not about the Church, or worship of God, but about mission: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 NLT).

As an organisation, we were, and should still be, a mobilised, serving Army, missional in our mindset and terminology and missional in our music. I suspect the churchification of The Salvation Army and the over-emphasis on a narrow style of music have tended to turn our focus and mindset inward.

If we continue down this path, the local Salvation Army centre will become indistinguishable from the contemporary church down the road; it will look and sound the same and much of that which is distinctive and unique about the Army will have disappeared. Sadly, I see that in some places this is already happening. It is doubtful that a mission called by God for a unique ministry can survive as just another church in a setting that is already overcrowded with contemporary, fashionable churches.

Major David Woodbury is a retired officer and former editor of Salvation Army publications.

others

vie wpoint

worth quoting .

"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision." – Helen Keller

words john stackhouse

Gold amid the rubble.

You can’t separate Jesus and the Church

the professional christian

speaker took another question from the floor. The university gymnasium was packed for the event, and tension was high. A bearded graduate student leaned into the microphone. “How can you expect us to take your message seriously given the Christian record of atrocities?” he snarled. “Crusades! Ghettos! Pogroms!

Residential schools! Slavery! Sexism!

Homophobia! On and on!”

The audience murmured. The student had said what lots of people were thinking.

The speaker smiled tightly and replied with what a lot of professional speakers reply when faced with this line of questioning: “Well, yes, the Christian church has a spotty record, that’s true. But instead, look at Jesus! He didn’t launch any crusade! He didn’t enslave anyone! Look at him instead.”

Some Christians nodded to each other in the audience. That was a great answer. The grad student, however, wasn’t through. “But if Jesus promised to form his disciples into a community of love and justice, and he manifestly failed to do so, isn’t that a problem for what you’re selling?”

Well, yes. Yes, it is. As fewer and fewer Westerners know much about Jesus – as the polls show – a lot of us nonetheless

seem to know a lot about his Church ... and a lot of that is bad. It’s not just President Trump and his court chaplains, Jerry Falwell jnr, Paula White, and the rest, although they don’t help much. It is a mental montage running in our heads of bloody crusaders and terrified Jews and weeping indigenous children. Bullied kids and beaten-down women and agonised slaves. Two thousand years of Christianity has a lot to answer for.

Today a friend in university Christian ministry writes to ask, “We’d like to host a week of Christian engagement to bring Christian awareness to the campus. The question is whether it should be called ‘Christian Awareness Week’ or ‘Jesus Awareness Week.’”

So instead of attempting the impossible task of sharing Christ while running away from the Church, let’s talk about the Church as holding “treasure in earthen vessels”

My reply? You can’t have one without the other. You can try focusing on Jesus all week, but his Church always comes along with him. Trying to avoid the dark side of Christian history is like trying to talk about Allah and Mohammed without mentioning Islam – and its record of, yes, crusades and sexism and slavery and the rest.

And that’s as it must be. For the only way for people to know Christ properly is to encounter him in their private prayers, yes, but also in the Scripture (taught by the Church), in worship (conducted by the Church), fellowship (hosted by the Church), and mission (undertaken by the Church). The Church is, for better and for worse, the Body of Christ on earth, and it cannot be avoided, or even indefinitely

postponed. “Let’s just keep thinking and talking about Jesus, shall we? And let’s save the Church for (much, much) later!”

Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.

Jesus metaphorically and literally engaged himself to the Church. He is with us, and we are with him, no matter what. So instead of attempting the impossible task of sharing Christ while running away from the Church, let’s talk about the Church as holding “treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7); the Church as a hospital, not a hotel; and the Church as what sinners look like when they aren’t anywhere near holy, but also what sinners look like as they are being made holy.

There is no becoming a Christian without becoming a member of the Church. And the answer to our embarrassment about the Church is not to say, “Okay, all those other Christians have been disappointing, if not outrageous, so we’ll start a new, improved Church that won’t get anything wrong.” Two thousand years of failed attempts at perfection make that prospect bitterly unlikely.

We Christians simply have to take on the admittedly daunting task of dealing squarely with the Church’s tattered reality. There is gold amid the rubble, love within the hypocrisy, and salvation among the scandals. Let’s help each other, and our neighbours, to find them. And let’s keep working to help our churches – this one, that one – become communities in which people don’t have to search so hard.

The Church, for all its failure, offers Jesus.

In many ways the Church is a smelly, rough-hewn stable, but it’s still home for the Light of the World.

John Stackhouse is Professor of Religious Studies at Crandall University in New Brunswick, Canada.

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others

vie wpoint

worth quoting .

words catriona murray

New year brings me to my knees.

Jesus is hope in hopeless situations

there is something about a new

year that is like a clean sheet of paper, waiting to be written on. For some, there is the irresistible lure of the resolution, the resolve to be a better version of themselves in the next 12 months than they were in the previous. Few of these outlast January. It is a time of renewal, of hope; a time when whatever mistakes were made in the old year can be crossed out in the new. But it is also a time for evaluating how those aspirations that were so fresh last New Year have fared.

“God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible.”

– William Booth

hearts, as well as in our supplication to God. What I’m saying is that when we pray for our family to be saved, we don’t mean them exclusively; we probably just mean them particularly. In reality, a general spiritual awakening which would include those we know and care for, well, that would be better still, surely. How much more generous are prayers which are expansive in their concern? What largeness of heart it takes to pray for salvation in those we do not know, or perhaps especially those with whom we are acquainted, but do not yet love.

Once you have prayed for someone, there is a bond created. I think that is how the Lord strengthens the love his people have, one for the other. He moves us to pray for each other and, once we have, that kind concern is marked indelibly on our hearts.

I can testify to the frustration and even heartbreak of trying to bring Christ before people who still want to spit in his face.

I was asked this week which of my prayers had gone unanswered. The question really unsettled me. It has always been my belief that God does not let sincere prayer go unanswered. Sometimes he might say, “wait a while”, or “no, that’s not best for you”, but I don’t think he ever ignores our petitions. For one thing, they are too precious to him.

Revival for our community, for our country, for our world, has to be willed by God. But we surely have a part to play in readying ourselves for it. It is not a small thing we are asking for, and so we should not behave as though it is. God has shown us that he is listening. The waiting is not a divine refusal, but evidence that he hears, and wants to hear more.

But I do have things which I bring before him continually. For most Christians, the first thing on that list would be for their loved ones to know Jesus as their Saviour.

And for many, spiritual revival will also be a priority. Most Christians pray for those things ... but I wonder whether we have artificially separated them in our

Words are easily spent. I have prayed for revival, really meaning it, but more often than not I have prayed the words to fill a silence. That isn’t what God wants; and it shames me to admit that’s what I give him. He wants the earnestness of heart I bring to supplication which directly affects me; that is how I should be petition-

12

ing the Lord for our community.

It’s exhausting being concerned for people who have no thought of their own spiritual welfare. A few months ago, I heard this mentioned in a sermon as one of the things that can wear the Christian down in their own walk. And it’s true. I can testify to the frustration and even heartbreak of trying to bring Christ before people who still want to spit in his face.

They pretend it’s all part of this relentless march towards freedom and tolerance, but it’s really their own bigotry dressed up in fancy clothes.

You can become so acquainted with that mindset as to despair that revival is even possible when no one will have this Jesus to be king over them. But that’s no attitude for a Christian. He wants us to be community-minded, and to pray and pray and pray for these people until all hope is gone.

Jesus is the ultimate lesson in hoping against hope. When the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were filled with despair because the man they thought would be the Redeemer had died a common criminal’s death, what happened?

The Lord himself appeared and reminded them how essential all those hardships had been to the fulfilment of his plan.

And his resurrection surely reminds us that he is hope in a hopeless situation.

My resolution for 2018 is to find that fear for others, that comes so easily where I’m concerned myself, and to give it all to God in prayer. He understands loss of hope. And he restores it like no one else can.

Catriona Murray blogs at posttenebrasluxweb.com

#Livelovefight

Throughout 2018, Others magazine, others.org.au and our social media pages will feature different expressions of #livelovefight.

Show us what #livelovefight looks like in your local area by using the hashtag when you post photos on your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter page. Or tell us your #livelovefight story by emailing: others@aus.salvationarmy.org

#Livelovefight

others

living ou r vision

words claire hill

Capturing the vision around the country.

Corps programs making an impact for the Kingdom

01 living our vision hotspot 1 : hobsons bay corps ( victoria)

Nobody planned it, but Captains Matthew and Fiona Kean have found themselves sharing life with asylum seekers.

It all began four years ago. The Hobsons Bay Corps Officers were preparing to run an exploring Christianity course called Alpha. Ten corps members had already signed up, then the soldier who runs Doorways (a Salvation Army program that provides emergency relief) shared some exciting news. Six men – all asylum seekers from Iran – were interested in attending the Alpha course too.

“The men spoke Farsi,” says Fiona. “So we thought, okay, let’s do the course in Farsi as well as English.

Matthew started googling “Farsi Alpha” and he eventually found some videos.” Thirty minutes into the first evening, Fiona and Matthew were feeling disappointed. None of the Muslim men had arrived. But then in walked the six men with 24 of their friends!

“At that moment I really started to pray,” says 14

Matthew. “I said: ‘Lord, I can’t speak Farsi and they’re going to ask questions!’” Matthew asked the men, “Who speaks the best English?” A 30-yearold man named Sam stood and said he had been an English teacher in Iran. Matthew was floored. “I was like: ‘You are kidding me! Can you translate for me?’”

Four years have passed and Sam is still translating the gospel for Matthew. “He ended up believing it! He said to me one time, ‘All this time I've been translating this gospel that you’ve been telling, and now I’m finding myself believing it!’ And he gave his heart to the Lord.”

Prior to the course, Matthew had been praying.

He says: “I remember writing in my journal: ‘Lord, I want to see at least six Muslims come into our ministry in any way’.”

One of the men who attended the Alpha course has since become a soldier, two are adherents and more than half are now Christians. They are treasured members of the church family. Now they, too, are committed to transforming Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus.

To hear more of this story, listen to Episode 21 of the “More About Officership” podcast at Salvostudios.com

others

living ou r vision

02 living our vision hotspot 2: shellharbour corps (NSW)

It’s 9 o’clock on Friday morning. Inside a blondebrick building on the NSW South Coast, colour, music and children have taken over.

