To read Iain’s Promoted to Glory notice and appointment history, click here.

Rachel Brand (left) is studying Art Therapy and is doing her placement hours at The Salvation Army’s First Floor Program in the NSW Illawarra region. She is pictured here with Marilyn Dunn, First Floor Program Coordinator. BY LAUREN MARTIN Rachel Brand has always had a passion for creativity. She loves all kinds of art and crafts, and she knows firsthand how important creativity and connection can be when people are going through hard times. The Master of Arts Therapy student is currently undertaking her placement at The Salvation Army’s First Floor Program, a therapeutic community that supports families. It’s a bit of a ‘full circle’ moment for Rachel, as it was a First Floor Program course, ‘See Change’, that helped her through a challenging time. “I did that [See Change] and made some difficult decisions in my life, and could see the value in the course,” she said. “When things come up, I’m constantly referring back to things I learned in the course, and I’ve since gone on to do the ‘Family Empowerment’ course which follows on from ‘See Change’.” Rachel Brand (right) met The Salvation Army First Floor Program’s Lisa Clancy (left) when she did the First Floor Program’s Family Empowerment course. Rachel has now completed the volunteer training to become a ‘See Change’ course facilitator. She said it’s wonderful to be able to give back in such a meaningful way. “I want to be helpful to people in the way that other people have helped me,” she said. Located at The Foundery Family Centre in Port Kembla (NSW), The Salvation Army’s First Floor Program is a unique service that started 25 years ago to give support to families who have loved ones with mental health or addiction issues. It grew to develop art programs, suicide bereavement support groups, and support for kinship carers. Its programs, ‘See Change’, 'boostED', ‘Family Empowerment’, ‘reSoLve' and ‘Effective Communication’, are used at various locations throughout The Salvation Army to support individuals and families, with training and support for facilitators offered by the First Floor Program. For Rachel, being able to immerse herself in the craft and art therapy groups at the program, which operates alongside The Salvation Army’s Foundery Family Centre, is a perfect place to put her newly learned art therapy skills into practice. The Salvation Army First Floor Program’s Marilyn Dunn and Lisa Clancy, with The Foundery Family Centre’s Auxiliary-Lieutenant Stephen Dunn. “I’m here at the craft group learning to socialise with the people that come here. I’m sitting in with some counselling sessions … What I’d love to do when I become an art therapist is to run groups that connect people to each other to prevent mental health issues,” she said. In her spare time, Rachel volunteers to coordinate the nearby 2508 Salvos ‘Crafternoon Tea’ ministry. “That’s my passion project,” she said. “Craft group gives people an opportunity to do something with their hands, but the more important thing is the connection that they have with other people, so while you’re doing something with your hands, you’re chatting, and you’re building relationships, and I feel that’s more important than the craft itself.” For more information on the First Floor Program at The Foundery Family Centre, click here

In rural Central West NSW, drought, isolation and uncertainty can place enormous pressure on farming families. But alongside those challenges are stories of generosity, resilience and community. This video follows The Salvation Army Rural and Remote Chaplains – Majors Russell (Rusty) and Dianne Lawson – who are walking alongside people in rural communities, offering connection, practical help, friendship and hope when it’s needed most.

To read the appointment bulletin, click here

Accepting the award on behalf of Salvos Stores were Sarah Furnell, Specialist Manager – Circular Economy for Salvos Stores, (left) and Sarah Knop, General Manager – Customer and Strategy for Salvos Stores. Salvos Stores has won the Sustainability Excellence Award at this year’s Ragtrader Australian Fashion Industry Awards. The award recognised Salvos Stores’ nation-first Textile Recovery Facility in Queensland, an automated facility for sorting and decommissioning textiles that sorts wearable stock for stores and routes unwearable textiles into fibre-sorted alternative pathways. “We’d like to thank our amazing team for their work and contribution to the circular economy,” said Sarah Knop, General Manager – Customer and Strategy, Salvos Stores. The Australian Fashion Industry Awards celebrate excellence in the apparel, footwear and accessories industries. Winners and finalists were celebrated at a luncheon event in Melbourne last week. Salvos Stores won the sustainability category in a strong field that included The Iconic, Decjuba, Bellroy, Kowtow Clothing, nat’v Basics and The Sussan Group. – Lauren Martin

Pam said her life was hanging by a thread until a Salvation Army rural chaplain arrived. Photo: Chulho Choi on Unsplash BY LAUREN MARTIN This is a story about Pam*, an elderly woman who lives alone in a spotlessly clean cottage in Tasmania. She enjoys herbal tea, walking to the shops and watching the sun come up out of one window, and set out of another. “I open my eyes every morning, and I’m smiling!” she beams. But life wasn’t always this rosy for Pam. A few years ago, she described her life as “hell on earth”. She lived on a remote property without electricity or running water. She had no friends, serious health issues, and her husband of 35 years was abusive. “My life was just hanging on by a thread,” she remembers, when through an online rural counselling contact, she was referred to The Salvation Army’s rural chaplain, Stephen Schlenk. Stephen remembers the first time he met Pam: “Pam was sitting on her walker and waiting at the locked gate for me. We went inside, and I listened to Pam tell me her story of physical, sexual and verbal abuse from her husband. Pam had just kicked him out after the latest episode of abuse with a 4x2 piece of wood. “Pam is a lovely lady with a beautiful smile – what you would expect your grandma to be. After her story, she asked me what she had done wrong? I replied, ‘Absolutely nothing.’” Salvation Army rural chaplain Stephen Schlenk ministers to country folk in Tasmania. Due to her circumstances, Pam made the painful decision to leave her property, supported by Stephen. “Stephen lifted my world, even after that one session,” says Pam. “He had this calming demeanour … I could feel the arms of the Lord lift me up and say, ‘Your life is changing,’ and you are very blessed today to meet this person.” An old friend of Pam’s from another state offered to let her come and stay for six months to focus on her healing. She accepted. Stephen drove her to the airport and said he would keep in touch, and he did. “It was amazing,” she says. “I had a safe house in Queensland to go to, and the people there were amazing. I was able to relearn how to walk with a physiotherapist and great doctors.” After five months, she moved to another state to continue her recovery for another three months, now walking with just two canes and even swimming in the ocean. “I think I started off at 115kg when I met Stephen, and I was 87 when I finally returned to Tasmania,” she said. “I am feeling fantastic.” When her plane touched down back in her home state, Stephen was there to pick her up. Her old car, which had been badly in need of repairs when she left, had been fixed. She moved into a home of her own and spent months cleaning, tidying and setting it up. She says that time was therapeutic. “I’ve worked hard to be able to walk again, to be able to run a home again, to be able to clean myself again, to be able to clean a home again.” She even has a little vegetable garden. “Who would have thought! At 71, I am going to be eating my own food that I grow,” she says. Pam has many people to thank for her recovery, including friends, health professionals, government departments and domestic violence services. But, she says, it’s been Salvation Army rural chaplain Stephen Schlenk’s enduring presence and faith that have made the biggest difference in her life. “Stephen really, and our faith together, has saved me. There’s a lot of other people and a lot of other services in that picture, but it’s the human interaction that I needed. Stephen is such a great man, with a great role, and I can see why our Heavenly Father has chosen him for that.” *Name has been changed In the months since Pam shared her story with Salvos Online, she unexpectedly passed away. Rural chaplain Stephen Schlenk, with support from Pam’s family, says, “She would want her story to be told, to give hope and encouragement to others.”

