All The World - July 2012

C O U N T RY O R T H E M E

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CONTENTS

JULY–SEPTEMBER 2012

Visit ALL THE WORLD at: www.salvationarmy.org/alltheworld

03

UPFRONT From the Editor

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SOCIAL JUSTICE The fight for fairness

08

HOME AND AWAY Reflections from here and there

10

AUSTRALIA The first prison ministry

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BIOGRAPHY Exclusive excerpt from forthcoming William Booth book

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FACTFILE Vital statistics

15

FOCUS ON ...

Moldova

19

JAPAN Rebuilding a fishing fleet

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MEDIA Online news show

22

SNAPSHOTS News from around the world

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19 10

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Cover image, by Berni Georges, is available to download from: sar.my/atwcoverjuly2012

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Upwards and outwards

‘Walkie-talkie’, a building that will be wider at the top than it is at its base.

These huge buildings are fascinating, and it’s interesting to pass the Walkietalkie every day, seeing it gradually emerge from incredibly deep foundations, with a concrete core now being surrounded, one floor at a time, by intricate metalwork.

This issue of All the World celebrates the legacy of General William Booth, Founder of The Salvation Army. When he was promoted to Glory 100 years ago this August, many people would have expected The Salvation Army to quickly grind to a halt without the old warhorse driving it along. Their fears were unfounded, as can be seen in 124 countries today.

The influence of his famous ‘I’ll Fight!’ speech can be seen right across The Salvation Army a century after General Booth ‘laid down his sword’. ‘While women weep, as they do now,’ he is recorded as saying, ‘I’ll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end!’ This vision of practical Christianity is still being acted upon today, wherever The Salvation Army is found.

ONE of Jesus Christ’s great strengths during his earthly ministry was in spelling out difficult ideas in ways that ordinary people could understand. As he travelled through rural communities he taught people about the nature and person of God using down-to-earth stories – lost sheep, seeds that fell where they couldn’t grow, great trees that grew from tiny seeds. These were illustrations that made sense to his listeners.

I often wonder what parables he would tell today, in our technology-heavy, increasingly urbanised world.

Maybe he would compare the Kingdom of Heaven to someone looking for a parking space, driving round and round the car park until they found it?

Perhaps the foolish virgins who didn’t prepare their lamps would be transformed into foolish computer users who refused to back up their documents and lost them all just before a vital presentation?

‘From the If Jesus was walking through London, as I do on my way to small seed and from work, I’m sure he sown by would use the ever-changing skyline to make his point. From William Booth my office window I can see the has grown a pointy, dominant figure of western Europe’s tallest movement building, The Shard, looking which covers like the world’s largest church spire. On the way to work I much of the pass the site of what is well on its way to becoming the world’

Kevin Sims, editor

UPFRONT

FroM The ediTor

And where this happens All the World reports it – just as the Founder himself intended.

From the small seed sown by William Booth has grown a movement which covers much of the world. Or, to put it another way, The Salvation Army is like the Walkie-talkie building – growing outwards but safe to do so because of its deep, strong foundations.

It would be easy to say that those foundations are the words, actions and work of the Army’s Founder, but I believe they go even deeper than that. The Salvation Army of today owes much to the man who began its ministry, but its foundations are based firmly on the words, actions and work of Jesus.

With such a strong base, The Salvation Army can keep growing and growing, upwards and outwards, building a lasting legacy of which General Booth would approve.

ediTor Kevin Sims

FoUnder William Booth

deSiGn And ArTWorK Berni Georges

GenerAL Linda Bond

ediToriAL oFFiCe The Salvation Army international headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street London eC4V 4eh, United Kingdom

ediTor-in-ChieF Lieut-Colonel Laurie robertson

© The General of The Salvation Army 2012

Tel: [44] (0)20 7332 0101; fax: [44] (0)20 7332 8079

Published by Linda Bond, General of The Salvation Army

email: ihQ-alltheworld@salvationarmy.org

Printed in the UK by Lamport Gilbert Printers Ltd

JU LY –SE P TE MB ER 2 01 2 | ALL THE WORLD |

3

A D V E RT

FROM HER HEART

Selections from the Preaching and Teaching of Helen Clifton

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C O US N OT C RY I A L O JR U T S THI ECM EE

o now, I’ll fight ep, as they d While women we

LET PREVAIL in appointments at The Salvation Army’s international headquarters (ihQ) and in the UK Territory with the republic of ireland Lieut-Colonel Dawn Sewell has played a significant role in The Salvation Army’s stance and work to stop human trafficking. in this article, adapted from an address given at ihQ on the World day of Prayer 2012, Unfortunately The Salvation Army she highlights some of never appointed me to Borneo, but I did the difficulties faced have the privilege of a visit to Sabah, – are sometimes seen as less than human by women around the Malaysia, which is part of the same island. and are being traded as little more world – and how The God’s wonderful creation is just so than cattle.

You see, despite the fact that women perfect, awe inspiring and overwhelming.

Salvation Army is By contrast, on another occasion I have made important contributions to the fighting to care for all returned to Malaysia with responsibility social and economic development of the of God’s children

A

S a child I was inspired by the TV wildlife presenter David Attenborough and his report of a visit to Borneo. From then on Borneo and Malaysia were high on my wish list to visit. Tropical and humid, with dense rain forests and mangrove swamps, it is a country that has the proboscis monkey and orang-utans; the world’s largest orchid, the durian (or ‘King of Fruit’) which tastes divine but has such an overpowering foul smell that it is banned from hotel rooms!

Then there’s the surrounding South China Sea where, as in the Disney cartoon, Nemo (the clown fish) can be found hiding in the fronds of a sea anemone.

for a Salvation Army conference on human trafficking in Kuala Lumpur.

During a scheduled break a couple of male officers walked to the local market.

On return they were sickened in their hearts because they had been approached by a pimp who had offered them ‘young girls at a good price’. As they refused and turned away they were asked: ‘How young would you like the girls? We have any age.’

Even in this place, the paradise of my childhood, God’s natural order is being overturned. People – women in particular

‘Even today women suffer violence without protest and girls continue to be seen as less valuable than boys’

country, and even though women are high achievers in many professions, only 40 per cent of women of working age are in employment in Malaysia. Even today women suffer violence without protest and girls continue to be seen as less valuable than boys.

Women and girls from south-east Asia have, in recent years, frequently been rescued from traffickers. So many arrive at the UK’s victim support centre with nothing – only the skimpy clothes they are wearing. Scared for their life, physically and mentally damaged, they come into Salvation Army care to receive safety and unconditional love.

The Salvation Army took responsibility for delivering the UK government’s contract in July 2011 to manage support services for adult female and male victims of human trafficking. In the first six months it supported 190 trafficked JU LY –SE P TE MB ER 2 01 2 | ALL THE WORLD |

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

girl upon the streets, I’ll fig r lost ht o o p is a e r the ile h W

individuals in England and Wales, 112 females and 78 males.

During a research visit to Bangladesh I was allowed into a brothel where more than a hundred women and girls were receiving clients. The youngest, I discovered, was 12 years old and had run to the brothel for safety at the age of nine. She had been cast out of her home because she was ‘just a girl’ – another mouth to feed.

Living on the streets she had been offered a room, but she soon found it was not free. She was used and abused by a group of young men. When she eventually escaped she ran to the ‘safety’ of the brothel and the madam in charge.

She said to me: ‘My hope is to find a nice young man who will marry me.’ Meanwhile her debt to the brothel was increasing and there was economic crisis is compared to that of the no doubt how she would eventually Second World War. The Salvation Army is have to repay this debt. responding in a variety of ways.

Even in this place, though, God was From inception, the Army in Greece at work through his servants – Salvation has been working with girls caught up in Army health workers who regularly visit the sex industry. With the economic and provide care to the prostituted disaster in Greece, money is scarce, the women. One of those care workers was clients are fewer and profits have herself a rescued, prostituted woman. plummeted. This may seem, on the face of Christ found her in the brothel and she it, to be good news. But Polis and Maria found Christ. report: ‘The pimps, having seen their As she sought, through God’s grace, income decreasing, have sought a means to change her life, she was supported to make money elsewhere – regrettably, in

by Salvationist workers. Having been the trafficking of babies. saved and freed from oppression and ‘The number of pregnancies in this slavery she put on a Salvation Army business has increased and we recently uniform and – with Christ in her heart – came across a case where a woman was she was back in the brothels, rescuing in hospital giving birth while outside the other women. trafficker was negotiating a price for In Greece, Captains Polis Pantelidis the sale of the baby. As representatives of examples of great injustice. We might and Maria Konti-Galinou say that the The Salvation Army we raised the issue well cry out as Habakkuk did in the with the hospital social worker, who was Scriptures: ‘O Lord, how long shall I cry shocked when she realised what was for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to going on. you “Violence!” and you will not save?’

‘She acted and the baby was taken for (Habakkuk 1:2 New Revised Standard adoption. There are a number of babies Version). who, by God’s grace, have been saved Does God not see or hear the cries of from being sold to traders for organs.’ the suffering? Habakkuk wants to know There are so many instances where why the weak are being oppressed – why women are being mistreated and God has allowed wicked people to undervalued. Female genital mutilation outnumber the righteous, leading to the causes agonising damage, law becoming ‘slack’ and there are female child justice never prevailing.

‘She had been Habakkuk’s soldiers – slaves to pleading can military leaders in the cast out of her be summed up simply: Democratic Republic of justice prevail.’ home because ‘LetThere Congo. Girls and women was to be are often deprived of she was “just a restoration and order but education and seen as not necessarily as girl” – another second-class citizens.

Habakkuk expected. The mouth to feed’ situation works out in All of these are small 6 | ALL THE WORLD |

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

‘In Bangladesh a woman who was freed from oppression and slavery is putting on her Salvation Army uniform and returning to rescue others’

God’s time and in his way. As we cry for justice today, could not God reply that his work is being done?

As we have seen, physically and mentally damaged women from southeast Asia are finding safety and unconditional love in the care of The Salvation Army. In Bangladesh a woman who was freed from oppression and slavery is putting on her Salvation Army uniform and returning to rescue others.

And in Greece the input of Salvation Army personnel has led to babies being saved from being sold to traders for organs.

People worldwide are responding to spiritual and physical human need in the name of Christ. The Salvation Army is at work in 124 countries. God has placed us there for a purpose. He is working his purpose out. Salvationists are God’s presence at the grass roots, the rock face, the sharp end.

Polis and Maria in Greece put it well when they describe what they are doing as ‘the church on the street’.

We were asked by a United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur – an official who was working with the UN’s mandate – to assist in monitoring the use of trafficked child labour in a country where The Salvation Army has many rural corps (churches).

Why did he ask us? Because God has placed us in communities – living alongside, walking with people through their joys and sorrows, just as Jesus did.

That incarnational presence makes a difference, both locally and globally.

What we report from the street can assist the policy makers in the corridors of power to make right decisions. The Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission provides to the UN grass-roots evidence of injustice. What we see and hear is reported at the highest level, helping to change policies, practices and perceptions.

God is using his people to be agents of change, making a difference to lives torn apart.

So why does it still seem that in so many instances justice is far from prevailing? Why are there still people who are hurting?

There is no quick solution to the problem. We must be persistent and patient in our work. As Habakkuk said: ‘O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.

In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy’ (3:2).

We must take a lead from Habakkuk: affirming God’s presence with us in all situations, rejoicing in the God of our salvation and praying with persistence – intelligently and specifically as he did.

Cry out to God in prayer. Our God who is righteous and just will let justice prevail.

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H O M E A N D A W AY

A SERIES LooKING AT THE THoUGHTS ANd ExPERIENCES of PEoPLE woRKING foR THE SALVATIoN ARMY wHERE THEY wERE BRoUGHT UP ANd oTHERS GIVING SERVICE ABRoAd

GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH UNITEd KINGdoM – ANd BEYoNd!

William Booth was born in Nottingham, England, in 1829. He made a number of trips overseas but the majority of his life was spent in the UK. He began the East London Christian Mission in 1865. It became the Christian Mission and, in 1878, changed its name to The Salvation Army. General Booth was promoted to Glory 100 years ago, on 20 August 1912.

It’s impossible to know how he would answer the questions that have been put to the participants of ‘Home and Away’ but here, in the Founder’s own words – some well known, others less familiar – is a suggestion of the answers he may have given:

What particular challenges does The Salvation Army face?

I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and Heaven without Hell.

Do you have a ‘claim to fame’?

Some men’s ambition is art. Some men’s ambition is fame. Some men’s ambition is gold. My ambition is the souls of men.

What is your favourite Salvation Army song?

[The devil] has no right to a single note of the whole seven ... Every note, and every strain, and every harmony is divine, and belongs to us ... So consecrate your voice and your instruments. Bring out your cornets and harps and organs and flutes and violins and pianos and drums, and everything else that can make melody. offer them to God, and use them to make all the hearts about you merry before the Lord.

If you were elected General today, what would you tell Salvationists around the world?

Go and do something!

What skills did you use most in your work?

[I was] a missionary for God. What skills would you have liked to use?

If I thought I could have won one more soul to the Lord

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by walking on my head and playing the tambourine with my toes, I’d have learned how!

How would you like to be remembered?

