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BY CLIFF WORTHING Celebrating the past and embracing the future was the theme of Mackay Corps’ 135th anniversary on 12-13 August. “Everyone had a great time and enjoyed sharing lovely memories together as well as making new connections,” said Aux-Lieutenant Belinda Dobbie, Mackay Corps Officer. “However, the anniversary was a great opportunity to bring the community in to see what we are about.” Over 100 corps and community members attended a Saturday night concert that featured the corps worship team, timbrel brigade and the Mackay City Band. There was also a presentation on the corps’ history, a free barbeque and fundraising stalls for this year’s territorial Making it Happen project. When Aux-Lieutenant David Dobbie went to the local Woolworths to pick up and pay for the barbeque supplies, the store provided them free of charge. Mackay City Mayor Greg Williamson and two councillors came to the Sunday service led by Major Gavin Watts, Queensland Divisional Commander. Major Watts explored Joshua 4 to emphasise the importance of getting out in the community. The mayor acknowledged the importance of The Salvation Army to the community and its longevity in serving the city. “As well as working hard to make connections in our community, we are also praying for God to reveal to us the areas where we can partner with him in his mission for Mackay,” said Aux-Lieutenant David Dobbie. “We want everyone to know that everything we do is because we love Jesus!” More photos in slideshow below:

By ANTHONY CASTLE The Salvo Bigband will present an ‘extraordinary musical journey’ when it celebrates the legacy of The Salvation Army’s pioneering rock bigband from the 1970s, Solid Rock. The music of Solid Rock will take centre stage once again for a special tribute concert at Preston Corps in Melbourne on Saturday 9 September. “Get ready to be transported back in time with some of the old songs that made the Solid Rock band legendary,” said promoter Michael Sainsbery. Growing out of the collaborations of young Salvos, a jazz-rock band was formed in 1972, referencing the type of arrangements found in popular bands like Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Chicago. Called Solid Rock, the group released LPs and was even well-reviewed in Rolling Stone’s coverage of the Sunbury Festival. The modern-day Salvo Bigband, a group formed at the request of International Headquarters in 2010, and the concert will be graced with the presence of original Solid Rock band members, who will add their unique touch to the already spectacular line-up. The event will also mark the exclusive launch of Merv Collins’ remarkable book, Solid Rock - Live! (Read Barry Gittins’ book review here) A band called ‘Too Late For Sorry’ will perform in the Youth Hall from 6pm, with the main concert beginning at 7.15 pm. Admission is free, and attendees are kindly requested to bring a few extra dollars to grab a copy of the Merv Collins’ book as a treasured keepsake of this event. The event may be recorded and live-streamed, so even if people can’t make it in person, they need not miss out on the magic. “Whether you’re a seasoned fan who remembers the band’s glory days or someone who’s heard the legend and wants to experience it firsthand, come celebrate the musical legacy of The Salvation Army’s Solid Rock band,” Michael said.

BY BARRY GITTINS One of the more surreal aspects of recent Australian Salvation Army history is not that it spawned a culture-relating, musically gifted pop/rock band in the Solid Rock Big Band; it is that the group’s existence and achievements are largely unknown to Australian Salvationists. What was it again that Jesus said about prophets not being recognised and honoured in their own country by their own people? (Mark 6: 4). While there were leading lights of the movement back then who encouraged the Solid Rockers, the group was generally persona non grata in terms of lacking any official acknowledgement or Salvation Army coverage. Well, thanks to author Merv Collins, this state of affairs is being set to rights, albeit decades after Solid Rock spread some light and hope among young people. From its humble beginnings, through its many line-ups and members, across gigs that were well-received and/or controversially loud, we read of lives impacted, cultural mores threatened, and musical gifts honed and used to the glory of God. The international acclaim with which the group was met at legendary venues like the 1975 Sunbury rock festival (Australia’s Woodstock) should give all Salvationists a sense of pride and wonder. Music is the most sublime of gifts, and the trailblazing young men and women (and the likes of Merv, John Cleary, Dr Ralph Hultgren AM, Sharon Raymond, Graham McCoy, Neva Phillips, Mike Poore, Alan Collett, Brenton Broadstock AM, Ian Shanks, Stuie Lees etc. were indeed young back then) made their mark and set a path for others. This tome is wide-ranging in scope. It’s well-researched, well-written, and well and truly due. For those unaware of Solid Rock’s credentials, achievements and legacy, Solid Rock – Live! will inform, entertain, stir the heart and soul, amuse and occasionally provoke; outcomes that good musicians and the good Lord who gave us music would expect. Solid Rock – Live! is available from Salvationist Supplies by emailing trade.sydney@salvationarmy.org.au or trade.melbourne@salvationarmy.org.au or by calling Sydney Salvationist Supplies (1800 634 209) and Melbourne Salvation Army Supplies (1800 100 018). The book will also be available for purchase at the special Solid Rock tribute concert at Preston Corps in Melbourne on Saturday 9 September.

