Pioneer pedigree

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The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory November 2010 Volume 14 Issue 11

CALLED BY GOD CADETS READY TO ENTER OFFICERSHIP THE QUIET ACHIEVERS CHAPLAINCY IN THE SALVATION ARMY LIFE’S DETOURS CRAIG SNITCH’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY

ALSOE INSID

TMENT APPOIN ES CHANG

Pioneer pedigree New Chief Secretary Colonel Wayne Maxwell

ARTICLES BY Commissioner Linda Bond | Captain Sandy MacDonald | Lieut-Colonel Max Ryan | Commissioner William Francis | Major Alan Harley

Itinerary for the visit of Salvation Army Chief of the Staff Commissioner Barry Swanson and his wife Commissioner Sue Swanson to the Australia Eastern Territory in December 2

BRISBANE

Friday 10 December Rally 7.30pm - Celebration The of - 125th anniversary nsland Salvation Army in Quee - Chandler Theatre

SYDNEY

Saturday 11 December 7pm - “The Night of a 1000 Stories” - Sydney Convention Centre Sunday 12 December ert 8.30am - Prayer Conc n - the Sydney Conventio Centre 10am - Ordination and Commissioning of the ess Ambassadors of Holin dney Sy ts session of cade Convention Centre ld at Kids Church will be he room this time in a separate at the centre r 2pm - “Celebrating ou Heritage” - includes the appointments of the ess Ambassadors of Holin dney session of cadets - Sy Convention Centre

Editoria l

Passion for ministry, compassion for people

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first met The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory’s new Chief Secretary, Colonel Wayne Maxwell, more than 20 years ago. Sadly, it was a tragic event which prompted our paths to cross.

At the time, Wayne was a young lieutenant and corps officer at Unanderra, a suburb of Wollongong. I was an even younger news reporter for a local radio station.

The event which drew us together was the Coledale mudslide of 1988. Prolonged heavy rain had forced a section of hillside above the small Coledale community, in the northern suburbs of Wollongong, to give way in the early hours of a cold April morning, bringing tons of mud, water and rubble crashing down violently on a house below.

Inside that house were the Hagans, a young family of five. As his home was demolished around him Terry Hagan, searching frantically in the chaotic darkness, managed to find his two elder children - Daniel, 7, and Lauren, 4 - and escape.

Tragically, his wife, Jennifer, and son, James, who was due to celebrate his second birthday that morning, didn’t survive.

Just weeks earlier, the three children had been dedicated to God at the Wollongong Corps of The Salvation Army.

Strength in leadership

My employer had sent me to report on the unfolding drama at Coledale for what was then the Macquarie Radio Network.

As I moved among the throng of rescuers, other media outlets and onlookers I noticed a man in a Salvation Army uniform.

He was quietly and gently going about his work, providing

Contents The Salvation Army WILLIAM BOOTH, Founder International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria street London EC4P 4EP

Linda Bond, Commissioner Territorial Commander

STORY

8-11 NEW CHIEF’S PIONEER PEDIGREE Bill Simpson gets a revealing insight into the new Chief Secretary of the Australia Eastern Territory, Colonel Wayne Maxwell

12-14 CALLED BY GOD Five cadets of the soon-to-be-commissioned Ambassadors of Holiness session talk about their call to officership

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Peter Sutcliffe, Major Communications Director

16-17 APPOINTMENT CHANGES Who’s going where in 2011 among the Australia Eastern Territory’s officer ranks 18-19 THE ART OF BEING CREATIVE Young people converge on Collaroy for Gospel Arts Camp. By Esther Pinn

Scott Simpson Managing Editor

20-22 THE QUIET ACHIEVERS Behind the scenes with The Salvation Army’s hard-working chaplains

Graphic design: Kem Pobjie, James Gardner

26-28 DETOUR THAT SHAPED A LIFE’S JOURNEY A quick trip to Scotland had a momentous impact on Craig Snitch. By Scott Simpson

Cover photo: Shairon Paterson Pipeline is a publication of the Communications Team Editorial and correspondence: Address: PO Box A435 Sydney South NSW 1235 Phone: (02) 9266 9639 www.salvos.org.au Email: eastern.editorial @aue.salvationarmy.org

COV E R

Scott Simpson Managing Editor

FEATU R ES

Shaw Clifton, General Australia Eastern Territory 140 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000

a comforting arm around the shoulder for those who were distressed and a listening ear if anyone needed to talk. We shared a few words and I was impressed by the genuine warmth and compassion he displayed. It was Wayne Maxwell.

It is those same qualities that Colonel Maxwell and his wife, Robyn (Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries), will bring to their new roles at Australia Eastern Territory headquarters. Additionally, their strength in leadership, honed by almost a decade of service as a divisional commander and divisional director of women’s ministries, respectively, will be an invaluable asset to the territory.

Wayne and Robyn are both taking on huge tasks but ones which God has well equipped them to fulfil. They will, however, need the continued prayers, support and encouragement of all Salvationists in the territory as they seek to guide the mission of the Army in its seven divisions across NSW, Queensland and the ACT. They will make mistakes from time to time – that is unavoidable – but there can be no doubting that they share the same passion for the advancement of God’s Kingdom as their predecessors, Commissioners James and Jan Condon, who had the territory on their heart and gave visionary leadership.

It’s having leaders who possess these type of qualities which enables us to say with confidence that the future looks bright for The Salvation Army and its Australia Eastern Territory.

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30-31 DISCOVERING LIFE IN THE SPIRIT Major Alan Harley describes the lessons he’s learned during a lifetime of study and preaching

R EGULA RS

Published for: The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory

by Commissioner Linda Bond.

Printed by: SOS Print + Media Group 65 Burrows Rd, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia Print Post Approved PP236902/00023

3 EDITORIAL 4 MISSION PRIORITIES UPDATE 5 TC@PIPELINE 6-7 INTEGRITY COLUMN 32 Book review

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33-43 COALFACE NEWS 44-45 PROMOTED TO GLORY

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 MISSION PRIORITIES UPDATE

Seating capacity vs.

sending capacity This month Captain SANDY MACDONALD implores Salvationists to take another look at how they are serving God and whether they have a front-line mission focus

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t’s very easy to measure your seating capacity. It’s easy to count how many people turn up on a Sunday or another day when something’s happening at your corps.

Did you know that there is somebody at your corps who has the special task each Sunday of counting how many people are there? Attendance is one of the standard statistics that we as The Salvation Army, along with many other churches, record. As long as number counting doesn’t become an end in itself and we remember that each “number” is a person created in the image of God, attendance is a valid statistic to measure.

But we are The Salvation Army. The purpose of an army is not to warm seats on a Sunday. A Salvation Army soldier is not merely an attender or a member. The purpose of a Salvation Army soldier is to be actively engaged in the war against sin.

We are in a battle, but it’s a battle won with love. Whether you believe that we are “saved to save” or “saved to serve” doesn’t really matter here. We are called to both. Saving souls and serving suffering humanity is the responsibility of the saints and, by engaging in mission, the saints grow in faith.

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A real danger that we face in The Salvation Army is that we have professionalised and institutionalised service. This means that many of our soldiers are no longer engaged in frontline mission.

In the early days of The Salvation Army, if somebody turned up at the corps who needed a meal or a bed, a soldier would take them home and look after those needs. A select few still operate this way today, but most of us are quick to point out the phone number and opening hours of the nearest community services. Many of our social expressions were originally birthed out of corps, not government funding!

Rather than focusing on seating capacity, I challenge you to think about the sending capacity of your corps. What is your sending capacity? It is a bit more difficult to measure than seating capacity.

In my mind, your sending capacity is the number of people sent out to mission; sent out to battle. The mission battle takes a variety of forms. It may be as formalised as working as a community service worker or as simple as making friends with an unsaved neighbour.

More of us need to get involved with

our neighbouring social centres, not just attending a chapel service when rostered on for musical support but choosing to regularly join in and build relationships with staff and residents. Rather than complain that your corps doesn’t offer anything for you as a new mum, you can be salt and light in a community-based mothers’ group. Some of us need to study for a professional qualification to give us a career within a Salvation Army social centre. This is by no means an exhaustive list!

I have a vision to see every soldier engaged in mission; every soldier engaged in the battle. And this should be just limited to soldiers; children and youth can be fully engaged in the battle as well.

Dare I say that if our existing soldiers return to a front-line mission focus, those who are not yet soldiers will be spurred on to join the battle as full covenanted soldiers as well?

Captain Sandy MacDonald is Divisional Youth Secretary, South Queensland Division.

Becoming who we were meant to be It’s only in Jesus, says Commissioner LINDA BOND, that we have the power to rise to our full stature

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rederick Beuchner in his book The Magnificent Defeat retells a 19th century Hindu fable about a motherless tiger who was adopted by goats.

The tiger was raised by the goats to speak their language, exhibit their behaviour and enjoy their food. In his mind, he was a goat.

One day the king tiger came along. The frightened goats ran for their lives but for some reason the young tiger remained, fearful but somehow not really afraid. The king tiger was furious at the masquerade and confronted the younger, who ignored the rebuke and just bleated nervously while nibbling away at the grass.

The king tiger then took him to a pool of water and forced him to look at their reflections. There was no response from the young tiger.

The king tiger then gave him some raw meat to eat. It was unfamiliar at first, but as he continued to eat, it was like his blood was warming and the truth began dawning. He was no goat. He was a tiger. Lashing his tail and digging his claws in the earth, the young tiger raised his head and gave a mighty roar.

Beuchner makes a basic point that “human beings as they usually exist in this world are not what they were created to be”.

He unwraps this thought, then returns to the language of the fable and writes: “If the tiger who thinks he is a goat could really be a goat, then he would not have this problem. But fortunately, or unfortunately, there is still enough of the tiger in us to make us feel discontent with our goathood.”

Intimacy with the Father

Does this fable speak to you at all? Does this feeling of discontentment, that Beuchner refers to, resonate with you?

Whether on a personal level or a territorial level, is there this deep-seated discontent?

When we talk about wanting to be a territory marked by prayer and holiness, there is no sense whatever that we are referring to a private piety that ushers us beyond our peers and into the heights of the unreal; the untouchable.

When we say holiness is Christlikeness we are not saying that we can be truly and properly God, but we are saying we can be truly and properly human.

To understand what that means, we have to look at Jesus. And when we do, we see in the mirror called the gospels that there is a disconnect.

It’s not that we are hankering after miracle-worker status.

We’re not looking to turn water into wine, walk on water or raise the dead.

What is most troublesome is the quality of love we see in Jesus. It’s a love - a giving and receiving - that explains this intimacy with the Father. It makes trust and obedience natural and even a joy. It’s a love that touches the untouchable and even extends to the enemy. It’s a love that fights injustice; that stands up and speaks up with no fear for self or reputation. It’s a love that is prepared to surrender everything to save another.

And so we peer into the gospels and are confronted with ourselves - self-serving, self-aggrandisement, self-obsessed.

The holy love we have seen in Jesus births the cry of Isaiah, “woe is me!” Like the apostle Paul, even when we thought we were doing good and had the best interests of others in mind, we saw our inner motivation and cried, “who will deliver me from this selfishness, this lovelessness?”

The answer, of course, is Jesus. In him we see what we ought to be and by his Spirit, can be. In Jesus there is power to rise to our full stature.

We not only see what it is to be fully human, but we can know – not after death, not moments before death, but now – that transforming, powerful love that restores us, energises us and frees us. And we thank Him for the possibility and the reality!

Commissioner Linda Bond is Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory.

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Separating the urgent God sends interruptions not to annoy us, says Commissioner WILLIAM W FRANCIS, but to enrich our lives and to build character

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S

amuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan takes its title from the Mongol and Chinese emperor Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty.

The story behind the tale is as fascinating as the poem.

In 1797, Coleridge lived briefly at a farmhouse near Exmore, England. One night he had a dream that inspired him to begin writing a poem the following morning.

After a few hours of writing, a knock came at his door. A visitor from the nearby village of Porlock interrupted his work for more than an hour. When he returned to his writing, most of the “vision” had escaped him, thus preventing him from finishing the poem as he would have liked.

The man from Porlock has since become synonymous with unwelcome distractions.

Annoying interruptions and unexpected intrusions often result in frustration and exasperation. Just when we try to accomplish a pressing task, the phone rings or a text message appears, sidetracking the urgent mission as we focus on the interruption.

At first, these “people from Porlock” appear to be distractions from what we feel is urgent. They are, however, often God-given opportunities to replace the urgent with the truly important. Jesus always put the urgent aside to focus on what was important.

Jesus taught this lesson as he descended the steep hill to Capernaum.

Crowds enveloped him as he made his way into the village. A man with leprosy suddenly appeared and knelt before him, asking to be healed. Jesus immediately replaced his urgent goal with the more important task. He stopped, reached out his hand and touched the man. He recognised the man’s faith and said, “Be clean” (Matthew 8:1-4).

The disciples were often concerned with dignity, order and proper procedure,

such as when people brought little children to Jesus. These sort of chaotic and unacceptable intrusions upset the disciples. You can imagine them complaining to each other, “This is neither the time nor the place ...!” Their Master had more urgent matters to tackle.

Jesus thought otherwise: “When Jesus saw [the disciples’ reaction], he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these’ ” (Mark 10:14).

“Unexpected intrusions ... are often God-given opportunities to replace the urgent with the truly important.”

On one occasion, four people carried their paralysed friend on a mat to see Jesus. They could not get into the crowded house where he was teaching. So they went up to the roof, cut out an opening and lowered their friend to where Jesus was speaking. Talk about a disruption! It is not a stretch to presume that most people in the room, especially the home owner, felt that the unorthodox and destructive procedure was inappropriate! For Jesus it was the opportunity of the evening. He

Integrity

Growing Saints

from the important witnessed the faith of the four friends, and said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven ... get up, take your mat and walk” (Mark 2:5, 9).

Another time, a large crowd gathered around Jesus as he followed Jairus, whose daughter was dying, to his home. The crowd was in “000 mode.” They were aiding Jesus in a life-or-death situation.

Suddenly, a woman interrupted the emergency. She had been suffering from a bleeding disorder for 12 years. “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed,” she thought to herself (Mark 5:28). How arrogant to intrude. Didn’t she realise that a child’s life was at stake? Jesus immediately interrupted his urgent journey to address an important and equally vital situation. He turned to the woman and said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:34).

The “people from Porlock” who unexpectedly enter our lives are not intruders, but in reality are gifts from God. He sends them for a reason – not to annoy us, but to enrich our lives and to build character, both theirs and ours. They are part of God’s ultimate vision for us to be united as one. As this becomes a way of life, God gives us the assurance that we all belong to him.

May we always welcome the “people from Porlock” into God’s family through our love and willingness to put the important before the urgent.

(This article first appeared in the Canadian Salvationist.)

Commissioner William W Francis is the Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory.

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New

Chiefs

’ pioneerpedigree

This month, Colonel Wayne Maxwell becomes The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory’s 31st Chief Secretary. As BILL SIMPSON discovers, if his family’s rich Army heritage is any guide then Colonel Maxwell is a perfect fit for the job

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f pedigree is a pointer to potential for Salvation Army leadership, Wayne Maxwell’s appointment as one of the Australia Eastern Territory’s youngest Chief Secretaries is no surprise.

Only a few days after his 4 November installation as the territory’s second most senior officer, his grandmother, Brigadier Mary Maxwell, turns 100. She and her late husband Brigadier Earle Maxwell became officers in the early 1930s.

His mother’s parents were also officers.

Colonels John and Miriam Cugley served in the Australia Southern Territory from the early 1920s.

Wayne Maxwell’s parents are retired Commissioners Earle and Wilma Maxwell. Commissioner Earle Maxwell’s final appointment was as the Army’s International Chief of the Staff - second only to the General.

The Maxwell-Salvation Army leadership link goes back even further to Wayne Maxwell’s great-grandparents Alexander and Ethel Maxwell, who were envoys and the first Australian generation of Maxwells. Alexander’s parents emigrated from Scotland and the family lived on a property at Kangaroo Creek, near Grafton, in northern NSW. Two of Alexander and Ethel’s children – Earle and Iris (Kingston) – became officers. Wayne Maxwell’s brothers Colin and Philip and sister Judith Soeters, are all majors in The Salvation Army. Judith serves in the Australia Southern Territory.

Wayne, Colin and Philip were in The Salvation Army Sydney Officer Training College at the same time. Wayne is the eldest.

Six of Mary Maxwell’s seven grandchildren are officers.

On the other side of the Wayne

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Maxwell family, wife Robyn’s brother Kelvin Alley is a major in the Australia Eastern Territory.

Robyn’s family association with The Salvation Army goes way back to the early days of the movement in England. Her great-grandfather on her mother’s side was a coalminer in the northern England village of Spennymoor.

He was also a heavy drinker. One night he stumbled into a Salvation Army gathering conducted by one of the Army’s first evangelists, Thomas Sutherland, and was saved. He never touched alcohol again.

He became a Salvationist. The family has served in The Salvation Army ever

with his Colonel Wayne Maxwell

since. Robyn’s mother, then Betty Woods, with her parents and siblings, sailed to Australia in 1926 on a ship leased by The Salvation Army. Betty joined the Alley family through marriage.

There are other Maxwell-Salvation Army officer connections, but the links mentioned already are sufficient to explain the pedigree of the new Chief Secretary.

They also illustrate the immense variety of The Salvation Army. Outgoing Chief Secretary Colonel James Condon is a first generation Salvationist – the first in his family to join.

So, our new Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries are, as they say, steeped in >>>

this month. ry Maxwell, who turns 100 grandmother Brigadier Ma

Photo: Shairon Paterson

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experience I have learnt the importance of being authentic in leadership and I have seen the impact of integrity, influence and credibility.”

His divisional second-in-command and successor as Divisional Commander, Major Mark Campbell, puts it this way: “Wayne does believe that the best leaders are the best learners. He has proven this through his own self development, having achieved a Bachelor in Ministry and a Masters in Administrative Leadership.

“I have learnt the importance of being authentic in leadership ...”

Wayne and Robyn Maxwell have solid Army family backgrounds. Photo: Shairon Paterson

Salvation Army tradition. Wayne and Robyn Maxwell’s family association is almost as old as The Salvation Army, itself.

Team player

At 52, Wayne Maxwell is one of the youngest to serve as Chief Secretary in the Australia Eastern Territory. He was also one of the youngest divisional commanders, appointed as North NSW DC at 42, followed four years later as South Queensland DC, from where he takes up his Chief Secretary position.

He has been promoted from major to colonel as part of the appointment.

Wayne Maxwell prefers to be seen as a coach; sometimes player-coach, but definitely not the main player. That

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role, he says, belongs to the Territorial Commander.

“In relation to how I see myself [as Chief Secretary], by my appointment as second-in-command of this territory I am also part of a team working together to serve, save and grow this Army,” he says.

“I am here to support the Territorial Commander and this role provides an important opportunity to influence the vision and leadership of the territory.”

As a divisional commander over the past decade, he has worked with three territorial commanders and four chief secretaries. There have been important lessons, especially about making public comment and leadership. This was evident in our interview. “Through this

“But his strength comes from the time he spends with the Lord and is expressed through his spiritual authority and wisdom and desire to see God’s kingdom grow.”

On the lighter side, Major Campbell adds: “Like Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Wayne does have a good sense of humour, which assists him in his relationships.”

Wayne Maxwell has also learned sound public life qualities from his officer parents. Even though they rose to high international status, he has never felt pressured to match their standing.

“I really dealt with those issues in my calling to officership,” he says. “I knew God had called me to be me. It was to be my officership; not my parents’ officership.

They had their own officership.

“I remember that when I was in college with my brothers, mum wrote me a letter and said that all I needed to be was myself because that is who God had called me to be. I’ve always appreciated my mother’s wisdom.”

It is clear from our conversation that his parents have played a huge part in who he is. “My recollections of living in a busy Salvation Army family are all positive. Despite the pressures and demands of officership that our parents faced, they never discussed Army matters in front of us. They were never negative about the Army.

“The authentic example of my parents has had a profound effect on me. They were no different at home than they were in public.” He has tried to be like that with his own children – three boys and a girl, just like his own family.

Jonathan is a graphic designer, working

part-time for his church and developing his own design business in Rockhampton, Joel – married to Alyce – works for The Salvation Army Indigenous Ministries at North Ipswich, Corinne is a television journalist with WIN TV in Rockhampton, and Ben is studying a double degree in law/arts at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

Wayne and Robyn have two grandchildren, Unity and Madelyn, through Joel and Alyce.

His own spiritual journey surfaced when he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour as a six-year-old. There were a few challenges in the teenage years, but “never radical detours”. He became a soldier at 14.

The call to officership was gradual.

He wanted to be sure the call was his own and that he wasn’t just following the same pathway as his parents.

He met Robyn in Canberra. They became engaged. Then Territorial Candidates Secretary Captain Graham Hyslop invited Wayne and Robyn to a candidates weekend. They later discovered they were on a list affectionately known as “Hyslop’s Hopefuls”.

JusticeUnit_PipelineAdvert.pdf

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In 1982, they left behind in Canberra their public service positions and entered the Heralds of Hope session at the training college. Their first appointment was to MacLean Corps in northern NSW, followed by Unanderra (Wollongong) and then Townsville. Before becoming Divisional Commander, Wayne and Robyn served in Menai and Dulwich Hill corps’ and administrative positions.

Personal holiness

So, what can we expect from the new Chief Secretary?

“There will no doubt be occasions when a direction is required; when risks need to be taken or a steady response is needed. In order to make the right decisions, I need to daily nurture my spiritual walk with the Lord Jesus,” he says.

“In reflecting upon my aspirations for this role, I resonate with the words of Robert Murray McCheyne: ‘My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness’.”

And where does he see The Salvation Army heading?

“The climate in which The Salvation Army finds itself is enviable. We are just

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so accepted by the community. So many opportunities are open to us. We need to maximise ourselves for God,” he says.

“This means that we need to be open to the Holy Spirit and his leading and watch amazed at where he takes us.

“These are exciting days for the Army.

I am encouraged by the passionate faith and enthusiasm of our young people, social and corps moving toward unity, and Salvationists having a heart for social justice, which is our DNA. “I don’t think that the Army could have a better focus than ‘fixing our eyes on Jesus’. Through the seven territorial Mission Priorities, we can move forward as a life-giving Army advancing God’s kingdom.

“I want to see Salvationists who are vigorous in their faith, visible in their mission and vital to their community.” 

Bill Simpson is a senior writer for Pipeline and supplements.

3:22 PM

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Called by

God

Each year, men and women who have been drawn together from all walks of life are commissioned as Salvation Army officers. It follows two years of intensive training, during which they study subjects as diverse as theology, pastoral care, community development, public relations, world religions, and ethics, among others. They are also exposed to practical out-training and regular pastoral and public-speaking ministry.

On Sunday 12 December, cadets of the Ambassadors of Holiness session will be commissioned at the Sydney Convention Centre. Here, five of the cadets tell the story of their calling and time in training.

Cadet Jon Belmonte

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rowing up in Canberra, where both my parents had been in the military, meant a strict environment. It was during my teenage “skinhead” years that I started brushing with the law and left school to join the Royal Australian Army.

I met Leah, my wife, in 1989 and our son Jonathan was born in 1990. Our daughter, Lorinda, was born in 1993.

An incident in 1995 left my life in a precarious balance. While in the intensive care unit at hospital awaiting emergency surgery, Envoy Ernie Sly came and spoke to me. He eventually asked: “If you do die tonight, where will you be tomorrow?”

As a new Christian, my life changed radically and I started attending The Salvation Army, becoming a soldier in 1998.

During this time, I was employed

by Fynwest in Dubai, and during the Australian dock dispute, and the Royal Navy of Oman as a stevedore.

At this time I began to be involved with many ministries and attended the intensive courses of The Salvation Army’s Vocational Training School, College Of Further Education (1997-1999).

From 2003 to 2008, I served as the

Cadets Leah and Jon Belmonte with their children Lorinda and Jonathan.

National Staff Officer of the Military Christian Fellowship at Defence Headquarters in Canberra. It was a time when I travelled nationally and internationally, and it was the time that the strong call to Salvation Army officership was confirmed for me.

In 2009, I entered the School For Officer Training in Sydney.

It has been a time of personal

softening and a rewarding time.

It has consistently been challenging and has stretched, pushed and moulded me. I have also discovered an enjoyment of study.

I hear the command of Jesus my Saviour: I shall go, strive a little further, cross that last blue mountain barred with snow or that angry or glimmering sea, till he finally calls me home.

Cadet Tamar Kavana

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hat is my purpose? This was one of my burning questions before entering the Training College in Port Moresby.

I was born and raised in a Christian home. Watching my parents taking up church roles as deacons, I began to see a glint of what God wanted me to be.

I had my own ambitions. God helped me through my studies and my achievements at school and he was always faithful to my family and me. Yet I still had the desire to achieve my personal plan. Then, my passion for God was beginning to slowly fade, but he never let it extinguish.

God put me through a situation where I was refined thoroughly. Through it I began to discern what God was doing. I realised the passion he planted in my heart when I was a child. I said to myself, “I can’t go on like this”. I was convinced that God had something better in store for me.

God led me to the Koki Corps in Papua New Guinea Territory. In the years that followed he drew me deeper and deeper into this mission until I finally understood that God wanted me to serve him entirely.

God brought me to Sydney unexpectedly for my officer training and

it turned out to be a real blessing. Two years of officer training have been a great experience. It has been filled with joy, laughter, pain, tears and friendship. God has taught me to always hold onto his precious promises and rest in him through the storm.

God has blessed me with an amazing husband and three beautiful children.

He has called us and will equip and use us. By his wisdom, power and Holy Spirit, he will send us to proclaim his gospel, change lives and serve suffering humanity.

All Photos: Shairon Paterson Cadets Jimmy and Tamar Kavana with their children Elizaberth, Joshua and Christine.

Cadet Ian Shelley

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was a pastry cook, and had been for 30 years, and the job I had in 2007 involved a 40km drive to work.

On a journey to work one evening I drove past the 40km marker when a whisper came into my head that maybe officership in The Salvation Army would

be better than pastry cooking. I dismissed the idea until the 30km marker went by and again the thought came into my head; officership instead of pastry cooking. Once again I put it out of my head.

The 20km marker came and went and a more distinctive thought came into

Cadets Tammy and Ian Shelley with Josiah, Jordan, Kaelan, Jemmima and Hannah.

my head. Could I be an officer instead of a pastry cook? Again the notion was dismissed. So when I reached the 10km marker God had to spell it out loud and clear: Ian, I want you to be an officer.

Well, I was ready, but God had a different idea and so I was deferred for a year, much to my disappointment and frustration.

However, as I look back now I can see that God’s plan was perfect.

The two years at the School For Officer Training have been similar to my calling because of the milestones I have had to pass. My academic, field and spiritual formation have all been a challenge and have stretched me to be the best person I can be. God has been in the driver’s seat and has led me through it all.

Do I believe my call to officership is genuine? Definitely! Ever since this journey started I have looked to God’s grace and guidance and there was only one path to follow.

I always know that the Lord is with me because there is nothing else in this world that I can do but serve God the way he wants me to, as an officer in The Salvation Army.

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Cadet Nathan Hodges have grown up in The Salvation Army as my parents are officers. Over the past 24 years, I have found it to be a fantastic journey to be able to partner with my parents in their calling, but I have also had to face many challenges along the way. The experiences, both positive and some not so positive, have shaped me in such a way that they have given me a passion for The Salvation Army, its beliefs and mission.

Over the past few years as I have learnt more about The Salvation Army – why it exists and what the potential for the movement is - I have seen the need to step up and be counted as part of it. I have seen that I cannot sit back any longer and watch what is happening around me, but that I need to be part of it.

The experience of working for a number of years at Oasis as a street outreach worker, and also in my corps at Earlwood as a youth worker, has helped me to see the importance of relational evangelism and discipleship. I have developed a passion to see young people discover their full potential and to see that develop in them.

Throughout the past two years of training, God has been developing a deeper understanding of the calling he has placed on my life.

He has helped me to process some tough situations that have been going on and to grow stronger both emotionally and spiritually.

As a Salvation Army officer I want to see all people become who God has created them to be. I want to be able to journey with people to help them discover more of the place that God has in their life.

All Photos: Shairon Paterson

I

Cadet Craig Sutton

M

y youth was a bit like the story of Jonah, except that I didn’t get swallowed by a big fish. I was swallowed up by the world and ended up in the belly of a jail.

I grew up in a Christian home and at the age of six, I gave my heart to the Lord. Over the next 10 years, though, I struggled at being a Christian. I struggled with the teaching of the Church and the way people lived their lives outside of church. It didn’t add up.

Despite this, I believe I was called by God to be a minister when I was 15. But at 16, I did a Jonah and left the church and ran into the world. The result was being locked up for four years.

I cried out to God. I knew I needed to change my life and it was at this moment that I came to my senses. This time hearing God’s call, I decided to obey him.

On my release from jail, God’s plan started taking shape. I was off to college to study and graduated with a Bachelor of Theology and Masters of Theology. I spent two years with the Oasis centre and now two years training as a cadet to become a Salvation Army officer.

This time in the “belly” of the School For Officer Training has been a period of growing, stretching, moulding and shaping me.

I have a passion for the marginalised people of this world, to bring them into God’s family.

But I will go wherever God and The Salvation Army sends me.

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Send for FREE information booklet to:

Director, Wills and Bequests, The Salvation Army PO Box 9888, in your capital city or phone 13SALVOS (13 72 58).

