The international leaders are given a traditional welcome to Sri Lanka General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, international leaders of The Salvation Army, brought renewed hope and inspiration during their visit to the Sri Lanka Territory from 9-15 January 2025. The international leaders visit the Rajagiriya Child Development Centre . Their time in Sri Lanka included meetings with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, government officials, diplomats and church leaders, as well as commissioning, officers councils, rallies, public meetings, visits to Salvation Army centres and tsunami commemorations.   More than 1500 Salvationists attended the public meeting in the capital, Colombo. “General Lyndon Buckingham’s message sparked a spiritual awakening and his challenge – ‘Let your faith proclaim the love of God to others’ – resonated deeply,” said Captain Aseervadam Cheeli, Territorial Financial Secretary. Worship at the youth rally. “The General’s call to ‘wake up and experience Jesus’ inspired a renewed focus on authentic Christian living, with immediate and profound effects: more than 100 people sought spiritual renewal at the mercy seat, and 26 junior soldiers and 46 soldiers were enrolled.” For more information and photos, click here . Ukraine Divisions hosts children’s activities Ukrainian corps ran winter holiday programs for children in the war-torn nation. Throughout the (northern) winter break in Ukraine, corps across the war-torn country have been providing holiday activities for children to “help them relax, have fun, to put smiles on their adult faces and bright colours in their pictures,” the leaders say.   For Ukrainian children, the war means that holidays, like every day, feature air-raid alarms, the sound of rockets hitting their homes, the destruction of these homes and the loss of their homes. It means activities in bomb shelters, receiving news of a loved one’s death and other tragedies, and enduring almost three years of war and aggression.   The corps work together to help children recover and to maintain hope and faith where God’s love reigns and there are no sirens, explosions or death. Click through the slideshow below for more photos. ‘NAPpad’ pilot keeping rough sleepers safe   In the United Kingdom, the innovative pop-up accommodation (NAPpads), for people forced to sleep rough, launched in Merseyside this (northern) winter after a successful pilot. These pods are not designed as homes, but they do provide somewhere warm and dry to stay for the night and are situated in the car park of the Salisbury House Lifehouse (temporary supported accommodation). The innovative NAPpads were installed in Merseyside this (northern) winter. The NAPpad, which is the first of its kind in the North West, contains four individual units, each equipped with a toilet, sink and bed. There is also a window, security door, power point, small electric heater and an LED light. As people who have been sleeping rough long-term often have complex health issues, each pad is also fitted with sensors that detect if someone stops breathing, giving responders vital minutes to save a life. Amber Sylvester, Development Manager with The Salvation Army’s Homelessness Services Unit, said, “The pilot has been more successful than we could have imagined. The NAPpad, which offers rough sleepers somewhere quiet, warm and safe to stay, has been full most nights, and the feedback we’re getting from clients has been really positive. NAPpad facilities give rough sleepers privacy and safety as they sleep. “We envisaged them being used by entrenched rough sleepers who struggle in traditional hostel environments. We’ve not only been able to help them but also offer beds to people who may have no recourse to public funds*, have been sofa surfing or, due to relationship or family breakdown, have had nowhere to stay. As part of our ‘trauma-informed’ approach, they provide dignified sanctuary from the streets for people who may be suffering from mental health issues.” Adam (not his real name), a frequent NAPpad user, said, “Without the NAPpad, I would be on the streets permanently. It’s not so bad during the summer, but it’s much harder in winter. If I haven’t got the NAPpad then I’ll be back out under a bush.”   For more information, click here . Renovated phone boxes become works of art A Salvation Army community drop-in in West Yorkshire, UK, is making its mark on the town centre by taking part in a project that creates unique art displays in renovated phone boxes.  Heckmondwike Corps teamed up with CreativeScene, a local arts organisation, and Keep Hecky Tidy, a community group committed to improving the local environment, to fill disused phone boxes in the town centre with unique art displays during the recent festive season. The artwork was produced at the corps’ drop-in group, Friday Friends, a café and community area open to anyone who needs a warm space, friendship or an affordable place for children to play. Drop-in participants contributed their art to the ‘galleries’. Janet Devine, Heckmondwike Corps Sergeant Major, said: “When Creative Scene approached us about the project, we jumped at the chance to be involved. Friday Friends is a very relaxed environment where people can just come and sit and enjoy a cup of tea, but we also want to offer activities for people to get involved in, and this fits perfectly. People enjoy fun, interactive sessions and get to contribute to the artwork being displayed in these unique phone box galleries.  “As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Friday Friends, it’s a reminder that we’re not only a warm space, but a friendship space. Our message is we are here, and we can support you. We call it church on a Friday.”    Pam Lonsdale of Keep Hecky Tidy said, “The phone boxes are listed buildings, but had been badly vandalised so we worked with our local MP and local business PPG, to renovate them. For the past two years, we’ve worked with schools, adults with additional needs, scouts and community groups to create these community galleries. They’ve gone from being an eyesore to an asset, so this has worked really well.”