Each week during school term, young families from the Shellharbour community gather for Mini Music. They enter through a streamer-covered doorway to see toys, sensory activities, musical instruments and a vibrant, wall-sized Mini Music banner. The smell of oven-fresh cupcakes and the sound of the team’s home-grown music add to the welcoming atmosphere.

For Lieutenants Paul and Jess Farthing, Corps Officers at Shellharbour Corps, creating a space where people feel at home is essential. “We want to provide a place where people want to be,” says Jess, “a space of connection, where people can come face to face with the qualities that build the kingdom of God.” When people come together in a safe place, community just happens. One mother told Jess she didn’t know what she would do without the support of the Mini Music family. “And there is a Chinese grandmother named Li who comes with her grandchild who has a disability. Li does not speak English but her daughter often tells Jess what a difference the group makes for her mother.”

Last year, one of the boys cried when it was time to leave. “He was going home to face issues no child should face,” said Jess. “It dawned on me that he wanted to stay in The Salvation Army building, not because we run a fantastic program, but because this place is safe. For two hours he had been encouraged

to explore, have fun, and connect with other kids.

Many children are in situations like that little boy, and so are lots of adults.”

Women can now connect further through a new initiative: ‘Mini Music Women’. “It came about quite organically,” Jess explains. “We support each other.

One week we got together to make gingerbread houses. Next time we are making bath bombs. We also have an online group where we share things with each other.” Through ‘Mini Music Life Group’ there is opportunity to explore life and faith.

“There is one mum who came because she wanted to make friends,” says Jess. “She told me straight up, ‘Jess, I don’t believe in all that God stuff, I just believe in now.’ After experiencing the love of the Mini Music community she showed up at an exploring Christianity evening, even bringing a friend.”

“This is simple Christianity,” says Paul. “It’s a happy community that looks after each other. We hope that the community will get to know Jesus because we know that will make it even better. Until then we will pray for them and love them like Jesus does.” *Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals

Living Our Vision Booster Campaign 11 February-18 March Join Salvos across the country as we reflect on and commit to the National Vision.

Download resources at: resources.australiaone.info/vision

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Seasoned campaigner ‌ retired Salvation Army officer, Major Laurie Venables, on his weekly hotel visitation to one of five hotels in the Glenelg area of Adelaide. Photo: Mark Brake/News Corps Australia

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words bill simpson

‘These are our people’.

The Salvation Army’s long and colourful history of hotel ministry

n August, 1951, a young Salvation Army captain was escorted by police from a Sydney suburban hotel and charged with disorderly conduct. His crime was that he had been handing out copies of the War Cry to pub patrons against the wishes of the publican.

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Sydney’s Sun Herald newspaper of 12 August 1951, reported that Captain Ivan Rees, then aged 30, and officer-in-charge of The Salvation Army’s Lidcombe district, was taken from the scene at Regent’s Park by a sergeant and constable in a police (motorcycle) sidecar. Captain Rees was released on bail to appear at Parramatta Court.

In the meantime, hotel patrons, angered by the captain’s arrest, walked out of the pub and vowed not to return until Captain Rees was allowed back. Captain Rees was a much respected man, according to a hotel patron. “He is an ex-serviceman of the last war (World War Two) and wears five medal ribbons on his (Salvation Army) uniform,” the Sun Herald quoted the patron as saying.

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Colonel William Cooper, The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory Chief Secretary at the time, told the newspaper that the Army had been handing out the War Cry in hotels for 60 years before Captain Rees’ arrest without incident of this kind.

Captain Rees, who later became a major and retired in 1980, was the father of Lieutenant-Colonel Rhonda Durston, Lieutenant-Colonel David Rees and Major John Rees, also now retired officers.

He appeared at Parramatta Court on Monday, 17 September 1951. The following day, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the magistrate had ruled Captain Rees had no case to answer. He had not acted in a disorderly manner.

The hotel licensee had told the court that Captain Rees was “shaking a box and disturbing my customers”. But the magistrate said: “On the evidence before me, I don’t think a prima facie case has been made out that Captain Rees at the time was a disorderly person.”

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There are no other recorded incidents of the Captain Rees kind, although a woman Salvationist was banned from a Wollongong hotel in 1969 because The Salvation Army had joined a campaign against the introduction of Sunday trading. The Illawarra Mercury newspaper of 5 November 1969, reported that Mrs Elsie Smith was prevented from entering the hotel with her War Cry copies and collection box for the first time in 48 years of hotel ministry. Like in the Regent’s Park case, patrons at the Wollongong hotel walked out in sympathy with Mrs Smith.

The following day, the Illawarra Mercury, on its front page, published a story under the headline “Army Wins War”, reporting that the Australian Hotels’ Association said it was a misunderstanding.

Mrs Smith – and her supporters – were soon back in business.

Although there does not appear to be a historic record of The Salvation Army’s hotel ministry in Australia, Mrs Smith’s case reveals she was participating in 1921, and official Salvation Army comment about the Captain Rees incident takes it back to possibly 1890. rose among thorns

In his publication In Darkest England and the Way 18

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Major Laurie Venables has built trust with patrons during his 17 years of hotel ministry in Adelaide.

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The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper report in 1951, covering the incident when Captain Ivan Rees was arrested for ‘disturbing customers’ in a Sydney hotel.

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“You might have seen the man (William senior) stop abruptly, take the child (William junior) by the hand and, pushing open the swing door, pass from the crowded street into the more crowded public house bar ... Willie, these are our people; these are the people I want you to live for and bring to Christ”

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Out, Salvation Army founder William Booth tells the story of a young woman engaged in hotel ministry in London.

The book was originally published in 1890, so it’s reasonable to assume his story referred to events in the 1880s, at least.

It’s a wonderful story, told only in that engaging fashion of the Army’s founder.

Her name was Rose. She was, in the words of William Booth, “ruined, deserted and left to the streets when only a girl of 13”. She was “fatherless, motherless and you might almost say friendless”, Booth wrote. “For 12 long years ... her wild, passionate nature, writhing under the wrong suffered, sought forgetfulness in the intoxicating cup and she soon became a notorious drunkard.” She appeared in court 74 times.

As she left prison after her last arrest, Rose came across Salvationists beating drums and singing, “Oh, the Lamb, the bleeding lamb. He was found worthy”. She followed the Salvationists to the local Army barracks, where she made her way to the penitent form and, as William Booth wrote, to Christ. “Rose is now a War Cry sergeant,” he reported. “She goes into the brothels and gin palaces and other haunts of vice, from which she was rescued, and sells more papers than any other soldier.”

Three months after her conversion, 3000 townspeople turned up to an Army meeting to hear Rose give her testimony. It was obviously one of William Booth’s greatest moments.

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, hotel ministry does appear to have been in William Booth’s mind from the beginning of The Salvation Army. Commissioner Catherine Bramwell Booth, grand-daughter of the founder and daughter of the second General, Bramwell Booth (whose real name was William Bramwell Booth), refers to her grandfather and father going into a hotel in Whitechapel (London) in 1865, the year William (senior) started The Christian Mission, forerunner of The Salvation Army.

In her book Bramwell Booth, she paints a picture of Whitechapel at the time as “... darkness, drunkenness and dirt at home in its ill-lighted alleys and waste patches ... humanity densely packed the dingy houses in all the narrow streets that flanked the less narrow streets where markets flourished and where every fifth shop was a gin shop.”

William (senior) and William (junior) were walking in the streets. William (junior) would have been about nine years old at the time. “You might have seen the man (William,

Susie Wallace, together with Envoy Alan Staines, presents a birthday cake to an elderly man Susie helped in her role as a hotel chaplain in Sydney. For this full story go to: others.org.au/percy

Different styles but same mission field.

Words Bill Simpson Retired officer Major Laurie Venables and 21st century soldier Susie Wallace continue the historic Salvation Army hotel visitation tradition every week – but their styles are very different.

Laurie is old-style. He carries copies of the War Cry and a collection box into noisy pubs by night. He moves among the bar and drinking tables, chatting with scores of people each visit. They call him the padre. He is a volunteer. Susie doesn’t distribute the Warcry or accept donations. She visits hotels by day. Some days, she may speak to only one or two people, depending on a need. That need may mean that Susie spends more time outside the pub than inside. She is a full-time Salvation Army employee. Despite the different approaches, their intention is the same – to be available and ready to assist.

At 81, Laurie is a seasoned campaigner. A life-long Salvation Army supporter, he can talk fondly of William Booth’s early days. He is aware that William Booth said that people in pubs were The Salvation Army’s people. “Go out and get them, Booth said. And bring them to Jesus,” Laurie says.

“But you have to go out first. We must not forget the real reason for hotel ministry.”

Laurie has been a prolific hotel visitor – depending on officer appointments – since he was a cadet in training for Salvation Army officership 53 years ago. For the past 17 years, in retirement, he has been a regular caller at five hotels in Adelaide’s Glenelg area on Friday nights. “I didn’t sign up to be a Salvation Army officer until I reached 65.

I signed up for life. So, when the Army said that’s it at 65, I kept going,” he says.

Longevity in the role, according to Laurie, is imperative to building trust. “They (Glenelg hotel drinkers) call me their

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padre or chaplain now. They say I bring church to them.

I’m OK with that. Sure, I take a collection box. But, really, I don’t go just to collect. As I see it, I’m just a sounding board. My job is to listen. They tell me about problems with their teenagers, their wife, their job; that sort of thing.

senior) stop abruptly, take the child (William junior) by the hand and, pushing open the swing door, pass from the crowded street into the more crowded public house bar,” she writes. “Willie, these are our people; these are the people I want you to live for and bring to Christ,” says William (senior) to his son.

“I don’t have all the answers all of the time. I do have my faith, though, and as I share my testimony, they see how I have, through faith, dealt with issues in my own life.

We’re called to witness for Jesus. His Holy Spirit does the rest.”

This was the seed for the beginning of Salvation Army hotel ministry.

As a result of his ministry, Laurie has visited people at home and in hospital, conducted weddings and funerals, and made many new friends. “For me, it’s meeting people on their own ground,” he says. “I believe that’s what Jesus did. He dined with sinners. So, why can’t I?” chaplaincy model

Susie has been in full-time hotel ministry for the past two years. Her mission field is 43 hotels in the ALH (Woolworths) Group in Sydney and Wollongong. Major Marilyn Smith is Team Leader of Hotel and Club ministry in the Australia Eastern Territory. She says the ministry styles of Laurie and Susie are equally important and effective, although her team’s direction is headed more towards Susie’s approach.

“There definitely is a continuing role for corps, in particular, in hotel ministry, especially for fundraising and building casual relationships,” she says. “The hotel ministry our team is moving toward is more of chaplaincy. Building relationships at a deeper level may mean helping hotel staff and patrons find housing, attend court with them, visit them in custody, find a place in rehab programs or aged care centres, provide welfare assistance or pray with them. It’s a specific chaplaincy role.”

“Absolutely,” says Susie, who worked in hospital administration before starting as a volunteer and then full-time with The Salvation Army’s Sydney Oasis youth outreach and later Streetlevel centre 21 years ago. Susie did night-time pub visitation during those days.

She became a soldier 15 years ago and is now connected to Auburn Corps. Her role as a full-time hotel chaplain is the first of its kind in The Salvation Army in Australia.

It is done more effectively by day rather than at night, she says, because it allows more time in a quieter environment. “It’s harder to have deep discussion with people in a pub when they are enjoying themselves with their mates,” she says. “Visiting in the day also allows quality time with hotel staff.”

Major Smith’s team also has four full-time chaplains in registered clubs, with plans for another four next year.

Although club chaplains were originally appointed to work with problem gamblers, they have discovered a lot of their work is with club members who treat their clubs as community centres and approach the chaplains for advice and assistance with family issues.

public house ‘lasses’

The Officer magazine, dated February 1893, under the heading “Public House Brigade”, provides an example of Salvation Army teams in England visiting hotels at least around 1890. Its example is of a town of 30,000 people, divided by The Salvation Army into six districts. Two “lasses” were appointed to each district. They visited every hotel in the town every Saturday night, handing out copies of the War Cry and handbills and “speaking or praying as opportunity was afforded”.

At times, the young women were abused, forced outside or had beer thrown over them. “But,” said The Officer magazine, “... the result was a perceptible increase of this class at the meetings; an increase of soul-saving, including a publican.”

In Australia, there are War Cry reports of a public house brigade visiting 35 pubs in Echuca in 1890.

Other War Cry reports refer to Sydney (1893), Newcastle (1898) and Port Pirie (1902). There was even a song published about “public houses”. The Australian War Cry dated 26 January 1901, published the words of a song, under the heading “A Good Saturday Night Solo” and titled “No Pubs Over There” (apparently referring to heaven).

The hotel ministry in its original form continues in Australia today. But there are more modern expressions of it, too. While uniformed collectors still go into pubs – especially on Friday nights – with their War Cry copies and collection boxes, a new-style hotel ministry has sprung up in Sydney. (see separate story, starting on page 19).

Bill Simpson is a contributing writer for Others

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Since 1887, on or near the first Friday in March every year, millions of Christians have gathered worldwide to pray for the issues of family violence, child abuse, human trafficking, and other forms of injustice. In 2018, that prayerful support will be directed at the 540,000 inhabitants of the Republic of Suriname, on the north-eastern coast of South America.

Salvation Army corps and centres are encouraged to join in this day of prayer on Friday 2 March, for the needs of Suriname and its people. Please contact your local Salvation Army corps for service times. For more information about the World Day of Prayer, go to worlddayofprayeraustralia.org

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words simone worthing

That faraway feeling.

Remoteness part of Karratha Corps’ appeal

arratha, in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, can lay claim to being one of the most remote Salvation Army corps in the world. It’s easily the most isolated in Australia, and you’d be hard-pressed to find another corps, with perhaps the exception of Nuuk in Greenland and one or two centres in remote parts of Canada, that has such a long journey to its nearest Salvation Army neighbour*.

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Geraldton, which lies 1100km to the south, is the nearest corps to Karratha. Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is a further 400km away. Head east from Karratha and you have to travel 2300km, through a lot of rugged terrain, to Katherine, in the Northern Territory, to find another Salvation Army corps. Head west and there’s more than 7000km of the Indian Ocean to navigate before you reach the island of Madagascar. Due north lies Indonesia, some 1400km away.

Captains Lynn and David Boughton overlooking the Karratha town centre.

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The corps officers at Karratha are Captains David and Lynn Boughton. They moved to the town in January last year, from their previous appointment at Portland in south-west Victoria. They see their

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isolation as part of where God has called them to be, although still acknowledging some of the challenges it can bring.

“We’ve come from one end of the country to the other,” laughs Lynn. “All our appointments have been in small country towns, so I think God has been preparing us along the way!” David also sees the lighter side of their isolated existence. “It’s so much more remote than anywhere we’ve been, but it’s the first place where we’ve had a Kmart, an indoor shopping centre and five-storey buildings!”

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responsibility to search for him.”

Karratha, and the adjoining port of Dampier, has a population of around 22,000. It is predominantly a mining town, with a large fly-in-fly-out population, although that is gradually changing. More families are moving in, there are less single men, and the number of flights in and out of the town is declining.

Most of the population, though, is there for transient work. Only a small percentage have lived in Karratha for more than 10 years. active community work

The Boughtons, though, take their appointment to Karratha seriously. “When we are sent to a town, a city or a corps, we see ourselves as being sent to a place to live with, love and serve the community, wherever we are,” says Lynn. “God gives us that choice. I have chosen to follow God and that helps me to be here and do what he has called me to do.

We see Christ’s work in all we are doing, not just in the corps. Not every day is great, but that’s okay.

We continue to seek his presence and his will every morning.”

The Karratha Corps is small in number but active in the community. There is a thrift shop next to the corps building, and Doorways, which provides food, material aid, information and referrals, is also run from the corps. There’s also a youth refuge that offers crisis accommodation for young people aged 15-25. The have their own rooms, share bathrooms, cook together and eat meals in the communal dining area. “We are trying to create a family atmosphere there,” explains David. “Lynn and I are the unofficial chaplains to the young people.”

bridging the distance

The women’s refuge, where Lynn works as assistant manager four days a week, is the only such facility in Karratha. It provides support to women and their children who are escaping domestic violence, through the provision of emergency accommodation, outreach work, and case management and support.

Despite their physcial isolation from other corps, centres and divisional headquarters, technology helps keep the Boughtons connected to the fellow Salvationists. But even that still can’t mask the unique challenges that they face.

“While living remote has a certain appeal to me and I don’t necessarily feel isolated, there are things we do miss out on,” says David. “We can’t be part of cluster groups, can’t always attend special events, and support is further away. Isolation, though, can often mean it’s just harder, and takes longer, to get to certain places. We’re used to driving long distances to get to places. And getting on a plane is like catching the bus – just a whole lot more expensive!

Over time it could be really challenging but for now, we’re loving it.”

Lynn also works two days a week alongside David as Karratha Corps Officer. Mainly Music has been running at the corps for many years and now has 40 families registered. About 15 of these families attend each week. “It’s doing so well here because isolation is a driving force and many of the mums who come 01

For Lynn, it’s the absence of face-to-face contact that she misses. “We know the events that are happening, the outcome of meetings, the support groups that take place or even just the occasional lunch, but we can’t often be a part of them,” she says. “Sometimes, this can have an impact. But, as [National Commander] Commissioner Floyd Tidd said in a recent Australia One letter thanking officers and acknowledging the struggles we can face, God will find us wherever we are, and it’s our 23

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are in Karratha because of their husband’s work and need to find ways to interact with other others,” explains David. “So the mums and the children all benefit.”

There is also a large Indigenous community in Karratha with elders from other major centres, such as Broome and Carnarvon, often coming to the town. The Boughtons occasionally travel out to remote Indigenous settlements, taking essential supplies to those living there.

David is also chaplain to the Fire and Emergency Services of the town – a role which comes with that of Karratha Corps Officer – and both David and Lynn are active in the town’s Ministers’ Association, participating in joint activities particularly at Easter and Christmas time. The Salvation Army is well known and supported in the town. Other churches, such as the Baptist Church in both Karratha and Port Hedland (240km north), often assist the Army with donations of food. “This is extremely helpful,” says David. “We can stretch our finances a lot further that way. Our isolation creates opportunities for us to work together, which is often harder in bigger cities.”

In the remote region of north-west Australia, life is often done on a very big scale. Recently, a company donated six shipping containers to The Salvation Army, complete with bar fridges, mattresses and bedside tables, when workers were moved elsewhere.

“To be here, you have to know why you’re here,” says David. “It’s a big move to come here and you can sometimes feel like you’re on your own. Unless your faith is strong, it’s hard. And people with strong faith can sometimes struggle too. We definitely know, though, that we’re in the right spot.” *The Salvation Army has a presence on the remote island of St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean but it is not considered a corps.

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When we are sent to a town, a city or a corps, we see ourselves as being sent to a place to live with, love and serve the community, wherever we are

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An aerial view of the remote town of Karratha, on the north-west coast of Western Australia.

02. Visitors to the city

are welcomed at the Karratha airport.

03. Captain Lynn Bough-

Simone Worthing is a writer for Others

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ton discussing client need at the Karratha Women’s Refuge.

04. Captain David

Boughton inspecting one of the six shipping containers donated to The Salvation Army from a dismantled workers’ camp.

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words donna evans

A way forward.

Army putting faith in peace-making process

An increasing number of Salvation Army officers, personnel and centres are adopting a model called Faith-Based Facilitation to work through sensitive situations. scenario one:

The youth at a local Salvation Army corps in a large city noticed that there were commercial sex workers hanging around the corps building most nights. They observed that some of the girls were their age or even younger, and felt concerned for their wellbeing. They approached the corps officer about helping in some way.

How could the corps officer navigate this situation: honouring the young people’s desire to minister; determining whether it was appropriate for involvement by The Salvation Army; engaging the wider corps as needed; keeping the young people safe? scenario two:

There was unhappiness within The Salvation Army corps. There were rumours that Mr Stephen, who had joined the corps recently, was “misusing” his membership and threatening to leave the corps if he wasn’t given financial help.

His wife was a Muslim and, according to rumours, he intended joining her at the mosque if The Salvation Army didn’t help him. These rumours gave rise to anger and frustration among corps members with some threatening to take 26

the matter to the police. What would be an effective way of working through this emotive situation, taking on board the well-being of the new member as well as acknowledging the corps members’ concerns?

Both of these scenarios were real-life situations and a process called FaithBased Facilitation was used with good effect to discover a way forward. FaithBased Facilitation (FBF) is a way of helping people think, talk, explore and respond to their issues in the light of their faith. It is a process that has wide application, from dealing with practical problems such as health and emergency services, through to dealing with complex issues such as community development and social problems.

It can also be used when Salvationists within a corps strongly disagree on their understanding of what the Bible says about a particular topic, or disagree about an appropriate Salvation Army response to an issue in society. Along with an effective outcome plan, another result of the FBF process is that healthier communities enjoying deeper relationships develop.

FBF is not a new idea, a theory or a project, but is a way of working and interacting that needs to become a

habit. Recently, The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters again endorsed the FBF process, with General André Cox, the world leader of the Army, choosing this model as the preferred way to engage in conversation around all manner of issues.

Members of the Army’s International Theological Council, the International Moral and Social Issues Council and the International Social Justice Commission were trained in FBF in late 2016. This was in preparation for the Army’s International Conference of Leaders held in November 2017, where some FBF cycles were experienced by territorial leaders. The FBF facilitators trained in London have now become a resource for their respective territories to use as needed.

For further information, please contact Lieut-Colonel Donna Evans at donna. evans@aue.salvationarmy.org Additional information, studies and tools can be downloaded from www.salvationarmy. org/f bf

Lieut-Colonel Donna Evans is the National Head of Officer Personnel.

She has been trained in the Faith-Based Facilitation process.

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1 event or issue

2 describe

& analyse

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kairos

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bl

experience

e a io dit n d fa it h t r a

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act

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reflect

decide

& evaluate

& plan

FIVE-STEP CYCLE OF FAITH-BASED FACILITATION So what does FBF entail? Briefly, the process of FBF entails a “cycle” that consists of five steps. A group comes together to have a safe conversation about a specific event or issue they want to resolve. They then work their way through the cycle.

1. Event or issue: Define the issue and clarify what is being discussed. As a group, they decide the boundaries of discussion. Understanding and meaning of words are checked so there is a consensus in the group.

2. Describe and analyse: Unpack and explore the issue thoroughly. Build a deep and comprehensive understanding together.

3. Reflect and evaluate: Step back and reflect.

Bible, tradition and culture are considered – along with the opportunity for prayer and reflection.

This is potentially where a Kairos moment may occur (noted in the inner part of the accompanying graphic). This could be described as a “light bulb” moment, a time where we listen to allow God’s voice to become clear – maybe with new understanding or a new direction. This does not always occur, but it is important that space is given so God has an opportunity to be heard.

4. Decide and plan: What can we do about it? This is where consensus can be reached about decisions the group can own and put into practice.

5. Act: This may or may not be relevant, depending on the issue or topic. However, translating decisions into action is most vital. The conversation, deepening relationships and decisions made, need to impact the way we live. A good question here is, “In the light of this experience, how then shall we live?”

The Faith-Based Facilitation process does not necessarily stop after one cycle, but as new or connected issues are identified a new cycle can commence and the conversation restarted.

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words jessica morris

Drawing on Army life.

Lindsay Cox makes an art of depicting the whimsical side of being a Salvo

here’s something about Lindsay Cox’s cartoons that make you laugh out loud.

Maybe it’s his uncanny ability to depict The Salvation Army’s clichéd culture with the stroke of a felt-tipped pen – his willingness to lovingly take the mickey out of a denomination he has loved and served most of his life. Whatever the case, it’s not every day you see a cartoonist take on Hamodava Coffee, General William Booth, or Gowans and Larsson.

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Since the release of his book, Fire A Folly, in 2015, and its sequel Fire Another Folly, Salvationists around the world have got a chuckle out of Lindsay’s illustrations. Paired with Gordon Main’s witty poetry, the books have contributed to a resurgence of traditional Salvation Army culture in the hearts and minds of Salvationists.

Lindsay is the Australia Southern Territory archivist, based at the Heritage Centre in Melbourne. His enthusiasm for Salvation Army history is infectious, and he takes great care preserving the Army’s history through an increasing collection of memorabilia and other items of historical significance. But his “other hobby” is cartooning, and he says it’s the older generation who has been so drawn to his illustrations. “The Salvation Army has changed so much,” he says. “The people that make all the comments are more mature people, and these are the people who are looking at my cartoons in a nostalgic way. The Army that’s gone forever ... they sort of see it.”

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The earliest cartoon I physically have was sent back to me by my first corps officer after I drew a cartoon of him, 60 years ago!

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Unlike many contemporary cartoons, Lindsay’s illustrations aren’t political – there’s no closet intent to bring the Army of old back, he says. Instead, the illustrations exist to give people joy by reminiscing on the past, the days when Lindsay says he first started attending the Army and began sketching its activities and idiosyncrasies. “I came to The Salvation Army as a 15-year-old, through the Glenroy youth group, for a girl!” he concedes. “She left and I stayed.

The earliest cartoon I physically have was sent back to me by my first corps officer after I drew a cartoon of him, 60 years ago!”

As a teenager, Lindsay dreamed of becoming a full-time cartoonist. Despite his career going down the path of telecommunications, he still kept alive his passion for cartooning. He found a home for it by cartooning his workmates, and in The Salvation Army when he had his work printed in the Young Soldier and Musician magazines.

A keen observer with a sharp wit, over the years Lindsay would pin funny illustrations of corps activities on the notice board so everyone could have a chuckle. His platform soon became Facebook and email, and his pictures gained him fans from as far afield as Canada, Holland, the United States and the United Kingdom. “It’s a real pain (the popularity of his cartoons) actually,” he laughs. “I missed posting a picture one week and the amount of abusive emails I got – I’m too scared to miss out again!”

Lindsay is the last person to blow his own horn (illustrated or otherwise), so publishing his cartoons was never on the radar. That was until Captain June Knop, then acting head of the Southern Territory’s editorial department, suggested he collaborate with Gordon to create Fire a Folly. “Gordon happened to be in her office when she received an email from me and on the spot he wrote a poem for it, which she sent back,” he explains. “She said, ‘You two should

Lindsay Cox’s role as a Salvation Army archivist in Melbourne often gives him inspiration for his ‘other hobby’ as a cartoonist, with many of his illustration depicting the Army’s idiosyncrasies (previous page).

get together and do a book!’ I felt my cartoons weren’t good enough and I said no. But it took her about six weeks, and finally we came up with Fire a Folly!”

Two books later, and with another one just released titled Band for Life, it’s fair to say Lindsay’s cartoons were always more than simple drawings. They are a historical record of the Army we grew up in, with some hilarious anecdotes thrown in.

Band for Life: A humorous look at Salvation Army bands is available from Salvation Army Supplies in Melbourne (1800 100 018) and Salvationist Supplies in Sydney (1800 634 209).

Jessica Morris is a former staff writer for Others.

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words george hazell

And I mean to go on to the end.

In the first of our 2018 “Living History” series for Army Archives, George Hazell (OF) reminisces about the impression a corps secretary made on his life in the Central West NSW town of Dubbo.

joe staines was not widely known outside

of his home corps, but he was a strength within it. I have spoken to several people with memories of Dubbo Corps and all have confirmed Joe’s strength and loyalty as the Corps Secretary, but none have been able to add detail to my memories.

I can, however, vividly recall his regular testimony in the Sunday morning holiness meeting and his witness in the open-air meetings. He would tell how he was saved years before in a meeting at The Salvation Army in Molong, a small town 100km south of Dubbo. It was a real “knelt down drunk and got up sober” experience. My sister tells me that for the four years we were at Dubbo, he always said he had been saved for 14 years. If so, it confirms that the experience was powerful but that his formal education was very limited.

I do remember that he regularly ended with, “And I mean to go on to the end”.

This spirit energised so many of the early veterans. They recognised that the secret of success is “holding on, just holding on.”

They did not care for education, honours or glory but, with a strong experience of salvation and a clear understanding of the danger of backsliding, they worked and fought as best they could.

As a younger man, Joe had worked as a shearer and farmhand. When I knew him he was the gravedigger at the cemetery not far from where we lived.

Gravedigging in a country NSW summer must have been hot and thirsty work. He fortified himself with a billy of cold tea and sang Salvation Army songs with a clear voice as he worked. Once again the locals heard his testimony.

He rode to the Army in a sulky with a horse that needed constant encouragement. Coming home he would be singing and then would stir Dolly on to the task.

This meant that often on Sunday evening his voice would come to us: “O boundless salvation – get up Dolly! – deep ocean of love – Get up, get up! ...”

As one of the generation whose oppor-

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Envoy George Hazell works on a projector during his time at the Heritage Centre.

tunities for education and advancement have been so much greater, I salute Corps Secretary Joe Staines and all like him who despite having so much less, served God faithfully.

I, too, mean to go on to the end. * Article reprinted courtesy of the Hallelujah! magazine.

George Hazell is a retired Salvationist living in Sydney. He grew up in The Salvation Army and was at one point a divisional young people’s envoy in the Sydney West Division and devised a new Junior Soldiers program that spread across Australia and to many other Salvation Army territories around the world. He was awarded the Order of the Founder in 1993 for his work with young people. George Hazell was also responsible for the setting up of the Australia Eastern Territory Heritage Centre. Today, he lives in western Sydney and worships at Parramatta Corps.

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01. chick yuill rooks at dusk

Review: Mal Davies

some readers would k now for mer Sa lv at ion Army officer Chick Yuill best by his popular books This Means War! and Moving in the Right Circles, but in Rooks At Dusk we have his first Christian novel and a new means of engaging with this very astute Christian teacher and speaker.

The story focuses on Ray Young, a middle-aged man who is known for his strong faith and inspirational leadership.

He and wife Jean have enjoyed a strong marriage for almost 30 years, although his relationship with young adult son Ollie is not so healthy – the two fell out during Ollie’s teenage years when he rejected Christianity.

reconciliation, and we are given much to think about, including, “What would I do if I found myself in that deep a spiritual and emotional hole?”

I liked that the book had no quick fixes.

Yuill is realistic about the pain an affair brings to a family and how deep a spiritual trough can be. Ray doesn’t wake up one day and just think: “God loves me; I’ll be fine.” The book involves heartbreaking scenes and we see Ray totally broken. For anyone dealing with spiritual or personal darkness, this will be a helpful and encouraging book to read. A realistic study of grief, pain and spiritual searching.

Rooks At Dusk is available from Salvationist Supplies in Sydney (1800 634 209) or Salvation Army Supplies in Melbourne (1800 100 018).

02.

willi kothe struck down but not destroyed

Review: David Goodwin

Ray is in something of a “valley” in his faith journey, questioning what his future holds and if he is making any real impact in the world, as well as trying to clarify how he can repair the relationship with Ollie. And then ... Ray has an affair.