I loved the Army, the precious Army. I loved the poor sinners and the poor sufferers who were all around me; and I loved God. What’s so special about The Salvation Army?

The Army invites the drunkard, the harlot, the criminal, the pauper, the friendless ... to come and seek God. It goes to those classes who are not found in the churches, who are without hope and help.

All quotations adapted from ‘Words of William Booth’

by Cyril Barnes and ‘William Booth – Prophet and General’

by M. Gwendoline Taylor. Both books are available to download from the library section of www.salvationarmy.org.uk

away

MAJOR PATRICK BOOTH Photo by Jooles d. Tostevin

&

Ò

Major Patrick Booth is the great-great-grandson of William Booth, Founder of The Salvation Army. Although born in the UK, he was brought up in France. He served there, in the UK and in South Africa before taking up his current appointment at International Headquarters (IHQ) in London.

What would be your typical day?

I wake up at 4.45am and work from 7.15 until 3.45pm. Back home, I enjoy the company of my wife Margaret and, for now, I take time to read and reflect. I do some gardening as well. I have not yet committed to any volunteer work at a corps (Salvation Army church) but this will come once settled. Light extinction is at 10pm at the latest.

How did you meet The Salvation Army?

My parents were Salvation Army officers. But I was 31 when my wife and I surrendered everything to follow Jesus as officers.

Do you have a ‘hero of the faith’? on the practical side of my commitment, I admire anyone – including the unknown ones – who has stood up and remained true to their faith among difficulties. I also find great challenges in the works of Jacques Ellul.

&AWAY

What is your favourite bible verse?

The driving force of my motivation is the coming of God’s Kingdom – I rejoice, prepare myself and work for it. However, Hebrews 13:13 speaks very much to me: the Church is not about getting people in, but going out to where Jesus is. The verse speaks about going to Jesus ‘outside the camp’, bearing the disgrace he bore. The Message says: ‘Let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is – not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus.’

What is your favourite Salvation Army song?

A favourite is No 324 (tune: ‘Bethany’): ‘I Believe that God the father can be Seen in God the Son’. It is a good, engaging confession of faith.

How does working at International Headquarters differ from your experience elsewhere?

I see more of the internationalism of The Salvation Army, not because of the emails we receive from all over the world but in meeting a great variety of people who are living witnesses of this internationalism.

Is being at IHq like you expected?

The early morning prayer on Thursday is special, because of the communion it creates with colleagues working in the building and beyond, and with the worldwide members of The Salvation Army.

Do you think that being a booth in The Salvation Army brings particular challenges or even advantages?

Like any other individual I am a sinner saved by grace and I try, by God’s grace, to fulfil the ministry he has given me.

What do you miss most about your home country?

Having been brought up in a country, france, with more than 300 varieties of this, it can only be cheese!

What do you like most about the uk?

The mixture of its highly technical innovations and its oldfashioned tradition.

&AWAY

What is your role in The Salvation Army?

I am the assistant legal and constitutional adviser to the General.

My role, under the authority of Commissioner Kenneth Hodder, is to identify the legal issues on documents which are presented to our office, to provide advice or answers, or to turn to our legal counsels with good questions.

If you were elected General, what would be the first thing you would change?

Two things: I would call a french haute couture designer to redesign the uniform for women and, second, I would orientate The Salvation Army towards faith-based facilitation, an excellent tool to connect with people ‘out there’.

If you could choose to work for The Salvation Army anywhere else, where would you choose and why?

I would work in a township, like we found in our previous appointment in the western Cape, South Africa, and try to be a vector of transformation by God’s grace. In these places there is a tremendous energy for life in spite of great poverty. Little things can make a big difference.

What skills do you use most in your work?

My knowledge in legal background, though I have to update and deepen it with regards to the common law.

What skills do you have that you would like the opportunity to use more?

My current responsibilities require creativity – but only in black and white! I hope my love for art and skills in music and theatre will bring a little colour and sound to my work.

How would you like to be remembered?

As a sincere and caring servant of God, consistent with his officer’s undertakings.

What's so special about The Salvation Army?

The wholeness of its mission in line with Jesus’ great commission – its consistency between words and deeds.

&AWAY

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AUSTRALIA

o y e B

e h t d n

W

ut, do n t a figh n , in l o l s ’ i I r , to p n ow o o g d en ey le m , as th Whi ut nd o in a

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HEN General William Booth, Founder of The Salvation Army, made his famous ‘I’ll fight!’ speech – including the phrase ‘While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight’ – on the other side of the world Australian Salvationists were already putting his words into action.

A prison ministry had begun almost two decades earlier in 1883 in Melbourne – only three years after The Salvation Army’s official start in the colony – and by the time of General Booth’s promotion to Glory in 1912 it had spread to major cities and regional centres across the country.

The programme was initially called Prison Gate, but it is today part of the court and prison chaplaincy in The Salvation Army’s two Australian territories. The Melbourne initiative is believed to be the first prison ministry of its type by The Salvation Army anywhere in the world.

Territorial archivist Lindsay Cox (Australia Southern Territory) reported the beginning of Prison Gate in an issue of Hallelujah magazine: ‘“Do give me a chance, sir. I don’t want to die in gaol,” was the pathetic plea of the wild-eyed and haggard man standing cowed and dishevelled in the small office atop the narrow staircase of 52 Bourke Street West.

‘The plea deeply moved Major James Barker (the most senior Australian Salvation Army officer at the time) and his chief-of-staff, the Reverend John Horsley, as ex-prisoner Taylor related his pitiful story of 40 of his 60 years spent in gaol, breaking down and weeping as he told of his recent release from the Melbourne Gaol, with no means of support and no chance of obtaining work.

‘The Salvation Army’s two top men in Australasia responded by soon-after contacting an acquaintance named John Hendy, whom Major Barker had met when Hendy hosted an evening dinner shortly after James and

e t a g g n o a s i r p te

by Bill Simpson Alice Barker arrived in Melbourne in September 1882. Also present at that meal at Hendy’s was Dr John Singleton, a prominent philanthropist who was an authorised prison-visitor, and was to become an important supporter of The Salvation Army’s work.

‘Like Dr Singleton, John Hendy also had free access to the Melbourne Gaol, virtually with liberty to visit prisoners whenever he wanted.

‘The following Saturday, James Barker and John Hendy were in the labour yard of the Melbourne Gaol where the major’s uniform aroused curiosity amongst prisoners and warders alike. Hendy wrote: “We had not been there long before two gaol birds came up to us and, respectfully touching their hats, one [Jack Moody] said to the major: ‘I believe you help people in trouble. We shall be discharged in a fortnight. Would you do anything for us?’

Immediately Barker replied: ‘Yes! Come and see me at the Salvation Army headquarters.’”

