Session: Defenders of Justice From: Parafield Gardens Corps (SA) Appointed to: Corps Officer at Noarlunga Corps (SA) Silver Star recipients: Mrs Heather Fleming. Major Owen Pattison Academic award: Certificate of Salvation Army Officer Training Advanced Diploma in Theology and Ministry – in progress During my five years as a ministry assistant, I felt God asking more of me. After some wrestling and exploring different avenues within my ministry, I sensed the calling of officership, which gave me such peace. With a lot of prayer and talking about this with my closest friends and family, the call to be an officer became loud and clear, and I began my application process. In my training journey as a candidate helper, and now a cadet, I have been challenged in so many ways! I have been blown away by the skills and capacities God has grown and developed in me during this period of intense ministry and leadership formation. I am so grateful for the people that God has placed in my journey who have spoken into my life at key moments, encouraged me, cheered me on, challenged me and walked beside me. As I commence my first appointment, I am excited to see how I will continue to grow and develop as a leader, and to see what God has in store for the people and community I will be loving and serving. Bible verse: “I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness” (Psalm 89:1).

Each morning, I spend some time in our café chatting with members of the local community – many of them homeless or living in hardship – who have dropped in for a coffee and a smile. While to most I’m just Mal, occasionally a newcomer will feel the need for some formality and use Major Mal, while even newer ones will call me Father or Pastor. I’m not too fussed what they call me – to a degree! – and my grandfather probably had it worse – he was a brigadier! Perhaps there are some other titles we could introduce. Hmm… I’ve always wanted to be a bombardier. This used to be the crew member on a military aircraft responsible for the targeting and release of bombs. I could be The Salvation Army officer who just stands up during a meeting and shouts out a Scripture verse. Mid-meeting, I would spring to my feet and yell: “Make straight the way of the Lord!” and sit down again. And people would just think, “Oh, that’s okay: he’s the corps bombardier.” Or how about a commodore? I had a relative, by marriage, who was a retired and much-decorated air commodore, I thought it was a nice title. The commodore at each corps would be the one who gives good hugs. Every now and then you have someone who’s had a bad week or is lonely or feeling down, and – as hard as it is in this litigious age – you just want to give them a hug. I could give someone a hug and if visitors looked at us a bit oddly, the regular attendees would just say, “That’s okay, he’s our holding commodore.” Another role would be for an ensign. The ensign would be responsible for learning and using sign language to be able to help those with deafness participate in worship. When the band is playing and everyone is singing, the ensign will stand to one side of the platform and sing along while also communicating the words to deaf attendees. Generally, our congregations don’t have too many people with hearing issues, so it should be adequate to have one person trained to do this task. He or she would be the single singing signing ensign. And finally, when I was a young boy, I watched ‘The Flintstones’ and was intrigued when Fred became the leader of the local Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes and was given the title ‘Grand Poobah’. What a great title! Why do we have a Territorial Commander when we could have a Grand Poobah? I might write a letter to International Headquarters now and suggest the change. I’ll sign it from Bombardier Mal Davies. – Major Mal Davies and his wife Major Tracey are the Corps Officers at Adelaide City Salvos