Mr | Mrs | Ms | Miss FIRST NAME

LAST NAME

Address Suburb Postcode

State Phone

If you have already included a gift to The Salvation Army in your Will, please tick the box so that we can acknowledge you as an ‘Honoured Friend’.

pipeline 11/2010 15

Appointment changes The following appointments of Salvation Army officers are effective 13 January 2011, unless otherwise stated. Please pray for these officers and for officer families as they prepare to move and take up new challenges across Queensland, NSW and ACT.

NATIONAL SECRETARIAT

School for Leadership Training Directors (Full-time Appointment), Majors Trevor & Maree Strong

RED SHIELD DEFENCE SERVICES

WOMEN’S MINISTRIES

National Secretary (Canberra-based), Major Kelvin Alley

Representatives, Duntroon Military College, Canberra, Captains Nigel & Penni Roden; Representative, School for Military Engineering, Moorebank, Captain Bryce Steep; Representatives, Singleton, Captains Peter & Leanne Bennett; Commissioner, Queensland, Envoy Lyndley Fabre; Senior Representative, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Envoy Clover Fabre; Representatives, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Captains Paul & Lauriee Arthur; Senior Representatives, Puckapunyal, Captains Russell & Dianne Lawson

OFFICE OF THE TERRITORIAL COMMANDER Spiritual Life Development, Territorial Spiritual Formation Coordinator, Major Kerrie Farthing

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY

Assistant Chief Secretary – Projects, Major Cecil Woodward

BOOTH COLLEGE

Women’s Ministries Resource Officer, Major Romona Kinder

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

Overseas Service Personnel Officer, Major Reta Brown; Volunteer Coordinator and THQ Chaplain, Major Coral Hodges; Pastoral Care & Officer Well-Being Team, Mentors to Newly Commissioned Officers (NSW) (Additional Appointment), Majors Trevor & Maree Strong; Mentor to Newly Commissioned Officers (Qld) (Additional Appointment), Major Chris Reid

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION Territorial Mission & Resource Team – Social Territorial Mission & Resource Director – Social, Captain Paul Moulds; Counselling Service Director, Major Robyn Smartt; Assistant Director, Major Allison Wiseman;

Post Commissioning Studies Coordinator (Additional Appointment), Major Maree Strong

Chaplains to Statutory Authorities Assistant Senior Chaplain, NSW Rural Fire Service, Captain Ian Spall; Assistant Family support Chaplain, NSW Rural Fire Service; Captain Kerry Spall

School for Officer Training Assistant Training Principal and Academic Program Officer, Major Christine Unicomb; Field Program Officer, Captain Steven Dorman; Training Officer, Captain Petra Dorman; Spiritual Formation Officer (Additional Appointment), Major Lynn Whittaker; Spiritual Formation Officer (Additional Appointment), Captain Zane Haupt; Residential Manager, Major Rowena Smith

Aged Care Plus Mission & Personnel Manager, Major Beatrice Kay; Chaplain, Central West Aged Care Services, Lieutenant Hazel Hunt; Director of Mission and Chaplain, Chapel Hill Aged Care Services, Major Mel Stephens; Chaplains, Chapel Hill Aged Care Services, Envoys Marcus & Lois Young; Director of Mission and Chaplain, Gill Waminda, Residential

16

Aged Care (Goulburn) Major Pauline Staples; Chaplain, Macquarie Lodge Aged Care Services, Captain Marilyn Smith; Manager in Training and Chaplain Montrose Residential Aged Care, Captain Gary Smith; Chaplain, Mountain View/ Burrangiri Aged Care Services, Major Leanne Lock; Associate Manager, Riverview Gardens Aged Care Services Major Ross Brown; Personnel Support Officer, Riverview Gardens, Aged Care Services, Major Joanne Brown; Director of Mission and Chaplain, Weeroona Village, Captain Joy Morgan; Chaplain, Weeroona Village, Captain David Morgan; Chaplain, Woodport Retirement Village, Major Christine Mayes Employment Plus Chaplain – New South Wales, Major Marina Randall; Chaplain – Queensland, Major Joan Birch (in retirement); Chaplains – ACT & Monaro for Salvo Stores and Employment Plus, Majors Peter & Eileen Holley

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Communications and Public Relations Assistant Communications & Public Relations Secretary and Appeals Director (External), Major Jeff Winterburn Salvos Stores Chaplain – Salvos Stores NSW, Major Robert Sneller; Chaplains – Salvos Stores Qld, Majors Ron & Ellen McMellon

ACT & SOUTH NSW DIVISION

Divisional Commander, Major David Godkin; Divisional Director of Women’s Ministries, Major Sandra Godkin Divisional Mission & Resource Director – Corps, Second in Command and Divisional Candidates Secretary, Major Julie Alley; Divisional Secretary, Divisional Property Coordinator and Divisional OH&S Officer, Major David

Eyles; Divisional OH&S Officer, Major Angela Eyles; Corps Officers, Batemans Bay Corps, Cadets Peter & Rebecca Gott, Corps Officer, Cooma Corps, Captain Louise Nicholson; Corps Officers, Cowra Corps, Lieutenants Stephen & Kim Gorringe; Corps Officers, Deniliquin Corps, Captains David & Patricia Day; Corps Officers, Griffith Corps, Majors Max & Karen Smith; Assistant Corps Officer, Tuggeranong Corps, Cadet Nathan Hodges; Corps Officers, Wagga Wagga Corps, Cadets Ian & Tammy Shelley; Corps Officer, Young Cluster, Major Sandra Lesar; Manager, Canberra Recovery Services Centre, Captain Scott Warrington; Associate Manager, Canberra Recovery Services Centre, Captain Jacqui Warrington

CENTRAL & NORTH QUEENSLAND DIVISION

Corps Officers, Emerald Corps, Lieutenant Richard & Captain Gaye Day;

NEWCASTLE & CENTRAL NSW DIVISION

Divisional Mission and Resource Officer and Second in Command, Major Warren Parkinson; Divisional Mission and Resource Officer and Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary, Major Denise Parkinson; Divisional Secretary for Business Administration, Major Colin Haggar; Assistant Divisional Communications and Public Relations Secretary, Captain Alice Fean; Corps Officers, Dubbo Corps, Major Colin & Captain Kate Young; Corps Officers, Foster/Tuncurry Corps, Captains Michael & Sandy Hogg; Corps Officers, Port Stephens Corps, Majors Colin & Pam Robinson; Corps Officers, Taree Corps, Captains Roscoe & Melanie Holland; Manager, Dooralong Valley Facility, Major Jeanette Stoltenberg; Manager, Hunter Region Recovery Services, Major Bruce Stoltenberg; Assistant Managers, Hunter Region Recovery Services, Captains Andrew & Julie Schofield

NORTH NSW DIVISION

Divisional Youth Secretary, Lieutenant Narelle Unicomb; Corps Officer, Gunnedah Corps, Captain Wendy-Sue Swann; Corps Officer, Moree Corps, Captain Lyn Cathcart

SOUTH QUEENSLAND DIVISION

Divisional Secretary and Second in Command, Major Rick Hoffmann; Divisional Mission and Resource Directors – Corps, Majors Stuart & Chris Reid; Divisional Mission and Resource Director – Social, Captain Tracey Schutz; Divisional Youth and Candidates Secretaries, Captains Ben & Emma Johnson; Divisional Emergency Services Coordinator (Additional Appointment), Captain

Luke Coller; Senior Chaplain – Queensland Fire and Rescue Services, Major Rodney Strong; Corps Officer, Bayside Community Church, Major Sue Hopper; Corps Officer, Beenleigh Corps, Captain Greg Pack; Corps Officers, Bundamba Corps (until 20th April), Major Don Hill & Major Eva Hill (in retirement); Corps Officers, Bundamba Corps, Lieut-Colonels David & Christine Rees (effective April 2011); Corps Officer, Caboolture Corps, To be advised; Corps Officer, Calamvale Corps, Captain Peter Godkin; Corps Officer, Centenary Corps, Cadet Tammy Rees, Corps Officers, Gold Coast Temple, Majors Andrew & Heather McKeown; Assistant Officers, Gold Coast Temple, Captains Andrew & Paula Hambleton (Additional Appointment); Corps Officer, Hervey Bay Corps, Major Lyn Cook; Corps Officers, Life Community Church Mission, Captains Dennis & Sue-Ann McGuigan; Corps Officer, Maryborough Corps, Major Keith Cook; Corps Officers, Pine Rivers Corps, Majors Rodney & Leonie Ainsworth; Corps Officers/Rural Chaplains, Roma Corps, Majors Allan & Christine Daly; Assistant Managers, Brisbane Recovery Services Centre (Moonyah), Envoys Joe & Bev Clarke; Assistant Officers, Gold Coast Recovery Services Centre (Fairhaven), Captains Justin & Lindy Davies; Managers, Still Waters, Captains Andrew & Paula Hambleton

SYDNEY EAST & ILLAWARRA DIVISION

Divisional Secretary and Second in Command, Major Kelvin Pethybridge; Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary, Major Cheralynne Pethybridge; Divisional Mission and Resource Director – Social, Major Paul Kinder; Divisional Public Relations Secretary and Business Appeal Director, Major Elwyn Grigg; Planned Giving Director, Major Sue Winterburn; Corps Officer, Dulwich Hill Corps, Major Keith Hampton; Corps Officers, Menai Corps, Majors Stephen & Tracy Briggs; Corps Officer, Petersham Corps, Major Miriam Sutcliffe; Mission Officer, Sydney Streetlevel Mission, Major Robin Pullen; Team Members of the Samaritan Services, Leadership Team which includes Managers, Foster House Complex, Majors Russell & Lorraine McLeod; Director, Oasis Youth Support Network, Captain Robbin Moulds;

THE GREATER WEST DIVISION

Divisional Mission & Resource Secretary – Social, Major Ian Henry; Divisional Public Relations Secretary and Business Appeal Director, Major Darrell Slater; Assistant Divisional Public Relations Secretary, Major Dean Clarke; Planned Giving Director, Major Vicki Clarke; Chaplain – Western Sydney Courts, Penrith, Captain

Trevor Friend; Chaplain – Western Sydney Courts, Mount Druitt, Captain Debbie Friend; Chaplain – John Maroney Centre, Major Geraldine Wilson; Corps Officers, Blacktown City Corps, Captains Peter & Gail White; Corps Officers, Bowral Corps, Majors Graham & Christine Longbottom; Team Member, Chifley Mission, Cadet Craig Sutton; Corps Officer, Fairfield Corps, Cadet Joanne Catalano; Corps Officers, Narellan Corps, Captains Lindon & Cheryl Kinder; Corps Officers, Rouse Hill Corps, Captains Nigel & Sandy MacDonald; Corps Officers, Upper Blue Mountains Corps, Cadets Jon & Leah Belmonte; Directors, Blue Mountains Recovery Services Centre (Hadleigh Lodge), Captains Paul & Kaylene Morrice Out of Appointment: Major Colin Hopper

The following is additional information in relation to appointments

i

Communications and Public Relations Department

The Sydney Appeal Office at Meadowbank will no longer exist. Officers holding appointments have been given new assignments, or appointed to DHQ from which they will now function in their roles previously carried out at the Sydney Appeal Office. Employees of the Sydney Appeal Office will also be relocated to DHQ or to THQ Communications and Public Relations Department.

Welcome Home

We welcome home the following officers who have been serving overseas: Lieut-Colonels David and Christine Rees from IHQ Captains Peter and Gail White from the Southern Africa Territory

Officers Transferring

Major Eva Phillips to Chaplain Employment Plus and Salvos Stores Western Australia Captains Malcolm and Tracy Robinson returning to home territory – Corps Officers, Miramar Corps, Central Division, New Zealand Fiji and Tonga Territory I know you will join me in praying God’s richest blessing on all of our officers who are involved in a move for the January 2011 annual change.

pipeline 11/2010 17

Young people at Gospel Arts Camp had a memorable week as they were given the chance to develop their skills across a wide range of creative influences including music, dance, singing and media. Photos: Shairon Paterson

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pipeline 11/2010 19

The quiet

T

a chievers

hroughout November The Salvation Army will honour the challenging but rewarding ministry of chaplaincy.

The Army employs hundreds of chaplains across Australia in fields including hospitals, prisons, schools, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, courts,

police, emergency services and aged care.

These chaplains will be speaking at various Salvation Corps and centres during November, highlighting their work and sharing their experiences.

“Basically it’s ‘chaplaincy month’, just to get awareness out there,” said Major Miriam

Sutcliffe, The Salvation Army’s Territorial Consultant Chaplaincy Services officer.

“And the aim of creating awareness about their work is to encourage soldiers at their own corps to become chaplains.”

Pipeline has asked four chaplains in a variety of ministries to offer an insight into what they do.

Being a presence among suffering Major Noela Fanshawe Hospital Chaplain

I

t is with a heart of gratitude to God and The Salvation Army that I share my experience as a chaplain at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.

With a bed capacity of about 800, the PA community is literally a “small town”, comprising several thousand people – patients, families and staff – who enter its doors on a daily basis.

Rare opportunities for me to be integrated into the hospital community continually come my way.

So, what is involved in being a hospital chaplain?

Firstly, it is important to feel comfortable working in a context where there exists a palpable tension between extremes of human suffering, outpourings of emotion, and selfless medical expertise.

Secondly, it is the reality of being intentionally engaged in a transformative ministry of presence, usually around the sacred space of the hospital bedside. This ministry of presence, or journeying, with another most often means my “getting into the pit” or the “darkness” of the other’s own current experience – as Jesus did.

Thirdly, is being attentive to those I meet who are either considering a reconnection with an Army corps or who are exploring for the first time, both the

Major Noela Fanshawe (uniformed officer in centre) surrounded by hospital staff.

20

issue of faith and the possibility of making the Army their spiritual home.

Each day is filled with the unknown.

As I walk the myriad of hospital corridors, I need to be prepared for the unexpected.

I don’t know who I will meet and with whom I will be engaging in either a one-off pastoral conversation or a relatively longterm pastoral encounter with patients, families or staff.

These are some of the comments that may come my way on any given round: “I was praying for someone from the Salvation Army to come ... and you turned up”; “Thank you for getting a Bible for me, my faith is failing”; “Thank you for taking time to talk to me, I feel much better.”; “Will you help us ... we’re not used to this dying stuff.”; “Can we talk. I’m in a mess.”; “How did I survive the crash?”; “Mum doesn’t have long to live ... Mum hasn’t seen our brother for years ... we need to find our brother before Mum dies, can you help us?”; “Can you pray as Pete takes his last breath?”.

What a privileged gem of a ministry is hospital chaplaincy!

And the impact on me? I am confronted daily with life’s reality that, without exception, any person’s life can be changed in an instant from being healthy to being gravely unwell. The impact of this is for me to marvel at how precious are God’s gifts of life, time and relationships.