Life, as he knows it, ends. Emotional and spiritual turmoil ensues as Ray has to decide how to negotiate through confessing his infidelity to Ollie and, even harder, to Jean. To add to the already complicated situation, a death in the family plunges Ray into a spiritual abyss.

All he sees is dark and bleak and he finds himself a long way from being a respected and admired spiritual leader.

we like to hope that we would remain true to our faith no matter the cost, but what do you do when you live under a government that is not only determined to control the way you express your faith, but demands that you place loyalty to it above Christ? Willi Kothe’s Struck Down But Not Destroyed tells the story of The Salvation Army in Nazi Germany, and shows the way that the Nazi government gradually increased its restrictions on religious freedoms as part of its quest to control every aspect of people’s lives.

We then journey with Ray back to something resembling wholeness. The author addresses issues of forgiveness, hopelessness, redemption, grace and

As you read the accounts of how Salvationists first tried to find ways to continue their charitable works and keep the organisation from disappearing, and how

their refusal to compromise their core beliefs increasingly put them at odds with the Party apparatus, there is a real sense of increasing danger as the Nazis shed their façade of normalcy and disobedience literally became a matter of life and death.

While the Nazis first claimed to support Christian values, it soon became clear that their Christianity had no relation to the real Gospel – and, in fact, the truth that the Army preached was a threat to their authority.

While in the end it became a simple black and white choice for Christians living in Germany at this time, it is the gradual creep of what was being asked of them and the temptation to compromise of the early years that we can all take lessons from, no matter what sort of country we live in. And seeing God at work, and story after story of what can only be divine intervention when all hope seemed lost, speaks to us across the years.

While Kothe’s book is a little disorganised in places and doesn’t always have the rigour that historians might desire, the narrative is compelling enough that this can be overlooked. This book will appeal to a number of different readers, whether it is those simply interested in Salvationist history, anyone wanting an understanding of what day-to-day life was like in Nazi Germany, or those looking for inspirational proof of God at work even in the darkest moments of history.

Struck Down But Not Destroyed is available from Salvationist Supplies in Sydney (1800 634 209) or Salvation Army Supplies in Melbourne (1800 100 018).

Winner!

Elizabeth Day is the winner of our giveaway copy of the book Band for Life, a humorous look at Salvation Army bands by Lindsay Cox and Gordon Main.

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creature’s abilities, Elisa’s affection blossoms into bravery and finally physical love.

And so, Guillermo del Toro’s production of a truly 21st century love story comes to fruition.

The Shape of Water has far too much nudity and sexual content for comfort. However, Elisa and the creature remain objects of sympathy despite their unnatural relationship. They couldn’t be any more different – different species, in fact. But what would have been considered something extremely unnatural by previous generations is celebrated with every tool at the director’s disposal.

Words Mark Hadley

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THE SHAPE OF WATER Rating: MA15+ Distributor: 20th Century Fox Release Date: 18 January

do you know what you can know for certain about someone who finishes an argument with abuse? Not even they are wholly convinced of the truth of their position. It’s an axiom that will ring true for Christians watching the celebrated love story, The Shape of Water. It’s not enough for writer/director Guillermo del Toro to argue that any form of love is acceptable. When the argument falters, he needs to vilify God to distract his viewers from its lack of credibility. The Shape of Water centres on Elisa Esposito, a 32

mute woman whose life is caught in a spiral of tedium. She lives in a grimy flat above a dilapidated cinema that shows re-runs of Hollywood’s Golden Age musicals. Elisa, (pictured), played by Sally Hawkins, has a playful, determined personality, but it’s given little room to thrive. She works as an unappreciated cleaner in the bowels of a shadowy government facility. No one quite knows what goes on there, least of all her cleaning companion Zelda (Octavia Spencer). However, one day the veil of secrecy lifts a little as the pair witness the arrival of a new specimen from the darkest reaches of the Amazon.

The amphibious being bears a striking resemblance to the Creature From The Black Lagoon, part of the film’s homage to 1950s cinema. However, unlike that creation of Hollywood horror, the specimen Elisa sees is a source of growing sympathy for her. As a cleaner, she cultivates reasons to visit the vault in which the creature is imprisoned, building up a silent language of support.

She discovers that it is both capable of feeling and the victim of terrible tortures at the hands of the facility’s head of security, Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon).

When Strickland decides that vivisection would be a better way of uncovering the

Del Toro has set out to construct a cinematic argument for the beauty of that other “unnatural” attraction, same-sex love. His efforts have certainly won industry approval – The Shape of Water has picked up two Golden Globes – but the audience I viewed it with weren’t so sure of what to do with Elisa’s sexual behaviour.

Elisa is also the victim of dubious righteousness. Strickland the security guard is a great believer in the Bible, in particular the sins of humanity and the wrath of an Old Testament God: Strickland: That thing may stand on two legs. He may look human. But we’re created in the Lord’s image.

Zelda: What does the Lord look like?

Strickland: He looks like us. Well, a little more like me.

Strickland’s Christian character seems to bolster his extreme cruelty, greed, mysogeny, racism, and sexual perversion. He and his religion are thoroughly hateful, but he’s only the leading figure in the film’s outdated society. Those characters who believe in God are possessed of their own superiority, and though they maintain the importance of decency, they are all controlled by secret sins. It’s a ham-fisted attempt at ramming the director’s views home that should be easily detected by any discerning audience.

However, given it’s also the majority view in our secular world, The Shape of Water is likely to be greeted as occasionally awkward to watch, but nonetheless common sense.

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A lias Grace revolves around the early emergence of the discipline that will one day be called psychology. Its sister-series Mindhunter runs a parallel course with the development of criminal profiling.

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ALIAS GRACE and MINDHUNTER Rating: M Distributor: Netflix Release date: Current

where does evil come from? Is it a factor of nurture, or nature? Are some people just intrinsically bad – genetic outliers on humanity’s moral horizon? Or do the seeds of wickedness lurk inside all of us? Tackling the question has involved every discipline from theology to psychology, and even spawned a few new ones. For a brief period in the 19th century, science believed that phrenology – the study of bumps on the human head – held the answer. Next to that, it hardly seems strange that streaming television would make its own attempt.

And, remarkably, two new Netflix shows, Alias Grace and Mindhunter, have hit much closer to the mark.

Alias Grace is based on t he novel by award-winning author Margaret Atwood.

It follows the true story of Grace Marks, (pictured), a young Irish emigrant played

by Sarah Gadon, who served as a Canadian domestic in the 19th century. Marks and a stablehand named James McDermott were convicted of the brutal murder of the master and housekeeper of a home near Toronto.

The Netflix series picks up the story 10 years on. McDermott has been hung, but due to the jury’s sympathies, Grace’s punishment was commuted to life in prison. Dr. Simon Jordan, a fictional student of the mind, is called to make an independent assessment of Grace’s guilt.

Both Netflix series are incredibly well produced, and make for compelling watching.

Their strongest link, though, is the way they challenge conventional thinking about the nature of good and evil. We live in a world where information and entertainment media still tell their stories in terms of good and bad people – two basic types, with little overlap. If someone does something particularly despicable, the media dig until they discover the evidence that proves in which category they belong. In short, evil people are born that way, ticking time-bombs waiting to go off. However, both Alias Grace and Mindhunter suggest there may only be one type of person.

Social circumstances, our education and upbringing, may place a break on our behaviour, but the root of every vile act already resides within us. As Jesus sees it, our problem is heart-deep: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:19-20a).

Our sinful hearts only wait for the right combination of need plus opportunity to give birth to sinful actions. Alias Grace and Mindhunter do us a service highlighting the fact. The world would like to continue to believe in the “truly evil” person because it allows us to credit ourselves with more righteousness simply because we do not do all we could, all of the time. But that sort of self-deception will only lead us further away from the salvation Jesus offers. As C.S. Lewis put it, “When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less.”

Mark Hadley is the culture writer for Others and is one of Australia's leading Christian communicators

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Summer Carnival continues to have capacity to change teenagers’ lives it’s hard to imagine Summer Carnival getting bigger, but that’s the reality facing the Southern Territory’s youth department after the seventh annual event exceeded all expectations again last month.

Summer Carnival is the Youth Councils of the Australia Southern Territory. It is a big event, and with dorms now filling to capacity, organisers are now looking at how to expand the event next year.

After humble beginnings in Geelong in 2012, it is now a huge event, with 372 campers and 92 leaders this year converging on Phillip Island Adventure Resort for a week of youthful celebration in God’s name.

It seems a long time since the Geelong days, with its showers in mobile-bathroom trucks and sessions in a colourful big-top tent.

Moving to Phillip Island in 2016, with swimming pools, a f lying fox, and a giant swing, the camp has gone from strength to strength, to the point where it is now at capacity. It isn’t the capacity to attract numbers of campers that is impressive, however, but rather the real change that the event sees in teenagers’ lives.

“Summer Carnival engages hundreds of high school-aged young people with fun and spiritual formation,” said John Marion, youth ministry training coordinator for the Territorial Youth Department. “We have music, magicians, and carnival rides, but the purpose is to see more young people following Jesus and thriving in Salvation Army communities.

“We’ve been doing this event for seven years now. It’s gotten bigger, but the outcomes are the same. We see young people decide to follow Jesus here. Summer Carnival changes lives.”

Last year’s Summer Carnival saw 245 young people respond to God in some way.

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That included 28 first-time decisions, 30 decisions to recommit to God, six decisions for officership and 11 more for soldiership.

The numbers are yet to be confirmed, but the response from young people at Summer Carnival 2018 suggests that lives have been changed in a similar way.

Campers come from Salvation Army corps across the territory, but many also come to the event from youth groups, high school outreach, social programs, and case management connections. Summer Carnival

is designed to be an inclusive community, no matter who the campers are or where they are from.

“I’ve never seen anything like Summer Carnival,” said guest speaker Captain Anthony Barnes. “Kids can jump, dance and shout and no one will bat an eye-lid. It doesn’t matter what their backgrounds are, no one is excluded from the event. These kids can come and experience Jesus.”

Guest speakers at Summer Carnival this year included Anthony and his wife Lisa,

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Around 370 teenagers attended this year’s Summer Carnival at Phillip Island, which included teaching from Fulton Hawk (top left), from the USA Western Territory, fun and worship led by the Southern Territorial youth team, including Envoy Nathan Casey (left).Photos: Justin Sebastian

officers from Seattle White Center Corps in the United States, carnival favourite Fulton Hawk, also from the US, and Rowan Castle, Director of Emerging Faith Communities.

