This year’s Christmas Day Offering will support the Malawi Health and Dignity Project to improve access to hygiene facilities, clean water and health education.   This project will build eight toilet blocks at four health centres, improving the health, dignity and wellbeing of entire communities.   For more information and resources to support the Christmas Day offering, click here

The Christmas story is a testament to God’s extraordinary love. He didn’t remain distant but stepped into our world, assuming human form, and making our world his home.  Jesus’ birth and arrival in our world bridged the gap between the divine and the human, making God’s love tangible and accessible to us all.    This divine act of love is a testament to God’s desire to be intimately connected with humanity.   Lives transformed Lives are radically transformed when people encounter God’s love for them in the person of Jesus Christ.   It is a love that knows no limits, a love that endures through every season of life. God’s love is as real, true and deep today as it was on that first Christmas Day. This remains the greatest evidence of God’s love and his plan for all people – the gift of his Son, the gift of our salvation – not just in the past, but for the present as well. This is the good news we celebrate at Christmas. Christmas transformation Let Jesus transform your life today. Explore and discover your personal relationship with Jesus.   It could happen in a chapel, in a church, in your room or even in your workplace, or it could be the rhythm of a journey; Jesus has prepared a place for you. Today you have the chance to be part of this family in Jesus – you are welcome here. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” ( John 14:1-3   NIV). Transformational stories Listen to the stories of John and James, two transformational tales that will encourage and inspire you. John (below left) tells his story of trusting God in the midst of anxiety, and James tells his story from addiction to the Pacific Coast Trail and finding God. Click here to view the videos.

The Beacon is a lighthouse of hope for those experiencing homelessness in Perth (WA). It is also The Salvation Army’s largest homelessness facility in Australia. Providing case management, crisis intervention, allied medical health services and development programs, the goal is to help people walk out more capable than when they arrived and to provide hope for the future.

Each week throughout this 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 (25 November-1 December), we are praying for the South America West Territory .   The countries of Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru make up this territory. It preaches the gospel in the Aymara, Quechua and Spanish languages.   The territory is made up of 4794 senior soldiers, 1362 adherents and 1601 junior soldiers. There are 92 corps, 5 outposts, 326 officers (218 active and 108 retired), 8 cadets, 19 candidates and 1071 employees.   We give thanks to God and continue to pray for: New opportunities to spread the gospel with new openings in Viña del Mar in Chile and Viñami, Ventanilla and Pachacutec in Peru. New families coming to Christ and linked to the corps. In 2023, 282 new families came to faith and connected with The Salvation Army. In 2024, to date, there have been 132 new families. Our Territorial Women’s Ministries Camp 2024 which took place in October. Women from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia gathered for the first time in eight years under the theme  Connected  (based on John 15 ). We are also expecting 500 women in Ancon-Peru to gather following Territorial Officers’ Councils under the theme  Send Me! The 19 candidates who are expected to go into officer training in 2025. The ten new Love feeding centres where people can find food and salvation in Jesus. The three new offices in Peru, Ecuador and Chile to support vulnerable women. These offices have been opened in response to the Battle Cry, with one due to open in Bolivia as well. The continuing initiatives that seek to ensure all our Salvation Army officers can obtain 100 per cent of their allowance. To find out more about the South America West Territory, click here .   For more information on the International Prayer Focus 2024, and to download the calendar, click here .

As we celebrate International Day of People with Disability today, we recognise that every person, including those with disabilities, is essential to the community. Inspired by 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, this message highlights that each person has unique gifts and talents, and when fully included, the community experiences the wholeness God intends. Excluding them means missing out on their valuable contributions. True community is achieved when everyone can fully participate.

BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE The Salvation Army is joining the City of Darwin, the Northern Territory Government and other key stakeholders in a public memorial service to mark 50 years since Cyclone Tracy whipped through Darwin, killing 66 people and leaving 25,000 homeless. The event will be held at the Darwin Ski Club tomorrow (Saturday 30 November) and livestreamed throughout the country. Chief Secretary Colonel Winsome Merrett will be the keynote speaker, and Lieutenant-Colonel Greg Morgan, Secretary for Mission, Major Brad Watson, Head of Community Engagement and Daryl Crowden, General Manager of Salvation Army Emergency Services, will also be in attendance. Major Paul Hateley, TSA Divisional Commander for the Northern Territory and South Australia, will be the event MC. The event has been described as a chance to reflect on Darwin’s resilience and spirit. The cyclone, which hit early on Christmas Day in 1974, left 80 per cent of the city destroyed. In the aftermath, The Salvation Army was there to support the local community, providing food, clothing and water to those left homeless, traumatised and grieving the loss of friends, family and belongings. In a recent booklet about the cyclone, Commissioner Miriam Gluyas said the impact of Cyclone Tracy was still very much with us. “Sixty-six people were killed, hundreds injured, and around 70 per cent of houses had serious structural damage, leaving more than 30,000 people homeless. For those who were there, the fear, sadness, deprivation and uncertainty of that time was immense and life-changing. “We are proud of the way the citizens of Darwin rallied to help each other in that very difficult time. We are proud, too, of The Salvation Army personnel – officers, members and volunteers – who lived in Darwin or moved there in the aftermath of the cyclone to provide whatever help they could to those affected. Within 24 hours, our people were providing food, water, clothing, encouragement and practical help to those who needed it. With no power, sanitation or clean water, these Salvos became providers of help and hope.” Winsome Merrett, who was a teenager living in Darwin at the time of Cyclone Tracy, said during the disaster, she experienced a kind of peace she described as deep and unfathomable. “I believe that peace came from the presence of Jesus among us as we huddled together in our kitchen – it was for me a realisation of the promise of God when he sent Jesus to earth as a babe – Emmanuel – God with us,” she said. Greg Morgan, who was a child at the time of the cyclone, moved with his TSA officer parents to Darwin five years later, a place he still considers ‘home’. As a 12-year-old, he said the lingering trauma of the event was present in his school friends and their fears, the physical landscape of the city, where many houses and buildings were still destroyed and yet to be rebuilt, and in another strange phenomenon: the lack of tall trees. “You go to Darwin now, and it’s very much got that lush tropical [feel] with big palm trees,” he said. “But because Darwin was still in recovery mode, you actually didn’t have that.” Greg said when Cyclone Max hit Darwin in 1981, even though there was little damage in the end, the sense of panic was palpable. “If you know the physical layout of Darwin, there’s only one way out,” he said. “There were lots of families [whose] response to the cyclone alerts and warnings was [to pack] up and [drive] to Katherine, four hours south. “I was probably only a 13-year-old. [At that age] you don’t have a complex view of the world, and I don’t think we talked that way back then about PTSD. But actually, there were a whole bunch of people [including] kids my age still suffering the impact [of the cyclone].” Greg said the commemorative events held both a professional and personal significance for him, as he reflected on the trauma of those he knew who lived through Cyclone Tracy and the purpose of The Salvation Army in disaster relief to this day. “For me, it’s a privilege and a responsibility and yes, [now] we approach it [all] very differently to how we did in Cyclone Tracy back in the mid-70s,” he said. “But that’s just a reflection of the sophistication and the learning that we’ve had since then. “I’m thankful for our employed staff who commit to that, but also the big team of volunteers as well, who when something happens for Australians, and they look to The Salvation Army for response, will help us make that response and make a difference.” To access the livestream of the public memorial, see here . Following the public event, The Salvation Army will also host an officer event on 1 December, including a Commemorative Church Service at Darwin Corps, with a shared lunch.