Each week throughout 2025 year, Salvationists around the world are uniting in prayer for a particular territory or region of The Salvation Army. Prayer requests are shared by the focus territory/region to help us pray with precision and power for one another.    This week ( 20-26 January ) we are praying for the Congo (Brazzaville) Territory.   The territory is made up of 26,408 senior soldiers, 3089 adherents and 13,185 junior soldiers. There are 121 corps, 119 outposts, 444 officers (366 active and 78 retired), 14 envoys, 45 cadets and 143 employees.   In addition to corps and sections, the territory operates a training college, social and educational centres, health services and community development projects.   Prayer requests · The territory has been under special measures since 2019, and a second round of these measures took effect in May 2024. Recommendations for an action plan are in place and progress is being made. Please pray for the smooth implementation of the action plan and a quick release from the special measures. ·  The territory has worked with a big financial deficit for many years which has put the territory in a serious budgetary situation. Pray for the improvement of finances and financial management with a capable team. ·  The officer training college will be closed for two years to serve as a conference centre for spiritual reformation for officers and employees. Pray for financial capability and the success of this program. ·  Cameroon Mission work official registration. The required documentation has been with government officials since early 2024, and the territory is still waiting for feedback. Pray for a quick and positive response. ·  Bacongo Vocational training school for girls: The official registration process started with little progress. Pray for the quick response from government. To find out more about the Congo (Brazzaville) Territory, click here . To download the 2025 International Prayer Focus schedule, click here .

To read Peter’s Promoted to Glory notice, click here

From before and then throughout my years in officership, I’ve grown a small library of Christian books that sits alongside my collection of Bibles (92, at last count, although a few are New Testaments only).   Christian publishing is a huge field and thousands of new books are released every year. This has been the case for more than 500 years, since Johnny Gutenberg developed a printing press that could rattle off as many as 20 books a day! Which was better than one book every three months.   Amidst the hundreds of thousands of Christian titles printed, there are some, well, odd ones. Let’s consider a few.   Does God Ever Speak Through Cats?   – By David Evans, published in 2006. The author writes of when he moved to a new house and adopted a stray cat, and he draws parallels between the ‘lost and found’ life of the cat and his own faith journey.   My favourite review in Amazon includes Ryan H. saying: “ My neighbour’s cat once looked me dead in the eye and began to telepathically dictate a lost chapter of the Book of Revelation to me. He explained that he was the angel Gabriel (in cat form), and God had chosen me as his prophet.”   The Bible Cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome – By Don Colbert, published 2002. “Invite bowel regularity into your life! You don’t have to suffer the bloating or discomfort of irritable bowel syndrome any longer! ... God wants you to be healthy. Now, at last, here’s a source of information that will help you get healthy – body, mind and spirit.”   And I really want Rhoda – one of the Amazon reviewers – as my friend. She buys the best presents: “I ordered this booklet for a gift for a friend. I have had one for years. I find mine to be an excellent refresher and encourager when IBS flares up.” Regarding the second and third sentences there, I don’t know if she’s talking about the book or her friend.   Oozing For My Lord   – By Betty Carolyn Hearon-Love, published in 2007. Apparently, this small book is about how the author wanted to be so filled with God’s love that it simply ‘oozed’ out of her. She said that God gave her the title for the book even before she began writing it.   While I genuinely appreciate the sentiment of the book, I question that ‘oozing’ was what God said. I suspect she misheard, and he wanted a book on sleeping peacefully for God called, ‘Snoozing For My Lord’.