‘With John Hendy’s support and Dr John Singleton’s recommendation to the prison authorities, Major Barker and The Salvation Army gained permission to hold meetings in the Melbourne Gaol and privately interview any prisoner who desired it. Hendy threw in his lot with The Salvation Army, becoming Barker’s right-hand man.’

While Barker, Horsley and Hendy pondered at length over how to provide rehabilitation and support to newly released prisoners, it seems Captain William Shepherd, once a prisoner himself, but by this time officer-incommand of inner Melbourne Little Bourke Street Corps, was already doing something of that sort.

Captain and Mrs Shepherd often took newly released male prisoners into their home at 51 Lygon Street in Carlton, a suburb just to the north of the central business district of Melbourne.

A Sister Mrs McAlister was also caring for women released from the Melbourne Gaol in her own home at 11 Barkly Street, Carlton.

AUSTRALIA

of old criminals, but young men are giving their hearts to God and living right lives.’

So impressive, it seems, was the Army’s new prison programme that the longestablished Discharged Prisoner’s Society referred its ‘hopeless cases’ to The Salvation Army.

Prison chaplaincy remains a major component of Salvation Army social work in Australia today, with officers and soldiers appointed as official chaplains to the major city, regional and country gaols and remand centres.

Assistance includes personal prisoner visits, chapel services, Bible studies,

The War Cry of 8 December 1883 forecast the impending opening of the first prison-gate brigade home. Located at 37 Argyle Place South, in Carlton, it was to receive both men and women.

Captain Shepherd was appointed to oversee the new project.

‘Prison chaplaincy remains It was The Salvation Army’s purpose ‘that every man or a major component of woman who comes out of the Salvation Army social work Melbourne Gaol shall have a kind man to meet them, and have the in Australia today’ offer of such help as they may need to make a better, purer life’ – or so reported The War Cry (Melbourne) in December 1883.

Positive Lifestyle Programmes, spiritual It was a historic moment for William counselling, and support before and after Booth’s fledgling outpost in Australia. release to prisoners and their families.

Soon after, Captain and Mrs Shepherd Chaplains report numerous examples were appointed to operate a Fallen Sisters of prisoners committing their lives to Home at nearby Fitzroy, with particular Christ through association with a emphasis on prison-gate brigade work Salvation Army chaplain. with women.

Some years ago, a man imprisoned for In The War Cry dated 2 February 1884 life for murder was allowed to leave his The Salvation Army enthusiastically gaol on Sunday mornings to attend street announced: ‘We are not only getting hold meetings – in the care of a local Salvation Army officer – because of his ‘life change’.

The man had committed his life to Christ while in prison. He was enrolled as right: Major James a Salvation Army soldier and released.

Barker, who oversaw the start After release, he became a Salvation of the Prison Gate Army envoy engaged in social work. work; below: a A well-known Australian entrepreneur Salvation Army officer greets a imprisoned for fraud-related offences released prisoner disclosed on release that The Salvation outside Melbourne Gaol Army was among only a few people who ‘cared’ about him in jail.

The man was overcome by receiving a Christmas gift from a chaplain and visits at other times during his sentence. He became a major financial supporter of The Salvation Army.

Bill Simpson works on Pipeline magazine, published by The Salvation Army’s Australia Eastern Territory The October–December issue of All the World will bring the Prison Gate story up to date in more detail, with an article from one of the current courts and prison ministry coordinators

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W I L L I A M B O OT H

n his commentary on the situation, Bramwell Booth [William’s eldest son, and successor as General] said: ‘In periods of calmness The General has evidently fully realised the serious nature of his illness. He has spoken several times of his work as finished. He has referred with joy to the prospect of soon meeting again both the dear Army Mother [General Booth’s wife, Catherine] and my sister Emma, the Consul.

‘During yesterday, although he had considerable difficulty in speaking, he referred with great emphasis to the promises of God, saying more than once, with much energy, “They are sure – they are sure – if, if – you will only – believe.” It is a great comfort to him, indeed to us all, that my sister, Mrs Booth-Hellberg, is able to be with him at this time, and we know how gladly Commissioner Eva would have shared our vigil with us had that been possible.’

On Tuesday 20 August, Bramwell wrote to Eva [the Founder’s daughter, Evangeline – serving in the USA], who was thinking about whether to travel to England: ‘The General has again changed very much for the worse, and it looks as though we could not expect him to last many days – sometimes we feel like saying many hours.

He had a short period of consciousness on Sunday morning and it may prove to have been the last. He could not say much as his speech has been very much affected since Saturday, but he spoke of himself and then referred to the promises of God saying in a very distinct and definite way, although in broken words, as I have described in “The War Cry” which I enclose...

‘The doctors say that he is now quite unconscious like a man in a heavy sleep, who is neither dreaming nor suffering in any way. This is a great mercy and almost compensates, at any rate for the time being, for the fact that he does not know us. Katie [General Booth’s daughter] has been down and seen him but, of course, could not say anything to him. She cried very much but she did not say anything of the kind that you and I could have hoped for.

‘Up to the time of dictating this I have not heard anything from either Herbert or Ballington [the General’s other sons]. Now as to your coming over, the main fact which influences me is your own health.

The enormous fatigue and expenditure of

I

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To mark the 100th anniversary of the promotion to Glory of General William booth, Founder of The Salvation Army, Gordon Taylor has written a new biography of the General. During many years’ service at the International Heritage Centre in London, uk, Gordon has become one of the foremost experts on Salvation Army history. His new book includes reference material such as journals and private letters that have not previously been published.

This exclusive excerpt gives an insight into the lives of General booth’s family – and the grief felt by the wider Salvation Army – as the great man prepares to ‘lay down his sword’.

‘The General took h strength and nervous energy which would be involved and from which, as you say in your telegram, nothing would be gained if The General remains unconscious – as seems almost certain...

‘I have had a dark time the last two or three days. One is so tempted to think that we ought not to have allowed The General to go through that operation [to remove a cataract]. But for that blow I really believe he would have been spared to us for a year or two. On the other hand there is no doubt the fact that the decline in power had begun and even with restored sight it might have gone on and possibly led to difficulties of another kind that might have been worse still.

‘All three doctors have put this point to me. Even Campbell, who has been the most sanguine of all and who seemed to understand The General best, said to me at his last visit, “Well, you must believe that you have acted for the best. There were evidently changes going on before the operation which none of us fully realised.”

‘But what a life! What a record! Talk about a man leaving “foot-prints in the sands of time” – what an example we have

here. I wonder the world does not see it – perhaps some day it will...

‘You will realise what all this means to me having regard to future arrangements etc, etc.

‘Eternal unchanging love. We – you and I will have a hard pull without The General. But God is for us and his promises will not fail.’