To complement marvelling, I do my very best not to waste these gifts but instead, nurture and treasure these gifts in my life daily.

Providing support and hope in court system Kath Izzard - Wyong Local Court Chaplain

A

s a Salvation Army Court Chaplain at Wyong Local Court, I hope to provide spiritual, emotional and practical assistance to people attending court, people in custody, Correctional Services workers, and court staff.

Offering court support covers anyone – a victim, a defendant, agonising parents, or bewildered grandparents.

It can be as simple as advice about how the court system works, where to go, who to speak to, or how to seek legal representation.

It could include typing up a statement for someone who suddenly feels too overwhelmed or emotional to speak up in court.

It can be giving a message to someone in the cells from a relative who has just driven overnight to arrive at court that day, only to be told they cannot speak to their family member, or even see them except when they appear in court, in the dock, for just a few minutes.

Sometimes people need a shoulder

to cry on, especially somewhere private, like my office which is next door to Court Room 1.

Sometimes people need to talk.

Someone to listen to their guilt, their shame, pain, confusion, their brokenness, their strife.

Maybe they need someone to understand, or help them understand.

Often I am able to give people referrals, including options for such things as: drug and alcohol counselling, accommodation needs, mental health services, parenting needs, support groups or other counselling services.

Assisting with the introduction of defendants into drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres is definitely a favourite of mine, as is facilitating the Positive Lifestyle Programme, an educational programme available to individuals with court matters.

Most people are eager to participate.

They work well and show a genuine interest in the programme, resulting in being better equipped to apply lifeenhancing skills in a positive manner to future situations.

I often enjoy watching their development as they progress and demonstrate a higher level of self-esteem and a more positive outlook to that which they demonstrated at the start of the program.

This is what keeps me going, seeing these positive changes.

It gives me the courage to go to the cells again and again, to sit with, cry with, listen to and give hope to others.

Hope is helping other possibilities emerge.

Wyong Court chaplain Kath Izzard.

Meeting the many needs of the elderly Captain Mavis Salt - Pacific Lodge Hostel Aged Care Chaplain

A

low-care hostel within The Salvation Army Aged Care services is unique.

Accommodation and supervisory care – which is needed across all age groups for those who have mental illness, struggles with addictions or who are developmentally delayed within our community – is greatly lacking and The Salvation Army over many years has endeavoured to meet these needs, which is now also incorporated within Aged Care.

Consequently, we have residents who do not fit within the ‘Aged’ category here at Pacific Lodge with ages ranging from late 50s to mid 90s. There are some who have no family support and The Salvation Army becomes their family. Within the diversity at Pacific Lodge there are also staff/employees who vary in culture, age and life experience.

The chaplaincy role within this setting comprises connection with people at various points of need, supporting them and journeying with them.

It is an exciting opportunity of encouraging others to explore their spiritual self and talk about my own personal experience of faith and hope because of God’s gift in Jesus.

Each week it is a joy to lead through

a consistent group in Bible Study and Chapel services which have also included the significant events of Christmas, Easter and Anzac/Memorial focus. I have also been able to share a love of music with residents and we now have an established choir called The Pacific Lodgers.

The chaplaincy role is diverse each day and quite often has new or unexpected

adventures unfolding according to need.

It can be all at once exhilarating and exhausting and therefore it’s vital that I balance the role with adequate self-care.

God has taught me many things through these experiences – he is faithfully sustaining and growing me and what a blessing it is to ‘be present with’ people at many different levels of life experiences.

Captain Mavis Salt (at back) with the choir at the Army’s Pacific Lodge Hostel.

pipeline 11/2010 21

The quiet

a

`

chievers

Representing God in a variety of ways Captain Ian Spall – Emergency Services Chaplain

M

y role as a Salvation Army officer has led me into a field of service that is chaplaincy.

I can recall early in my officership a time when I was called upon to provide support to a man and his daughter.

They had just witnessed the mother of the family and another sibling being hit by a truck. They had been travelling in two separate cars to their new home in the country.

This was the beginning of a role in chaplaincy that included many differing organisations, including the police, fire services and other rescue services.

My role over the years has been to

provide pastoral care, on-scene support at events like motor vehicle accidents, murder scenes, suicide intervention situations and body recoveries.

The role has also included crisis intervention, a listening ear, conducting weddings, dedications and funerals (sometimes in that order for the same family). In one instance it was the provision of support to one family over the death of three of their children. In another case it was advocating and helping provide air-conditioning to a service member who had a lung condition, needing humidity control.

It has been the provision of chocolate mud cake for morning tea at the local fire station. It has included hospital visitation, home visits, station visits, Blessings of

Emergency Services chaplain Captain Ian Spall on the fire brigade trail.

Up to 2,000 Australians die through suicide every 12 months.

Around 16,000 Australians are left affected.

YOU can help.

In less than an hour you can learn how to become aware of the warning signs that someone’s in trouble and possibly considering suicide.

Everyone should learn – one day you might save a life.

To find out more go to suicideprevention.salvos.org.au 22

the Fleet ceremonies, award ceremonies, blessings of new fire stations, volunteer welfare management meetings, providing accommodation as needed, remembrance services, or going with a family to see their loved ones for the last time.

During 2006, as a chaplain to the NSW RFS, I put in about 183 hours of interventions. The number of hours has varied up and down depending on the need.

My weekly role is a blend of the things I have listed above.

It is a highlight when I get the opportunity to speak about the love of God to those I serve. It is also a highlight in some instances to see people connect to God and to fellowship.

If I was to speak of some of the lows in this it would be about seeing a mother devastated by the loss of her two sons in one night, due to a speeding driver, of seeing human suffering caused by a person who drove drunk, causing the loss of an innocent life.

What helps in service is to ask for the Holy Spirit to put his arm around my shoulder as I go to various situations – and to ask him to put his hand over my mouth when it needs to be shut, and to be sensitive to speak when it is right.

The Salvation Army in the Australia Eastern Territory has an urgent need for more chaplains to help within the territory’s communities. In order to become a chaplain, the only requirement you need is to be a soldier at the corps you attend. If you would like to become a chaplain, contact your corps officer for further information.

When the Lord just

laughs

By Lieut-Colonel MAX RYAN

A

t times our senses betray us. We live as if only those things or persons we can see, hear and touch really exist.

Of course we know intellectually that ideas exist, as do concepts such as truth, justice, beauty and goodness. But on a day-to-day level we seem to need the visible and the tangible.

“Seeing is believing” and “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” are but two familiar sayings that attest to such practicalities of life. Ideas, we think, are of little value when the body must be fed and rested.

Such a this-worldly approach to daily living often leads us to ignore the spiritual realities that alone make life worthwhile.

“Because God cannot be seen, then he doesn’t exist” is the crude mantra of such militant atheists as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, who live only on an earthly level.

Living by and captive to their senses, such unreflective people are often shaken by questions that, for them, have no answers. They prefer not to think about the meaning of life but simply want to live as long as possible with as much energy as they can muster.

Yet the truth of the universe is that God is; he exists and his nature is love. In a world of shoddy and careless definitions the means of the word “love” must be clear.

In this case the definition is the person of Jesus Christ. How, you might ask, can a person be a definition? In this way: a woman is helpful and compassionate to all in need and so we say of her “she is kindness itself”. She is a living definition of the word.

Similarly, Jesus – by his acts of healing, mercy, forgiveness and sheer goodness – has defined love, which is God’s benevolent nature being lived by the second Person of the Trinity.

There is no part of human life that God does not understand personally. His vibrant truth is the source and ground of all human experience. All that is, exists

in him. His presence is everywhere; there is no escape from him. Yet who would wish to escape from the loveliest of all, the fairest of the fair, the realisation of all our best dreams, the home we have been longing for all our lives?

The omnipresent heavenly Father is not to be feared; rather he is to be sought, loved and obeyed as one who is gentle and truly understanding.

We are not advocating a selfish preoccupation with our own eternal welfare to the exclusion of the larger issue of the quality of living Christianly. God does not wish believers to join a holy huddle that rejoices in a supposed special status.

Rather, he calls each of us to become involved in his fight for justice, mercy and truth in a world where these are rare. As he wins our heart, this infilling of love spreads to our neighbourhood, to our city

or town, our country and thus globally.

Whether we can see or touch him does not matter. He has given us his Word, as well as the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit. What more do we need, other than obedience to him?

Even though militant atheists shout, write books and advertise their viewpoint, their noise makes no difference to the real world. As the psalmist writes: “The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming” (Psalm 37:12-13, NLB).

The article is an excerpt from Lieut-Colonel Max Ryan’s new book, Old Words Short Words, available for (CAN)$15 (postage included) by contacting Lieut-Colonel Ryan at: 806-5166 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington, Ontario, L7L 1C3, Canada.

pipeline 11/2010 23

Over the past two years photographer Shairon Paterson has produced many memorable images for Pipeline and its supplements. Here is a selection of her work which relects her inspirational words above.

Detour that shaped a life’s journey When Craig Snitch decided to take a quick trip to Scotland during a visit to the UK 20 years ago, little could he have forseen the momentous impact of that choice. SCOTT SIMPSON caught up with Craig during a recent trip to the UK

T

he day Pipeline met Craig Snitch for our interview he was revelling in a rare Scottish pleasure – a warm, sunny summer’s afternoon.

“You try to squeeze as much out of these days as you can,” he jokes, “because you just never know when you’re going to get another one like it.”

Living in an unpredictable climate (as evidenced by the photos which accompany this story) is just one of the sacrifices Craig, a born-and-bred Salvationist who was raised in the western suburbs of Sydney, is content to make, believing it to be just part of God’s calling on his life.

That’s not to say it’s always been easy.

26

It’s often been a painful and confusing roller-coaster of emotions for him to reach this point of submission to God. Craig, his wife, Shona, and their four children moved to Scotland in 2005. It was a homecoming for Shona who had grown up in Edinburgh.

The couple had met 15 years earlier when Craig was on a United Kingdom tour with the Sydney Congress Hall Band of The Salvation Army.

He’d stayed on after the tour finished to do a bit of sightseeing, which included a visit to a Christian camp which had been recommended by friends – Teen Ranch Scotland.

Craig immediately fell in love with

“the ranch”, its mission to young people and, in time, its secretary. He stayed on, the romance blossomed and in September 1992, Craig and Shona were married in Edinburgh.

“I came [to Teen Ranch] for two weeks - it rained for those two weeks - but what I really enjoyed was the gospel being presented every day, seeing kids’ lives changed and seeing people really living by faith,” he said.

“The staff there didn’t have a lot of money, they didn’t have much in the way of material things, but they prayed and expected to see God do things and he did.

“That really excited me and I thought, ‘this is great, this is really wonderful, I’ll

Craig and Shona Snitch have experienced the highs and lows of ministry in both Australia and in their current home of Scotland, where they are raising four children (above, from left) Jordan, 15, Ethan, 13, Olivia, 10, and Riley, 6. All photos: Shairon Paterson

stay a bit longer’. That two-week stay turned into two-and-a-half years … and a wife!”

Making a difference

Twelve months after they were married, Craig and Shona moved to Australia and settled in the western suburbs of Sydney.

Craig, an electrician by trade, got a job as the youth minister at the Chatswood Corps of The Salvation Army.

“When we returned to Australia I didn’t want to go back to being an electrician,” he recalled.

“I really wanted to make a difference in people’s lives; I wanted people to understand that there was a God who loved them and who wanted to engage with them.”

After two years at Chatswood, Craig and Shona returned to Christian camping at a centre in Victoria. That experience lasted just eight months before, due to financial difficulties beyond their control, they found themselves back in Sydney.

This time, Craig resumed his electrical trade while the family – by now they had two sons, Jordan and Ethan – settled back into church life at Chatswood Salvation Army.

Convicted that he needed some formal Bible teaching, Craig enrolled in a parttime course at a nearby Baptist college.

He also threw himself into service at Chatswood Corps.

Underneath the surface, however, there was a growing discontent which had its climax in what was an emotional Sunday

morning church service for Craig.

“I can remember the actual moment, it was a Mother’s Day service and the [corps] officer invited people to spend some time at the mercy seat,” he said.

“I felt the Lord saying to me ‘come and meet me at the mercy seat’. I had been struggling with my Christian experience and I felt very unsatisfied, as though I was in a rut and I wasn’t happy with that because what I was reading in the

lot of things changed from then.”

Return to Scotland

Among those changes was a deliberate decision to find a new church closer to their home. The Snitches were living at Merrylands, a 40-minute drive from the corps at Chatswood, and they were “meeting people in the community who we wanted to introduce to God”.

“I remember saying to Shona that these

“... there was this real desire to know God, to serve him, to live a life that was pleasing to him.”

Bible didn’t resonate with what I was experiencing in my life. So I went to the mercy seat not knowing what to expect and that morning, the Lord spoke to me very clearly. From that moment I felt an immense infilling of God and I wept like I’d never wept before.

“From then on there was this real desire to know God, to serve him, to live a life that was pleasing to him. That experience changed so much about my attitude to God. I was so much more grateful and I was seeing things about my own life that previously I was blind to. A

people are not going to come to church with us 40 minutes away at Chatswood,” recalls Craig. “So we eventually settled on a Presbyterian church which met in a local high school.”

That change in church, however, was to prove insignificant compared to the monumental shift their lives were about to take.

For years, Craig had been asking God, “what do you want me to do, what’s your will for me,” with a return to Scotland, and in particular Christian camping, always lingering in the background. >>>

pipeline 11/2010 27

Craig Snitch is getting used to enduring the harsh Scottish winters although he remains an Aussie at heart. Photo: Shairon Paterson.

An opportunity to develop a new Christian camp in Ireland, supported

by Teen Ranch Scotland, presented itself and after many months of prayer and long conversations, Craig and Shona accepted the offer.

Just as they were putting the finishing touches to their plans, however, an email arrived from Bob Ockenden, the Director of Teen Ranch Scotland. Would they be willing to forget about going to Ireland and instead, oversee a centre which had just become available to Teen Ranch in the north of Scotland?

“We only had about a week to give Bob an answer so we prayed and talked about it and it just made sense to change direction and go to Scotland,” says Craig.

So in January 2005, Craig and Shona and their four children (a daughter, Olivia, and another son, Riley, had been added to the family), arrived in the north of Scotland to take up their new role at Kilravock Castle, near Inverness. It was a centre, owned by a Christian trust, which Teen Ranch had agreed to rent for a nominal fee and develop as a camp.

Craig and Shona threw themselves into the work over the next few years, making significant progress in the restructure of Kilravock. The hours were long and hard but it was a sacrifice they happily made as they served God through their passion for Christian camping. Behind the scenes, however, and unbeknown to the Snitches, another crisis was brewing.

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Secret talks involving the owners of Kilravock were being held – talks which would result in the Snitches being asked to leave the property. In 2008, Craig and Shona and their four children were forced to walk away from the castle.