Photo and resources courtesy Common Grace With Aboriginal Sunday falling tomorrow, 19 January, The Salvation Army will mark the occasion with a series of events around the country. Sue Hodges, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Coordinator NSW/ACT, will lead meetings in New South Wales and Victoria alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator Chris Waixel in Victoria, Corps Officers from Lakes Salvos Majors Leanne and Peter Bennett, Sue Hopper from the Spiritual Life team and Tameka Buckley from Project 614. A meeting will be held at Lakes Salvos in New South Wales tomorrow from 9:30am and then on 27 February, Sue Hodges, Chris Waixel and Sue Hopper will lead a meeting at Blackburn Salvos in Victoria at 9:30am. Following this, Sue Hodges and Tameka Buckley will lead a meeting at Project 614 in Melbourne CBD at 11am on the same day. Also this Sunday 19 January, Shirli Congoo, General Manager of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team, will lead a meeting at Townsville Salvos in Queensland. Aboriginal Sunday is thought to have officially begun as a yearly event in 1941, after Indigenous Australian Christian leaders including William Cooper urged churches in Australia to mark the day alongside their Indigenous counterparts. The theme for this year’s event is "defiant hope". For additional information, see here for internal resources and here for resources from Common Grace.

New soldiers being enrolled at Gosnells, Balga, Mandurah and Perth Chinese corps. New soldiers and adherents have been enrolled in Salvation Army communities in Western Australia, with new members making commitments to their churches and corps. Enrolments took place at Perth Chinese Salvos, Mandurah Salvos, Gosnells Salvos, and Balga Salvos.   Soldiers and adherents are valuable members of Salvation Army churches and a crucial part of the movement’s faith and practice.   Soldiers of The Salvation Army are Christians who have undertaken a specific promise to live out their faith as part of The Salvation Army, representing its lifestyle and beliefs.   Adherents are Christians who also pledge to support their local Salvation Army church as participants in its worship and work.

Many people expressed their gratitude for the vouchers distributed by The Salvation Army that enabled them to purchase food and replace some items damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. BY DARYL CROWDEN Two Australian Salvo workers – Major Darren Elsley and Daryl Crowden – are assisting in Vanuatu after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck near the coast on 17 December. Below, Daryl shares three stories from local people who are grateful to The Salvation Army for the changes their assistance has brought. To donate to The Salvation Army Australia Earthquake Response Appeal, click  here .   Chief Kaltonal Chief Kaltonal is the hereditary chief of The Salvation Army 21 Jump Street community. It’s to him that the people of the community turn in the first instance for all matters relating to justice, support and discipline. Chief Kaltonal shakes hands and expresses his thanks with Daryl Crowden. Living directly opposite The Salvation Army’s church since its beginning means that his family have always had a close relationship with Lilyrose (The Salvation Army leader) and the church. After Cyclone Pam (2015), his children stayed with Lilyrose. After the 17 December (2024) earthquake, it was to The Salvation Army’s garden, kitchen and women that he looked for support to provide food and water – and once again they didn’t let him down.  So, when he walked across the road to join the church for worship recently, no one was surprised. He then asked to speak and thanked The Salvation Army for everything they had done in the last four weeks. “During this last week, all the campaigning politicians have been promising all kinds of things to our community – if we vote for them – but they have actually done nothing, given nothing, not even been here until the week before the (upcoming) election,” he said. “But you Salvation Army, you were here among us, you stayed ... came back, and when you said you would be back, and you promised to help – not just your church but the community – you did it. Thank you, on behalf of all of 21 Jump Street.”   Peter Dick Peter feels "blessed" by the assistance provided by The Salvation Army. “I was just like you; my body was same as yours,” Peter, a man of faith living with a disability, shares .  Peter’s life changed when he was just 13 years old; he was forced out into the world to fend for himself. His grandmother took him in for a little while, but now, as he has for a long time, he lives in “ his” (he says that word with great pride and a smile) small, clean and well-organised rented house. Peter worships with a Seventh Day Adventist fellowship. To provide for himself and pay his rent, Peter explains that “I go into Port Vila town most days, with my amplifier and microphone and sing [religious songs] in the Chinese district. On 17 December I was in town singing but I felt bad, I felt that something was wrong, something bad was coming. I rang my bus and asked him to come quickly and take me home. I had just got out of the bus and taken five steps when I was thrown to the ground. People were screaming and running around me, but I was calm – I stayed relaxed. When the shaking stopped, I went to the hills with everyone else and stayed with people who took me in for two weeks before I came back here.” Peter fell in the grounds where his house is located but stayed calm and escaped to the hills. Peter received a voucher to a local department store to help him replace some of his damaged household items and replenish his food and supplies. Proudly he points out to me a shiny, new, stainless-steel pot that “The Salvation Army blessed me with” and he asks me to thank all those who donated to The Salvation Army’s appeal and made this possible.   