Eutychus – I’m telling the truth, Mum. I was listening to Paul teach, and someone pushed me out of a window on the third storey. I hit the ground and died, and Paul brought me back to life.   Scepticus – Rubbish. You went to sleep and fell out a window again, didn’t you?   Eutychus – I swear I didn’t, Mum. I know it was late, but Paul was wonderful, and I was listening intently and suddenly someone pushed me.   Scepticus – Who pushed you?   Eutychus – I don’t know. I didn’t see them.   Scepticus – Were you looking at Paul or out the window? Or just maybe your eyes were closed.   Eutychus – No, I was looking at Paul.   Scepticus – So you were sitting on the windowsill, looking into the room and someone you didn’t see pushed you out of the window.   Eutychus – [pause] Yes.   Scepticus – More likely that someone threw a lasso up from the street and pulled you out the window!   Eutychus – No, I was pushed. [pause] Perhaps it was a movement of the Spirit.   Scepticus – The Spirit pushed you to your death? Is that what happened? God said, ‘Hmm, don’t like the looks of him. Might kill him in some sort of creative way. Push.’ Is that your story?   Eutychus – The Lord works in mysterious ways. I’m a miracle! I was dead and am alive. You should be celebrating.   Scepticus – Celebrating? I’m the talk of the town. The mother with the idiot son who sat in a windowsill and then fell asleep. When I got up this morning, you know what someone left on my kitchen windowsill? A tiny little blanket and pillow and a note saying, “For your boy Eutychus, next time he needs a nap.”   Eutychus – Well, that’s not very nice. Paul performed a wonderful miracle, and we should be celebrating.   [knock at the door]   Paul – Hello? Paul here. Just thought I’d swing by to see how Eutychus is.   Scepticus – Oh, Paul, what a surprise. It’s an honour to have you in our house. Can I get you anything?   Paul – No, thank you. Just dropped in to see … oh, there he is. How are you doing, sleepyhead?   Scepticus – What? Why did you call him …   Paul – Yes, last night I was talking away and had the room totally silent and captivated, and suddenly, we heard this snoring sound. We all turned around, and he was doing his impression of two men sawing a log – what a noise! Everyone had a bit of a laugh, so I went over to see him.   Scepticus – So he WAS asleep! Did you try to wake him?   Paul – No. I pushed him out the window.   Eutychus – See! I told you, Mum!   Scepticus – Why would you do that, Paul?   Paul – Oh, done it before. It works like a charm.  I knew I could just bring him back to life – God is good! – and it would make the event the talk of the town. Wonderful PR. In fact, I’m here to ask if Eutychus could come with me to Assos; we set sail shortly. We could do the whole asleep, push, fall, dead, alive thing again. It will be great!   Scepticus – Well, that depends. Eutychus, tell me the truth now, were you asleep?   Eutychus – I may have rested my eyes just for a moment. But I was still pushed! I’m going with Paul; better than staying here where no one believes me.   Scepticus – Fine. Do that. But here, take a pillow.   Eutychus – But, Mum, that will make it a bit obvious, won’t it?   Scepticus – I don’t want you to sleep on it. Leave it outside the window for a softer landing. I don’t want my little boy getting hurt while he’s ‘resting his eyes’.   Major Mal Davies is the Assistant Divisional Commander for the Victoria Division.

“We don’t rejoice because of our circumstances, but we do rejoice because God is faithful,” said General Lyndon Buckingham in his November devotional, based on the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, chapter 3, verses 17-19 .   “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights” ( Habakkuk 3:17-19 ).   “The prophet’s writing at a time of immense difficulty for the nation,” the General shares. “And you can sense it in the verses that he writes.   “Did you notice the list? No figs. No grapes. Failed olive crops. Empty fields. No sheep. No cattle. It's a desperate time. And yet there’s this beautiful word right in the midst of these verses – It’s the word ‘Yet’.   “Despite the circumstances. Despite the reality. ‘Yet I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.’   “I have no idea today what your circumstances are, what difficulties you’re going through. What issues you’re having to wrestle with. How you’re feeling about life in general. But I do know this – that word ‘yet’ is a powerful word for those of us of the faith.   “And yet I will put my hope in the Lord. My confidence, my joy comes from the God of my salvation. We don’t rejoice because of our circumstances, but we do rejoice because God is faithful.   “So, I’m praying for you this week, that whatever it is that you’re facing, whatever it is that’s going on for you right now, that you will be reminded to lift your eyes, to put your confidence, your hope, and your joy in the God of your salvation, who has promised never to leave you nor to forsake you, and will provide you everything you need in the midst of your circumstances.   “May God bless you.” To watch the General giving his November reflection, click below.