Producers Eddie Beyrouthy (left) and Phil Lambert, standing on the roof of The Salvation Army centre at 69 Bourke St in Melbourne, display the DVD copies of ’Limelight – Salvation and the Silver Screen’. In 2024, the revelatory documentary Limelight – Salvation and the Silver Screen received its world premiere in Melbourne. The documentary, capturing the staggering tale of the birth of cinema and the Salvos’ role as midwives, started streaming online in November 2025. It is now available as a limited-edition DVD. BY BARRY GITTINS We take it for granted, watching things happen on film. But if it weren’t for Salvation Army innovators in the 19th century, ‘movies’ wouldn’t have started and developed in Australia, influencing filmmakers worldwide. Do you recall the first thing you ever saw as a young child, on television or in the cinema? Those memories stay with us; the moving image perennially sparks joy in our lives. That’s as true for Limelight documentary producers Eddie Beyrouthy and Phil Lambert as it is for any of us. Phil, who also gives Limelight its soundtrack, says his first memory of film was seeing 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial as a five-year-old. “I was so emotional, I really got upset,” Phil laughs. “My love of film is tied to my background in music, and my brother and I were engrossed in the soundtracks of films, which we would tape and play. It was my first real love, and it led me to grabbing a video recorder and going out and filming.” Eddie, who also directed and edited the Limelight documentary, says film captured his heart at an early age. Eddie working on the Limelight documentary. “I purchased a Super 8 camera in 1997 and shot my first hand-drawn, stop-motion animation,” he recalls. Acknowledging inspiration from the first of Indiana Jones’ cinematic adventures, the production showed “two young boys at the bottom of the hill, with a large rock descending towards them,” he says. Eddie’s passion for the project began with a visit to the Limelight Studio at 69 Bourke Street, Melbourne, where he encountered the seemingly forgotten stories of Salvation Army showmen touring Australasia and showing films to a public hungry for the experience. “I don’t think that Salvation Army officer Joseph Perry and The Salvation Army knew they were birthing an art form and revolutionising an industry,” Eddie says. “They were in large part giving birth to cinema and cinematography. One hundred years later we can see they did so, and that changed their history, and Australian and world history. “Technology equals innovation, and innovation equals influence.” “Perry was always pushing himself and his crew,” Phil notes, “and trying to find a better, more compelling way to tell a story. If something sparks your love of life, it changes you, and it changes those who see your work.” For the Limelight Department members and the 20 Biorama touring companies, Eddie says, “it wasn’t a job – it was a mission, driven by passion and imagination, with the backing of The Salvation Army.” Limelight Department staff and filmmakers in the mid-1900s, with Captain Joseph Perry in the centre. While those halcyon days came to an end in 1909 and 1910, Eddie suggests it’s important for Salvationists “to embrace their influence on the innovation of the moving image – they have a genuine legacy”. “Regardless of the feelings at the time, and the closure of the department, they played a world-shaping role,” he adds. “They can be proud of the reality that if it wasn’t for Perry and Herbert Booth, and their comrades, the film industry wouldn’t have been nurtured and developed in Australia. There was a by-product to their work; an accidental role in giving life to dreams.” “The Salvation Army captured and recorded vital moments in this country’s history,” adds Phil. “It’s surreal that the innovation was matched with vision; they took this new technology and put it together with such effective people.” READ MORE: Limelight documentary premiere Documentary links The DVD is now available for purchase. • Copies of the DVD can be purchased at The Salvation Army Australia Museum’s Melbourne and Sydney (Auburn) sites. Click here. • To order a copy of the DVD via post, message the filmmakers via social media, click here. • The documentary is streaming on numerous online platforms including Wonder, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Fetch TV, SKY, FOXTEL and Google TV. It can be watched at home for AUS$5.99. For more information, click here. • The film’s hauntingly beautiful soundtrack is available on Spotify. Click here. • Inspired by the documentary, the short film Legacy Film Competition engages high school students in Australia and New Zealand as they submit entries. Click here.