Rolyn Lui Rolyn was at home in 21 Jump Street with her five-month-old baby daughter and her one-year-old brother when the earthquake shook her house. While she knew what the cause was having experienced an earthquake before, this was worse than anything she had ever felt. Grabbing her baby and brother she didn’t stop to pick anything up – she ran (literally) for the hills. Rolyn (right) enjoys a lighter moment with Daryl Crowden and Lilyrose. The rest of the community (about 500 people) were running and since she had no idea where to go, she followed them up into the surrounding hills. “One thing we know is that if a tsunami is coming, we go to the hills,”   she says.   Like many of her neighbours, Rolyn had no one to go to. Generous people were taking in everyone, and so for five days she stayed with strangers. “They are now friends,” she shares. When Rolyn returned to her house it was “leaning at a bad angle, and I did not trust it [enough] to go inside.”   Like many people in this community, if you need help you turn to Mama Lilyrose and The Salvation Army. Rolyn, her baby and her brother are currently living in The Salvation Army’s buildings.  The Salvation Army community is a haven for many locals. Everything Rolyn owned is in the brick house she is sure will be condemned, and she is not sure she will be able, or allowed, to get her belongings. “When The Salvation Army gave me a voucher, I was able to buy things for my baby and my brother and food. I want to thank the people of Australia who made these things possible. Everyone is blessed, God used you guys to help. The people of 21 Jump Street are so happy … I can see smiles on their faces.” But she says, “People are still scared. We need more help, but not stuff. We need help to come ‘home’, not because our houses are damaged – we need help to forget.” “People are still scared. We need more help, but not stuff. We need help to come ‘home’, not because our houses are damaged – we need help to forget.” The Salvation Army and other agencies are continuing to provide mental health and psychosocial support to this and all communities and impacted people, but with an estimated 80,000 people affected, it’s going to be a huge task. To donate to The Salvation Army Australia Earthquake Response Appeal, click   here .

Whanganui River, the place Emma calls home. Image: Getty CAPTAIN EMMA HOWAN In recent times, I have found myself exploring how our understanding of our land can support us in our understanding of Scripture. Initially, while preparing to speak at a combined churches Good Friday service, I began by looking at the story of the land in which I now live. I wanted to discover aspects of that story which could help us as we explored the journey of Jesus to the Cross. Something rekindled a spark in my thinking again, more recently, when looking to the place I call home. I spent my childhood in Whanganui, a city on the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. As I rode my bike or walked to school, I would see Mount Ruapehu in the distance and cross the Whanganui River. For the people of Whanganui, the river holds deep significance. There is a Whakataukī (traditional Māori saying) which defines this area and its people: ‘E rere kau mai te Āwanui, Mai i te Kāhui maunga ki Tangaroa. Kō au te Āwa, kō te Āwa kō au.’ This translates as: ‘The great river flows from the mountains to the sea. I am the river, the river is me.’ The Whanganui River has sustained many generations. For centuries, people have travelled along it, sourced food from it and built villages on its banks. The river was recognised as a living whole and was granted legal personhood by an Act of Parliament in 2017. This acknowledges the river’s identity, providing for its long-term protection and restoration. A living river. Protected and restored so that it will be sustained and continue sustaining. By caring for the river, it will keep flowing for many generations. The well-being of both the river and people will be ensured. Scripture speaks of rivers of living water. Jesus proclaimed, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them’ (John 7:37-38). Jesus promises not just a drink that will sustain us for only a short time, but rivers that will provide ongoing life. In returning home to celebrate 140 years of the Whanganui Corps, and in celebrating that same milestone within the corps to which I have been appointed, I have been reminded of our great heritage of people who came to the living water; rivers flowing from our ancestors to us. We can thank God for them, for bringing us to where we are today. However, the rivers of living water cannot stop there – they must keep flowing out from us to bless others. If our rivers are depleted or start running dry, there will be little to come forth from us. We have the promise that Jesus, the source of living water, will never run dry. But we do need to come and drink, be filled and refilled with his Spirit, so that rivers of living water will continue to flow into us and out to the people around us – that life-giving essence giving health to the generations to come. Jesus invites us to ‘come to me and drink’. Will we come and will we drink, so that our rivers continue to have and bring life to all? Captain Emma Howan is a Corps Officer at New Zealand's Blenheim Corps, and is also Chairperson for the Moral and Social Issues (Ethics) Council New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory. This article first appeared in The Officer Magazine.