“I’ll readily admit that I made mistakes in the way I handled some issues, but I felt very betrayed – like I had been knifed in the back. However, I knew in my heart that God was telling me that I must forgive,” says Craig.

“By his power – and that’s the important thing, in my own strength I would never have been able to forgive but in God’s strength it was possible – I was able to be very gracious and forgiving to these people who had hurt my family so much and whose behaviour behind our backs had led to us being forced to leave the work we had moved, in faith, to the other side of the world to do.”

In God’s hands

In the aftermath of their departure from Kilravock, the Snitches returned to Australia for an extended holiday.

During this time the temptation not to return to Scotland was great, but Craig knew he would be running from God. “I knew that we had to return to Scotland, that it was what God wanted us to do,” he says.

“I miss certain parts of Australia, it will always be ‘home’ to me, but God is bigger than all that. He wants all of me

and I believe that’s what he’s been trying to teach over the past 10 years or so, that Christ is my all, my everything.”

The family now lives in the village of Cawdor, about 20km east of Inverness.

Craig, now 45, has found work as an electrician while Shona recently started a part-time job at the Cawdor Estate office.

They are involved in ministry through a nearby Baptist church and while uncertain what the future holds for them in the long-term, the Snitches are content to rest in the assurance that they are in God’s hands.

“I want to be faithful where I am,” says Craig. “At the moment it’s not in full-time ministry - it’s not in a Christian camping ministry which I’ve always enjoyed and wanted to be involved in but God has shown me more about myself.

I’ve had more changes in the past five years about my character than at any other time in my life.

“I still don’t know what God wants with regard to my future but my journey so far has taught me just to trust in him.

He wants that for all of us; a deep, intimate relationship with him.” 

Scott Simpson is Managing Editor of Pipeline and supplements.

Send a Christmas greeting to Salvation Army personnel serving overseas INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS Mailing Address: The Salvation Army International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4EH UNITED KINGDOM CONDON, Commissioners James and Jan Email: james_condon@salvationarmy.org jan_condon@salvationarmy.org

GHANA TERRITORY

ZIMBABWE TERRITORY

Mailing address: The Salvation Army, PO Box CT 452, Cantonments, Accra, GHANA

HAWKE, Majors David and Kim The Salvation Army Enterprise House, PO Box 3208, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE Email: kimmethg@hotmail.com crazyharry71@gmail.com

CRAIG, Majors Graeme and Heather Email: graeme_craig@gha.salvationarmy.org heather_craig@gha.salvationarmy.org

REES, Lieut–Colonels David and Christine Email: david_rees@salvationarmy.org christine_rees@salvationarmy.org

DALE, Katherine Email: dickydale_2000@yahoo.com

WATTS, Major Mark Email: mark_watts@salvationarmy.org

SOUTHERN AFRICA TERRITORY

ROBERTSON, Lieut-Colonels Laurie and Simone Email: laurie_robertson@salvationarmy.org simone_robertson@salvationarmy.org

THE SALVATION ARMY INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMISSION SEYMOUR, Lieut-Colonel Geanette The Salvation Army 221 East 22nd Street, New York, New York 10022, USA Email: geanette_seymour@salvationarmy.org

CANADA AND BERMUDA TERRITORY COWLING, Major Alison The Salvation Army, 2 Overlea Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario M4H 1P4 CANADA Email: alison_cowling@can.salvationarmy.org

KOREA TERRITORY JOHNS, Envoy Joy The Salvation Army Central PO Box 1192, Seoul 100-709, KOREA Email: joy.johns@kor.salvationarmy.org

WHITE, Captains Peter and Gail The Salvation Army PO Box 1018, Johannesburg 2000, SOUTH AFRICA Email: peter_white@saf.salvationarmy.org gail_white@saf.salvationarmy.org

PAPUA NEW GUINEA TERRITORY Mailing address: The Salvation Army, PO Box 1323, Boroko NCD, PAPUA NEW GUINEA MAXWELL, Majors Philip and Deslea Email: philip_maxwell@png.salvationarmy.org deslea_maxwell@png.salvationarmy.org GEE, Captain Christine Email: christine_gee@png.salvationarmy.org GILL, Major Heather Email: heather_gill@png.salvationarmy.org BEESON, Malcolm and Dawn Email: malcolm_beeson@png.salvationarmy.org dawn_beeson@png.salvationarmy.org ROBINS, Wayne and Janine The Salvation Army Lae Primary School, PO Box 138, Eriku Lae, Morobe Province, PAPUA NEW GUINEA Email: salps@datec.net.pg

GARLAND, Captain Elizabeth The Salvation Army 45 Josiah Chinamano Ave, PO Box 14, Harare, ZIMBABWE Email: elizabeth_garland@zim. salvationarmy.org

MALAWI COMMAND GURNEY, Narelle The Salvation Army PO Box 51140, Limbe, MALAWI Email: narellegurney@hotmail.com

SWEDEN AND LATVIA TERRITORY BECKETT, Majors Norm and Isabel The Salvation Army Regional Headquarters Bruniniekuiela 10ALV 1001, Riga, LATVIA Email: norm.isabelbeckett@id.au

AUSTRALIA SOUTHERN TERRITORY Captains Allan and Carolyn Kerr PO Box 1 Morley, WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6943 Email: allan.kerr@aus.salvationarmy.org carolyn.kerr@aus.salvationarmy.org

TAIWAN REGION Majors Robert & Leanne Duncan P O Box 44-100 Taipei TAIWAN

Discovering life in the

Spirit

A new book, Clay in the Potter’s Hands, features the stories of many prominent and some lesser-known Salvationists of the Army’s Australia Eastern Territory. In an extract from the book, Major ALAN HARLEY outlines the lessons he has learned during a lifetime of study and preaching

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ike a lot of young people of the period, I boarded ship in Sydney in 1959 to discover the world.

My travels took me to Canada where, in 1960, I was conscious of the fact that God was leading me to enter The Salvation Army Training College in Toronto. A year later, I was immersed in a two-year program (training had just expanded from 10 months to two years) – a program marked by old-fashioned discipline and regimentation, and teachers such as Howard Orsborn and Bramwell Tillsley who loved God’s Word and instilled in me a love for preaching.

I enjoyed my studies and was encouraged to consider further study after commissioning. This led to a series of educational experiences and personal lessons from God which were not on the curriculum.

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Photos: Shairon Paterson

Lesson Three: The infilling of the Spirit is not an optional extra

Major Alan Harley has accumulated a lifetime of knowledge through study and experiences all over the world which has taught him many lessons in the service of God.

Lesson One: He must increase – I must decrease

A few years after training college, I enrolled in a “post-ordination” preaching course at Emmanuel College within Toronto’s Victoria University. Some of the country’s best-known preachers were lecturers. Toward the end of the course, I was asked to give a sermon in the college chapel, in the presence of faculty and students. My sermon would be assessed and critiqued. I was young, self-assured and critical of the perceived “left-wing” position of the faculty. I decided to prepare a sermon which would both impress the faculty and set them straight theologically.

After presenting a sermon full of gospel truths designed to show up the liberalism of the teachers, the principal sat down with me to critique my sermon.

He made it clear that he recognised me to be an evangelical. He seemed to like my sermon. Then he said: “But your problem is, you’re glib!” (Dictionary definition: “fluent and easy, often in an insincere or deceptive way”).

From that confronting comment, I learned a lesson which has served me well ever since: no preacher (sermon?) can simultaneously say “what a wonderful preacher” and “what a wonderful Saviour”.

I learned that holiness is marked by humility and that He - not I - must be the focus of my preaching. I went to the college to learn to preach. But Jesus said: “Learn of me. I am meek and lowly of heart.”

Lesson Two: Holiness and humanness are compatible

Shortly afterwards, I was enrolled in a summer school program at England’s Oxford University. The main subject was The New Quest for the Historical Jesus. The chief area of study was in Mark’s Gospel.

Like most in the evangelical tradition, the bulk of my preaching was doctrinal, based on Paul’s letters and the fourth gospel (John’s Gospel). Matthew, Mark and Luke rarely got a look in. This was (and is) the general pattern in many conservative churches and most Bible conventions.

My horizons were broadened by the Oxford studies. I discovered “the Christ of the human road”.

I encountered the Lord as not only the Christ of faith but, now, also the Jesus of history – a real, human Jesus. I returned home and launched a series of sermons from Mark.

In more recent years, the bulk of my teaching at Brengle Institutes for officers in several territories has been based in the Incarnation – Jesus, the Man truly filled with the Holy Spirit, living out his holiness in a genuinely human life and making the same thing possible in our lives.

I learned that holiness and humanity are not incompatible. Rather, holiness is expressed within our humanity. And, by extension, I learned that the pursuit of a holy life must begin in the home amongst those who know us best and where we are the most “human”.

A few years later found me at a college in the Wesleyan tradition in New York state. I was attending a conference on church administration and also working on my doctorate.

While doing some research in the library, the Spirit spoke to me. In the hall across from the library, a prayer meeting was in place and I should be there! I procrastinated for about an hour, then went, reluctantly, to the prayer gathering.

I stood at the back, my heart pounding, when someone whom I had never seen before nor have seen since came from the other side of the room, stood beside me, and said: “Don’t let your British pride get in the way of God’s best.” With that, I stepped forward and told the gathering that deep down I was spiritually empty and hungry, and in need of God’s touch upon my life. The leaders gently laid their hands on me and God’s Spirit touched me in sanctifying grace.

I returned to my appointment and found new power in my ministry. People came to Jesus and lives were changed. I discovered at the college that day that to know God’s best requires total obedience to his promptings.

Lessons still coming

In all my studies, I set out seeking to be a better preacher and scholar, only to discover something more important than these.

I attended a course on preaching and learned about holiness and humility. I attended a course in theology and learned that holiness is to be lived out in genuine humanity. I attended a conference on church administration and discovered the Spirit-filled life and sanctifying grace.

I love preaching more than ever, but these lessons have taught me that like my Lord, I must be able to say: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ... he has anointed me to preach the gospel.”

It all started 50 years ago when I was led to enter the Toronto Training College.

The lessons are still coming! And with them, the blessings and privileges of serving Jesus, depending not on my might, nor my power, but God’s Spirit.

the shaping of leaders 1

This story is taken from the new Carpenter Media book Clay in the Potter’s Hands which is available from Salvationist Supplies in Sydney (www. salvosuppliessyd. com) for $7.50.

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Book Review

Painfully honest stories from hard side of life (Meeting Jesus by Howard Webber)

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red is high on drugs and doesn’t want Howard Webber, the then Salvation Army captain, to come round to his flat because it is in chaos, rather like Fred himself.

They meet, instead, in the cafe at a supermarket in a nearby town. But the road isn’t straight and we follow the twists and turns of Howard and Fred’s relationship – through missed promises, desperate heartache and self-destruction and final redemption.

This book is perhaps the most extraordinary one I’ve reviewed since writing for this publication. It is a series of stories of evangelism on the hard side of life.

It is painfully honest and lists as many failures as successes, as many deaths as new lives. Documenting Webber’s spiritual battles too, it is possibly the most moving set of accounts I’ve ever read, and the most hopeful.

It is all too easy to see the role of being God’s ambassadors as reduced to preaching, or set among those who we love and are safe. But this book challenges us to be where Jesus would be, with the down-and-outs, with the hopeless and the broken.

It looks at the cost of such ministry square in the eye and carries on just the same. I highly recommend this book.

- Steve Morris This review first appeared in the October issue of Christianity magazine, www.christianitymagazine.co.uk Meeting Jesus is available from Salvationist Supplies in Sydney (www.salvosuppliessyd. com) for $13.70.

New-look All the World seeks new readers

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ll the World, The Salvation Army’s longest-running international magazine, is looking to the future with a complete redesign. The OctoberDecember issue, out now, has a brand-new look and contains more pages (24 compared to the 20) with no price rise. This is the first significant redesign in more than 10 years for a magazine that last year celebrated its 125th anniversary.

Kevin Sims, Editor of All the World since 1999, hopes current readers will enjoy the new look and that new readers will realise what they’ve been missing!

“All the World is The Salvation Army’s only international magazine for the everyman and everywoman,” says Kevin.

“I hope it provides Salvationists with information and interest, highlighting the

internationalism that is such a great feature of this wonderful movement.

“We try to avoid Army ‘jargon’ so it can be understood by non-Salvationists and people who are interested in The Salvation Army. I’d love to see it used more widely in libraries, in contact with local and national governments and in public relations work.”

The October-December issue includes some new features which give insight into the different challenges faced by Salvationists around the world, as well as a focus on The Salvation Army in Liberia and articles about emergency relief work in Pakistan and Chile. The back page, soon to be made available for download through www.salvationarmy.org/alltheworld, consists of a poster showing the ongoing growth of The Salvation Army.

PRAYER PRIORITY: JOIN A TERRITORY-WIDE PRAYER MEETING Commissioner Linda Bond invites corps and individuals to join her in prayer for The Salvation Army’s mission in the world every Thursday morning from 7.30am to 8.00am. Please pray for: • Spiritual renewal and growth across The Salvation Army • Transformation of people’s lives through the Army’s ministry • The dynamic impact of The Salvation Army’s mission initiatives and programs

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pipeline 11/2010 32

Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

News FEATURE

Condons farewelled in emotional service

By ESTHER PINN

“W

hat a journey it has been,” said Colonel James Condon as he bid goodbye to family, friends and work colleagues at a farewell service for he and his wife, Colonel Jan Condon, on Sunday, 10 October, at Dulwich Hill Corps.

Having served for the past three years as The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory’s Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries respectively, the afternoon meeting was held to remember and honour their work during this time.

Although saddened by who and what they are leaving behind, the Condons said they were stepping out in faith as they prepared to take up their new appointments at the Army’s International Headquarters in London; Colonel James as International Secretary for the South Pacific and East Asia Zone, and Colonel Jan as Zonal Secretary for Women’s Ministries – South Pacific and East Asia.

The meeting opened with the delightful sounds of the Hurstville Corps Band, which was followed by a welcome from Territorial Commander Commissioner Linda Bond.

“My praise for them [the Condons] is thanksgiving,” Commissioner Bond said.

“I would trust my whole life to these people. I can trust the territory to these people and we can trust the zone now to these people.”

The congregation was then led by Hurstville band in singing Let Us Sing of His Love before a group from the School For Officer Training accompanied the song For All You’ve Done. A prayer was then offered by the Condons’ long-time friend, Grace McAlister.

The first invited speaker, Major Kerry Haggar, recalled the Condons’ teamwork and their value to the Australia Eastern Territory.

“It’s not without some pain or loss that we farewell them,” she said.

Special guests, the All Nations Choir from Auburn Corps, began their performance set with a lead acapella voice, singing from her seat in the congregation.

She was echoed by the remainder of the choir as they walked onto the stage. Singing in both Kurundi and Swahili, their voices filled the hall as they sang, danced and clapped to the accompaniment of percussion instruments.

The meeting’s second speaker, Major Peter Farthing, talked of the Condons’ humility and devotion to the work of God, The Salvation Army and their heart for people.

In an emotional response, Colonel Jan Condon spoke of the privilege it was to be part of the Australia Eastern Terrritory.

Imploring the congregation to continue to support the territory’s seven Mission Priorities, she concluded with the words: “It’s all about Jesus.”

Speaking from the Bible passage of Micah 6:1-8, Colonel James Condon told the congregation how Micah’s advice to “remember your journey” has always been his challenge from appointment to appointment.

Asking what the Lord requires of them in their next appointment, Colonel James said: “Two words come readily to mind - obedience and trust.”

Colonel James ended his inspiring message by taking his wife’s hand as they left the stage to kneel before Lord in prayer and rededication. The afternoon concluded with the benediction, The World For God.

Photos: Shairon Pater son

It was smiles tinged with sadness as Colonel James Condon (top) and his wife Jan (centre) were officially farewelled at a special service conducted by Commissioner Linda Bond (above, hugging Colonel Condon) at Dulwich Hill Corps last month.

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Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

News FEATURE

Brett’s heart for young Russian souls

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ver the past three years, Dubbo Salvationist Brett Phillips has been involved in a summer camp in Russia which has as its focus bringing the message of Christ to many children who have never touched a Bible, let alone heard the gospel.

While officially recognised as a “non-religious” camp, Brett said opportunities to tell children about Jesus abound in a country where for 70 years under communism, most Christian activity was banned and atheism was a standard subject at university.

“One year at camp a kid read my wristband, which said in Russian ‘Jesus changed my life’. He asked me ‘Who is Jesus?’ and out of that came a chance to talk about the gospel,” Brett said.

Brett is a regional contact in NSW for Kids Outreach International (stepuptothemission.org), a Canberra-based nondenominational ministry with a mission to spread the gospel in Russia. The method employed is simply called “Friendship Evangelism”. It’s about spending time (two weeks or more) with kids, teenagers, leaders and staff at a summer camp, sharing life, love and Jesus.

This year, the Salvos team was made up of Brett, his seven-

tia Sokolov, The Salvos team (from left) Cos enscroft, Rav dy Wen va, Natasha Balkuno t Faes and Jane r, dine Gar Brett Phillips, John each Outr Kids with t) (fron Clayton Phillips a couple and t) righ (far lma director Kari Lehe ds. frien ian of their new Russ

A group of Russian girls at the camp who asked for Bibles, hold their new gifts.

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year-old son Clayton, Janet Faes (Gunghalin Corps), Wendy Ravenscroft (Pine Rivers Corps), John Gardiner (a retired pastor from Britain) and two Russian translators – Natasha Balkunova (Rostov-on-Don Corps) and Costia Sokolov.

“Before coming to the camp I hadn’t really been an evangelising Christian,” Janet admitted.

“The kids at camp want and need to hear about Jesus so much, I was able to confidently talk to them about my Saviour.

“After talking to a group of kids about gospel bracelets, a little girl asked me to pray with her for forgiveness. What a privilege to witness and be part of this momentous occasion.”

In addition to the summer camp, Brett, Clayton, Wendy and Natasha also visited Salvation Army corps in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don, before crossing the border into the Ukraine to the small corps of Dnepropetrovsk where they spent a week with the young people there. Dnepropetrovsk is a new corps made up entirely of young Christians who meet daily and actively minister to orphans and sick children.

“It was absolutely wonderful to get to know these young people and to share in their ministry,” Brett said.

“We visited the orphan shelters together and offered some ideas and suggestions from our own experiences in ministry. At the end of our time in Dnepropetrovsk, I honestly feel that it was me who learnt the greatest lesson. I’m so thankful for that time.”

The trip ended with three days in Kiev, visiting the children’s oncology ward at a small hospital and enjoying worship with fellow Salvationists at Kiev Corps.

If you are interested in being part of Brett’s July 2011 team to St Petersburg, you can email him for more information at: brett.phillips@ aue.salvationarmy.org.

Financial sponsorship for Bibles and other expenses would also be greatly appreciated.

Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

Army leaders gather for tri-territorial conference

By SIMONE WORTHING

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eaders from The Salvation Army’s two Australian territories and its New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory met for their annual conference last month, at The Collaroy Centre on Sydney’s northern beaches.

The Tri-Territorial Leaders’ Conference, held from 18-21 October, included Territorial Commanders Commissioner Linda Bond (Australia Eastern), Commissioner Raymond Finger (Australia Southern) and Commissioner Garth McKenzie (New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga). Also in attendance were the Secretaries for Personnel, Program and Business Administration from each of the territories. Commissioner Andrew Kalai, Territorial Commander for the Papua New Guinea Territory, was special guest for the conference.

“The conference brings delegates from the three territories together to discuss common issues, how we can go forward with these issues and the role each territory can play,” said Lt. Colonel Jan Laws, conference organiser. “These have included perceptions of poverty, self denial concepts, international emergency response, and partnering in providing teaching resources.”

Time was scheduled into the conference for the executive leadership and cabinet secretaries to meet in their respective groups to discuss the work relating to their specific roles.

The two Australian territories also held an inter-territorial conference on 18 October. “Discussions centre on how the territories can work more effectively together on national issues such as social justice, Employment Plus, Hope for Life.” said Lt. Colonel Laws.

The next tri-territorial conference will take place in New Zealand in 2011.

Meantime, a week prior to the leaders’ conference, the Army’s biennial Tri-Territorial Family Tracing Service conference took place on the Gold Coast.

“This year The Salvation Army Family Tracing Services is celebrating 125 years of international operations,” said Major Lyndal Barker, the conference organiser.

“We are dedicated to locating missing relatives and reuniting families, and nationally each year we serve over 5000 families.”

Delegates discussed ways of improving the service, empowering and supporting staff, innovation and how to best use technologies such as teleconferencing and Skype.

Salvation Army leaders from all over Australia and the South Pacific converged on Collaroy last month for their annual conference.

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Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

Thousands turn out for Big Exo Day T he Salvation Army had a strong presence at Sydney’s biggest Christian youth outreach event recently.

The Big Exo Day typically attracts more than 12,000 young people to Sydney Showground and this year was no exception.

A prominent and popular attraction was The Salvation Army’s massive op-shop which was set up in a marquee and featured more than 2000 items of clothing for sale. The Army’s Oasis StreetConnect Internet bus was also heavily

used, with it being the main information and contact point for the whole event.

Uniformed Salvos made up a significant portion of the on-site chaplaincy and counselling team, while The Big Exo Day was also used as the launch pad for the new www. findyourmission.com.au website.

The site has been designed to inform young Australians how they can engage in mission and service through The Salvation Army

Talitha Kennedy promotes the Salvos op-shop at Big Exo Day which proved a popular attraction.

Bible Society merges under one banner T

he Bible Society, after operating in Australia for over 200 years as federated state-based units, has now merged all activities and management into a new single legal entity. The new Bible Society Australia will commence immediately. “[The recent] Jesus All About Life [campaign], which united churches across all denominations with a single message, taught us that we need a national, unified voice,” said Bible Society Australia chairman, Richard Grellman.

“Bible Society Australia becomes a stronger nondenominational voice where Christians work together.”

A new national board will govern the business and will consist of those who were previously chairmen of their respective state Bible Society boards. The new national board has agreed that all existing offices will continue to service local

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relationships and opportunities. The board will work with senior management to develop a new vision for international partnerships and initiatives.

The creation of the new national entity has resulted in the need to locate and appoint a new chief executive officer.

After an extensive process during which both internal and external candidates were considered, the board has appointed Dr Greg Clarke.

Dr Clarke has extensive relevant experience, having worked for nearly 20 years in the Christian publishing, education and media sectors. He is a founding director of the Centre for Public Christianity, a well-known author and speaker, and a guiding voice in many cross-denominational Christian projects.

Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

Dr Frank Smyth honoured Salvos report challenges perceptions of poverty for medical service M

T

Mrs Brigadier Dorothy Smyth is presented with her late husband Dr Frank Smyth’s Order of Logohu medal by PNG Consul General Paul Nerau. Inset: The Order of Logohu medal.

The Army believes this increase of poverty is a result of rising living costs, increased property prices and lack of affordable housing.

Another contributing factor is unemployment with an estimated 70 percent of “poor” children living in jobless families.

The Salvation Army is calling on the Federal Government to develop a strategy to help children living in poverty-stricken homes.

The Perceptions of Poverty report was created by The Salvation Army to remove traditional stereotypes about poverty existence in a wealthy nation.

“The report highlights there needs to be more understanding about poverty rather than judging – often on misinformed stereotypes,” said Major Marina Randall, The Salvation Army’s Territorial Consultant, Community and Support Services.

The Salvation Army also commissioned Roy Morgan Research to survey how Australians view this issue of poverty while living in a wealthy nation.

The survey showed that more than nine million Australians felt that taking action to reduce poverty should be a “very high priority”.

rs Brigadier Dorothy Smyth (ret.), widow of Dr Frank Smyth, a long-time Salvationist who served for 29 years as a surgeon in Papua New Guinea, was recently presented with her late husband’s prestigious Order of Logohu.

The Order of Logohu is one of the highest honours that can be awarded in PNG. Dr Smyth had been awarded the medal in 2009, but was too ill to fly to PNG to receive it. He was promoted to glory in December last year.

Paul Nerau OBE, PNG Consul General, presented the medal to Brigadier Smyth at the PNG 35th anniversary of Independence celebrations in September. The Order of Logohu is named after the colourful Bird of Paradise in the Motu dialect and is featured on the medal.

Dr Smyth received his award “for service to the international community through the development and provision of general, oncological and reconstructive surgery services, to medical education, and to the people of PNG and in particular to the community of Port Moresby”.

Speakers at the presentation included Major General John Pearn (ret.) who, as a medical officer to the Pacific Islands regiments in the 1960s, knew Dr Smyth well; Professor Mathias Sapuri, president of the PNG Medical Society who had a long association with Dr Smyth; and Moses Maladina, minister assisting the Prime Minister of PNG who read a congratulatory letter from the PNG Governor General Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane.

Dr Smyth’s first wife, Elsie, was promoted to glory in 2003. During their years together in PNG, Elsie and Dr Smyth continued to worship with The Salvation Army and became the first soldiers at the newly built Boroko Hall in Port Moresby.

he Salvation Army has released a report revealing the impact poverty is having on families in Australia, revealing that one in 10 Australians now live below the poverty line.

The Perceptions of Poverty report, released in conjunction with National Anti-Poverty Week (17-23 October), highlighted that two million Australians lived in poverty, with a dramatic increase of 80,000 people needing financial assistance for the first time in 2009.

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Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

Kokoda trekkers help complete corps building project T

he Salvation Army’s Seba Corps in Papua New Guinea, together with Investa Treks, a ministry initiative of the Army’s Australia Eastern Territory, have completed a new church building in their village of 300 people, located three hours from Port Moresby.

InvestaTreks invests into the lives of others through guiding Kokoda Track treks, to support local employment, building projects, child sponsorship and youth leadership development.

The people of Seba are dependent on gardening for their living and knew that such a project was only possible through faith. They committed their vision to prayer and began fundraising.

Under the guidance of Seba Corps Officer, Captain George, villagers raised enough money to buy a chainsaw and cut timber for the bearers, joists and wall frame, which they erected themselves.

Around the same time, Investa Treks Coordinator, Captain Jacob Robinson, approached PNG Territorial Commander, Commissioner Andrew Kalai, looking for another building project for 2010.

Captain Robinson accepted the Seba project and, with his team and enthusiastic locals, completed the walls, floor, verandah and steps on the church, and also built a shower and verandah for the corps officer’s quarters. Investa Treks also gave the corps a generator, purchased with funds donated by Northlakes Salvation Army.

“In 2010, Investa Treks sponsored six young people to be a part of our building projects and Kokoda treks, with amazing results,” said Captain Robinson.

“People come from all over Australia and from all walks of life, to be a part of the Investa Treks teams so if you’ve ever thought about trekking Kokoda, or of giving up your time in another country to help the less fortunate, come and help us make a difference.”

For more information, go to www.salvos.org.au/ investatreks

Before and afte r: the part-com pleted building the Investa Treks (top) which gree team and (botto ted m) the finished complex.

St Marys Corps celebrates community service (Captains Tony and Yan DeTomasso)

O

n Sunday 26 September, St Marys Corps celebrated a special meeting by presenting certificates of ministry and service to many of its corps members.

The certificates included street ministry, hotel ministry, financial assistance, library ministries, technical ministries and community service ministries. Certificates were also awarded in anticipation of another three years of service in various ministries.

The St Marys Corps continued its active community involvement, participating in the celebration and blessing of animals for World Animal Day on 3 October.

The service focused on an awareness of caring for others and for the environment in which we live.

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St Marys Corps Officer Captain Yan DeTomasso gets a surprise visit from a dragon during their World Animal Day service.

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Struggling kids focus on photography Y

oung people facing family difficulties have been given a brighter outlook on the world through the lens of a camera.

About 15 children and teenagers are being mentored in photography as part of a Salvation Army initiative in Wollongong.

Salvation Army support worker Marilyn Dunn said the youngsters from the Survivors of Life group – aged from three to 17 – all come from families affected by addiction. Many are now in the care of their grandparents or relatives. ‘‘We decided it would be great if kids could develop some skills in the area of photography and some small business skills,’’ Mrs Dunn said. ‘‘We developed a partnership with the University of the Third Age [U3A], who also meet at The Salvation Army in Wollongong.’’

Three members of the U3A camera club then volunteered as mentors, “she said. ‘‘We really try to focus on positive role models and to introduce different age groups to kids. U3A have shown a lifelong love of learning and we want to encourage the kids also to be open and willing to learn.’’

Dozens of their works have been on show at Wollongong Central shopping centre, including a ‘‘worm’s eye view’’ of a tree taken by 13-year-old Denym-Rose Downes. ‘‘We have got all these community groups that do great work, but they need a chance to get their work out there on display,’’ Wollongong Central centre manager Dean Young said.

Mr Young said the partnership came about after Jayne Wilson, from The Salvation Army, won last year’s Top Gong community award.

A ‘‘worm’s eye view’’ of a tree by Denym-Rose Downes, 13, part of the Wollongong Central photography exhibition.

Tasmania holiday opportunity

T

he Salvation Army Territorial Seniors Ministry is offering a fantastic opportunity to be part of a 16-day “Best of Tasmania” coach tour early next year.

The trip is open to active seniors (50+), leaving from Newcastle via Sydney’s Central Railway Station on Saturday, 19 February, and returning on Sunday, 6 March. The coach will also

‘‘We forged a long-term relationship with The Salvation Army,’’ he said. ‘‘It is nice to see kids with personal challenges given an opportunity to express themselves in a productive way.’’