Salvos Online continues a new series of unexpected and decidedly prescriptive teachings that General William Booth gave to his soldiers 124 years ago, excerpting the 1902 publication Letters to Salvationists on Religion for Every Day (volume 1). We are publishing General Booth’s thoughts on everyday topics, including sickness and bereavement, sleep, hygiene, life challenges, conversation, clothing, poverty, the Bible and the Sabbath, industrial relations and more. William and Catherine Booth held a deep Victorian interest in alternative health practices, strongly believing in homeopathy and hydropathy (the ‘water cure’) to manage exhaustion, physical ailments and chronic depression. William Booth frequently visited hydrotherapy spas in Matlock, Derbyshire, using cold-water immersions to recover from nervous strain. The water treatment BY GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH Salvation Army co-founder (The article below is a shortened version of General William Booth’s original transcript.) This is not intended as a treatise on Hydropathy, but only a few simple directions for treating those diseases to which our people are most exposed, and which, if badly managed, often leave consequences of a serious nature. The neglect of the skin, in dealing with sickness, is a strange evidence of want of thought and common sense in the great majority of people. When we remember that there are in the skin of every human body upwards of seven millions of pores, the main purpose of which is to drain away from the body that which nature cannot use in sustaining or building it up, we need not be surprised that when these pores are to a great extent blocked up, the blood becomes charged with impurity, and that the whole system is consequently deranged. When people generally learn the value of God’s precious, beautiful gift of water, both internally and externally, there will be far less suffering and much greater happiness and length of life. We have frequently been astonished and amused at the prejudice manifested against any kind of application of water to the whole body. Cold sponge bath Perhaps one of the most valuable applications of water is the simple cold bath every morning, for those who are strong enough to bear it. This is cleanly invigorating, and a sure preventive against taking cold, and can be easily managed in the following way: Where a person has not the convenience of a hip-bath – that is, one of those baths in which the bather sits down – he should get a large tub, and a good-sized sponge or piece of flannel. [Following bathing] the bather should rub himself smartly, till he feels all in a glow. Wet sheet pack (for fevers in general) When a person becomes feverish, giddy and restless, or manifests other symptoms of approaching sickness, a wet pack, properly given, can do no harm, and, in almost every case, will do incalculable good. Spread three or four blankets on a bed so that the patient can be laid down in the centre, with the ends folded over him. Then take a small sheet that will reach from the neck to the ankles. Wring this tightly out of cold water, or, if the patient is very delicate, out of tepid or warm water, and spread the towel or sheet on the top of the blankets. Then undress the patient as quickly as possible, and let him lie on his back on the sheet, lifting the arms, so that one end of the sheet can be wrapped round the body under the arms ... The patient may be kept in the pack from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter, according to the severity of the symptoms. Sitz or hip-bath The sitz-bath may be considered one of the most useful appliances for home treatment and a most powerful tonic-derivative in its action. Scarcely any vessel is so generally useful in a private house, and there is no form of bathing appliance so universally resorted to from which so much benefit is derived ... What is understood as a sitz or hip-bath considered hydropathically is a vessel in which the patient is seated in tepid or cold water as the case may need, with the feet outside and the body covered with a blanket to prevent exposure to the air of the room. There should be sufficient depth of water to embrace the whole of the bowels, the stomach, the lower portion of the liver and the lungs, while at the back the water should extend about two-thirds of the way up the spine, thus covering the kidneys. The beneficial action of the sitz-bath is various. It is had recourse to for weakness of the digestive apparatus, for piles and weakness of the bowels, looseness or constipation, uterine or kidney affections, also for undue flow of blood to the head and general debility. I have also found it very useful for brain workers, taken twice a day for about ten minutes each time. The temperature of the water must be regulated necessarily to the patient’s age, the time of the year, whether winter or summer, etc., and the powers of reaction. As a general rule, during the winter months the water should range between 65 and 75 degrees, and the duration from seven to twenty minutes ... When the sitz-bath is resorted to for constipation, it acts upon a person very much better when it is preceded by hot applications across the bowels for thirty minutes. The bed bath In this bath the Nurse, without disturbing the bedclothes, slips a warm blanket under the patient, and, after removing the nightdress, holds up the bedclothes with one hand and with the other sponges the body all over. The process is followed by a brisk dry rubbing. Local spongings are administered in the same way. Extreme caution should be observed in order to avoid chilling the patient. In very delicate cases the sponge should be dipped in tepid water; in ordinary cases in cool or cold water. The bed bath is only resorted to in cases of extreme debility and difficulty of reaction. It is very soothing and often induces sleep when nothing else will. Fresh air Fresh air is of the greatest value both in preserving health and in all kinds of sickness and weakness. Open your windows as much as possible-indeed there should always be one window open-only avoid putting the patient in a draught. Thousands of people are made invalids by being put to sleep in too close sleeping rooms. Soaking the feet in hot water A very common mistake is to put the feet in water as hot as the patient can bear, and then let it gradually cool. This often does more harm than good. The water ought to be of a moderate heat at first, and a kettle of boiling water should be kept near, so that the attendant can keep adding a little, so making the heat of the water greater when the feet are taken out than when they were put in. Mustard added to the water is also a great advantage. On taking the feet out, they should be well dried, and warm wool stockings put on if the patient is going to remain indoors; but if he has to go out, he should plunge his feet quickly into cold water before wiping, taking them out again immediately; but the safest plan is to go to bed. NEXT WEEK: General William Booth’s thoughts on work. *This series has been compiled by Barry Gittins, The Salvation Army Australia Museum Specialist (Melbourne)