National Commander Floyd Tidd also spoke to the campers on the final night.

“The theme for this event was ‘We Belong Together’, focusing on how our lives are changed through relationship with God and each other,” John said.

“The journey of adolescence has never been longer or lonelier than it is today. Summer

Carnival shares the Good News with many struggling young people.”

Even though another event is over, Summer Carnival never really ends for the Territorial Youth Department, as the team will begin organising the next event as early as March. Summer Carnival 2019 is already booked in and discussions are underway about how to make the event even bigger, with increased accommodation, new performers and new attractions.

Summer Carnival planning may now be

in its eighth year, but as it grows its capacity, it will continue changing lives for some time to come.

– Anthony Castle The Southern Territory Department of Youth supports youth ministry across divisions and corps. It provides resources and events. Its aim is to see more young people thrive as followers of Jesus and Salvos. For more information, visit www.tsayouth.com 35

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Divisional amalgamations will create ‘greater impact’ two major amalgamations last

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month as part of the National Australia One strategy have created six divisions as The Salvation Army continues its journey towards a united national territory.

The South Australia Division and Northern Territory Region became one division while the three divisions of Victoria – Central, Eastern and Western – became the Victoria Division on 10 January, with State Social Command Victoria to progressively join the Division throughout 2018.

“Importantly, [the consolidation] is about the people we serve, about our Salvos living out the mission, seeing mission happening and our vision fulfilled,” said Lieut-Colonel Bruce Stevens, Victoria Divisional Commander. “It’s exciting and daunting all at the same time … and that’s when we remind ourselves that God has this in hand.”

Lieutenants-Colonel Bruce and Debra Stevens are the new Victoria divisional leaders, and Majors Barry and Rosslyn Casey will provide leadership to the South Australia/Northern Territory Division.

“I am excited about the opportunities this will present to allow us to collectively reach South Australia and Northern Territory one life at a time with the love of Jesus,” said Major Barry Casey, Divisional Commander.

“This will help us share both experience and expertise for even greater impact.”

Captains Richard and Katie Parker, as Regional Leaders of the NT, will continue to lead the mission from Darwin and be the key contacts there with government and other agencies.

“The Northern Territory is quite unique in so many ways and moving forward it will be important for us to ensure that this does not change and that The Salvation Army in NT maintains its own identity,” said Captain Richard Parker.

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The South Australia Divsion and Northern Territory Region are now united in the South Australia/ Northern Territory Division, bringing a multitude of services under one umbrella.

New leaders of the Victoria Division, Lieuts-Colonel Debra and Bruce Stevens.

The amalgamation will mean that some of the key support services will now report through the Adelaide office, while maintaining a presence in the region.

“The plus for the Northern Territory is that this change will remove some of the administration burdens for the regional

To read extended versions of these stories, and more stories of the Army’s work around the country, go to:

officers and provide them more time for missional and pastoral connection,” said Major Casey. “It also gives the NT access to a greater pool of resources and supports.”

Lieut-Colonel Stevens explained that greater impact for the kingdom of God was a driving motivator for the consolidation of the Victorian divisions.

“We have a distinctly unique opportunity to shape the culture of what the ‘new’ will look like in Victoria,” he said. “It’s in our hands and there’s no one else to look to – we get to do this!”

The Victoria Division will be segmented into six new areas: South West, South East, North West, North East, Metro West and Metro East. For more information about the Victoria Division consolidation, go to australiaone.info/home/vic-one-updates/ – Simone Worthing

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Findings into early and forced marriage released the salvation army’s Freedom Partnership to End Modern Slavery, has released research findings into innovative and best-practice responses to early and forced marriage in Australia.

This research was the outcome of former National Project Coordinator Laura Vidal’s prestigious Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellowship, awarded at the end of 2016.

Laura, pictured, visited Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, the United States and Kenya last year in order to research the practices of other nations and so enhance Austral ia’s re sp ons e to developing innovative policies, practices and strategies to help end early and forced marriage in Australia.

Through her research overseas, Laura also built international networks to benefit and uphold the rights of individuals at risk, learn from others with advanced practice in the field and develop nuanced and holistic responses.

Early impressions from the data Laura gathered through this fellowship lean towards a conclusion that suggests Australia does not have the most effective framework to ensure prevention and protection of individuals at risk of early and forced marriage. “[My] recommendations are the start of a roadmap that Australia should adopt because they have been proven to be effective in comparable jurisdictions,” Laura said.

– Simone Worthing

The Freedom Partnership’s Alison Rahill (front row, left), and Captain Craig Harlum (back row, second left), Lockyer Valley Corps Officer, with the training team at the Freedom Links Workshop that was held in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland.

Freedom Partnership receives grant to fund fight against modern slavery the salvation army’s Freedom Partner-

ship has been awarded a Community Crimes Prevention Grant, funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, under its anti-trafficking framework.

The initial result of the grant is a workshop and training program, Freedom Links, that empowers people to identify and respond to human trafficking, extreme exploitation and forced labour in their community.

Freedom Links is particularly relevant for churches and community organisations that may have contact with temporary migrants or new arrivals. Agriculture, construction, hospitality and cleaning are industries that have been identified as high risk.

“Our mission is to end slavery by working with the communities where vulnerable people live and work,” said Alison Rahill, National Networks Coordinator for The Salvation Army’s Freedom Partnership to End Modern Slavery. “Every community in regional Australia has a story around modern slavery and criminal exploitation. In many cases locals knew something was wrong but just didn’t know how to respond.”

Alison will deliver the training at Salvation Army corps, and will be joined by the Australian Federal Police Human Trafficking Team and Salvos Humanitarian Legal migration law senior partner, Michael Anglin.

The first Freedom Links workshops took place in the Lockyer Valley in November, a farming area west of Brisbane. Additional workshops are planned for 2018, in Mildura (Victoria), Griffith (NSW), and the Wide Bay Burnett region (Queensland). All of these areas are heavily agricultural, and initial relationship building and meetings in these places have already been held.

“We are working in communities where there are high numbers of temporary workers and the local farming economy is dependent on those workers,” said Alison.

“It is essential for this project to succeed, to have local civic leaders identify that they have a role to play in creating opportunities for social inclusion and outreach activities aimed at engaging the most vulnerable people in their community. They have to see this issue as their problem and want to do what they can.”

– Simone Worthing 37

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Colleges honour past and herald a united future the salvation army’s Booth College in the Australia Eastern Territory and Catherine Booth College in the Southern Territory held coinciding commemorative services ahead of their union as a single college last month.

The services, held in December, recognised the historical and sentimental significance of the territorial colleges before Eva Burrows College was officially formed as the national college for The Salvation Army in Melbourne.

“We did our best as Catherine Booth College to chart new directions, and I think that spirit will go with us,” Major Gregory Morgan, former Chair of Catherine Booth College and new National Head of College, told those gathered in Melbourne.

“Catherine Booth once said, ‘If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present’, and I think we plan to carry and continue that challenge, even as we leave behind [our old identities].”

Former Catherine Booth College Director of the School for Learning and Development, Major Jim Weymouth, ref lected on the legacy of Catherine Booth and how the college culture developed from this.

“It’s a journey which is far from complete,

Major Gregory Morgan, new National Head of College, acknowledges Amanda Merrett as the first recipient of the General Eva Burrows Australian Scholarship. and I’m hoping that the transition to Eva Burrows College and Australia One ushers in a fresh opportunity for our training resources to link equally across all parts of the organisation.”

College staff, cadets and well-wishers attended the events, where they were treated to recollections of what the college has meant to various people and their hopes for it moving forward. Attendees in Melbourne selected stones, and those in Sydney chose key symbols around the room, to remember the significance of the past and look forward to the future as one college.

Major Deborah Robinson focused on this in Sydney, preaching from Psalm 27 about

having confidence in the presence of God even amidst change.

“As we wait on the Lord we are called to be strong and to take heart,” she said. “Not to simply endure, but to be confident and full of hope and expectation because, as with the psalmist, we remain confident of this: that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Near the close of the Southern Territory service, Major Morgan announced that Amanda Merrett would be the first recipient of the General Eva Burrows Australian Scholarship, further enforcing the legacy of a bold, committed Army moving forward.

– Jessica Morris

Conference to harness power of older Australians the salvation army has brought other church-

es together to host an inter-denominational ‘Now is the Time’ conference in Melbourne in March, aiming to inspire corps, churches and centres to see the untapped potential of people in the 45+ age category.

Organised by the ‘Better Together’ team, which is made up of representatives of all major denominations and a number of para-church organisations, the conference will feature guest speakers Amy 38

Hanson (author of Baby Boomers & Beyond) and Graham Agnew (author of Hope in 60 Seconds).

“This conference will be a game-changer,” says Australia Southern Territory Salvos Caring and Seniors Ministries consultant, Major Jennifer Cloke. “It will change the way you and your church view older members of your congregation… it will inspire ministry by, not just to, older adults in church settings.”

To book, head to: sarmy.org.au/nowisthetime

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Tassie street project set to expand after funding boost the salvation army’s Street Teams project in Tasmania has received an additional $110,000 in funding from the State Government that will allow the program to continue in Hobart, and expand in Launceston, in the state’s north east.

The Street Teams project is a partnership between Hobart City Council, The Salvation Army and Tasmania Police, modelled on a similar initiative run from the Army’s Project 614 in Melbourne.

The project involves teams of trained volunteers and a Salvation Army staff member being present in the Hobart entertainment district around the waterfront area and adjacent Salamanca Place on Friday and Saturday nights between 10.30pm and 3am.

The teams provide support, care and assistance to vulnerable people who may be at risk of harm or causing harm to others due to alcohol, and other drug, misuse.

The Street Teams project has been running for three years.

“The project focuses on harm minimisation,” explained Guy Stainsby, Street Teams Project Officer.

“We make friends with people, give out ‘high end’ lollies such as chupa chups, bottles of water and footwear for girls who’ve

A member of the Tasmania police force operates The Salvation Army’s coffee cart during a quieter moment of the Street Teams project’s evening operation in Hobart’s city centre. taken off their high heels. We also run a high-quality coffee cart close to the secure Castray Esplanade taxi rank, providing hot drinks, a place to relax, and further help and support for those experiencing a range of health and social problems.”

In Launceston, the Street Teams presence

is smaller and less regular. The teams go out on “special occasions”, such as when there are major football games, concerts or public events. “With the new funding, the teams will be able to broaden their outreach there,” said Guy. – Simone Worthing

Salvos volunteer teams going for gold at Commonwealth Games as the countdown to the XXI Commonwealth Games on Queensland’s Gold Coast gets closer, Salvation Army volunteer teams are busy planning their mission and outreach activities.

The Salvation Army is partnering with local South East Queensland corps, and other churches, to provide volunteers and activities for the community and its visitors during the Commonwealth Games from 4-15 April.

Major Trevor Nicol, Assistant Personnel Officer for the NSW and ACT Division, will lead the team of Salvos volunteers, who are coming from all over Australia, as well as

seven volunteers from Papua New Guinea.

The Salvos team will join with Beyond Gold – a partnership between local churches and Christian sports and mission organisations to maximise the legacy and benefits of the Games event both in the Gold Coast community and further afield.

“We have between 25 and 30 volunteers

for the two weeks of the Games, which is just great,” said Major Nicol.

“We will also have some guests coming to help for a few days – National Leaders Commissioners Floyd and Tracey Tidd, NSW and ACT Divisional Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Miriam Gluyas, and Queensland Divisional Commander, Lieut-Colonel David Godkin.”

The teams will be involved in activities including sports clinics at local schools, community kids’ clubs and barbecues, and outreach with Beyond Gold teams.

To volunteer, contact Major Trevor Nicol at trevor.nicol@aue.salvationarmy.org.

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Workshops focus on ‘bedding down’ vision statement the importance of The Salvation Army’s new National Vision Statement and its ability to be lived out within our mission and ministry expressions has been frankly discussed at a series of workshops.

“Why bother with a new vision?” was the question Salvation Army mission and ministry leaders from Sydney and Wollongong were asked when they first sat down at the “Leading our Vision” workshop at Fairfield in south-west Sydney in December.

National Chief Secretary, Colonel Mark Campbell, reassured those present that the statement had national and international Salvation Army backing. “We must keep the vision past one change [of Territorial Commander] ... it needs to be bedded down over a period of time,” he said.

“We all need to own this vision because there have been 2500 Salvos who have spoken into this through various avenues. We need to get past just officers leading The Salvation Army ... all Salvos need to own and live this united vision.”

Workshops have been held in every di-

The Leading our Vision worskshop that was held at Fairfield Corps in Sydney.

"Wherever there is hardship or injustice, Salvos will live, love and fight alongside others to transform Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus” - National Vision Statement vision across Australia, with all Salvation Army expressions being invited.

Participants have been encouraged to share the vision with those in their spheres of inf luence – their congregations, teams and colleagues. A resources pack has been

distributed which outlines a step-by-step guide on how to run upcoming “Living our Vision” days.

From 11 February, all Salvos will have the opportunity to engage with the National Vision in a six-week “Living our Vision” campaign culminating in a national day of commitment on Sunday 18 March.

“Start dreaming,” said NSW/ACT Divisional Commander, Lieutentant-Colonel Miriam Gluyas, at the closure of the Fairfield day. “We’re aligning and we are going forward. God is doing a new thing.”

– Lauren Martin

Sydney Oasis centre to open new special assistance school the salvation army’s Oasis Youth

Support Network in Surry Hills, Sydney, has opened a new, accredited, independent special assistance school at its premises.

The school, Oasis College, which opened on 30 January, is focused on providing students who don’t fit into mainstream education, the opportunity to complete their Higher School Certificate and create pathways to independence, resilience and hope.

“This school will provide a life-change trajectory for a lot of young people,” said Tom Austin, Acting Principal for Oasis College and Operations Manager Outreach, 40

Education and Training Services. “It’s aimed at those facing challenges in life including mental health issues, bullying, substance use or behavioural issues, and is based on the Army’s special assistance school at the Youth Outreach Service in Lawnton, Brisbane, which is so successful.”

A key focus of Oasis College is providing holistic support to its young students.

“One of the strengths of the school is the

tremendous ‘wrap-around’ support in the Oasis Youth Centre – such as counselling, youth workers, the Drive for Life program, recreational facilities, the gym and more,” said Tom. “If we can help the students work on their challenges early, we can help prevent other issues from developing, such as homelessness or addiction.”

Each class will have two teachers and a youth worker, plus a part-time administration assistant. Classes will be kept small to make sure students receive all the help and support they need.

– Simone Worthing

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Enrolments TOWNSVILLE qld

captain paula hambleton recently

enrolled three junior soldiers. They are pictured above, with their prayer pals, from left to right: Kylie Holland (Junior Soldier Sergeant), Lachlan McIntosh with Gordon Gralton, Rebekah Hambleton with Hannah Curnow, Jessica Neilson with Melissa Nicholls, and Captain Paula Hambleton.

TUGGER ANONG CORPS

SOUTH BARWON CORPS

act

vic

major colin maxwell and Envoy Roz Edwards shared the honour of enrolling Sharon Windolf as a senior soldier on Sunday 3 December 2017.

major mal davies, Corps Officer at

South Barwon, enrolled Joel Cassidy as a senior soldier on Sunday 7 January.

AFTER

BEFORE

TO THE SALVOS. WITH LOVE.

Top designers transform pre-loved furniture, to be auctioned on eBay. All proceeds will be donated to The Salvation Army.

Go to feastwatson.com.au or follow us:

@feast_watson

/feastwatson

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others

international n e ws

Aussie officers special guests at Indian soldiers’ Brengle the first brengle Institute for Salva-

tion Army soldiers in the India Northern Territory took place at The Salvation Army College for Officer Training, located in the city of Bareilly, in November last year.

This territory is an Australian Salvation Army partner in mission territory.

With competent translation, The Salvation Army’s position and history as part of the holiness movement, the doctrine of holiness, prayer and holiness and current and local social justice issues were all canvassed during the conference through lectures, teaching, discussion and prayer sessions.

A final covenant service was conducted and all delegates signed their individual covenant cards in the presence of all the officers and soldiers who attended this special meeting.

“It is always a privilege to encourage others towards spiritual maturity,” said Australian officer Lieutenant-Colonel John Hodge, who led Brengle with his wife, Lieut-Colonel Pam Hodge. “The 24 delegates were really keen to learn what holiness is about and its application to our everyday life.

“Their response reminded me that in

Lieutenants-Colonel John and Pam Hodge (front row) with staff and delegates. every culture there are different responses to Christ and his teaching.

“For me in Australia, it is apathy and secu-

larism. To our Indian brothers and sisters, it is often direct opposition and distinguishing Christian principles from tradition.”

Army of volunteers meeting increasing social needs in France in paris, france, The Salvation Army

is responding to the growing problem of homelessness in the French capital with the assistance of over 3400 volunteers.

“Our volunteers mainly work in food distribution and making visits to isolated people,” explains Major Dominique Glories, Director of Volunteer Services and Search for Missing Persons for The Salvation Army France and Belgium Territory.

“We also have some professionals who volunteer, like doctors, who offer their expertise to us when dealing with difficult situations.”

Each night, teams of volunteers distribute food to between 400-500 people. There is also a shop in the Army’s building where people are referred to that sells food at 10 42

The Salvation Army’s volunteers in Paris, France, reach out to many vulnerable people.

per cent of the regular price.

“There are so many women with young babies living on the streets of Paris,” Major

Glories explains. “Many of these women come from Eastern Europe and have experienced domestic violence and other difficulties in their homes.

“Each morning, a volunteer team heads out to meet with the ladies, provide food and hot drinks, and assist them with securing help from the various services available to them.”

Volunteers also help out at special events, including working in the corps where activities are often linked to social services.

“I try to keep in contact with our volunteers by inviting them to Army events and activities,” says Major Glories.

“We have seen many of our volunteers who were not committed to a corps, come and join one. Others do get in touch with us when they’re going through tough times.”

others

Army appointed as fostering agency in Singapore

international n e ws

Salvation Army helps protect homeless in extreme weather around the world

the ministry of Social and Family

Development (MSF) in Singapore recently appointed The Salvation Army there as the fourth fostering agency to provide support to foster families.

The Salvation Army joins the Community Services Society, Boys’ Town and the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association to further grow foster care in the community. It is expected to be operational by mid-2018.

Singapore is part of the Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar Territory, led by Australian officers, Colonels Rodney and Wendy Walters.

“The Salvation Army Singapore is working towards evolving our range of services in the provision of care and protection to children and young persons,” said Mr Marcus Moo, Director, Social and Community Services, Singapore.

“With the addition of fostering, we are now in a better position to provide a wider continuum of care. This is also aligned with our broader philosophy that children are better cared for in family settings than in facilities.

“Through this program, we also hope to bring about meaningful reconciliation and reunification between natural parents and their respective children and young persons who are under foster care.”

The Salvation Army in New York assisted the homeless and others on the streets as the city endured freezing temperatures, ice, snow and wind throughout January.

as the east coast of the United States endured the icy effects of Winter Storm Grayson and historically cold temperatures last month, The Salvation Army Greater New York Division took action to help protect the homeless and others forced to be on the streets.

The Salvation Army’s community centres around the Greater New York area were available as “warming stations” for those seeking respite from the snow and cold.

Salvation Army representatives at the centres also provided referrals to appropriate shelters in the area for those needing longer-term assistance.

Salvation Army vehicles were also on the

roads, distributing hot beverages and “heat sheets” – specially designed blankets able to hold body warmth – for anyone in need.

Extreme weather also affected much of Eastern Canada, with Salvation Army shelters at capacity as the homeless, and other vulnerable people, sought protection from the severe cold.

The Salvation Army also served meals and snacks at the Canadian Military facility, Moss Park Armoury, which opened its doors as a temporary shelter.

Outreach teams will be out on the streets well into February, checking on the vulnerable to ensure that they are safe from dangerous weather conditions.

Hundreds helped following Indian cyclone the salvation army across southern

India responded after Cyclone Ockhi lashed the coasts of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu states with heavy rain and ferocious winds in December.

Food, water, clothes, bedding and other essential items were provided to 600 families.

Hundreds of fisherman are still missing, with 88 people known to have lost their lives.

Thousands of people lost houses and belongings as the wind and rain caused widespread damage, landslips and floods.

People in Kerala were evacuated to temporary camps.

The Salvation Army offers assistance to people affected by Cyclone Ockhi in Kerala, India.

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tribute s

percy ronald hodge, always known as Ron, was promoted to glory on 18 October 2017, aged 96, from his place as a soldier of Parramatta Corps. A service to celebrate Ron’s life was held in the chapel at The Salvation Army’s Weeroona Village and was led by Lieutenant-Colonel John Hodge.

Ron was born in Sydney on 28 May 1921, the eldest child of Arthur and Lillian Hodge.

He married Daisy Cleland on 17 April 1943, and they shared 60 years of marriage before Daisy was promoted to glory on 15 November 2003. Ron lovingly cared for Daisy for 32 years following her stroke. Ron and Daisy had four children – John, Eileen, Arthur and Robert.

Ron lived and worked all his life in Sydney and Wollongong. His occupations included painter and decorator, military serviceman (World War Two), insurance representative and later in life a well-respected welfare worker for The Salvation Army.

others

RON HODGE

Tribute reports.

Early in life, Ron became a Salvation Army soldier. He expressed his love for God particularly well as a musician. He played in and led musical groups at various corps including Sydney Congress Hall, Dulwich Hill, Wollongong, Toongabbie and Auburn over several decades.

To have a Tribute included in an issue of Others, please email your report of no more than 250 words and accompanied by a high-resolution (no smaller than 1mb) head-and-shoulders photograph of the individual, to others@aus.salvationarmy.org The editorial team at Others will make every effort, but cannot guarantee, to print the report in the next available issue of the magazine.

Ron had 11 grandchildren and, at last count, 25 great-grandchildren.

Ron lived at The Salvation Army’s Weeroona Village for the last 16 years of his life, where he was well cared for by the chaplains and staff.

Welcome to the

Messengers of the

the Launch

Victorian

of the

Kingdom Division 3:00pm, Sunday 11 February 2018

The Besen Centre, 87–89 Station Street, Burwood, Victoria Live streaming from 3:00pm AEDT at salvostudios.com/live Featuring the welcome of 10 cadets for the first national session and the installation of Lieutenant Colonels Bruce and Debra Stevens as the new Victoria Divisional Leaders.

Installation conducted by Commissioners Floyd and Tracey Tidd.

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About people appointments

Effective 10 January: Major Pam Marshall, Corps Officer, Mt Gambier Corps, South Australia/Northern Territory Division; Captain Erica Cossington, Associate Corps Officer, Mandurah Corps, Western Australia Division (primary appointment); Lieut-Colonel Lisa Venables, Director of Pastoral Care, Pastoral Care Unit, Office of the Secretary for Personnel; Captain Paul Chen, Corps Officer, Springvale Corps, Victoria Division; Lieut Suyi Xiang, Associate Corps Officer, Richmond Corps, Victoria Division.

Effective 17 January: Lieut Simone Smalley, Employment Plus Chaplain – WA. Effective 11 January: Territorial Envoy Roz Edwards, currently serving as Divisional Seniors and Mission Coordinator NSW/ ACT Divisional Headquarters and Associate Officer, Tuggeranong Corps (additional appointment), is appointed as Divisional Seniors and Mission Coordinator NSW/ACT Divisional Headquarters and Corps Officer, Tuggeranong Corps (additional appointment); Captains Philip and Rachael Farthing, currently serving as Mission Leaders Chifley Mission, NSW/ACT Division, are appointed as Chifley/St Mary’s Team Leaders, Team Members Nepean Cluster, NSW/ACT Division (title change only); Majors Bruce and Carolyn Harmer, Corps Officers Sydney Congress Hall, NSW/ACT Division and Managers William Booth House Recovery Services Centre (additional appointment), are appointed as Corps Officers Sydney Congress Hall, NSW/ACT Division; Captains Amanda and Daniel Ross, Corps Officers Maroochydore Corps, QLD Division, are appointed as Managers in Training, Recovery Services Centre Canberra; Major Sherrie Nicol, currently serving as Associate Manager, William Booth House Recovery Services Centre, is appointed as Manager, William Booth House Recovery Services Centre; Majors Kay and Maurie Clarke-Pearce have had their previously announced appointments as Corps Officers, Roma Corps, QLD Division rescinded and will continue in their current appointments as THQ Social Research Support Officer, Territorial Social Program Department and Finance Systems Support Coordinator, THQ Finance respectively; Major Wendy Watts has had her previously announced additional appointment as Safe Guarding and Safe Salvos Training Officer NSW/ACT Divisional Headquarters rescinded and will continue in her current role as Divisional Personnel Secretary – Team Member, NSW/ACT Divisional Headquarters.

Effective 18 January: Auxiliary-Lieutenant Lorelle Vince, from the Australia Southern Territory, as Chaplain Salvos Stores Western Sydney and Nepean Team Member.

Effective 5 February: Auxiliary-Lieutenant Joshua Vince, from the Australia Southern Territory, as Chaplain Salvos Stores Western Sydney and Nepean Team Member.

Effective 1 July: Captains Ashish and Sandra Pawar, US Southern Territory, as Multicultural Planters, North Western Sydney.

n e ws

promotions

Promotion to Major – 2 December 2017, Captain Isobel Thomas. Promotion to Captain – 3 December 2017, Lieutenant Paul Chen.

retirements

Effective 31 December 2017: Major Brian Corkery; Major Graham Hill; Major Karen Hill.

Effective 31 January: Major Gary Craig; Majors Graeme and Karan Ross; Major Jenny Robinson; Major Peter Farthing.

Effective 10 January: Captain Michael Cossington; Major Roslyn Elms; Major Gary Hart; Captain Karin Lennermo-Beasy.

promoted to glory

Major Peter Ridley on 31 December; Major Victor Walters on 3 January; Envoy Roy Woodward on 12 January.

bereavement

Major Jean Ridley, of her husband, Major Peter Ridley, on 31 December; Colonel Rodney Walters, of his father, Major Victor Walters, on 3 January; Major Sue Cox, of her sister, Jenny Creamer, on 11 January.

Engagement calendar commissioners floyd and tracey tidd (national leaders)

Melbourne Sunday 11 February – In-House Sunday with Cadets at Eva Burrows College; Welcome to the Cadets & Launch of Victoria State Command at Besen Centre, Box Hill.

Melbourne 12-15 February – National Leaders Conference at Eva Burrows College.

South Australia Division 16-19 February – Living the Vision Tour.

Queensland Division 23-26 February – Living the Vision Tour.

colonels mark and julie campbell

Melbourne 10-11 February – Welcome to Cadets & Launch of Victoria Division.

Melbourne 12 February – Victoria Division Officers’ Councils.

Canberra 24-25 February – Canberra Show and Tuggeranong Corps.

colonels graeme (chief secretary - aus) and karyn rigley (tswm/territorial secretary for personnel - aus)

Melbourne 10-11 February – Welcome to Cadets & Launch of Victoria Division.

Melbourne 12 February – Victoria Division Officers’ Councils.

45

others

salvation story

words tash

Detox bus took me on a journey to faith.

I never knew my dad, and my family life was full of the effects of mental health issues and drug use. I moved out of home when I was 15. My younger (half) brothers and sisters and I were close, but when I moved I lost those relationships.

I had a beautiful daughter when I was 16. When I was about 18, I started drinking heavily and my addiction started. I was already smoking a bit of pot. I was sort of functional; I had a job, I’d look after my daughter, and I was with her dad. But I was drinking every weekend.

When I was about 19, I first used the drug ice. I was a single parent by then.

Things went downhill quickly when I started using intravenously.

I was buying ice all the time. I was working full-time but started using heavily and having really bad psychosis.

I had nowhere to go and the place I was staying wasn’t suitable for my daughter.

My work helped me get a rental, but I didn’t stop using. In the same week, I lost my job, my daughter was taken into care, and I lost my rental house.

I was now homeless and living on the streets.

I was just a really bad drug addict; driving around with people, doing deals, and just kind of surviving. I finally got put into prison for a month and that was the best thing for me at the time. I got clean for a month and felt really happy and good. But then I met a guy and fell pregnant again, and, sadly, I was using 46

ice again by this stage. I got a unit when I was six months’ pregnant and in my head I was going to transform into a mum again, but when my baby was born – another beautiful daughter – she was taken straight off me in the hospital.

She went into kinship care with her father’s family.

Life got worse, until I could clearly see what I had done. I jumped on an emergency bus to go to detox in Brisbane. At this stage, I hadn’t handed my life over to God, but from the minute I got on that bus I was at peace. I just trusted that whatever I was going to, had to be better than this.

After a handful of days, the detox had to discharge me. I ended up at The Salvation Army’s crisis accommodation centre, Pindari, and was so grateful to be there. My faith journey started when I got on that bus, but when I got to Pindari some ladies from a church invited me to an event, where I said yes to being prayed for and becoming God’s child.

I went from Pindari to the Moonyah (Recovery Services) centre and I was having contact with my youngest daughter every weekend. I graduated after eight months at Moonyah, then spent another two in transitional accommodation.

I now share-care with the dad of my youngest daughter and I’m building a relationship with my eldest child, too. I finished a Certificate 3 in business administration and I’m studying

Putting her faith in God was the turning point for Tash and her two daughters. community services at TAFE. I go to the Salvos’ God’s Sports Arena church every Sunday – they have supported me the whole way through.

I also have a relationship with my siblings again. Like so many areas in my life, God has yet again done what I thought was impossible. There is no way I can deny that God put his hand on me and carried me all the way through this. I made so many mistakes, but I hope that my girls now have a much better future and that God will have his hand on their lives too!

As told to Naomi Singlehurst

“Generosity to those in need matters to me…

and it is a core value in our family.”

With a gift in your Will to The Salvation Army, your generosity can transform the lives of individuals, families and communities for generations to come.

When writing or updating your Will, please consider leaving a gift to The Salvation Army.

Contact The Salvation Army’s Wills and Bequests team to find out how you can start or continue a lasting legacy of generosity.

Partner with us to continue God’s work and, together, we can give hope where it’s needed most long into the future.

For more information, please call 1800 337 082.

The Salvation Army’s

CHINA 2018

Trek the Great Wall with the Salvos 8–18 September 2018

FA S T FAC T S

Discover the ancient history of the Great Wall, explore China’s bustling capital, Beijing, and raise vital funds to help Aussies experiencing homelessness.

Level of difficulty: moderate (3/5)

Dates: 8-18 September 2018 Trek duration: 5 days Registration fee: $770 (non-refundable) Fundraising target: $3750 (excludes travel) Travel quote: $4450 (including taxes)* Accommodation: twin share in 2-3 star hotels Minimum age: 18 (younger ages considered on application)

Places are limited. Register your interest today.

đ&#x;’ťđ&#x;’ť salvos.org.au/china

đ&#x;“žđ&#x;“ž 02 9466 3107