The Salvation Army has opened its biggest Queensland store at Morayfield, north of Brisbane, much to the delight of bargain hunters. Thousands of people flocked to the store’s grand opening on Thursday 16 November, with people happily lining up in long queues to purchase their goodies. The new store, which is located inside the HomeCentre on Morayfield Rd, will allow locals and savvy shoppers the opportunity to buy new and pre-loved fashion, accessories, homewares, furniture, bric-a-brac, books, craft supplies and more. All funds raised from the store will help fund The Salvation Army’s many programs and services which help people in need. Salvation Army Area Manager Stuart Estreich said this store is almost double the size of the previous one. “This store is 15,000 square metres and replaced the previous store we had just down the road, which was about 850 square metres,” Stuart said. “We closed that store in February, so we are glad to open this brand-new store in a new location at the HomeCentre. “This is now the biggest Salvation Army store in Queensland and one of the top five biggest Salvos Stores in Australia. “At any time, we can have between 23,000 to 25,000 items on show for our customers to browse through.” Store Manager Emma Edmond said the feedback she has received from the public so far had been heart-warming and positive. “We knew our grand opening was going to be big, but we didn’t expect it to be so big that we had a line of people snaking around the store,” Emma said. “While we were closed for those few months, I would keep looking at the comments online and would read people saying how much they missed us.” One of the unique things about this store is the dedicated craft section. “A lot of other stores don’t have a recycled craft section, but we wanted to embrace it because we know a lot more people are becoming more sustainable and upcycling things,” Emma said. “We sell lots of recycled materials like scrap fabric packs and craft packs, so they don’t end up in landfill. “For example, we sell painting kits that have second-hand paints that are still good to use. “We also have lots of wool for people who are into quilting and knitting.” *An edited version of an article courtesy of the Morton Daily newspaper website. Author: Ashleigh Howarth

BY LAUREN MARTIN We all know that COVID-19 has changed things. In all areas of life. For the Church, including here in Australia, it led to a great questioning, with many parishioners not returning to the pews when lockdown was finally declared over. Sue Peacock was one such Christian. The grandmother from the small village of Menangle, on the south-west outskirts of Sydney, had met The Salvation Army’s Major Darren Kingston at a National Day of Prayer and Fasting at the beginning of 2020. His story really impacted her and what God was doing through his work as an evangelist and with the Macquarie Fields Salvation Army home church model. “For many years, I have thought home churches have so much more to offer to be effective in ministry in the community,” she said. When COVID hit, and church communities couldn’t gather, God began stirring her heart. “I was starting to feel that perhaps we weren’t expressing building the kingdom of God by staying inside the walls of [the] church … [I contacted Darren Kingston], and he supported me in starting up a home church in my house.” Sue has been an active member of her community for decades. Now a widow, she and her husband had produced a monthly newsletter called the Menangle News for 30 years and hand-delivered it to letterboxes throughout the town, which has a population of about 2500. When her husband passed away, Sue felt like she needed more community, so she joined the local Rural Fire Brigade. Her heart is for chaplaincy, and she’s undertaking The Salvation Army’s Foundations in Chaplaincy course, which she hopes will help her minister more effectively in her village. “I have always been called to build community,” she says. “We need one another. I almost feel like I am the chaplain to the Menangle township.” “I just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in my community.” Sue is well and truly ‘flying the Salvos flag’ in Menangle. During the Red Shield Appeal, she walked the streets, collecting donations and chatting with neighbours and community members. Members of Macquarie Fields and Liverpool Salvos have come out to support her and joined in prayer walks of the village. Her little home church grew to about six people, but some dropped off, and it’s now on hold. “I feel that we don’t need another Sunday morning church,” she says. So, Sue continues to attend her local Anglican Church and is getting involved in her community and listening to the Holy Spirit to see where she is guided. One place God has led her is at the local retirement village. “They have a Bible study on a Monday afternoon, so I joined that,” she says. With her links to The Salvation Army and her passion for community, Sue Peacock is a presence of the Salvos in her small town: “I just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in my community.”