BY GARTH R. HENTZSCHEL The Salvation Army impacted the Solomon Islands many years before the movement’s official commencement in 2011. On multiple occasions, from 1895 to 1998, people from the Islands requested the Army to work in the region. During this time, Solomon Islanders were enrolled as soldiers in Australia, and some returned home taking Salvationism with them. Prior to the permanent presence, the Army offered tangible assistance in the Islands during times of emergency. The Red Shield Defence Services operated on the Islands throughout World War Two and again in 2003 with RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands). In 2000, when evacuees were pulled from the Islands, Cairns Corps (Qld) provided food and clothing. After a tsunami hit Gizo Island on 2 April 2007, financial support from Australia and New Zealand saw Captain Gaina Vali and Major Soddy Maraga from Papua New Guinea Territory (PNG Territory) reconstruct 15 residences. In 2001, after increased requests for the Army to commence in the Solomon Islands, the PNG Territory investigated the possibility. However, the move was put on hold due to civil unrest in the Solomons. A few years later, Peter Maeatua, a Solomon Island government official and businessman, met an Australian Salvationist in Singapore. Peter vigorously requested the Army to commence in his homeland. From this request, the PNG Territory conducted a feasibility study on the Islands in late 2005. A report from this visit was sent to the Army’s International Headquarters (IHQ), London, which “gave provisional approval in 2009”. The Army sent Maraga to the Solomon Islands in 2009, which led to IHQ approving the work to commence in January 2011. IHQ listed the ‘official opening’ as ‘1 February 2011’, yet an ‘official opening weekend’ did not occur until 5 and 6 November 2011. On this weekend, Commissioner James Condon and Commissioner Raymond Finger represented the then two Australian Territories and promised both territories would financially contribute to the Army’s work in the Islands for five years. Commissioner Andrew Kalai, from the PNG Territory, also attended as this new work came under the jurisdiction of his territory. Major Soddy Maraga became the first ‘Officer in Charge’ of the Islands, and Peter Maeatua, along with 20 other Solomon Islanders, became the founding senior soldiers in the Islands. For a time, this work, which mainly focused on Honiara, was conducted by Candidates Tony and Rose Kinikoroa. The Honiara Corps activities included Sunday meetings, Home League, Bible studies, youth group gatherings and prayer evenings. When Tony and Rose entered officer training in 2015, Majors Malcolm and Laurel Herring took leadership of Honiara Corps. At this time, a ‘Salvation Army’ village on Malaita was linked to Honiara Corps. In 2016, people from North Malaita, Te Motu, and other Islands requested the Army to come to their location. In December 2017, Majors Robert and Vanessa Evans were appointed to lead the work in the Islands. From this time, additional locations throughout the country received an official Salvation Army presence. This growth was recognised in 2018 when the PNG Territory name was changed to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Territory. The Army’s goal in the Solomon Islands quickly became ‘self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating’. Self-governing saw an increase in soldiership and leadership training and the establishment of links with the local and expat communities. Self-supporting saw funding sources established, which included the sale of ‘Salvation Army Lavalava’ and low-cost fuel, and the establishment of coconut oil plants and an aluminium foundry. These were in addition to the usual Red Shield and Self-Denial Appeals. For self-propagating, Bible study weekends, school ministries, brass band training and mission trips throughout the islands are but some ways this goal was being met. Under Major Robert Evans, a new structure for the growth of spiritual work was established. Like the traditional Army corps and outpost, the Solomons developed corps, fellowships and missions. Missions were created when a village invited the Army to commence or a corps initiated ministry in a new location. In 2021, a decade after the official launch of the Army, there were two corps, two fellowships, and 27 missions, as well as other new openings. The growth in the number of locations saw a need for the housing of officers. In 2021, Major Robert Evans drafted a design for officers’ quarters, much along the lines of Commissioner James Hay when he designed simple halls in the 1910s. ‘Hay Halls’ helped the Army in Australia grow rapidly. It is hoped the ‘Evans Quarters’ will have a similar impact in the Solomon Islands. Go to https://my.salvos.org.au/making-it-happen/ for more information on this project. By the conclusion of 2022, the number of Salvationists on the Islands had increased to 300! The latest development, in 2023, reflected the integration of the Army on the Islands. The Solomon Islands Ministry Newsletter became Tok Stori, this use of a Pijin term further speaks of God’s good work in the region. *Garth R. Hentzschel is a Salvationist from Brisbane (Queensland) and is a freelance historian and writer.