To view the latest Appointment Bulletin, click here

The 16 Days of Activism. Have you heard of these? They began this week on Monday 25 November, the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based violence, run annually by UN Women, ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day.   Tragically, we constantly see horrific news stories about the violent deaths of women at the hands of an intimate partner or family member. We know the outrageous statistics around the nation and globally that show how many women and girls experience different forms of violence.   Last financial year, The Salvation Army Australia assisted more than 11,000 women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. While the Salvos, and others, respond with tailored services, strong policies and advocacy, no one organisation can do it all. It is up to every one of us, from every walk of life, to take a stand against violence in all its forms.   The Salvation Army Policy, and Advocacy team have focused on four key themes during this week – themes that are common, key and integral to all their current submissions to Federal Parliament – and pressing the need for immediate and significant investment into these areas.    Increasing the stock of crisis and transitional accommodation and addressing housing bottlenecks . Currently, there is insufficient safe accommodation options for victim-survivors of family and domestic violence, and social housing waitlists in metropolitan, regional and rural areas are at an all-time high. A lack of long-term housing exit options creates bottlenecks in crisis and transitional accommodation, meaning there is limited space for other victim-survivors in need to enter crisis services. There is also an increased risk that, due to a lack of stable long-term options, that victim-survivors will feel they have no option but to return to the person using violence.    Primary prevention to stop violence before it starts.  We believe that primary prevention remains the most effective way to address family and domestic violence. We press the need for primary-prevention efforts that act across a range of settings – such as homes, schools and workplaces – and for multifaceted, long-term funding to address the underlying drivers of family and domestic violence.    Diversifying modalities of intervention for persons using violence.  No single program will meet the needs of all persons who use violence. We believe that the development of a broad range of serious-risk programs and responses, not limited by time or jurisdiction, must be made available to engage persons using violence, hold them accountable, reduce the risk of re-offending, and promote long-term outcomes. Specialist services for children and young people.  Currently, access to specialist services for children and young people who are victim-survivors of family violence, or who choose to use violence, are limited and difficult to access. Funding for this cohort also tends to be limited and short-term. This is deeply problematic, considering that a lack of appropriate and timely intervention can result in long-term harms including psychological and behavioural impacts, health and socio-economic impacts, and increased risk of intergenerational violence and re-victimisation. Children need to be able to access timely case management and therapeutic responses that promote their participation and are tailored according to age and development.   For more information on Salvation Army family and domestic violence services, click here . To read more submissions on family violence from the Policy and Advocacy team, click here .  For information on UN Women Australia and the 16 Days of Activism, click here For more information on the UN 16 Days of Activism, click here .

From beginners to advanced players, the Just Brass program at Redcliffe Salvation Army (Qld) is empowering young people through music, education and mentorship. Major Keith Hampton, who coordinates the program, says that he has seen the impact of learning music on young lives in many different ways – from improving social skills and expression to finding Jesus and serving in the corps band.

Each week throughout this 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 (25 November-1 December) we are praying for the  Zimbabwe and Botswana Territory. This territory is made up of   140,778 senior soldiers, 5894 adherents and 18,500 junior soldiers. There are 461 corps, 581 outposts, 684 officers (555 active and 129 retired), 32 cadets and 1298 employees. Praise points: We thank God for the successful territorial self-denial ingathering, the welcome for the new territorial leaders, the territorial home league rally, the Ordination and Commissioning of the Defenders of Justice Session and many other events. Prayer requests: Pray for the territorial leaders as they go around the territory for their familiarisation program. Pray for the stability of the territory on financial matters. Pray for the newly commissioned officers, the cadets and those who received farewell orders. Pray for the work that will take place following the visit and reviews from the International Secretary for Africa in November. Pray for God's intervention as Zimbabwe faces severe drought and hunger. Botswana District – please continue praying for officers to get work permits. Madagascar – pray for Captains Panganai to get work permits and for the church to continue growing. For more information on the Zimbabwe and Botswana Territory, click here . For more information on the International Prayer Focus 2024 and to download the calendar, click here . For more photos from the Zimbabwe Botswana Territory, click on the arrow below.