To read the tribute for Joan, click here

A procession of walkers wearing The Salvation Army's red shield made their way around Lake Wendouree in Ballarat on Saturday as part of an annual fundraising and awareness campaign. The Salvos’ Karinya Support Service organised the Walking Home event, which was a chance for the group to raise much-needed funds for their work. The group provides several family welfare services, including crisis accommodation, childcare, case management and counselling. Its clients include those who have experienced family violence, trauma, homelessness and social isolation. The Walking Home fundraiser began in 2016 and sees Karinya support staff and community members come together. Louise Jeffrey, Karinya Support Services Child, Youth and Communities Team Leader, said she was pleased with Saturday’s turnout and was able to talk to the public about the work the group did. “The money that we raise is for our children and young people who come through our program,” she said. “With the funds raised, we will look at doing a variety of things for the children. “We want to be able to offer them opportunities that their peers may have that these kids do not have available to them. Whether that be activities outside of school, linking them in with a paediatrician, buying them a new school uniform, or new shoes. “Just things so that they don’t stand out for experiencing financial hardship or vulnerability at home. We want them to feel like the other kids.” The group has a fundraising goal of $5000. For more information and to donate, click here. *An edited version of an article courtesy of the Ballarat Courier

BY LERISSE SMITH The launch of an innovative youth supported accommodation facility in Shepparton has heralded an exciting fresh chapter for The Salvation Army’s Northeast Victoria Youth Services. Giving local young people hope and positivity for their future is the purpose-built facility that features 13-bed supported accommodation for young people aged 16 to 25 who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. It is more than double the previous accommodation of six beds. The Youth Accommodation Service was previously on the outskirts of town, on a huge block of land that was not accessible or suitable for most young people and not fit for purpose, with six beds servicing 31 young people. Moving into town and having a new facility now allows the service to offer crisis accommodation, casework and links to community services and The Salvation Army corps and services. “The opening was a great success,” said Leah Farnham, Northeast Victoria Youth Services Regional Manager. “It went really well and was well received. We had lots of people look around. “With floods, bushfires and COVID hitting the township in recent years, we had quite a bit of a pushback in our timeline, unfortunately. But we have such great funders from the Department of Health and Human Services and some philanthropic donations from the Day Foundation, which is great. So, that has allowed us to move up to 13 beds, and we’re looking at servicing 80 young people in this financial year and then 100 moving on and out into the next financial years.” Central to its success is a pioneering model of care centred around psychologically informed environments. Leah said they had moved into the model of care focused on a holistic approach for the young person, encapsulating safety plus a welcoming and bright environment that made people feel at home. It works on a trauma-informed practice lens, relationships and social spheres, and how you develop, deliver and evaluate a service. “It helps us to look at the environment as a whole … staff, young people, social systems, the micro-macro levels, all of those different things,” she said. “It is about how we view the whole system as itself with therapeutic approaches that sit within it.” Also key to the new youth supported accommodation is State Government funding that provides accommodation for up to eight weeks with the possibility of an extension if a young person needs to stay longer. The Youth Accommodation Service program has also announced an exciting new family reconciliation pilot program they are running alongside the new accommodation, with one of the beds dedicated to family reconciliation. It is for young people experiencing interpersonal conflicts within the home, with a case manager working alongside the young person and family. If it is safe for the young person to go home, support systems are wrapped around for the family and the young person. “It’s a super important part of the new model,” Leah said. “Just purely because what we have seen in the past is that if young people are experiencing that interpersonal conflict, it might be between siblings, it might be between mum and dad or the caregiver, or aunt or uncle or whatever the family situation looks like, they come into the homelessness sector. “So, part of it is really about making sure they are not perpetrating the cycle of homelessness and that we’re getting them when we need to. Early intervention. It’s exciting.” Northeast Youth Services has held crisis accommodation in the northeast, particularly Shepparton, for 25-plus years. When asked the reasons that lay behind why a young person may be placed into a homelessness service, Leah said the answer was complex. “Adolescent family violence in the home is a big conversation at the moment and what it looks like,” she said. “But it isn’t the be-all and end-all as to why young people are entering the homelessness sector. It is really hard to quantify and to put into words all the different myriad of things that young people are experiencing that might place them into the homelessness service. “You are seeing lots of different young people entering the system. Every young person is so different, and they all have their individual circumstances, stories and journeys, that you just can’t quantify what that actually looks like for that young person, and if you did, you’d be doing their story an injustice. “Yes, there is family violence. Yes, it is perpetrated by parents to young people, or by young people to parents. But there is significant intergenerational trauma, mental health concerns and social concerns. And we are even seeing an influx of young people where they have interpersonal skills, they have a job. They have family relationships that they can lean on. They have those natural resources. But they are still now entering the homelessness system like we haven’t seen before because they are just priced out of the market, there is no social housing. “I think it’s getting harder and harder to quantify what is the picture of the young person that is entering the homeless system. Just purely because it’s so stretched and varied about what that young person might look like.” Moving forward, The Salvation Army is planning to expand its accommodation services sometime in the future to include transitional housing as the new 13-bed facility is classified as crisis housing. Leah said having transitional housing proposals on the table was good news. “They really need transitional housing, and there is no transitional housing. And so, we are really fortunate enough to be able to work in an organisation that supports us to be innovative and think outside the box.”

BY LAUREN MARTIN Just three years after The Salvation Army began in Australia, moves were made to train new officers. In the early 1880s, a small training centre was set up in a corner shop in Adelaide, and cadets in Sydney were taught from a room at headquarters. The first dedicated training centre was established in South Melbourne in June 1883, and by March 1888 a new men’s training school was opened in Punt Road, Richmond. Training of officers at the time matched the spread of The Salvation Army across the nation in those early days – fast and furious! The Punt Road training college accepted 20 cadets at a time, with a total of 80 trained in the first year, which equates to about three months’ training time for each session. The program was mostly practical rather than theological or academic. Each day would start with a long march to ‘knee drill’ (prayer) at 5am, which was followed by street meetings, the selling of the War Cry, housework and a public meeting at night. In 1889, the first training home for women opened in Richmond. This was run much like a religious order under the watch of the principal, Staff-Captain Mary Shackson. The women would march to the men’s home in Punt Road for lectures and conduct practical training at the North Richmond Corps. Both training homes were affected by floods in 1891, and in 1900 the men’s training centre was destroyed by fire, prompting the Army to rethink its training as it constructed a new purpose-built centre. The new centre – The Federal Training College – was opened on 16 July 1901. It could house 160 male and female cadets from across Australia and New Zealand. Although the college was co-ed, the male and female cadets were kept separate – even the library was used by men and women on alternate days! This college continued to function as the Australian National College until the division of Australia into two territories in 1921, when a new training college was built in Petersham, Sydney, for Australia Eastern Territory cadets. Little more than 10 years later, however, the Great Depression forced the amalgamation of training again, with Eastern Territory cadets travelling to Melbourne for training. Both the Australia Eastern and the Australia Southern territories upgraded their buildings in the late 1970s, with a multi-story motel in Parkville, Melbourne, purchased for the Southern Territory Training College, and a Sydney campus relocation to Bexley North, the site of a former boys’ home. Over the ensuing years, the colleges began offering a range of courses with a choice of qualifications from research degrees to certificate and short one-day courses. The Southern Territory site was renamed Catherine Booth College in 2012, and the Eastern Territory facility was renamed Booth College in 2007. In 2017, when the two territories became one national territory, National Commander Commissioner Floyd Tidd announced the relocation of The Salvation Army’s School for Officer Training facility to Catherine Booth College in Melbourne. On 13 September 2017, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Divinity, Professor Peter Sherlock met with Commissioner Tidd and Colonel Mark Campbell (then Chief Secretary) in Sydney to sign a new collegiate agreement between the University of Divinity and The Salvation Army. The signing of this important document in effect marked the birth of Eva Burrows College. Eva Burrows College, located in the Melbourne eastern suburb of Ringwood, is now The Salvation Army’s national college in Australia, born out of the unification of Booth College in Sydney and Catherine Booth College in Melbourne. All residential cadets began their training at the national college in 2018. * Some information taken from the Eva Burrows College website Catherine Booth College (Melbourne) timeline 1883: Training of Salvation Army officers commenced in Richmond. 1901: A new officer training college was opened in Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. Its facade can be seen today opposite St Vincent’s Hospital. 1921: A second college in Australia was opened in Sydney to train officers for the Australia Eastern Territory. 1960: An Education Department commenced within Territorial Headquarters (69 Bourke St) to address other learning needs of the territory. 1979: The college moved from Victoria Parade to 303 Royal Parade Parkville. 1993: The Geelong Conference Centre was acquired to foster in-service training. The Education Department moved to Geelong. 1995: Government-accredited training was offered for cadets within the vocational sector. Prior to that training was internally accredited. 2002: Salvation Army Education and Training Services was established in Geelong as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to provide accredited vocational training across Southern Australia. 2006: Officer training made the transition into the higher education sector. The college became a Recognised Teaching Institution within the Melbourne College of Divinity (now the University of Divinity), a leading body of theological and ministry education in Australia. 2010: The General of the Salvation Army gave in-principle approval for setting up an integrated faculty for all education and training within the territory. 2012: Catherine Booth College became a reality. 2015: In January the college moved to the new Campus at 100 Maidstone Street, Ringwood. 2018: On 10 January Catherine Booth College and Booth College combined to form the new Eva Burrows College. Booth College (Sydney) timeline 1921: The Australia Eastern Territory Training College was opened at 55 Livingstone Road in Petersham, Sydney. Here, Salvation Army officers-in-training, undertook a ten-month residential course, which was extended to two years in 1965. 1980: The Salvation Army Officer Training College moved from its Petersham location to Bexley North. 1995: The college was named The College of Further Education. 1995: The college provided accredited vocational courses as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). 1996: The college opened a campus at Lake Munmorah with an emphasis on leadership and discipleship for young adults (this campus later moved to Berkeley Vale.) 1997: Theological education opened to all, not just those preparing to become Salvation Army officers. 1999: The new college of Further Education building opened at Bexley North with modern classrooms and an updated library. 2001: The college becomes a Member Institution of the Sydney College of Divinity. 2007: The College of Further Education was renamed Booth College. 2018: On 10 January, Booth College and Catherine Booth College combined to form the new Eva Burrows College in Melbourne.

London’s City Matters newspaper website recently interviewed The Salvation Army’s world leader, General Lyndon Buckingham. The article is reprinted here for Salvos Online The red shield of The Salvation Army is instantly recognisable to millions of people around the world, but have you ever wondered who is responsible for this organisation and what it actually does? The international leader responsible for The Salvation Army is currently General Lyndon Buckingham. This interview with the General took place while he was visiting Uganda, one of the 134 countries in which The Salvation Army serves. The General is the only elected position in The Salvation Army. General Buckingham explains, “First and foremost, we run churches! Wherever the Salvation Army flag is flying, you will find a congregation of people worshipping. One of our driving ambitions is to meet human need without discrimination, and that ‘human need’ varies depending on where we are in the world. We provide shelter for the homeless, feeding programs, schools, hospitals, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, counselling services and prison ministry, and services for children and families who are in need. Our International Social Justice Commission, based in New York, speaks to the United Nations on global social justice issues. The Salvation Army is currently making a compassionate contribution to the care of people affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine. We do what we can, where we can, to support those in need based on our ability to respond. I am grateful to everyone who helps us make a difference.” Since August 2023, the General has been responsible for overseeing The Salvation Army globally (including its 1.5 million members worldwide). Although based at the International Headquarters in London, the General travels extensively in support of overseas territories. He said, “The office of the General is responsible for the spiritual life and wellbeing of the movement, but also has policy and direction responsibilities which are delegated and shared between the General’s Council and the Salvation Army’s International Trustee Company. This is the office that acts as the glue that holds together the international Salvation Army and its mission around the world.” He continued, “The senior leaders within The Salvation Army are ordained ministers who, through a series of appointments, have been entrusted with greater responsibility based on their character, skill set and performance. This is a combination of time, experience, skill, and affirmation from peers. International appointments are then made by the International Appointments Board as a result of recommendations from peers.” “We are incredibly grateful for the level of support that people around the world are able to give to The Salvation Army, and we continue to endeavour to be good stewards of whatever resources are entrusted into our care.” The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 with a quasi-military structure, but the question sometimes arises concerning how appropriate this uniform approach is today. General Buckingham said, “As we mature and develop, we are recognising both the strengths and perhaps some of the weaknesses of our military motif and metaphor. We are managing the tension between our desire to be collaborative in leadership style while using the motif to its best advantage. We are probably less militaristic today, and we’re trying to find a ‘win-win’ way of using the motifs in a modern context.” With the impact of COVID-19 still very real across the globe and a cost-of-living crisis biting in many countries, can charities still rely on the general public for support? General Buckingham said, “We recognise the challenge for any one organisation, whether it’s a government or an NGO, to ‘do it all’. Collaboration and cooperation between government agencies and NGOs is a healthy response to the needs of the world.” He continued, “I think that people are right to be discerning about how they support various global NGOs. We are incredibly grateful for the level of support that people around the world are able to give to The Salvation Army, and we continue to endeavour to be good stewards of whatever resources are entrusted into our care. This enables us to do very good work for those less fortunate. Wherever The Salvation Army makes a positive contribution to wellbeing or to enabling others to make a positive contribution, that’s worth celebrating! ‌“Our Christian faith is the heartbeat of this organisation, and what we are endeavouring to do around the globe comes from that place. I think, if anything, that should give people confidence that our good motivation comes from a faith that expresses itself in acts of loving-kindness. This is the driving force behind this movement. The motivating force behind this movement is God’s love for us and our desire to express that towards our neighbour.”

The people of Acapulco are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Otis, the Category 5 storm that hit the Mexican city in late October. The hurricane sustained winds of 260km/h with gusts of 315km/h causing severe damage to the city as well as Salvation Army facilities including the Acapulco Children’s Home. Children from the children’s home were evacuated to safe locations. Fallen trees and damaged buildings had cut off essential services including electricity, major roads, drinking water and communications. The Salvation Army’s Mexico Territory and International Emergency Services (IES) team at International Headquarters had been closely monitoring the situation and were able to act as soon as the storm hit. It took the team more than 20 hours to reach the area from Mexico City because debris blocked some of the major road networks. When they arrived in Acapulco, they established an emergency canteen and an operations centre so that they could prepare and deliver food and water to locals who had been affected by the hurricane and to local first responders. The emergency canteen has distributed more than 3500 meals* since it opened. Additional support, including the possible provision of supermarket vouchers, is being explored. IES Director, Damaris Frick, said, “The Salvation Army in Mexico was able to act quickly to support the community in the crisis, including helping to clear debris from roads and preparing and distributing food and water. I thank the Mexico Territory and international Salvation Army personnel who are working tirelessly to support everyone affected. Please pray for our officers and the people affected in the city of Acapulco.” Rebuilding phase Major Reyes Cervantes, Divisional Commander, Capital Division, along with Divisional Emergency Coordinator, Captain Hiram Martinez, travelled to Acapulco with nine officers, eight cadets (trainee officers) and 25 volunteers from Acapulco, Mexico City, Querétaro and Villahermosa. This team has been assisting in the efforts to clear debris from roads, provide meals for those who have been affected and assess how the community can rebuild damaged buildings and infrastructure. The IES team, in conjunction with the Mexico Territory, have begun actioning short- and long-term response plans and are working closely with government bodies and local authorities. IES Programme Officer, Captain Matthew Beatty, and USA Eastern Territorial Emergency Disaster Services Director, Bobby Myers, have arrived in Acapulco and are providing expert advice on the next steps of managing this crisis. Territorial Commander Colonel Ricardo Fernandez said, “We have been working with government bodies and the Mexican Navy in Acapulco to ensure that Salvation Army personnel can safely access the affected areas. I commend the efforts of our personnel on the ground working hard to support the emergency service workers and affected community members.” – IHQ Communications *Figures correct 13 November 2023 Click through slideshow below to see photos of the Salvation Army’s response to Hurricane Otis:

BY JASON SIMMONDS The Church worldwide is experiencing a creative renaissance, with renewed interest in developing innovative, out-of-the-box ways of sharing the love of Jesus through music and the arts. There was a time when the Church led the way in creativity with architecture, fine art, music and sculpture – but in many ways, it has lagged behind in responding creatively to a world experiencing hardship and injustice. The Salvation Army has a rich heritage in music, film and other creative expressions. Because of this, Worship Arts Australia feel this is a poignant moment in time where we need to rediscover our creative roots and bridge the deficit the Church is experiencing in the discipline of the arts. God, the ultimate ‘maker,’ created our world from nothing. He used three spoken words “Let there be …” and life on Earth was the result, with all its diversity of creatures, wonder and beauty. It is becoming clear that God is restoring the value of creativity within the Church, and that’s why the National Creative Arts Camp, to be held in January 2024, aims to connect, champion and encourage young creatives to reach their potential and make a missional impact in the corps and communities in which they live and serve. Exciting stuff happens when a group of young creatives get together – we saw this at the first National Creative Arts Camp held earlier this year at Milson Island on the Hawkesbury River in NSW. Collaborative efforts took shape, passions were ignited, skills shared, opportunities were created, and dreams realised. NCAC creates an environment where youth and young adult creatives can network with like-minded creatives from across the country who are tackling similar challenges, and it enables them to journey and grow together – both in the honing of their craft and nurturing their spiritual life. We’ve heard many stories of our young people growing in confidence and coming alive with ministry opportunities opening up and churches and communities impacted through their NCAC experience. “Exciting stuff happens when a group of young creatives get together.” Worship Arts Australia firmly believes that creative communication is critical to the effective sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and as creatives are empowered and encouraged within the body of Christ, it will usher in the renewal of our movement and enable people to encounter Jesus. With many creative streams on offer, led by some of the most accomplished leaders in The Salvation Army, youth and young adults will take a new creative vitality back to their corps. This leap of creativity will add to a corps’ existing ‘gathered worship’ as well as spark new ‘communities of hope’ and ‘community tables’ that they become involved in. We have a growing list of young people keen to attend the camp, but as many struggling artists will tell you, the $395 registration fee is the only barrier to their participation. So, I conclude this article with three questions: 1. Can you identify creatives aged 15 to 30 in your corps family or sphere of influence who would relish this leadership development and creative opportunity? - Encourage them to register. 2. Would you bless the next generation of creatives by sponsoring one or more delegates to the camp? - Follow the same registration link and choose the sponsor option at step 3. 3. Are you a corps outside of Victoria with young creatives who need to be at this camp? Can you cover the $200 travel gap so your young people can take advantage of this opportunity? - Have your young people register and choose the pay-by-corps option. The National Creative Arts Camp will take place on 14-20 January at Blampied in Victoria, culminating in a concert presentation at Brimbank Salvos on Saturday 20 January. To register or sponsor delegates, click here

BY LERISSE SMITH An impassioned call for all Salvos to continue their life-changing work in the community and bring beauty instead of ashes to a world that desperately needed it was a key theme of the Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate The Salvation Army’s 140 years of Social Services in Australia. The special thanksgiving event to celebrate the Salvos’ social and spiritual service to the community was held at Project 614 in Melbourne on Sunday and officially concluded the 140th-anniversary celebrations held across five days. The international conference highlighted the significant milestone of the Army’s Social Services with the theme ‘Everybody Has A Work To Do.’ Several highlights of the service included special prayers and worship to thank God for the past 140 years and to commit to a life of future service to God and others, plus a message of reflection by Colonel Winsome Merrett, a lament by Major Brad McIver, music by Melbourne Staff Band and Songsters and worship ensemble, Scripture readings, and a personal testimony by Aux-Lieutenant Mark Curtis. Territorial Commander Commissioner Miriam Gluyas delivered the main address, with the benediction undertaken by Major Jenny Begent, Assistant Secretary for Mission. As organiser of the 140th-anniversary event, Jenny said the thanksgiving service was an appropriate end to an “incredible and amazing” week of celebrations for the Army’s Social Services. “We have had a fabulous