Walk into any bookshop now and one of the biggest sections you’ll see is the one with all the cooking and recipe books. Over the past decade or so, we’ve gone foody mad, and you can now buy books promoting every type of cuisine and a few others you’ve never heard of. There are also books on cooking techniques and cooking with limited ingredients or one pot, as well as books based on one ingredient in all recipes (for example, the Vegemite cookbook). Committed Christians can even purchase The What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook, which includes recipes for the type of foods Jesus may well have eaten and information on the sorts of foods and grains Jesus would have been familiar with. (Oddly, this book doesn’t include Vegemite.) The first verse of Matthew 3 says that John the Baptist was preaching and baptising in Judea at the Jordan River and that he ate locusts and wild honey. Oddly – or not – some cookbooks cover both of these, for example, Bugs for Beginners (an eBook released in 2018) and The Fresh Honey Cookbook (Storey Publishing, 2013). I’m not sure that locusts and honey would cut it for me. I’m a big fan of honey but chewing on a crunchy insect doesn’t really get the taste buds tingling. On the other hand, it sounds pretty lean; it’s hard to picture John the Baptist being a man of considerable girth if he was basing his diet on tiny insects with almost no meat on them. Speaking of which, I like my meat too much to stick to honey and insects. I also like fruit and vegetables and chocolate and ice cream and donuts and milkshakes too much, but that’s another matter. I went on a diet once, but it didn’t give me enough food, so I went on two diets at the same time, and that worked better. I wasn’t hungry anymore. Neither worked; however, I didn’t lose weight. The Bible offers some warnings against gluttony and also says that my body is ‘a temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19), so I just figure, logically, the more body, the more Holy Spirit I can fit in. I don’t eat to satisfy myself: I eat to become more holy. The Salvation Army is well known for eating. Perhaps not to outsiders, but I’m one who grew up attending regular corps lunches, morning teas, afternoon teas, suppers and picnics. I knew who, in my corps, made the best apple slice, who did the best curried egg sandwiches and who made the best fruitcake. Once, as a young man, I was given some fish for dinner and realised I didn’t know how to cook it. I just rang up one of the old ladies in the corps (the grandma of a mate) and said, “How do you cook fish?’. She told me, and it tasted great! So don’t just stick to honey and locusts, there’s a whole range of foods and recipes waiting for you. And if you don’t know how to cook something, just ring someone’s grandma – they’ll tell you. – Major Mal Davies and his wife Major Tracey are the Corps Officers at Adelaide City Salvos