On Monday and Tuesday, Bramwell Booth had arranged for small groups of officers to see the General for a few minutes in his room, and many of the officers were deeply moved. One of the officers who valued this privilege was Brigadier Richard Slater, head of the Army’s music department, who afterwards wrote in his diary: ‘My emotions overcame me and I could not refrain from weeping and I could have sobbed aloud.’

On Tuesday, when Colonel Theodore Kitching, who had been to Bristol for the weekend, tried to start a conversation, there was no indication that William Booth was aware of his presence. In the afternoon, when the General’s condition seemed to have deteriorated, Dr Milne was called to his bedside, but he improved again slightly and there seemed to be every prospect that he might last through the night, or even for two or three more days.

Several members of the Booth family, including Lucy, Bramwell and Florence, and their daughter Catherine, were present for much of the day, while some of the other grandchildren, including Mary, Olive and Wycliffe, came for shorter visits.

Catherine Booth-Clibborn, who had visited her father on the day before, came again in the afternoon.

During the afternoon there was a dramatic thunderstorm, reminiscent of when Catherine Booth died at Clacton-onSea in 1890, but at other times the room was quiet. There was a growing sense that the end of William Booth’s life might be drawing nearer, and a few officers from

W I L L I A M B O OT H

is last breath’ International Headquarters and the General’s staff joined the close family around the bedside.

Dr Milne came again around nine o’clock in the evening, and was not expecting to stay long but, when William Booth’s heartbeat and pulse became weaker, and his breathing more irregular, the doctor stayed to support the family at the moment of death.

Bramwell bent over to kiss his father, and, prompted by Lucy, kissed him again in response to a telegram from Eva which said: ‘Kiss him for me.’ Finally, just before 10.15pm, with Bramwell Booth holding one hand and Dr Milne holding the other, the General took his last breath.

William Booth – His Life and Legacy

by Gordon Taylor will be published

by Salvation Books in late 2012

‘But what a life!

What a record! Talk about a man leaving “foot-prints in the sands of time”’

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MOLDOVA = The country of Moldova emerged in 1991 from the collapse of the Soviet Union = The population of Moldova is around 4.3 million, with almost three-quarters of a million people living in the capital, Chisinau = Two-thirds of Moldovans are of Romanian descent, the languages are virtually identical and the two countries share a common cultural heritage Below: Moldovan countryside; right: City hall, Chisinau

The blue, red, and yellow tricolor of Moldova is almost identical to the flag of romania, reflecting the two countries’ national and cultural affinity. on Moldova’s flag the yellow stripe features the national coat of arms.

The Moldovan arms, adopted in 1990, feature a dark golden eagle holding an orthodox Christian cross in its beak. The eagle is holding an olive branch, symbolising peace.

= Most of the country – between the rivers dniester and Prut – is made up of an area previously known as Besarabia

= The old Principality of Moldavia comprised what is now eight north-eastern counties of Romania, the Republic of Moldova and small parts of Ukraine

= Moldova is statistically the poorest country in Europe

= The Moldovan currency is the Moldovan leu – not to be mistaken for the Romanian leu!

= The average wage in Moldova is 3,350 Moldovan lei (US$285) per month before tax.

This is the lowest figure in Europe

= In late 2011, Moldova was identified as the fastest-shrinking country in the world, with a popluation drop of 106 every day, mainly due to emigration. In the long term this will cause huge problems to the country because the majority of those leaving are the young people who are needed to drive growth = Many people wrongly refer to Moldavia and Moldavian when they should speak of Moldova or Moldovan

= The country is named after the River Moldova. How the river got its name is unclear, although legend has it that Prince Dragos named the river after Molda, one of his hounds which drowned in the river after becoming exhausted while hunting for an aurochs. (The aurochs was a type of large, wild cattle which died out in central Europe in the 17th century. The head of an aurochs is in the centre of the Moldovan coat of arms.)

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A law passed in November 2010 states that the reverse side of the flag must be a mirror image of the front, meaning that the stripes change their position but the eagle’s head on the coat of arms always faces the blue stripe! No other country’s flag is designed in this way.

The SalvaTion army in molDova The Salvation Army began work in Moldova in 1994 Majors Wes and ruth Sundin, from the USA Western Territory, were serving in Ukraine but expanded the work over the border to Moldova. one corps (church) was opened in Chisinau, followed by more new openings in the city before the work spread to other parts of the country There are 18 Salvation Army corps in Moldova and one mobile clinic At the end of 2011 The Salvation Army in Moldova had 31 officers, 811 soldiers,175 adherent members, 34 corps cadets, 112 senior local officers, 16 recruits, 600 women’s ministries members and 303 league of mercy members

F CUS ON

MOLDOVA

by Commissioner Berit Ødegaard

T

HE Salvation Army in Moldova is still relatively young, yet its ministry and influence belie a maturity beyond its years.

Salvation Army work in Moldova began in 1994, soon after the fall of communism.

The Salvation Army’s Moldova Division forms part of the huge Eastern Europe Territory, which stretches from Romania right across to the east coast of Russia.

Moldova is situated between Romania and Ukraine, very near the Black Sea. Having been an independent country since 1354, it became part of the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Then, when the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, Moldova became an independent country again.

Although Moldova is reckoned to be one of Europe’s poorest countries financially, it is far from poor in other ways. It has a rich history and culture.

Music, theatre, literature, photographic arts and folk arts – amongst others – play an important part in the life of the country.

Orthodox Christianity has been an integral part of the country from the very beginning, although during the Soviet era no public expression of Christian faith was permitted. Through these years the Moldovan population kept its identity as Orthodox Christians.

This is clearly seen as the Orthodox clergy is present at all public events and celebrations. There is freedom for establishment of Christian churches in the country, although there are numerous challenges in getting a constitution as such accepted and registered.

The capital, Chisinau, is a bustling metropolis, with a number of large, old buildings, some of which are badly in need of repair. Large parks contain historic monuments, which tell the story of the past. But you also find modern shopping malls offering whatever you could possibly want. Restaurants and

cafes serve a cuisine as tasty as anywhere in the world.

Moving out from the city, you see mile upon mile of grapevines, sunflowers and corn fields covering the rolling hills of the country, and roadsides lined with walnut trees. Numerous villages are situated between larger towns.

You may see an old abandoned factory or two, remnants from the Soviet era, but more noticeable are the little houses along the road, with very brightly coloured front walls, closely linked together with grapevines twisted around steel frames. In the afternoon you will see women, in brightly coloured attire including the typical headscarves, sitting at the roadside outside their houses, talking together and observing the passing

‘Although Moldova is reckoned to be one of Europe’s poorest countries ... it is far from poor in other ways’

Above: Yana Miheeva with a young friend from a Salvation Army after-school programme

traffic. Horse-drawn carts transport people and their goods.

Most noticeable of all is the fact that very few young people are to be seen.

Some have moved to larger towns, either for studies or for work, as there is little if any work to be found in the villages. A significant number leave the country in order to find work in other parts of the world. (Approximately 550,000 live outside the country.) Children are left with grandparents, older siblings, other relatives in the villages or with neighbours, many of whom are dependant on feeding schemes for their well-being.

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little While e n go childr y, as h u n gr w, do no they gh t I’ll fi

F O C U S O N . . . M O L D O VA

Left: children study at a Salvation Army ‘See Me’ after-school club

This is where The Salvation Army comes in, with numerous feeding programmes for young and old.

Hinchesti, for instance, is about an hour’s drive south-west of Chisinau. The town has a large population, many of whom are living well below the poverty line.

On the ground floor of a big apartment building, premises have been made available, free of charge, by the local government for a feeding programme.

Every weekday, from early morning, people line up in order to get in when the meal is ready at 12 o’clock. The programme is financed for 80 people, although this could rise to 150 if further funds were available. Two cooks work as part of the project and others volunteer their help.

In addition to those who come and eat, some come and collect food for friends, neighbours or family members who are unable to walk or are bedridden. Talking to some of the people, we discover that many of them are homeless, living off this programme and whatever they can find in dustbins and on scrapheaps.

A heartbreaking fact is that the same group can only be fed for three months at a time, then it is the next group’s turn to be fed for three months.

The corps officer (Salvation Army minister) explains that their thinking is that as the people are given one good cooked meal daily for three months, they may have saved up some money to be able to scrape by for the months to come. In this way, a larger number of people benefit.

In addition, clothing is given out and, as Moldova had an unusually cold winter in 2011/12, blankets have also been distributed.

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There are many war veterans who have been left severely disabled following repeated wars and conflicts. With a pension which will not even pay for heating during the winter, they are totally dependant on the feeding scheme.

In the summer months, while the schools have three months leave, there are special feeding programmes for children.

Children are also helped through ‘See Me’ after-school programmes run by several Salvation Army corps (churches).

The children are given a good cooked meal and are helped with their homework. They have time to play and learn different crafts, and they take part in plays and recitals.

Daniel is one of the children included in such a project. When he first came he was characterised as being unsociable, withdrawn and ‘living in his own world’.

His mother is disabled and has great problems communicating. His father, who was also disabled, died soon after Daniel was born.

Soon after he came to the programme, Daniel responded by becoming more communicative. He has learned to read and write, something his mother was

YAnA MiheeVA from being a teacher in the ‘See Me’ after-school project in her local corps (Salvation Army church), Yana Miheeva is now the project coordinator at Moldova divisional Headquarters. Born in Murmansk, in the then Soviet Union, this hardworking, sparkling woman, with a warm heart for those in need, especially children, is a Salvationist in every understanding of the word – an example to many of hard work, perseverance and dedication.

In 1998, when Yana was 13, she had a friend who always got into trouble. what could easily have become a bad situation changed when the boy started attending The Salvation Army. People became curious – why had the boy’s behaviour changed?

Yana did not have any experience of Christian congregations but in order to find out more about the Army and why her friend was so involved, she went to the Central Corps in Chisinau. That first meeting was not a great success – she was too young to be part of the youth group and was directed to the Sunday school!

Later, having eventually attached herself to the youth group, Yana became a soldier. She was so keen to wear her uniform that – to some people’s astonishment – she put it on the Sunday before her enrolment! She tells about years of almost living at the Army, being involved in all sorts of youth activities.

Being a multi-talented young woman, she also plays clarinet in the divisional band.

Yana does not count hours when she works. She often leaves the office long after anybody else. Never saying no to any request to participate in services or programmes, she thanks God for the opportunities given to her to serve him.

F O C U S O N . . . M O L D O VA

ion CioBanU In 1996 the Hinchesti area of Moldova experienced flooding due to heavy rainfall. Many villages were damaged and people were left without either house or clothes. Head of Social Assistance Ion Ciobanu was on the executive committee whose members were asked to contact all possible agencies which might help the affected people.

As Ion considered how to go about this, a couple entered his office and said they represented The Salvation Army. with them they had a minibus full of humanitarian aid for the needy people. He had never heard of The Salvation Army before and was certainly surprised to be offered help even before he could ask!

After a Salvation Army corps (church) was opened in Hinchesti in 1997, it quickly established a good relationship with Ion. A programme was set up that saw 500 vulnerable families from the most remote parts of the district receive annual help.

Ion attended corps anniversary celebrations the then regional commander told him he should become a Salvationist. At that time Ion says that he had many other things on his mind and was far from God. But, he says, he could not forget the major’s challenge.

He became a Salvationist in May 2004, several years after his first contact with the Army.

Captain Larisa Pascal, who has been the corps officer at Hinchesti for eight years, is well supported by Ion and the other corps members. She chuckles loudly as she thinks back to when they first met. ‘He did not like me much,’ she admits.

‘Perhaps I disturbed him too much!’

Now they are close friends and Ion tells the Army’s leaders in no uncertain terms that they should not even think about moving Captain Pascal!

News of the successful scheme spread and – as the district’s contact regarding these programmes – Ion was invited regularly to special meetings at the corps. The second time

Above: ion Ciobanu (left) with Captain Larisa Pascal; left: preparing food for a feeding programme for vulnerable people

unable to help him with. Daniel is now a happy little boy, and his mother rejoices over the fact that her son has hope for a brighter future.

These programmes also have an important preventive function. The young people spend valuable time together with other children and they have good adult role models as leaders, in a secure Christian environment. They are being fostered both educationally and also when it comes to being the best they can be. Only time will tell how much the whole country will gain from these programmes, considering the fact that many hundreds of children are benefiting and have benefited from them.

The different activities and projects bring whole families to the Army. If you were to ask Moldovan soldiers and officers how they met The Salvation Army, many of them would tell you that their children brought them.

Perhaps the best-known programme in Moldova is the mobile clinic service.

Within rural areas, certainly, Doctors JU LY–S EP T EM BE R 2 0 12 | ALL THE WORLD |

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F O C U S O N . . . M O L D O VA Left: Anna Stasiuc prepares food (see inset) for inmates at rusca Prison

AnnA VictOrOVnA StASiuc Anna grew up experiencing hard times, particularly after her father died when she was 14. She married and gave birth to two sons but life became increasingly difficult when she was left alone with her children. over a period of time, she also looked after a sick mother and aunt.