week that has focused on the relevance of faith-based services in Australia today,” she said. “The quality of speakers was outstanding and provoked much thoughtful discussion. The delegates from Norway, Denmark, UK, Canada and US territories provided a view of the international army that reminded us of our global community. “It was wonderful to finish off the conference with a worship service of celebration. Commissioner Miriam reminded us of our need to continue the work of redemption for all people, reminding us of the conference theme: ‘Everybody Has A Work To DO’. Thank you so much to all who attended and participated; you made it a wonderful time of remembrance of the past and hope for the future.” Miriam delivered an impassioned address centred on inspiration from Isaiah 61 and its message around the ‘oaks of righteousness’, plus the parables of the sower and the fig tree that bore no fruit. “We are called to be oaks of righteousness, ready to help, ready to be there,” she said. “For 140 years we’ve been there ... hopefully hundreds of years to come. All around this world, people are called to be oaks of righteousness. Why? To bring beauty instead of ashes. We need to bring beauty instead of ashes to a world that desperately needs Jesus right now. “Sow kindness, sow love, sow joy, sow hope, sow Jesus. Don’t ever let us be a fig tree that doesn’t bring fruit. We are a mission movement. We are in this together. There’s a world out there that is desperately lonely. A world that needs Jesus. We are his plan. There is no other.” Colonel Winsome Merrett reflected on the inspiring work of William and Catherine Booth, Mother Teresa and George Müller and how they fulfilled the callings and purpose on their lives. “The theme of this conference has been ‘Everybody Has A Work To Do’. Not all of us are a William or Catherine Booth, or a Mother Teresa or a George Müller, but as people of faith in Christ, we each have a work to do, and it’s special,” she said. “The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, says it this way: For we are God’s handiwork created in Jesus Christ to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Just to be clear, this is not saying that our works will redeem us or be a ticket for eternity. What that Scripture passage is saying is that in giving us new life through belief in the work of Jesus on the cross, we become a demonstration of God’s workmanship; we are recreated for good works that God has designed for us to accomplish. “We know that we are not saved by our good works, but rather God has saved us for good works. Mother Teresa said the good you do today may have been forgotten tomorrow ... do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.” Miriam shared an example of good work being undertaken that significantly impacted a person’s life, which was a practical demonstration of the love of Jesus. She told the story of a gentleman who gained employment and help in other areas of his life thanks to the Employment Plus team. In a message to his worker after he gained employment, he ended with a thankful and impactful comment: “Ultimately, you guys saved my life,” the gentleman said. “And you didn’t even know it.” Mark’s story Aux-Lieutenant Mark Curtis, Mission Leader of Garden of Hope in Western Australia, shared his incredible journey of traversing extremely challenging times. He related his life of substance abuse, losing everything and even experiencing a stint in jail – and how thankful he was to meet the Salvos who changed his life for the better. He became a follower of Jesus and now has a leadership role with the Salvos. “Back in the 1880s, when God called William Booth out of the building, he said to him to step outside the church and start meeting people where they are at. That’s what we are called to do. We need to start walking towards them,” Mark said. “The Salvos shield is like a beacon. The amazing thing is that we don’t have to go in for the lost; they walk towards us already. It’s love that changes someone’s life. We are called to love each other. We are never going to get perfect. We are called to love each other in the darkness.” Mark added that Isaiah 49 was an inspiration for his life. “I love the picture of being in God’s hands,” he said. “I want to go into the prayer closest and be in his hands. Don’t be scared of the darkness. Love one another. Thank God that William Booth was obedient to the call.” Miriam reiterated being thankful for the past 140 years of Social Services, the importance of reaching out to others and giving hope, and the importance of the Salvos creating communities where people were loved, served, known and celebrated. “These can be the best years for the Salvation Army,” she said. “Let’s do what God is calling us to do. Let’s be the people that God is calling us to be. Let’s do communities of hope. Let’s sit around a table to talk about life and faith and get on mission together. “Let’s get into our social places – and help in every way we can.”