In this spoken word, Auxiliary-Lieutenant Rosy Keane reflects on what a spiritually alive Salvation Army looks like – a n army that lives out William Booth’s call to save souls and serve boldly. With a spirit of growth, generosity, and risk-taking, it fosters community, prays deeply, and embraces reconciliation. Committed to Christ, it brings God’s love to life, transforming lives now for a renewed world.

A Gospel-centred life and research-backed mental health advice pair well together, according to a Salvation Army psychologist. Image: Getty BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE Mental ill health is something with which most of us are painfully familiar. Either our own or that of someone close to us. Thankfully, mental wellbeing is becoming more of a socially acceptable conversation topic, and advice and assistance are, in some ways, more available than ever. Still, however, there are sadly plenty of reasons to feel anxious or depressed. Australian Unity’s most recent Wellbeing Index Survey results showed that the cost of living, loneliness, ever-widening generational divides and fear of the future were all factors driving wellbeing concerns. Australian Unity’s lead researcher, Dr Kate Lycett, said that we were not tracking well as a nation overall. “What we’ve noticed in the last few years – particularly the last three years – is that people with an average income used to do pretty well, but that’s not happening any longer,” says Kate. “Their wellbeing is significantly lower than those from high-income households, and that’s important because it suggests that there’s a large group of Australians who are really struggling.” Beyond Australia, global conflicts are rife, many political systems are in turmoil, and simply turning on the news feels like risking a downward spiral. So, when our wellbeing is at a premium, what does it mean to be mentally well? Well, according to Auxiliary-Lieutenant Dr Catherine Philpot, TSA Pastoral Services Manager, it has less to do with how you might feel and more to do with what you value. “Mental wellbeing is being able to pursue a valued and meaningful life despite the obstacles that come your way,” Catherine says. “So, to have mental wellbeing is to be able to continue to choose value-driven life goals in spite of whatever obstacles you face.” As a trained psychologist, Catherine has offered mental health care within corps, as well as drug and alcohol rehabilitation and inner-city ministry settings. Currently, she is tasked with helping to equip and support the mental wellbeing of Salvation Army officers. Catherine said that while some psychologists may take a different approach to defining wellbeing, her approach was grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy, which originates from cognitive behavioural therapy and can be found in the writings of Australian psychologist Dr Russ Harris. Russ’ book The Happiness Trap  is the world’s best-selling book on acceptance and commitment therapy. “We work with values and not goals because goals tend to be inflexible,” Catherine says. “Something like COVID can come along, and your goal [of] starting five new groups for your church all of a sudden becomes impossible. “But if you’re pursuing a life direction which is [based around] continuing to be a person of love and looking for opportunities to love others no matter where you are, then it doesn’t really matter whether you get hit by a car or whether COVID comes because you can still pursue being a loving person in the midst of those spaces.” The World Health Organisation defines mental health as a “state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community”. While the definition differs from Catherine’s, both lack one arguably slippery word: happiness. Catherine says the reason for this is founded in historical approaches to psychological help. “Typically, people were coming to a psychologist looking for freedom from pain and freedom from depression and making those their goals,” she says. “But what happens inadvertently [is that] as you pursue happiness, you keep having to check where unhappiness is, particularly if your goal is around freedom from something negative. So, if you’re pursuing freedom from anxiety, you have to keep checking where your anxiety is. If you’re pursuing freedom from depression, you have to keep checking where depression is, which inadvertently keeps those things front of mind and keeps you chained to those things. “So, research [demonstrates] that it’s actually more effective for your own wellbeing to pursue a value that’s outside yourself because [it helps] you lose that self-focus [when] you find something that's worth living for that’s beyond you. And your own wellbeing becomes less relevant. That doesn’t mean you ignore yourself, but you see the beauty of your life lived for [a] broader goal and broader context. It’s a new way of framing your wellbeing.” In a spiritual sense, Catherine says acceptance and commitment therapy points her back to God. “What tends to happen in the therapeutic space is you have someone come in and say, ‘I want to be free from my depression’, and the therapist, knowing that the more you try and make someone free from depression, the more that’s going to be front of