Salvation Army support worker Marilyn Dunn (above) with DenymRose Downes of the Survivors of Life group. Photos: Robert Peet, courtesy of the Illawarra Mercury.

make pick-ups at Yass and Melbourne Airport.

Among the tour highlights will be a visit to Cataract Gorge at Scamander, shopping at Salamanca Markets in Hobart and a luxury Peppermint Bay cruise, soaking up the history at Port Arthur, two days in Queenstown including sightseeing at Russell Falls and Lake St Clair, a Gordon River cruise and a ride on the West Coast Wilderness Railway, and a visit to Cradle Mountain.

The cost of the trip is $3695 per person twin share (single supplement of $970) and applications close on 1 December.

For more information please contact Major Lyn Daines on (02) 9266 9598 or email: lyn.daines@aue.salvationarmy.org

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Army introduces ‘zero tolerance’ policy

By LAUREN MARTIN

T

he head of Workcover NSW has witnessed The Salvation Army become one of the first aged care providers to adopt a national occupational health and safety policy, in line with the Federal Government’s National Harmonisation legislation.

The national policy will replace the current state-by-state legislation and allow for better reporting of incidents and the comparison of the safety of different centres in different states.

Lisa Hunt, chief executive officer of NSW Workcover, witnessed the signing of the policy in September - a year ahead of the Federal Government’s deadline.

The policy of a “zero tolerance to an unsafe workplace” is now being rolled out to all Salvation Army Aged Care Plus centres in NSW, ACT and Queensland. It will ensure safer procedures in all centres. Staff will be trained and equipped to better handle challenging behaviour in dementia care, and reduce the risk of slips and sprains amongst staff and residents.

It will also help staff to manage stress.

“This policy will place The Salvation Army’s Aged Care Plus at the forefront of safe and healthy aged care provision in this country,” Chief Executive Officer Sharon Callister said.

“After the signing of the contract we will be training staff at all of our centres in the new practices and techniques and to reinforce the message that Aged Care Plus has a zero-tolerance to unsafe workplaces.”

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Aged Care Plus Chief Executive Officer Sharon Callister (front left) and Lisa Hunt from NSW Workcover sign the national occupational health and safety policy as Colonel James Condon and Lieutenant-Colonel Miriam Gluyas watch.

Position Vacant

Position Vacant

Regional Mission Coordinator Full-time, three-year fixed term

Discipleship Coordinator Full-time, three-year fixed term

Seeking an outgoing person to coordinate a number of corps in north-west NSW.

Seeking an outgoing person to establish the Toormina Mission from the Coffs Harbour Corps.

The Regional Mission Coordinator is responsible for lifting the profile of The Salvation Army in the area, providing general supervision for corps, welfare services and family stores. The main task is to assess corps, develop a good understanding of community needs and then develop a strategy to grow corps in line with those needs. Public relations and leadership mentoring experience will be highly regarded.

The Discipleship Coordinator is responsible for establishing and coordinating extra worship services and mission work in the Toormina area.

You will also conduct regular outreach classes in Christianity Explained, facilitate small groups, and conduct C.L.A.S.S. soldiership programs.

Mission outreach and mentoring Christian leadership experience will be highly regarded.

We are looking for the successful applicant to commence in January 2011. Applications close Friday 19 November.

The Toormina Plant is scheduled to open in March 2011 so we are looking for the successful applicant to commence in January. Applications close Friday 19 November.

For more information, contact Phil Donnan on (02) 6771 1632 or email phil.donnan@aue.salvationarmy.org

For more information, contact Phil Donnan on (02) 6771 1632 or email phil.donnan@aue.salvationarmy.org

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Brigadier Baker celebrates 100th birthday H

ome League members at the Gosford Corps of The Salvation Army helped Brigadier Lil Baker celebrate her 100th birthday recently.

The celebration took place at Woodport Retirement Village where Lil is a resident and was attended by her many friends.

Colonel Jan Condon, Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries, and Major Cheralynne Pethybridge, Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary, were special guests for the event.

During the celebration, guests sang many of well-known hymns that were written during the decade of Lil’s birth, as well as those penned up until the 1970s when Lil and her husband retired.

The Gosford Home League and Newcastle and Central NSW Division presented flowers to Lil to mark the occasion.

Colonel Jan read a letter addressed to Lil from General Shaw Clifton, extending greetings and warmest congratulation on the celebration of her 100th birthday.

Meantime, young people at Gosford Corps recently held a weekend SAGALA camp in bushland on the corps property.

As well as completing work on their SAGALA badges and cooking on the campfire, campers assisted leaders in building a unique bush chapel near the corps complex. The chapel – sturdy wooden benches in a peaceful bushland setting - is complete and will be available for visitors to use.

Ridleys spread hope through new caravan

North NSW Divisional Commander Major Phil McLaren accepts the keys to the new caravan from Rotary Club of Inverell president Robin Archer, as other Rotary Club members look on. Photo courtesy of the Inverell Times.

By ESTHER PINN

A

SAGALA members build their bush chapel behind the corps complex at Gosford.

Brigadier Lil Baker celebrates her 100th birthday with (from left) Colonel Jan Condon, Major Lea Palmer (Gosford Corps Officer) and Major Cheralynne Pethybridge.

mobile counselling service is bringing hope to communities in rural NSW which are battling drought and economic downturn.

The Salvation Army and the Inverell Rotary Club combined to raise a $90,000 over two years to build a uniquely designed counselling caravan.

Known as the “Caravan of Hope”, the vehicle has become a great asset to the Army’s North NSW Division Rural Mission Officers, Majors Peter and Jane Ridley.

Having counselled for four years in outback NSW, the Ridleys’ prayers were answered as this fundraiser became the solution to their broken-down caravan.

Major Peter Ridley believes the Caravan of Hope will be a valuable resource as they attempt to reach farmers in isolated areas.

“You are the only ones bringing hope out there … just being able to sit down with a farmer in their own home allowed them to feel at ease to tell their story,” said Major Ridley.

The keys to the caravan were handed over to North NSW Divisional Commander Major Phil McLaren at a large community celebration at Victoria Park in Inverell on 18 September.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Rotary Club in Inverell and to all who gave to the caravan,” said Major Ridley.

Since the introduction of the caravan, Major Jean Ridley said there has been an increase in awareness about their services, enabling them to reach more farmers than before.

The Salvation Army has provided a new Toyota Landcruiser for the Ridleys to tow the new caravan.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Holiness theme of theology and ethics symposium L

ieutenant-Colonel Phil Cairns, Major Alan Harley, and Captain Donna Evans, all from the Australia Eastern Territory, were among 49 officer and soldier delegates who gathered in the historic mansion of Sunbury Court near London last month for the International Theology and Ethics Symposium.

The event is a global gathering of Salvation Army theological thinkers and ethicists from 26 Salvation Army territories.

A symposium is defined as “a formal meeting where several specialists make presentations”. This was the third in a series of symposia, following gatherings in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2001 and Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2006.

Collectively they have produced a collation of doctrinal and theological papers that articulately convey Salvationist scholarship.

Called by the world leader of The Salvation Army, General Shaw Clifton, and steered by the International Doctrine Council (IDC), the appointed delegates, representing a wide array of appointments and ministries, communicated a collective sense of privilege for the opportunity to attend and participate.

Public responds as IHQ stages ‘open-house’ day

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ore than 1200 people visited The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters (IHQ) when the building was opened to the public as part of Open House London 2010.

Everyone who visited had the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities that facilitated learning about the current building, IHQ’s history and The Salvation Army generally.

Almost 500 people also took up an offer of a tour round the building, given by Commissioner Kenneth Hodder and Commissioner Robin Forsyth.

Also available for questions were several international officers from IHQ who wore their national costume or uniform from their homeland, making for a very colourful event.

Tours included a PowerPoint architectural presentation, a visit to the International Chapel and an opportunity to see the view from the Chief of the Staff’s office, where questions were answered about what The Salvation Army is doing today throughout the world.

Hythe Salvation Army Band played outside IHQ during the morning and many conversations took place between Salvationists and members of the public who stopped to listen.

During the afternoon, the African Praise worship group – brought together from several corps – delighted the public with its playing, singing and dancing.

The group quickly drew a crowd of people who soon joined in the dancing.

African Praise provide a musical welcome outside The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters at Open House London 2010.

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Delegates to the International Theology and Ethics Symposium gather for an official photo at Sunbury Court. Photo: Michael Owen

“We come as Salvationists, [as part of] God’s divine design,” observed Commissioner William Francis, Chairman of the IDC, in his opening address.

The central theme of the presentation of theological papers was on the doctrine of holiness.

Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

First Sunday meeting in Polish town T he Salvation Army in Starachowice, Poland, held its first Sunday service on 3 October, after three years of ministry in the town. Seventeen people attended the service, mainly young people from the youth group.

The theme of the service was “What it means to belong to the Church”.

During the service Angelika Gardlo, a volunteer helper at the children’s activities, was received as an adherent. Music was provided by Major David Bowles, Territorial Youth Secretary (Germany and Lithuania Territory which oversees Poland) who was visiting Starachowice, and a member of the youth group who has been learning to play guitar at the youth club.

Initially it is planned to hold monthly services, until the adult ministry becomes stronger. To this point, Major Denise McGarvey has been focusing on children’s and youth ministry in Starachowice, a town of 55,000 in central Poland.

During winter, programs took place in a two-room groundfloor flat in one of the poorest districts in the town, and during the summer on a local football pitch. The recent move to larger and more conveniently positioned premises has enabled the ministry to expand.

A parent and toddler group also commenced soon after the move. Both mothers and fathers attend this group with their children.

Centenary celebrations in Paraguayan capital A

Growth in PNG region acknowledged at congress

spirit of joy and gratitude permeated the recent Salvation Army centenary celebrations in Paraguay.

The celebrations, in the capital Asuncion, included the presentation of the first Salvation Army red shield translated in Guarani, the native language of Paraguay.

Historical highlights throughout the celebrations reminded the congregations of the sacrificial and consecrated spirit of many officers and other Salvationists who were faithful and determined to hold high the Army banner in a country that has limited resources and has experienced political turmoil and economic difficulties.

Salvation Army ministry in Paraguay began in 1910 when Captain Thomas Frisch, with his wife Eliza, were appointed by the territorial commander of the then South America Territory to begin the work in Asuncion.

Guest leaders for the weekend were Colonel Susan McMillan, Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army’s South America East Territory – of which Paraguay is part – and Lieut-Colonels Ricardo and Sonia Bouzigues, Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries.

Salvationists march through the streets of Asuncion during the centenary celebrations.

By DAWN BEESON

T

en years ago, there was no Salvation Army presence in the Sepik area of Papua New Guinea. Today, the Army’s work is growing more quickly there than in any other part of the country.

The latest development for work in the area – the first Sepik District Congress, held in Wewak – included the enrolment of 17 senior soldiers.

More than 300 soldiers and children gathered for congress meetings, held in the open air under a scorching sun.

Some Salvationists travelled for two days to get to Wewak, walking through dense bushland before taking a dinghy ride down a river, then connecting with two buses. They were thrilled to be there and feel part of The Salvation Army.

Congress leaders were PNG Territorial Commander, Commissioner Andrew Kalai, and Chief Secretary, LieutenantColonel Neil Webb. They were supported by Majors Bugave and Tomuna Kada, the District Officer and District Director of Women’s Ministries.

The theme for the congress was “Alive in Christ – Seek First God’s Kingdom”.

Salvation Army work in Sepik began after disaster relief was provided to people affected by a tsunami in Aitape. An outreach was held and one man accepted the Lord. He decided to return to his village and start The Salvation Army by himself.

In the aftermath of the relief work, then-North Coastal Divisional Commander Major Sere Kala and then-Field Secretary Major Kalai (now the Territorial Commander), did some preparatory work before a decision was made to buy land in Wewak for the site of the first corps building. From those beginnings, the corps at Wewak has been joined by 17 fellowships scattered in the rugged hillsides.

There is also a district headquarters and a large water project is being funded through Japan International Community Aid and The Salvation Army in Japan. On the Saturday morning of the congress, about 150 soldiers took part in a march of witness through the town. The march was led by Koki Corps Band from Port Moresby and the Sepik District Timbrel Brigade.

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promoted to glory

Committed servant of Christ

E

nvoy Bramwell Hoepper was promoted to glory from Macquarie Lodge on 24 July, aged 92.

A committal service was held on Friday 30 July at the Metropolitan/ Guardian Chapel in Rockdale, followed by a thanksgiving service at the Macquarie Lodge Chapel.

Prior to Bram’s promotion to glory he had prepared the service, stating songs and Bible readings.

The committal service commenced with the song Jesus Tender Lover of My Soul, and Major Joanne Slater (Chaplain, Macquarie Lodge) read John 14:1-6. These verses talk about the mansion Jesus has prepared for us in Heaven; the room Bram wanted to receive.

Major Glenda Hentzschel (daughter) said “goodbye” to her father prior to the family tributes of red roses placed on the casket.

Major Bruce Domrow conducted the committal service, assuring the family and friends that the life of Envoy Bramwell Daniel Hoepper was well lived as a servant of God, and he has left behind a wonderful heritage and example.

At the thanksgiving service, Major Glenys Domrow gave thanks for the life of Bram. The service commenced with the singing of The Pathway of Duty, and Major Chris Witts offered prayer, thanking God for the life of God’s servant.

The Scripture reading came from Philippians 1:12-21; a testimony of Bram’s about how he wanted to live life on earth so he could meet Jesus in Heaven.

Major Hentzschel brought a tribute about the life of her father, and grandchildren Tammy Easton and Garth Hentzschel in their own tributes thanked God for the life of their Pa. Belinda Hentzschel presented her grandfather’s life through a PowerPoint display.

Major Glenys Domrow spoke on the perfection of reaching Heaven, as Bram has done. The service of thanksgiving was completed by the song When We All Get to Heaven.

Bramwell Daniel Hoepper was born on 29 July, 1917, at Warrnambool, Victoria, to Major Johann and Mrs Emily Hoepper. He was born in the quarters, attached to the back of the citadel, while kneel drill was in process. Bram was their seventh child, and third last of the family.

As an officer’s child, Bram moved a lot to places such as Charters Towers, Cairns, Woolloongabba, Fortitude Valley, Collaroy, Waterloo, Newtown, Dee Why and Waverley.

At the Dee Why appointment, in 1936,

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with his father, Bram met Lily Robinson who later became his wife. This was a very happy union, until Lily was promoted to glory on 9 December, 1992.

In October 1939, Bram received his war appointment to the Small Arms factory in Littleton, Lithgow, as a tool maker. After peace was declared in 1945, Bram moved back to Sydney and commenced working at the railways, Chullora Workshop. This job continued until he resigned in 1968 to obey God’s call.

At the age of 50, Bram became an envoy with his wife Lily. They served God as the managers of the Collaroy Youth and Conference Centre. This work included running camps, operating the canteen, cleaning, washing and cooking for the personnel attending the centre.