In Judy’s darkest moments, lost in the fog of chemotherapy-induced hallucinations, God revealed himself to her in a deeper way than she had ever experienced. She emerged with more faith, more trust and more reliance on the father who “never leaves nor forsakes” his people. By JUDY SALTER My husband and I were a ‘walk-in’ off the streets to The Salvation Army many years ago after a traumatic time in our lives. [Just before this] we went away for a weekend and when we returned our neighbour said our phone had not stopped ringing. Then the phone rang, and it was my husband Max’s brother. They had lost contact, but he told Max he was a born-again Christian. We decided we would go up for a weekend and catch up, and we went up there, and he sat us down and opened the Bible and said, “This is where your life begins.” The next day was Mother’s Day, and he told us he had been going to The Salvation Army. So we went and liked it, and when we went back to Sydney, we opened the phone book, and the nearest one was Enfield Corps, where Lyndsay and Dawn Smith [now retired officers] were, so we just walked in. I can’t explain the feeling. It was like coming home, like there was this inaudible voice of God saying, “Where have you been? We have been waiting for you!” We had to leave Sydney and moved to Grafton because this was where we felt God was telling us to come. Again, we walked in. And it was just like ‘coming home’. I love everything The Salvation Army stands for, how we worship, and the friendship and fellowship. We love it. Moving to Grafton was like the beginning of our lives. I was 35 before I had my first child. When my son started pre-school, I started volunteering at The Salvation Army Family Store, and then when he went to school, I started doing more hours and ended up being the manager of the store for 20 years. I love The Salvation Army – it’s hands-on. If there’s something to be done, you just get in and do it. I’m just an average person, but it doesn’t matter if you’re good at anything. You just get in and do it. After I retired, I got bowel cancer. I was very sick after my first surgery. They [my doctors] found out that chemotherapy does dreadful things to my veins. I was on life support, had full blood transfusions, and was put into a coma for four days to stop me from bleeding out. Instead of being in hospital for four days, I was there for two and a half weeks. It was terrifying. I have never been so scared. But God was with me throughout. I had a bad reaction to some of the drugs they gave me. The drugs were making me have hallucinations, I was seeing and hearing all sorts of horrible things. The hallucinations got really bad, and I thought, “If this is my life now, I don’t want to live, I want to die.” It was terrifying. I have never been so scared. But God was with me throughout. He kept sending me messages – through all the horror – that it was ok that he was there. Some of the messages were things like my mum – who was a beautiful Christian lady who died nine years ago. She had dementia and popped up in one of these visions [hallucinations]. She never spoke, and she would reach out, take my hand, and pat my hand. I could feel it. I could swear that she was patting my hand. In another hallucination, I was in a room with music playing, and it was all hymns. Unbelievably beautiful hymns, ones that I knew really well. I slowly came out of it. I’ve emerged with more faith and reliance on God and more trust. I’m alive, and I’m healthy – I praise God every single day. It has changed my outlook on all sorts of things. My family has always been precious, but I think it made it more precious, and in a way, it was a wake-up call for all my family in that it’s drawn us a lot closer together. As told to Salvos Online writer Lauren Martin

BY CLIFF WORTHING This year’s Gold Coast Connect 2 Home event on 5 August emphasised supporting those in a housing crisis. “Over half of our 909 guests were facing financial and housing stress, not homelessness issues,” said Mona Nielsen, Regional Manager, Gold Coast and Toowoomba Homelessness Services, and one of the organisers of Gold Coast Connect2Home. “So many have never been in this situation before and don’t really know where to start beyond contacting Centrelink or the Department of Housing.” The annual Connect 2 Home event brings together local council, state government, businesses, community groups and volunteers to provide free services to vulnerable community members, especially those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The day starts with a hot breakfast followed by a one-stop venue of professional providers offering health and human services, including accommodation information and referral, medical care, mental health, substance abuse, legal, clothing/blankets/food toiletries, identification, veterinary care and take-away bags of information. All services are free of charge and provided within a caring and safe environment. Since 2020, the vacancy rate for rentals on the Gold Coast has remained below one per cent availability. “Lots of people really wanted someone to chat to and were just grateful that someone listened to their story,” Mona said. “All the Salvo expressions from the Gold Coast had something to offer, so we were very busy.” Mona said The Salvation Army Area Leadership Team has intentionally focused on coming together as one to fulfil their common mission and show the love of Jesus. “Our donations for the day went quickly this year, and people were particularly grateful for the meals and food available on the day to lighten their cost-of-living expenses,” Mona said. Over 70 support services and 141 volunteers participated in this year’s event.