Her eldest son accompanied his aunt to the Central Corps (Salvation Army church) in Chisinau and found his place in life. Enrolled as a soldier in 1994, he is now an officer with his wife in Ukraine.

Being a good mother, Anna wanted to know what her son was so interested in and started attending meetings in the corps herself. She tells of feeling that at long last, after having felt rejected and of little worth, she had come home. Here she found God and met people who accepted and supported her.

She attended meetings for two years before she became a soldier. She wanted to serve in the Army and the then divisional Commander Major Jostein Nielsen asked her what she wanted to do. She told him that prison work was close to her heart, so she worked in a three-year project visiting several prisons.

Today, Anna is well known both inside and outside the Army in Moldova. She leads the Rusca Prison Ministry Project and has done so since 2005. The prison houses 300 women from 16 to 70 years of age. Anna prepares her visits very well. for many inmates, her visits are the highlight of their week.

A nine-month computer class is run for 30 women at a time. The course is officially recognised and a certificate is issued at its completion. Anna also happens to be a very good cook, and she comes to the prison with well-prepared meals for her women.

Karaman, husband and wife soldiers of Ciocana Corps, will be remembered for starting this lifechanging programme.

Every second Friday they travel to remote villages around the country with six or seven other doctors, all specialists in their own field, with a pharmacist and a social worker. They do this on good roads and bad, come winter and summer, good weather or bad. The clinic is set up in premises made available by local authorities. The line of patients is long and waiting as the minibus with the clinic team arrives.

Every clinic starts with a short meeting where people are welcomed. The Salvation Army’s presence is explained, followed by short devotional time, before the different doctors go to their ‘stations’ in the clinic, to see their patients.

Those who are not able to come to the clinic are visited in their homes.

The social worker visits several homes in the village in order to assess situations and address whatever needs there are.

Waterborne diseases are a big challenge, mainly due to the lack of clean water. The villages often get their water supply from wells that in many places are too shallow.

The full impact of this ministry will no doubt be seen in the future as the preventive medicine, treatments, educational and spiritual aspects of this outreach are bound to be felt in years to come.

The Salvation Army in Moldova is still in its teens. It is finding its feet and expression, as a vibrant and integral part of the international Army. These are still pioneering days – the Salvationists of Moldova believe that the best is yet to come.

The other days of the week, Anna delivers humanitarian aid. She works closely with the authorities in preparing lists of what is sent – mainly from Sweden – and to whom it will be given. All Salvation Army corps in Moldova are contact points for these deliveries.

Anna is a vital part of the divisional headquarters staff. Her positive influence is felt by all. Thanking God and the Army for her changed life, she trusts the Lord for giving her many years in this ministry.

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Commissioner Berit Ødegaard is secretary for women’s ministries in The Salvation Army’s Moldova division, in the Eastern Europe Territory

J A PA N

Life on the ocean wave

a

LMOST 18 months after the earthquake and tsunami that brought devastation to the east coast of Japan, The Salvation Army is still working to help people and communities reclaim the lives they used to know.

by Major Drew Ruthven

routine. Some of the vessels will help rebuild the economically important oyster industry.

On the island of Izushima fishing is the Among the help that has been spread across the north of the country is only industry. This industry was destroyed assistance to the fishing community. The when the 16-metre tsunami wave Salvation Army has ordered 30 fishing destroyed the livelihoods of the several boats, some of which have already been hundred people who live there. Homes delivered. The boats are playing a vital and buildings in the harbour area are role in the rejuvenation of the region and, gone. Nine fishermen from the island as well as being used to restart fishing, were lost and another 25 in a nearby village.

On the island, and on the adjacent they have been used to help clean the seabed of waste that was washed out from mainland, the wharves have sunk more than a metre and all boat-building and the coastal areas.

So much rubble and debris was washed repair equipment has gone. Besides the into the sea that fishing communities have loss of 90 per cent of the boats, all of the not been able to resume their normal 370 forklifts, many buoys, nets and fishery farms were lost or destroyed.

Buoys tangled 16 metres up ‘The boats are playing a vital role in the trees attest to the in the rejuvenation of the region’ height of the waves.

Above: fishermen are presented with a forklift truck for use at the harbour

The Salvation Army’s Japan Territory, assisted by the Canada and Bermuda Territory and the United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland, is helping the coastal fishing industry through a scheme that addresses long-term needs.

Along with the 30 small fishing boats, an order has been placed for a substantially bigger boat that will benefit the whole community.

The big boat will be used to monitor the fishing grounds, ensuring the security and safety of the smaller boats in the fleet. It will also have a medical emergency transport role for all people living on islands near the mainland. Essentially, the new boat will act in a policing role while JU LY–S EP T EM BE R 2 0 12 | ALL THE WORLD |

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J A PA N

A new boat– clearly marked as being provided by The Salvation Army – is presented to a fisherman (left and above left) before heading out to sea (above)

also functioning as a floating ambulance!

Before the tsunami the fishing industry’s governing body had a vessel that was used by a number of families, under the organisation of the local fishermen’s union. The boat was used to move goods and people around the various fishing communities. In doing this the users of the boat got to know the people who live on the islands, also enabling them to form helpful contacts with the mainland. The well-used old vessel was one of the ones destroyed in the wave that hit the coast.

The new ‘big boat’ to be supplied by The Salvation Army will be used in a

similar way by the fisherman’s union to maintain contact with the widespread members of its community – especially people living away from the mainland. The fishing grounds are slowly recovering and families are gradually working through the impact on their lives. It will be many years before the industry will be anything like it was before the tsunami.

Each of the area’s 15 harbours have been given a forklift truck (one provided by the Lions Club, the other 14 by The Salvation Army). These can be used to lift small boats in need of repair as well as in the loading and unloading of fish. The Salvation Army has also provided life jackets, ropes and boots. In the days immediately following the disaster, feeding programmes meant that families could begin to rebuild their communities.

The Salvation Army in Japan is pleased to be helping the fishing industry back towards normality after such a devastating blow. Many families will benefit from this project. None of this would have been possible without generous donations from around the world.

Salvation Army leaders in Japan have received praise and countless messages of thanks for all that the Army is doing to help the people of Japan to recover from their terrible disaster. They, in turn, are grateful to God for his guidance as they plan how best to participate in the country’s recovery. They look to him in hope for all that is to come.

Major drew Ruthven is Coordinator of the International Emergency Services team, based at The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters in London

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible.

Its ministry is motivated by love for God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination.

Now working in 124 countries, The Salvation Army has been offering help, hope and God’s love to people in need since 1865.

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MEDIA

Wh ile the re r ema ins o fight ne dar k soul without the light of God, I'll

CoMING today to a computer near you, Salvation Army Today is a weekly webbased news programme produced by the USA Southern Territory but aimed at a wordwide audience. Anchored by Territorial Creative Arts director Roberta SimmonsSmith and produced by the Communications Bureau (a section of the Community Relations and development department), the programme offers breaking news and information concerning The Salvation Army’s many ministries around the world.