mind, will ask them to choose a value that will make their life worth living for. If you’re lucky, in the next 2-3 sessions, [the patient] will come up with values that they think are worth living for outside themselves rather than their own depression. “To me, that feels a little bit self-deceptive.” Catherine says that approach feels like trying to force yourself to believe something in order to get rid of depression rather than firstly living a values-driven life. “For me, when you serve values that exist outside yourself [and] a reality that is outside yourself, that's when you've got the possibility of doing acts more authentically because you're not ultimately serving your own freedom from depression,” she says. “So that'’s where [it] points me back to Jesus.” Catherine says she wonders whether the two great commandments found in Matthew 22, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “love your neighbour as yourself”, were given to us by God with our wellbeing in mind. “If God is a God of all goodness and all love, is it possible that following those commands might be God's idea of us flourishing,” Catherine says. “[It could be that] loving the Lord our God is going to bring us into a fuller sense of wellbeing than serving ourselves. “The evidence does seem to point in that direction.” In his 2018 book, God is Good for You , author and journalist Greg Sheridan describes how the hardest decisions in life are all moral decisions, and they all demand some self-sacrifice. “The therapeutic age we inhabit tells us always to follow our dreams, to be true to ourselves, that our life’s project is self-realisation,” he writes. “But often enough, our dreams at any moment are a very bad guide to what we should do.” Catherine says the evidence for living in a connected way that honours others proves that such a lifestyle promotes personal wellbeing, too. “If you’re lonely, your mortality rate increases,” she says. “If you’re lonely, your rate of mental health issues increases. If you’re lonely, the amount of inflammation and arthritis that you have in your body increases. So, loneliness has these physical effects that are profound and mental health effects that are profound.” Catherine says a sense of meaning can also transform our basic treatment of mental health concerns. She says how many people who experience depression or anxiety are often told to ensure they eat well, sleep enough and exercise regularly. “All of those things are good and helpful things to do,” she says. “[But] to define wellbeing around them can be limiting because someone in the midst of depression can go for a walk every day and find that does nothing to make them feel better, and it might even make them feel worse because they start thinking ‘I’m doing everything everyone’s telling me to do, and I still feel the same’. “[But] when we know what we’re living for, it enables us to transform those activities so they become meaningful or transform our lack of ability to do those activities to become meaningful.” She says having conversations with those around you about their values can promote greater wellbeing, and taking time to read and reflect on matters you find important can also help. Catherine cautioned, though, that some heavier conversation topics, depending on how the person may be feeling, are best left for a therapist’s office. Catherine says “having a play” with living out values can be a good place to start. She said deciding to apply values in a small, approachable way might transform cleaning jobs or other daily responsibilities into something more meaningful. “To find the purpose in your life, even in its mundane moments – to see purpose even when there seems to be no joy - that might be something you can do.” The content in this article is not a substitute for professional help. If you feel you may be at risk of self-harm, please seek assistance by contacting your trusted healthcare professional or calling Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. If you are concerned for your safety or the safety of others, seek immediate assistance by calling Triple Zero (000). Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800 Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467 1800 Respect - 1800 737 732

Major Grant Kingston-Kerr says it’s important to remember that communication can be verbal and nonverbal.   BY HANNAH NAIM*   When people hear the word communication, they might begin to reflect on a life-changing conversation, a book that really resonated, or perhaps that one email they really need to respond to but keep putting off. In any case, there is no denying that communication largely informs how people experience and access the world around them.   Major Grant Kingston-Kerr has served as a Salvation Army officer for 23 years and has unique experiences of communication in the context of disability.   “I have a son, he is almost 17, and he lives with cerebral palsy,” explains Grant. “He is non-verbal. He can communicate ‘yes’ by making a clicking sound with his lips. At times, he can communicate ‘no’ through a nodding motion of his head. His ability to communicate ‘no’ is not as consistent as the click.” Read Grant’s Top Tips for effective communication a the end of the story With a hunger to advance social justice, The Salvation Army is no stranger to the fact that strong communication is integral to its mission. There are several consequences to poor communication, particularly for people with disabilities who can experience a lack of inclusion, autonomy, and sense of belonging. In Australia, there are 5.5 million people with disabilities, a significant number who should be intentionally considered across The Salvation Army’s mission initiatives.   “I come from that paradigm of understanding that communication is both verbal and nonverbal,” Grant says. “Good communication is being aware of your own presence, maintaining good eye contact and being relaxed. It’s having an awareness that you need to give the other person time to process and respond so that you can adjust your communication accordingly. It is also about showing a genuine interest so that things can flourish organically. You must be willing to actively listen and be present.” There are many ways to intentionally consider people with disabilities, but it largely starts with having an awareness of the barriers that prevent good communication and taking action to overcome them. “The bottom line is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach, and there are many complexities to communication that create barriers for people with or without disabilities.” Many social and societal landscapes often reinforce the idea that good communication is dependent on verbal articulation, comprehension and literacy. For church communities, there are unique consequences to consider that can have implications on discipleship, fellowship and spiritual development.   “Poor communication can easily reinforce that idea that nobody really listens to me, and nobody notices me, or nobody wants to notice me,” says Grant. “A lot of the way we experience God is through relationship with each other, through love, kindness, compassion, truth and trust. Hearing ‘God loves you’ being preached from a platform is a good message to hear, but unless we experience that from a relational perspective, it will never fully translate.”   It is normal to feel unsure about how to navigate the challenges of communication and disability. The bottom line is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach, and there are many complexities to communication that create barriers for people with or without disabilities. However, there is also a flipside to that rhetoric, a reminder that simple actions can speak volumes and that there is beauty in learning alongside others.     “There’s a lady at church that loves to dance with my son during worship,” says Grant. “She started out by holding his hands but stopped when she realised that he likes to flap his hands when he dances. She began to really interact with him and his style of dancing instead. The first time she did that, he completely lit up. He lit up because she had entered his world and wanted to be a part of what he was doing and how he worships the Lord.”      For additional mission-focused disability inclusion resources and information, check out the Disability Inclusion Toolkit on MySalvos.   *Hannah Naim is the Disability Inclusion Coordinator for the Mission Support Department

Each week throughout 2025 year, Salvationists around the world are uniting in prayer for a particular territory or region of The Salvation Army. Prayer requests are shared by the focus territory/region to help us pray with precision and power for one another.    This week ( 13-19 January ] we are praying for the Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand Territory.   The territory is made up of 2837 senior soldiers, 380 adherents and 455 junior soldiers. There are 57 corps, 12 outposts, 184 officers (145 active and 39 retired), 4 envoys, 20 cadets and 864 employees.   Pray for Singapore: ·  Pray for Singapore as we celebrate our 90th anniversary in 2025. ·  Pray for God’s continuing favour with his Spirit leading, people coming to faith and soldiers called into officership. Pray for Malaysia: · Pray that The Salvation Army’s programs and services will effectively address the needs of the marginalised, including the elderly, children, youth and families in crisis, and for further integration of social and corps ministries. · Pray for sustainability initiatives to provide needed resources. Pray for Myanmar: · Give thanks for God's protection and health during these difficult times, enabling us to continue his ministries amidst hardship. Nine quarters were made unsafe and two corps buildings burnt. ·  Pray for the smooth continuation of our work and ministries with all employees and officers this year, especially planning future corps openings. Pray for Thailand: ·  Pray for the continued growth of the corps in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai with further expansion. · Pray for more new soldiers in Thailand. ·  Pray for us as we work to establish a corps in Bangkok and develop our social ministry. For more information on the Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand Territory, click here . To download the 2025 International Prayer Focus schedule, click here . For photos from the Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand Territory, see below.