BY GENERAL LYNDON BUCKINGHAM Bronwyn and I are taking a moment today to say thank you to Salvationists and friends from all around the world for all the cards, emails and messages of congratulations and support that we’ve received, along with the promise of prayers. We are so incredibly grateful. There’s no doubt that we’ve been overwhelmed by so many people – some people we know, and so many more we don’t know, who have reached out to us with words of affirmation and, particularly, those who’ve offered Scripture verses to us. And there’s one particular Scripture verse that’s come over and over in the last few weeks – Ephesians 3:20-21, from the New Living Translation. And we are claiming it for ourselves these days, but we’re also claiming it in believing it for The Salvation Army in this next season. And it says this: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” So, Bronwyn and I are placing our confidence and our trust in the God of the immeasurably more. We would encourage you today that, in your own personal circumstances, you too look in faith to the God of the immeasurably more. And let’s claim it by faith for The Salvation Army world. God bless you. To view this message as a video, click here. Or click on the video below.

Sydney Rotarian Jim Rudling – a Red Shield Appeal volunteer for the past 40 years – has spent more than three decades giving fellow Aussies a helping hand through the work of Rotary and supporting various other organisations. Although he’s retired from his paid job, Jim is busier than ever. Over the past month, he has driven the length and breadth of the city, giving away donated rolls of paper towel to charity organisations, including The Salvation Army. “A neighbour of mine is a manager of a warehousing group, and they ended up with all these boxes of hand towels in their warehouse, which hadn’t been collected for the last few years, and they couldn’t contact the people that sent them to Australia,” said Jim. “So, I borrowed a big trailer, and I started distributing them throughout the Sydney area. It took me about a month, and I got to meet amazing people like you Salvos along the way!” Six hundred boxes full of rolls of paper hand towel – that’s a huge helping hand for organisations like The Salvation Army that provides food and grocery assistance to people struggling to make ends meet. Thanks Jim! – Lauren Martin

BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE More than 37 per cent of those experiencing homelessness in Australia at the time of the 2021 Census were aged 24 or younger. Over 14 per cent of these young people were aged 12 or less. For children and young adults, homelessness brings unique challenges. And for their parents, the cost is increased worry and stress. Joelene, a Tasmanian mother of six, has been experiencing homelessness since November 2021, when she was told to leave her home on request by Child Protective Services after facing domestic violence. Apart from her eldest son, all her children, aged 24, 23, 20, 10, eight and two, are also living in crisis accommodation or couch-surfing. Joelene said since all of her children have additional needs, including autism and ADHD, it is especially difficult not having their own space. “You try to make them as comfortable as you can,” she said. “But I would say living in a shelter with children and being homeless, it’s hard. It's as hard on the children [as it is on] the parents.” Family Supported Accommodation North Brisbane Children’s Specialist Kay Phiri said behavioural changes in children were often an initial sign that they were struggling to cope with the stress of sleeping rough. She said while the team at the centre previously focused on questioning parents about their children’s wellbeing, they had begun a new, more direct focus on the children called Child Inclusive Practice. This involved talking directly to minors about their experience of homelessness. “Sometimes the child is misbehaving,” Kay said. “Then when you sit down and listen to the child, they’ve moved four times [in a year]. So, you start asking simple things like, ‘Who’s your friend?’ And they’ll say, oh, I don’t have a friend in [my new] school.” Kay said some children also had to leave family members, including beloved grandparents, behind depending on the situation. She said the team was focused on getting the children into team sports to build friendships more rapidly in a new area. “Sometimes we have parents coming from [domestic violence], and literally they will only have the clothes on their back,” she said. “That’s all they have. They’ve got nothing, and the children have left their toys, their friends [and relatives].” Kay said while younger toddlers and pre-school-aged children tended not to notice many changes to their living situation provided they still felt loved and cared for, older children struggled more as they noticed their parents were unable to afford the same things as their friends’ parents. She said being without a home and unable to invite friends over was also disheartening for children. “When they are much younger, I think parents are more able to work things around without a lot of resistance from the children,” she said. Kay said she finds children are remarkably perceptive and able to find solutions to the problems they face from homelessness. “They will tell me the problem, and they will tell me the solution, and most of the time it’s a good solution because they brought it up,” she said. “When we follow it, it works.”