A new episode of Salvation Army Today is loaded onto its own channel on YouTube every Thursday.

In preparation for each broadcast, Salvation Army Today writers scour the web using sophisticated software, and reach out to the Army world for new and exciting material.

Since January 2012 the programme has covered stories of crippling addiction and hard-fought recovery, the fight against family homelessness, cutting-edge education and job-training programmes, poignant reunions of family members, plus many stories of what The Salvation Army does best – reaching the lost and forgotten in the name of Jesus Christ. with each broadcast, Salvation Army Today brings more uplifting stories of lives changed from all corners of the earth. while produced in the USA Southern Territory, there is a deliberate attempt to ensure the broadcast is generic, totally transparent and free of territorial borders.

Christopher Priest, producer, told All the World: ‘for some time we have wanted to communicate through the medium of Internet video the Army’s wonderful mission and ministry. with this innovative programme it is hoped that the public will begin to learn of the movement’s heritage, steadfastness and the God-glorifying mission that affects all humanity in 124 countries across the globe every day.’

The programme, now part of the USA’s national website (www.salvationarmyusa.org), is updated every week, with previous broadcasts remaining available. Advisory organisation members and other volunteers are encouraged to view the weekly show as an aid to their realisation of the enormous potential of partnering with The Salvation Army, and in sharing their vision for how the Army can really make a difference in the community.

All Salvationists and friends are encouraged to share the weblink. This especially applies to Salvation Army websites that can feature the broadcast. Expansion of the viewer base is a positive step in the ongoing

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challenge of sharing the mission and ministry of the Army with the general public.

The programme is released within 24 hours of being recorded and involves a crew of three technicians, all members of the USA Southern Territory’s Communications Bureau.

The producers of Salvation Army Today are now challenged with the possibility of developing a daily broadcast. when questioned on this, Christopher Priest said: ‘we are working towards this enormous step with fervent prayer and great excitement – yet with the realisation of what such an opportunity will mean to The Salvation Army worldwide.’

Anyone interested in sharing thoughts about the programme or a potential story for broadcast is encouraged to contact Salvation Army Today at

SAToday@uss.salvationarmy.org

New episodes of Salvation Army Today appear on www.youtube.com/salvationarmytoday every Thursday JU LY–S EP T EM BE R 2 0 12 | ALL THE WORLD |

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C O U N T RY O R T H E M E

SNAPSHOTS FrOM ArOunD the WOrLD

UK olympic fever is taking over London ahead of the 2012 olympic and Paralympic Games and there are signs that it is spreading to other parts of the United Kingdom! The Salvation Army is keen to use this common focus to reach out to people who may not normally attend church.

The Torch Relay – which involves the olympic flame being taken through the streets of the UK and Ireland – is proving a good place to start. Salvation Army centres up and down the country are providing refreshments to the crowds that gather to watch the torch pass by.

Meeting needs at the olympic Torch relay: Majors Andrew and Lori richards with their daughter ele in Plymouth (above), Major Tracey Mountford in Bristol (below left) and Captain Liesl Baldwin in Falmouth (below right)

free copies of special issues of The War Cry and Kids Alive! are also proving popular, and many people – old and young – have been seen reading avidly as they wait for the relay to reach them. during the Games themselves, Salvation Army mission teams from around the world will descend on the UK. They will hand out refreshments but they will also look to share their faith with the thousands of people who head to London. water will be distributed from a number of sites to the thousands of people who are expected to line the streets for the men’s, women’s and Paralympic marathons. It can now be revealed that one of these sites is International Headquarters, which is on the route of all three marathons.

NIGERIA The Salvation Army in Nigeria was quick to respond after a plane crashed into a residential area near Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos in June. All 153 passengers were killed, along with six people in an apartment block which was destroyed in the crash.

A team of Salvation Army officers worked with representatives from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and others at the site dealing with the aftermath of the accident. It quickly became clear that the most urgent need was for food and drink for the workers who were clearing the wreckage and searching for bodies.

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Three teams were organised to give out snacks and drinks. In the first two days almost 3,000 drinks were given out, along with 18 cartons of biscuits.

Assistance was also given to families whose homes were destroyed in the disaster – and to a further 15 households (including 35 children)

whose homes were knocked down in order for the emergency services to gain access to the crash site.

Packages of essentials were put together, made up of rice, beans, cooking oil, salt, seasonings and items of clothing.

S N A P S H OT S

USA As the 100th anniversary of the promotion to Glory of Salvation Army founder william Booth draws near (20 August), the American War Cry has dipped into its past to produce a special commemorative issue ahead of founder’s day on 2 July. The special ‘Heritage Edition’ is printed in black and white, and includes articles and illustrations that first appeared in The War Cry in the 1890s.

USA National Commander Commissioner william Roberts says: ‘while the language

and content may be somewhat dated, the truths expressed definitely are not.’

A thundering opening piece by General Booth (‘To The Rescue’) is followed by articles from such esteemed Salvation Army figures as Samuel Logan Brengle (‘The Secret of Power’), Consul Emma Booth-Tucker (‘The Last Step’) and Colonel John Lawley (‘The drink demon’).

Also included are poems, songs and advertisements for packing trunks, tambourines, hats and drums!

British team members try out the mountain bike course on hadleigh Farm; (below) a scale model of the sculpture for ihQ

OLYMPIC GAMES Salvation Army links to the olympic Games have never been as strong as they are this year. Not only are the marathons passing International Headquarters (IHQ) in London but The Salvation Army is hosting one of the events. This is the first time a denomination has ever had such an honour.

Hadliegh Salvation Army farm is the venue for the mountain bike course. The competition will take place on the final weekend of the Games, 11 and 12 August.

The farm has been in Salvation Army ownership since the Army’s founder, william Booth, purchased the land in 1891 and set up the ‘Country Colony’ to provide work and training for people from the worst parts of London. Today, the farm continues to offer disadvantaged people a helping hand through its training centre.

In time for the olympics, a link has been made between the training centre and IHQ. Berni Georges, a designer in the IHQ Communications Section, has designed a large wooden sculpture depicting a mountain biker in action. The plans have gone to Hadleigh where chief carpentry tutor Brian Barker is working with training centre clients to turn Berni’s plans into reality.

The finished piece will go on display at IHQ where it is hoped that the thousands of people who pass the building will gain a greater understanding of what The Salvation Army is doing at Hadleigh farm during the olympics and every day. for the latest information on what’s happening at Hadleigh farm, go to www.hadleighfarm.org.uk

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