Envoy Hoepper was an extremely hard worker, serving God 100 per cent in the work he loved – as manager of the camp – until arthritis took him out of that work after 10 years of faithful service. His time spent at the camp was challenging, but he identified that they were the happiest days of his life serving God in that way.

Bram’s outward appearance was a tough man, but inwardly he was truly a soft-hearted gentleman who wanted to help others. He was a great encourager and a private and humble man. Noble and strong describes him in all ways.

Envoy Hoepper was a very smart man with an amazing mind and fantastic memory. The only things that mattered to him were his love for God and his Word, The Salvation Army, his family, flowers and animals.

His family brought joy to him in every way and he lived for the day that he would see them as distance often separated the people he loved.

The family was small – consisting of his daughter (Major Glenda Hentzschel), son-in-law (Major Kevin Hentzschel), grandchildren, (Belinda, Garth and Tammy) and great-grandchildren (Corbin, Torrance, and Phoenix).

He loved them, showed interest in all they did and nightly enjoyed his chat to them, encouraging them in all that they were doing.

Through all of Bram’s life he was a committed Christian, serving God well in The Salvation Army. Some of the commissions he held were corps treasurer, corps secretary, young people’s sergeant major, quarter master, directory sergeant, bandsman, and songster.

On 24 July, 2010, at midday, Bramwell Daniel Hoepper heard the Lord call his name and he answered.

He is now with the Lord he loved and will have heard the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”.

A victorious life

D

awn Scotney was promoted to glory on 4 August, aged 79, from the Woodport Nursing Home in Gosford.

A thanksgiving service was held on 9 August at the Gosford Corps, led by Majors David and Lea Palmer, and attended by many family and friends.

A nephew, Major John Wiseman, assisted at the piano, and Gosford Corps Band plus other players provided musical support. The thanksgiving service celebrated a life that despite health issues was well-lived, and one through which God’s love radiated.

Family tributes were spoken and read by husband Len and family, and tributes were expressed by a work colleague and also the Home League. Dawn’s life was remembered by movie segments, pictures, and finally by Dawn’s testimony, I’m in His Hands, sung and recorded on CD. Dawn Wiseman was born to James and Eva Wiseman on 16 June, 1931. This was to be a large and loving family for Dawn, with siblings Phillip, Mervyn, Ruth, Clive, Elsie, Errol, Trevor and Kevin.

The early passing of Dawn’s father on 27 October, 1939, meant that members of the family accepted responsibilities at an earlier age than normal.

The family attended Dulwich Hill Corps from 1931, and Dawn progressed through the young people’s group into the senior corps, and soon became a songster and intermediate leader for the young people.

In mid-1949, she took pity on a lonely young bandsman and after the night meeting invited Len Scotney home for supper, and the rest is history. Len and Dawn were married in 1952 and moved into the Wiseman family home at Ashbury.

For 24 years this home, and the homes that followed, were the Wiseman family home base while Dawn’s mum lived with her.

Dawn’s occupations included florist, biscuit packer, motel housemaid and finally diversional therapist for 17 years, retiring when almost aged 70. She found her final job in aged care the most rewarding and suited to her caring talents.

Dawn and Len enjoyed travel with many caravan trips around Australia plus visits to New Zealand, Europe (which included the 1978 Salvation Army Congress in London), the United States and Canada.

It was in 1993 that Dawn’s first major health problem occurred, with the loss of sight in her remaining good eye, but she worked the final seven years of her career with only partial sight. In 1998, she was

Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

promoted to glory confirmed as having Parkinson’s disease, but both these disabilities were coped with over the following years.

Her ministry as a soloist has blessed and comforted many as she used her caring spirit to brighten the lives of all who knew her.

Dawn and Len were blessed with children Lynette and Trevor, and then Charmaine, and grandchildren Ben and Amelia were the light of her life. She will be greatly missed.

A simple faith

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ajor Gordon Fletcher was promoted to glory on 19 August, aged 88.

At a committal service, led by Majors John and Narelle Rees at Hemmant Crematorium Chapel on 27 August, Gordon’s seven grandchildren paid tribute to their grandfather through a song, As The Varied Way Of Life to the tune of Trust in God. This was continued by a reading from Major Kevin Hentzschel. The passage, 1 John 4, was requested by Gordon who had referred to it an inspiration throughout his life.

Following the committal, an afternoon thanksgiving service was held at Carindale Corps.

Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Hood gave an officers’ tribute while Rose Seymour spoke on behalf of the corps. Major Wayne Maxwell then brought a tribute on behalf of the Territorial Commander, Commissioner Linda Bond.

Family tributes were given by Gordon’s children, John and Joy. His son’s tribute honoured Gordon’s dedication to prayer, his simple faith and his devotion to the service of the Lord.

“Gordon Fletcher was first and foremost a servant of God. His first priority in life was to serve God. His second priority was to lead men and women, boys and girls into a personal relationship with His Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This he endeavoured to do right up until his very last days,” said John.

The family also prepared a kaleidoscope of photographs highlighting the breadth of Gordon’s life of ministry.

Gordon Samuel David Fletcher was born on 25 June, 1922, in Lismore, NSW, to May and William Fletcher. He was the youngest of five children. Six weeks after Gordon’s birth, his father was promoted to glory.

At the age of eight, Gordon gave his heart to the Lord at Bathurst Corps. Not long after, his mother died and Gordon went to live with his grandparents.

At the age of 15, Gordon became a senior soldier. At the night of his enrolment, Gordon spoke of having a vision where God called him to full-time service as a Salvation Army officer.

In 1942, he enlisted in the Armed Forces and was transferred to the medical corps.

Twelve months later, Gordon entered The Salvation Army Training College as a cadet of the Valiant session, and was commissioned in 1944.

After praying and believing for a wife, Gordon and Mildred Grigg were married on 28 May 1949 at Bundaberg.

During their 46 years of ministry together as officers, all but three of their appointments were at corps, including Redfern, Rozelle, Caboolture, St Peter’s (pro-tem), Cooparoo (Carindale), Inverell, Belmore, North Sydney (Chatswood), Auburn, Nundah (North Brisbane) and Bundamba.

The only non- corps-based roles included their pioneering work in the Snowy Mountains (1954-55), missionary service in Papua New Guinea (1970-82) and their final appointment to Kalimna (1983-87) at a student hostel in Brisbane.

Many students came to know Jesus as their personal Saviour through Gordon and Mildred’s work.

Mildred was promoted to glory in 1990, and in May 1991, Gordon married Madge Rush and they set up home in Macksville. Madge was promoted to glory in February this year.

Never passing up an opportunity to touch people with the message of Jesus, Gordon would always be the first to pray or give his testimony when the invitation was given.

Always wanting to inspire God’s faith in people, Gordon was known for writing on his greeting cards: “God loves you and so do I!”

Model of God’s grace

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etty Alley (nee Woods) was promoted to glory on 29 May, 2010, aged 88.

A celebration of her life was held at Canberra City Corps on 7 June conducted

by Major Wayne Maxwell (son-in-law). Captain Tim Gittins (Corps Officer) prayed and sister Delwyn Craig brought a moving tribute on behalf of the corps. Sarah-Jane Alley (grand-daughter) represented the 48 grandchildren and great grandchildren, with Major Kelvin Alley, Major Robyn Maxwell and Pastor John Alley (children) bringing individual tributes to a wonderful, gracious mother.

Territorial Commander Commissioner

Linda Bond spoke of Betty’s life as an outstanding Salvationist, and led Betty’s favourite song God’s Wondrous Grace which typified her life.

Major Shelley Soper and Major Beth Twivey (nieces) sang His Grace Still Amazes Me. A written tribute prepared by Colin Woods (brother) was read on behalf of Betty’s seven brothers and sisters.

Betty Woods was born on 3 October 1921, to Frank and Hilda Woods in the tiny village of Spennymoor, County Durham, England. At the age of five, she migrated with her parents to Australia, travelling on the SS Vedic, a ship leased

by The Salvation Army. The family settled in Maitland where her father became the corps bandmaster.

When Betty was 15, her mother died, leaving Betty to take care of her seven brothers and sisters, the youngest being twins of 18 months.

During the war years she met Les Alley who was doing military service at a camp near Maitland. They were married in 1943.

When daughters June and Dawn were born, Betty and Les moved to dairy farms at Moorland and Kendle respectively, where both John and Kelvin were born.

A further move to a dairy farm at Coffs Harbour saw the births of Peter and Robyn.

Moving to Sydney in 1965, and then to Canberra in 1969 where the family finally settled, Betty began employment at the Australian National University which enabled her to eventually purchase her own unit where she lived for the remaining 35 years of her life.

Betty served as an active Salvationist all her life. From her teenage years, she taught in primary and Sunday school which she maintained for most of her life.

A natural alto singer, she was a member of the songster brigades at the various corps she attended, and for all of her adult life had been a faithful member of Home League.

Betty may never have preached a sermon, but she lived one every day. She was a most valiant prayer warrior. She read the Scriptures twice every day until the day she was called home to be with the Lord. Never one to speak negatively, she was loved by all who knew her throughout her life.

To her six children (June, Dawn, John, Kelvin, Peter and Robyn), Betty was the model of a Christian mother, a committed follower of Christ and faithful Salvationist and a much adored “Nana” to her 26 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.

Like her favourite song, it can be truly said that Betty’s life was indeed a model of God’s wondrous grace.

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E

veryone has a story to tell. For some it might be a dramatic tale while for others it may seem, at least on the surface, a simple story. On the Saturday evening of this year’s Commissioning weekend – a celebration entitled The Night of 1000 Stories – The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory wants to share your story.

Summed up in a paragraph, the territory wants to include the story of your journey with God in a booklet to be distributed at The Night of 1000 Stories.

Also needed is a photo of yourself for inclusion in a video montage which will be shown on the night.

As the title of the celebration suggests, the aim is to compile 1000 stories and photos.

You can send your photo and/or story to Carolyn Hide, Territorial Events Coordinator, at PO Box A435, Sydney South NSW 1235 or email: carolyn.hide@aue. salvationarmy.org. For more information, call Carolyn on (02) 9266 9644. Deadline for stories and photos is 26 November.

The Night of 1000 Stories will also feature a “New Commitments” segment celebrating those people who have joined The Salvation Army in the last two years. Territorial leadership is encouraging every person who has become either a Senior Soldier, Junior Soldier or Adherent in that time to be present on the night for a special time of recognition and encouragement.

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Fr o m t h e c o a l f a c e L O CA L A N D I N T E R N AT ION A L N E W S

about people Appointments

Effective 14 October: Major John Wiseman,Planned Giving Director, Communications and Public Relations Department.

Effective 13 January 2011: Major Eva Phillips, Western Australia Employment Plus and Salvos Stores.

Bereaved

Lieutenant Ashley Barkmeyer of his father, Henry Barkmeyer, 26 September; Captain Emma Johnson of her grandmother, Doris Peisley, 2 October; Major Jenny Robinson of her step-father Garrie Middleton, 7 October.

Promoted to glory

Lieutenant Colonel Leah Davids on 30 September.

Marriage

Major Vergil Keeys to Catherine Hoins-Ronanov on 18 September.

Retirement

Major Joan Birch on 30 September; Major Les Shaw on 31 October; Majors and Genness Garvan on 30 November.

time to pray 31 October – 6 November

Captains David and Kim Hawke, Zimbabwe Territory; Sydney Congress Hall, Sydney East and Illawarra Division Chaplaincy Services, Sydney East and Illawarra Divisional Headquarters, Sydney Korean Corps, Sydney Streetlevel Mission, all NSW; Recovery Services Network Conference, Wollongong (1-5); Sydney East and Illawarra Division Officers day apart (4).

7-13 November

Majors Philip and Delsea Maxwell, Papua New Guinea Territory; Tamworth Corps, Taree Corps, Tarrawanna Corps, Temora Corps, Tenterfield Corps, all NSW; Territorial Mission and Resource Team, THQ; Chaplaincy Sunday (7); Sydney East and Illawarra Division Community welfare centres forum (8); first year officers retreat (8-12); Sydney East and Illawarra chaplains forum (11).

14-20 November

Territorial Moral and Social Issues Council (Masic), The Collaroy Centre, all THQ; The Anchor Men’s Crisis Centre, The Greater West Divisional Headquarters, all NSW; The Greater West Division – Chaplaincy Services; Territorial Finance Conference (15); North NSW Division Review (18-19); North NSW and Newcastle and Central NSW Divisions ‘Design for Life’ weekend (19-21).

21-27 November

The Involuntary Treatment Aftercare Service, The Salvation Army Problem Gambling Service, Thornton Outpost, all NSW; Toowong Student Residence, Toowoomba, both Qld; Sydney East and Illawarra Youth Rally (21); Decision Week (21-28); DYS’s Conference(24-26); Booth College Association Lecture (26); Sydney Youth Band Concert (27).

28 November – 4 December

Toowoomba Crisis Accommodation, Townsville Recovery Services Centre, Townsville Riverway Corps, all Qld; Tuggerah Lakes Corps, NSW; Tuggeranong Corps, ACT; Advent begins (28).

engagement calendar Commissioner Linda Bond (Territorial Commander) South Queensland: Thu 4 Nov – Installations of Colonels Wayne and Robyn Maxwell and Majors Mark and Julie Campbell Stanmore: Mon 8 Nov – 1st year officers residential training Canberra: Sat 21 Nov – Retirement service for Majors Bob and Genness Garven

Colonels Wayne (Chief Secretary) and Robyn Maxwell Bexley North: Wed 3 Nov – leadership lecture Brisbane: Thu 4 Nov – Installation of Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries; installation of Divisional Commander and Divisional Secretary for Women’s Ministries South Queensland Division North NSW: Thu 18 and Fri 19 Nov – Divisional Future Strategy days Campsie: Mon 22 Nov – Retired Officers Christmas function Cardiff: Tues 30 Nov – Retired Officers Christmas function

Cliff House a comfortable stay

I

have recently stayed in holiday accommodation in England that is worth recommending to readers.

It’s called Cliff House at Bournemouth, on the South Coast just below London. Cliff House is owned by The Salvation Army.

The accommodation is good quality. Cliff House is an elegant Victorian building, constructed in the 1980s. It has been a boys’ school and private dwelling, and underwent major redevelopment in 2003 to modern guest accommodation and conference centre.

Cliff House has 14 en-suite bedrooms on its two floors, a conservatory-style restaurant providing breakfast and evening meal as well as a Sunday lunch carvery, and a lounge room. It also has on-site parking.

What appealed to me the most about Cliff House was its cleanliness, modern rooms and friendly staff – many of whom are local Salvationists.

The room rates are comparable with the rest of England and, more importantly, much better than expensive London. There are special rates for officers.

All the details are on the Cliff House website at www. cliffhouse-bournemouth.co.uk or you can contact the staff at info@ cliffhouse-bournemouth.co.uk. - Bill Simpson

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