As part of an occasional series, ‘Christian Myths and Misunderstandings’, LIEUT-COLONEL DR LYN EDGE explores a commonly held view that there is one ‘Christian’ view on all matters of life and faith. Watching a panel show recently, one of the guests was introduced as representing the Christian view on the topics that were discussed. I was struck that the person was not someone with whom I agreed. We were both Christian, we both had read the same Bible and were trying to live as faithful followers of Jesus. But we disagreed. The person was not introduced as representing ‘a’ Christian view, but rather ‘the’ Christian view and I wonder if they were chosen because their views were divisive, and that makes for compelling viewing. But is there anyone they could have invited to present ‘the’ Christian view? Is there a single Christian view on important matters of life and faith, on politics and ethics? Differences exist In our increasingly polarised world, some people do claim to have the ‘one true Christian view’, and then they advocate that view with great fervour. This is not new, of course. In the biblical book of Galatians, we hear of early Christians who were “biting and devouring” one another (Galatians chapter 5, verse 15). However, it seems that the “biting and devouring” has been amplified for those of us living in the era of social media. Differences of opinion, beliefs, practices and theology are exemplified by the fact that there are more than 45,000 different Christian denominations in the world today. In 1900, there were 1600 denominations. This is a 2712 per cent increase in the division of the Church in just over a century.1 Global ecumenical leader Wesley Granberg-Michaelson’s description of this situation is that Christianity is “endlessly denominated, geographically separated, spiritually bifurcated, institutionally insulated, and generationally isolated”.2 Of course, we know that differences and division exist, not only between denominations but within them as well. Agree to disagree So, is there one Christian view on important matters of life and faith? For me, the evidence over the past 2000 years is in. There is not one view on Christian matters of faith and practice. There are faithful Christians, educated, well-meaning people, who disagree on important matters of life and belief. If you think you have the true Christian view on a topic, I would ask how do you reconcile the fact that within over 45,000 denominations and 2.4 billion Christians in the world, you happen to be the one who is correct? Even with such diversity, there are some Christian themes that most followers of Jesus would subscribe to – including love, grace, forgiveness and redemption – and these can be important building blocks for finding a shared life together. So, in the light of the illusive shared belief, what should we do? Let me respond with a story. Many years ago, I attended a Bible conference with an eminent biblical scholar. There was discussion about a particular text and someone attending the conference put forward an alternative understanding to our guest speaker. The speaker responded by saying that is not what he understood the Bible to be saying but that he would “agree to disagree without being disagreeable”. That phrase has stayed with me all these years as a great pearl of wisdom. It is possible to hold highly diverse beliefs, and yet make grace, respect and love foundational in our relationships. How beautiful our churches and our world would be if respect, love and mutual learning informed our interactions. What if humility of opinion marked all our interactions, both in person and online? I’d like to give the final word to author, teacher and Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor who said, “The only clear line I draw these days is this: when my religion tries to come between me and my neighbour, I will choose my neighbour ... Jesus never commanded me to love my religion.”3 1. Todd M. Johnson, Atlas of Global Christianity 1910-2010. 2. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, From Times Square to Timbuktu: The Post-Christian West Meets the Non-Western Church. 3. Barbara Brown Taylor, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others Lieut-Colonel Dr Lyn Edge is the Wollongong Salvation Army Corps Officer in NSW.

Some families are struggling to provide meals in these tough economic times. With the goal of helping parents and giving each child a good start to the day, Tweed Heads Salvos have partnered with local schools to provide toasted sandwiches and juice to children for breakfast. Seeking to serve the community this way has made a big difference to the schools and the community members who volunteer.