Easter message proclaimed in Salvos Stores across Australia
- deansimpson7
- May 5
- 2 min read
BY LAUREN MARTIN
Shoppers at Salvos Stores across the nation were invited to participate in an Easter reflection during the week leading up to Good Friday.
Corps officers and mission leaders told the story of the apostle Peter and invited people to experience the living hope that Easter offers.
“Two of the most important invitations Peter ever had were to come follow Jesus and to come and see the empty tomb,” the Salvos Stores Easter Reflections service script explained. “In accepting both these invitations, his life was changed forever.
“Those invitations are still there today for each one of us. This Easter, like Peter, we invite you to come and wonder at the meaning of that empty tomb. Come and see a living hope revealed for you this Easter.”
Staff and volunteers paused work to participate in the service, and many shoppers also stopped to listen. Some stores then held a community morning tea with Easter eggs and hot cross buns.
Other stores invited shoppers and children to enter a colouring-in competition, and some stores decorated a segment of the store to showcase the real meaning of Easter.
“So grateful for the privilege and the opportunity to share in this way,” said Perth Fortress Corps Officer Major Aaron Stobie. “We had a fabulous time sharing at the Mt Hawthorn Salvos Store.”
Morley Corps Officer Major Pete Brookshaw said it was “a great opportunity to connect committed, friendly volunteers to the broader story of hope found in the person of Jesus Christ.”
In NSW, Macquarie Fields Corps Officer Major Darren Kingston store-hopped (or bunny-hopped?!) and led the Easter reflections service at both Moorebank and Campbelltown stores. “The managers, staff and volunteers really appreciated it,” he said.
This is the second time Salvos Stores leadership has created missional material for significant Christian events.
In the lead-up to Christmas last year, corps officers and mission leaders were invited to share in a Christmas reflection in-store, which was also a resounding success.
After the success of the in-store reflections at Christmas and Easter, Salvos Stores are planning to hold the next one on 5 September to coincide with the 145th anniversary of The Salvation Army in Australia (based on the Adelaide beginning).
More photos of Easter reflections in Salvos Stores across Australia:
