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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.

Lieutenant Kate Clifford, Clarence City (Tas) Corps Officer, and Major Dianne Jarvey, Faith Communities Development Secretary (WA), were part of the Micah Australia Women’s Leaders Delegation for 2023 in Canberra last week. The 45 women leaders making up the delegation represented 12 different denominations, as well as Micah’s coalition of Aid and Development members. The delegation met with 40 politicians and is focused on how Australia, as a generous global neighbour, can do its part in what’s required to address global poverty, fight climate change and create a safer world for all. “It was an absolute honour and a privilege to be a part of such an amazing team of women, and to have the opportunity to advocate for the world's poorest and most vulnerable people,” said Kate. “Of the 43 Politicians who we held discussions with, the majority were supportive and gave valuable insight to help shape Micah’s most ambitious campaign to date. The hope for this campaign, due to be launched in January 2024, is for Australia to step up its role in addressing global poverty and ultimately creating ‘A Safer World for All’.” The discussions with parliamentarians included a focus on the current global ‘polycrisis’ – a simultaneous occurrence of several catastrophic events. “We shared how these multiple events and conditions, including COVID-19, rising conflict and climate change, are impacting people who are already vulnerable, and we’re just challenging them to see what we can do as a nation to rebuild the aid budget,” said Charlene Luzuk, ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) Australia’s National Programs Director. Micah Australia empowers Australian Christians to advocate for the most urgent global justice issues facing our world today – extreme poverty, rising conflict and climate change.

Luke Terracini is the Next Gen Ministries Coordinator at Carindale Corps (Qld), supporting young people of all ages from the start of the pandemic. Salvos Online writer ANTHONY CASTLE asked Luke about his role. What is the role of Next Gen Ministries Coordinator, and what does it entail? I started as the Next Gen Ministries Coordinator in the middle of 2019. The whole idea of the role is to coordinate the different teams. I work with young people of all ages, from pre-high school to high school. We run a range of programs like Mainly Music and Playgroup. We have kids’ church, and I run Just Brass with the local school. We do dance classes and run a Kids in the Kitchen program. There’s youth group as well. It sounds like you started in the role just before the pandemic hit. How has that shaped the work your teams do? I was on staff for about six months, getting to know the role. I had just started to look at the children’s ministries, just started Just Brass, and then the whole thing shut down. We needed to reprioritise what we were using our time and resources for. Some programs were good, but the amount of energy that went into them wasn’t practical. We redirected that into something that had better connection and reach with young people. Coming out of COVID, the youth group is far more relationship based. Rather than putting on a product for them or something we thought was best for them or youth in the past. We just focus on spending time with them and getting to know them. We couldn’t meet in person, so we met on Zoom, growing that relationship with them. Rather than run a two-hour program and crash through a bunch of games, we sit and talk with young people, talk about their weeks and the stuff they’re facing in their life. What’s at stake for the young people you work with? What type of challenges are they facing? Carindale Salvos is located in a funny spot. Within the few streets around us are some massive and really expensive houses, but we also have a lot of housing commission houses around us as well. This is reflected in the young people and families we work with. They can come from vastly different family situations, so obviously, the challenges that they each face are also vastly different. There are some that have immediate material needs, which we are able to provide practical solutions for. There are some with different emotional or spiritual needs as well. We also have plenty who just love to come and hang out and be part of the community here. It’s a bit cliché, but our young people also face plenty of pressure through social media or school about who they are or who they think they should be. Identity is such a huge thing for young people. What difference do you see your work make? At the small local school we work with, they don’t have many resources. We do Just Brass with them, and that has led to other opportunities, including being part of the Breakfast Club run by the chaplain once a week. The Kids in the Kitchen program has connected with quite a few disadvantaged families too, teaching them how to cook a meal, how to do the shopping and budget for it. There are lots of practical ways we can make a difference in the lives of young people and their families. One of the real positives is that we’ve had young people leave our programs when they go into high school but remain in contact with our ministries. It’s easy to think you come and do your program, talk to the kids and then they go. You can ask, ‘What’s the impact?’. But they’ve seen enough value to keep coming back, which is the reason we’re here; to build relationships with young people.

Ten adherents were enrolled at Wollongong on 13 August. Corps Officer Lieut-Colonel Lyn Edge led the ceremony of the diverse group during the Sunday morning meeting. The group included those who had previous connections with The Salvation Army and had come “home” along with those who came to The Salvation Army for the first time looking for – and finding – a spiritual and friendly church that served the community. Several people said they came looking for friendship and a family and found it at Wollongong Corps. One young man said he had grown up in the church, and since this was his church, it was time to make it “official”. Everyone expressed that they loved Jesus, felt a sense of belonging at Wollongong Salvos and experienced this as a place to serve. The new adherents enrolled were David Hughes, Dianne Whittaker, Gary Baker, Irene Ringer, Steve Ringer, Keegan Priest, Kellie Phillips, Kristy Ford, Noeleen Burke and Zac McIver. Each adherent made their choice after an information evening organised by Lieut-Col Edge. Others who attended the information evening have expressed an interest in soldiership classes, which are now underway.

REVIEWED BY ANTHONY CASTLE I played with Barbie as a child. As a boy, I spent the day at the house of a family with three daughters, whose toy boxes were filled with the pink plastic of fashion dolls. I didn’t have a Barbie at home. I was a boy, and boys weren’t meant to play with Barbies, but suddenly I was with children who only owned ‘girls toys’, so I played along and put the dolls in their clothes and cars and Dreamhouses. I remember looking at the toys with their bright pink colours and sparkled fabrics and feeling something about that perfect plastic, feeling something like wonder. Barbie was beautiful. Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie is a fantasy comedy film based on the popular Mattel fashion doll. Written with Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the film tells the story of the stereotypical blonde-haired and blue-eyed Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, who lives in a magical place called Barbieland. Barbieland is populated with a diverse range of successful and independent Barbies, a matriarchal society where female fashion dolls fulfil the roles of judges and lawyers (and the various Kens more or less stand around and look pretty). Stereotypical Barbie finds herself having an existential crisis one night, however, and starts to develop the vulnerabilities of an actual human. Barbie decides to leave Barbieland and travel to reality, to find the child she belongs to and restore her perfect beauty. The history of Barbie is a fraught one. Created by businesswoman Ruth Handler in 1959, the fashion doll came to be celebrated as a role model for girls. Toys allow children to explore imaginary scenarios, often as rehearsals for the larger situations faced in life. As a fashion doll that could be dressed as a ballerina, an astronaut, or even President, the toy modelled female independence for children and ways to rehearse their own potential and purpose. Barbie showed girls they could be anything. Over the years, however, Barbie has also come to represent consumer capitalism, gender stereotypes, and harmful body standards. While the fashion doll range has become more diverse in its representations of women over the years, the toy is often treated as a problematic presence in childhood. Gerwig’s film is aware of these tensions, with Barbie entering the real world and encountering all the praise and condemnation society has felt for her. Margot Robbie’s performance captures Barbie’s reaction to this reality, with the psychology of a toy coming to life and a moving emotional depth. Ryan Gosling is a hilarious supporting presence as Ken, Barbie’s friend and foil. The film features chase sequences, musical numbers, comedic fight scenes, and a number of cameos. Gerwig and Baumbach’s script is fantastically witty, with humour that appeals to all ages and some gags conveniently sailing over younger children’s heads. Barbie’s journey to the real world challenges her assumptions about herself and why she was created. Shortly after Barbie’s arrival in reality, there is a moment when she takes a seat at a bus stop and pauses to look at an older woman alongside. Barbie with a sense of wonder before uttering, “You’re beautiful”. The older woman smiles at Barbie and responds, “I know.” Barbie’s journey to the real world challenges her assumptions about herself and why she was created. At one point, Barbie even meets her maker and must choose her identity, about who she will be. It’s an encounter with the divine, and one that leaves her with an understanding of what it means to be human, to have purpose and potential, but to be vulnerable. Whether you played with dolls as a child or not, thought the toy was perfect or problematic, Barbie is a fun feminist fantasy and a parable about identity. Barbie taught girls they could be anything, and this two-hour toy commercial also has something to say about the wonder of being human and the vulnerability that brings. Only plastic is perfect. It’s our humanity that’s beautiful.

A group of parishioners from St Aloysius Cronulla, in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, has partnered with local food relief services to assist individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet. On hearing about the work of ‘One Meal – Sutherland Shire’, an organisation that serves free hot dinners at various locations in the area, the St Aloysius Support Group decided to lend their support. On Tuesday, 25 July, St Aloysius volunteers Barbara Jones and Pat Hickey dropped off 150 food packs to Shire Salvos Miranda – of which approximately 60 packs were handed out that night. Pat had previously visited One Meal during its weekly Tuesday evening food relief service at Shire Salvos Miranda. One Meal coordinator Kaye Palmano suggested they could raise money for and put together breakfast packs (consisting of Weetbix, UHT milk and muesli bar), which are provided to all community members at the Tuesday night meal. The St Aloysius Support Group encouraged Shire community members to donate any amount from $20 to help fund the breakfast packs. A trial run was held, and packs were created costing approximately $1.50 each. “We are so thankful for the support of all involved,” said Shire Salvos Miranda Community Coordinator Moira Guthrie. “We love working with passionate people who help us and our partner organisations to help others.”

In a letter to all Salvos, Miriam Gluyas encourages everyone to get behind the 2023-24 Making It Happen fundraising project. Hi Friends, Three of my most treasured years in officership were spent in the Papua New Guinea Territory (PNG). The people taught me so much. They had so little but gave generously. They had so little, but they had so much. They love God wholeheartedly and they rely on him to provide. I was delighted to hear an update on The Salvation Army’s work in the Solomon Islands (part of the PNG Territory). Twenty-two years after the Salvos launched there, there are 11 Salvation Army village churches and four couples are preparing to go to training college in PNG. Wonderful! Australian officers, Majors Robert and Vanessa Evans, are the district officers in the Solomon Islands. They are excited to see Indigenous officers, familiar with the language and culture of the people, appointed to the village churches. It’s a great vision, isn’t it? To do this, they need houses for the officers, and we can help! Many of you will be familiar with the ‘Making It Happen’ project. Traditionally a Women’s Ministry project, it is now a whole territory project. Each year our territory raises funds and for 2023-24, the project will raise funds to build and furnish a home for corps officers in one of these villages. The house would also be a missional hub for Salvos and a space for service to the wider community. This will cost $120,000. It might not seem like much money to us in Australia, but it will make a huge difference in the Solomon Islands. Romans 12:4-13 says, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Let’s get ready to help our friends in the Solomon Islands. In turn, this house will be used to help those in need, show beautiful hospitality in the village and share Jesus. Please pray about how you can support! You might organise a fundraiser, hold a special offering or make a personal donation. Fundraising ideas, promotional materials, and resources for a Making It Happen Sunday are available at www.my.salvos.org.au/making-it-happen. Bless you, friends, Commissioner Miriam Gluyas Territorial Leader The Salvation Army Australia Territory

The job description for corps officers (that’s ‘church ministers’ for those still learning the lingo) is literally long enough to be a book: it’s called Orders and Regulations for Corps Officers. And every corps officer knows that even at book length, it’s not complete. There are several key sections not included. For instance, a few weeks ago, I was cleaning someone else’s vomit out of the men’s urinal in the toilet at the hall, and I got to thinking, “I don’t recall seeing this in the job description.” In the weeks before, I had: unblocked a toilet; climbed into a dumpster to retrieve someone’s clothes; climbed on the roof of our church while it was raining to unblock a downpipe; had someone shake their fist in my face and threaten my life and, worst of all by far, I’d attended to hours and hours of admin reports and emails. While corps officership also has many highlights, opportunities and privileges – which I’m extremely grateful for – it definitely contains a lot of fine print clauses that appear from time to time. I recall serving at a corps where the Sunday meeting was at 10am, and at 9.58am there was a knock on my office door just as I was heading in to start the meeting. An elderly corps member said I must attend to a matter urgently. I said, “Can it wait? We’re about to commence church.” She responded, “No. It’s an emergency. Come with me,” and she walked off. Muttering something holy and grace-filled under my breath, as I recall, I followed her as she led me into the ladies bathroom. She invited me into a cubicle. I may have raised an eyebrow but dutifully followed her in. She pointed at the lock on the inside of the door and said: “It’s loose. Someone might come in here during the service, and if the lock comes off, they might be locked in here until someone comes looking for them.” I gave the lock a wiggle and pointed out that two of the screws holding it in place were loose. It was now 10am. I asked her to follow me. We went back to my office where I found a screwdriver for her, and as I passed it to her, I said: “I’m going to start church. I empower you to go and tighten the screws,” and I walked away. At two minutes to 10, apparently, no one else in the corps could be trusted to wield a screwdriver, only the corps officer. Luckily for her, I’d been present for the class at training college when we’d covered using a screwdriver. In fact, I got a B+ for it. So be kind to your corps officer. Sure, they get some privileges and have some status, but they also have to fulfil a vast range of duties that don’t even appear in their job description. I’d say more on that, but I have to go ... someone just told me we have a pigeon with a broken wing on our front step, and apparently I’m also the vet. – Major Mal Davies and his wife Major Tracey are the Corps Officers at Adelaide City Salvos