Please keep in your thoughts and prayers the following officers who will reach the retirement milestone in 2026: 3 August 2026 Captain Joy Crowden-Shen 31 July 2026 ‌Major Helen Ellicott Major Bruce Ellicott 30 June 2026 Major Heather Jenkins Major Andrew McKeown Lieut-Colonel Chris Reid 31 May 2026 ‌Commissioner Kelvin Pethybridge Commissioner Cheralynne Pethybridge Major Simon Steele Major Craig Todd 30 April 2026 ‌Major Tony De Tommaso Major Yan De Tommaso Major Fran Everitt Major Kaylene Fyfe 31 March 2026 ‌Major Neil Clanfield Major Sharon Clanfield Lieut-Colonel Robyn Clinch 28 February 2026 Major Rick Hoffman Major Rowena Smith 31 January 2026 Major Lauriee Arthur Major Paul Arthur Colonel Rodney Walters

1. What is your current appointment and what do you find most satisfying about it? My husband, Tim, and I are the Corps Officers of Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. We love our appointment. Caloundra is a beautiful place filled with wonderful people. It’s also a place of great need. One of the most satisfying things for me is seeing how connected our church is to our wider community. Community Dinner each week is a highlight, and our House 4 Hope, set up in a downtown location, broadens our reach to those who are longing for connection. We love to meet together on Sundays as well as through the week. Fellowship is really important. 2. Away from the appointment – if that’s possible! – what do you do to relax or unwind? Tim and I have three sons in their 20s who live away from home, and my greatest joy is to be able to get all of us together over a meal. Tim and I love to walk – daily if we can, but we really love long walks in the bush or along our beautiful beaches. It’s a great reminder of the beauty of creation and the wonder of our creator. I also love reading books and soaking in the bath. This is one of my favourite ways to relax. Just add a candle on the side of the bath, and you’ve ticked all the boxes! 3. What’s a favourite Christian song and why do you like it? So many! I love the old hymns that remind me of the faithfulness of God, expressed in such a meaningful way by those saints gone before. I also love the new songs ... and lots of stuff in between. Lately, my Spotify playlist has had a lot of soulful worship. ‘You’re my Portion’ by Mark Barlow really brings me into a place of peace and comfort. My favourite song to sing at church with our church family is Phil Wickham’s ‘Great Things’. 4. If you could have a good talk with a biblical character apart from Jesus, who would it be and what would you talk about? This answer changes all the time, depending on what I’m currently reading in the Bible. I’ve been reading through the books of the prophets lately, and I am fascinated by the things that they were prepared to do to get God’s message across. If I could create a panel with Amos and Micah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah, I am sure that would be interesting! 5. If you were talking to a group of Salvationists and they asked if you recommended officership or not, what would you say? I believe that God calls each one of us into his service – and I would encourage everyone to place a high value on serving him right where you are. Sometimes that will look like being a leader and putting your hand up for something more, something that may be a little out of your comfort zone. Being an officer has stretched me in all areas of my life, and if that is a calling God has for you, please don’t ignore it. I am blessed to live this life, especially when Tim and I share this journey together. I look forward to many years ahead serving God as He leads. More information on Salvation Army officership can be found here.

Territorial Leaders, Colonels Leonardo and Evangelina Fernández call for prayer for Colombia. Image Engin Akyurt on Unsplash. Colonels Leonardo and Evangelina Fernández, Territorial Leaders of the Latin America North Territory, have issued a call to prayer after a deadly and destructive magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck in Chocó province, Colombia, on 10 August. Colombia is one of the 10 nations making up the Latin America North Territory. Venezuela, where two powerful earthquakes struck the country on 24 June, is also part of the territory. Relief efforts there are ongoing. READ MORE: Salvation Army response expands as Venezuela needs grow A CALL TO PRAYER “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3). Dear Salvationists, There are times when, in addition to helping hands, we also need praying hearts. In response to the emergency caused by the recent earthquake in Colombia, we call on the entire Salvation Army family to pray for the people, families and communities who are facing times of uncertainty and need today. Amid these painful circumstances, our mission reminds us that we are called to draw near in prayer, to accompany and to serve. Therefore, we encourage every Salvationist to be part of the response, interceding in faith and being a channel of blessing as we mobilise to bring help and hope to those who have been affected. The original call to prayer from the Latin America North Territorial Leaders. Today we invite every appointment in the ten countries that make up the Latin America North Territory, as well as our Salvationist brothers and sisters around the world, to join together in a special prayer for Colombia. Let us pray for those whose peace and security have been disrupted; for families facing loss and need; for the most vulnerable communities; and for all those serving amid this emergency. Let us ask the Lord to grant wisdom to those making decisions, strength to those on the front line of service, protection for emergency response teams, and comfort to those experiencing moments of fear, loss, pain or uncertainty. May our prayers rise as a united cry for Colombia, and may our presence among those who are suffering be a living testimony of the love of Christ. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God who strengthens you” (Isaiah 41:10). – Colonels Leonardo and Evangelina Fernández Territorial Leaders – Latin America North Territory Salvation Army IES – supporting the world To view the IES video, click on the image. The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Services (IES) services, based at International Headquarters, London, works with people around the world affected by disasters and conflict, ensuring they have the right to a self-determined life with dignity. The focus is on empowering individuals and communities to experience life in all its fullness through meeting immediate needs and building resilience in relationship with others and without discrimination. We are praying for all those affected by recent earthquakes in Colombia, Japan, Venezuela, Philippines and Indonesia. Emergencies and disasters come in many shapes and sizes. Some, like the global COVID-19 pandemic, the earthquake in Myanmar and wildfires in the USA, take centre stage in world media attention. Other emergencies touch the lives of thousands yet appear to go unnoticed. However, one thread runs though many of these events – the response of Salvation Army Emergency Services. For more information on the IES, click here.

The handover of blankets at The Salvation Army Arndale. Image: Life FM BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE The Salvation Army in Adelaide recently collaborated with Life FM radio station to create Buddy Blankets, an innovative source of warmth for those sleeping rough. The blankets, made from repurposed chip packets and plastic wrap, were then distributed to various social service programs, including The Salvation Army’s Unley and Arndale corps. The blankets, created from collected and donated materials and pieced together in workshops across the region, are then distributed to faith-based services to be passed on to recipients. On the back of each blanket, workshop participants are encouraged to write messages of hope or Bible verses. A message on one of the Buddy Blankets. Another read "You are not alone". Image: Supplied Arndale Corps Officer Major Gaye Day said her corps has been collaborating with Life FM for the past year. This year, the corps hosted a workshop and received more than 75 blankets, as well as other assistance items including foil blankets, gloves, beanies, socks and scarves to then pass on to community members. “When we hand them out, all the community members are very excited and quite amazed, and [are] looking forward to being warm at night and waterproof,” Gaye said. She said when the team hosted the workshop, one community member experiencing homelessness walked in and requested a Buddy Blanket, as he had heard of how beneficial they were. She also said the workshops and chip-packet collections were a great opportunity to meet new community members of all ages who had chosen to become involved. “I think it was a really good collaboration,” she said. “It’s not just about the Buddy Blankets we hand out, it’s even just in the process of creating the Buddy Blankets and getting chip packets brought in. Some of them were excited that they got to eat chips because [they felt] it gave them permission! The process of turning chip packets into blankets requires a team effort. Image: Supplied “It was really good to have the whole community working on a project.” Gaye said it was also very beneficial to have so many blankets on hand, which packed down small enough to store easily. She said the unusual make of the blankets was also a connection point, and the messages written on them also prompted conversations. “If we had 75 normal blankets, we wouldn’t have anywhere to store them,” she said. “These ones [require] less storage space so we can [focus on] handing them out to people in need rather than worrying about the storage room. “They’re fun to make and they’re a novelty, so they [also] start conversation. “It’s not just a blanket, but hopefully a bit of love, comfort and hope as they read those messages.”