SAconnects, Volume 1, Number 4

VOL. 1, NO. 4 • JULY/AUGUST 2015

the magazine

redención, recuperación y encuentro con Cristo

un relato de

a story of redemption, recovery, and Christ

GENERATION

to generation,

Commissioning weekend coverage page 12

keeping the

faith,

through loss page 24

La misión del ARC page 29 SACONNECTS.ORG

Read Stanley Jackson’s story on page 7.

our leaders

IN focus

ARC

Recycling, Reclaiming, Reflecting Reciclar, Rescatar, Reflejar In this SAConnects, you’ll read how the Lord is working through the ministry of the Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC) in the Eastern Territory. From its beginnings, the ARC has practiced three ”R”s; Recycling goods, Reclaiming lives, and Reflecting Christ. In our territory alone, this ministry touches lives in 36 centers and in 255 family stores. That’s 5,000 employees and about 14,000 beneficiaries.

Through generous donations, we provide the resources needed to support the ARC and offer work therapy to bring about personal satisfaction and a sense of self–worth to the men and women enrolled. This is truly recycling.

As you read the personal stories of Stanley Jackson and Marilyn Canty, you’ll see that lives are still being reclaimed.

They’re just a sample of the many miracles that happen daily as the Gospel touches people in these centers. For example, from Oct. 2013 through Sept. 2014, 4,000 men and women accepted Jesus as their Savior. We can say with confidence that the Lord is using the ministry of the ARC to reclaim lives.

Our goal is to reflect Christ. Through the generous support of the territory and the Strikepoint initiative, we’ve explored new ways to reflect God’s love. In this issue, you’ll also read about the Learning Center in Paterson, N.J. Other initiatives across the Command include a learning center in Harrisburg, Pa.; evangelistic and corps outreach in the Syracuse, N.Y., area family stores; a “Soup, Sandwich & Salvation” program in Wilkes–Barre, Pa.; a block/family carnival and concert in Cleveland, Ohio; a basketball outreach in Columbus, Ohio; as well as regional ARC/corps rallies.

These initiatives, along with our more traditional programs, exist to reflect Christ. We pray that you will be inspired by the stories you read and that you will remember to pray for the ministry of the ARC as we continue to Recycle goods, Reclaim lives, and Reflect Christ.

— Lt. Colonels Hubert S. Steele, III and Kathleen J. Steele — Ttes. Coroneles Hubert S. Steele III y Kathleen J. Steele

En este número de SAConnects, usted podrá leer acerca de la manera en que el Señor ha estado obrando a través del ministerio que ofrece el Centro de Rehabilitación para Adultos (ARC) en el Territorio Este. Desde sus inicios, el ARC ha practicado las tres “R”: Reciclar bienes, Rescatar vidas y Reflejar a Cristo. Sólo en nuestro territorio, este ministerio ha influido en las vidas de personas en 36 centros y en 255 tiendas familiares. Vale decir, a 5.000 empleados y a cerca de 14.000 beneficiarios.

Hemos logrado proveer los recursos necesarios para apoyar la obra del ARC y ofrecer el tipo de terapia laboral que brinda un sentimiento de realización personal y de autoestima a cada uno de los hombres y mujeres que están enrolados en el programa. Se trata de un reciclaje verdadero.

Conforme lea las historias de Stanley Jackson y de Marilyn Canty, podrá constatar la manera en que se están rescatando personas de verdad. Ellas son sólo algunas muestras de los milagros que ocurren día tras día cuando el Evangelio llega a las vidas de esas personas en nuestros centros. Desde octubre de 2013 hasta septiembre de 2014, 4.000 hombres y mujeres aceptaron a Jesús como su Salvador.

Mediante el generoso respaldo del territorio y de la iniciativa Strikepoint, hemos explorado nuevas maneras de reflejar el amor de Dios. También podrá leer acerca del centro de aprendizaje que tenemos en Paterson, Nueva Jersey. Otras iniciativas a lo largo y ancho del Comando incluyen: un centro de aprendizaje en Harrisburg, Pensilvania; servicios sociales y actividades de evangelización en Syracuse, Nueva York, y en las tiendas familiares del área; un programa de “Sopa, Sándwiches y Salvación” en Wilkes–Barre, Pensilvania; un carnaval y concierto para las familias de un vecindario en Cleveland, Ohio; un programa de servicio a la comunidad a través del básquetbol en Columbus, Ohio; así como también reuniones generales de los ARC y de los Cuerpos de la región.

Oramos para que se inspire con las historias que leerá en este número y para que recuerde orar por el ministerio del ARC mientras continuamos con la tarea de Reciclar bienes, Rescatar vidas y Reflejar a Cristo.

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2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

1

Vol. 1, No. 4

CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2015 5

IN focus 1 4 6

leader letter from the editor letters from you

ON file

5 relevents

15

Marilyn Canty shares her travels to Europe and her recovery from addiction.

27 wholly living

Answering the call to be holy through a purity of heart.

28 unity

20

24

What the ARC really does.

Three officers share.

features

30 great moments

From horse & wagon to large horsepowered engines, the ARC rolls on.

18

31 testimony

FAITH in ACTION 12 Commissioning

28

From Generation to Generation, Salvationists continue the Army’s legacy of love, service, and sacrifice.

Cover photo by Robert Mitchell

20 The ARC in Paterson:

To Grow, Learn, and Find God The Salvation Army’s ARC in downtown Paterson, N.J., is helping its beneficiaries recover from addiction, get an education, and remember that God is with them— every step of the way.

24 Through the Fire

30

finds 32

7 A Drifter Finds Christ Before coming to Christ, Stanley Jackson lived a rebellious life of drugs and crime.

Today, he helps people find hope at the ARC in Wilkes–Barre, Pa.

Despite living with MS, Soldier Lavynia Galarza continues to dance for God.

The flames that destroyed Captains David and Jessica Irwin’s home ignited their community to show them love in an amazing way.

COVER STORY

The Salvation Army launches a new songbook!

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SACONNECTS.ORG/ENESPANOL

2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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IN focus

from the editor the magazine

a delicate balance un delicado equilibrio

your connection to The Salvation Army

USA EASTERN TERRITORY TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioner Barry C. Swanson Commissioner E. Sue Swanson CHIEF SECRETARY Colonel William A. Bamford III SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS Lt. Colonel Cheryl A. Maynor

In this SAConnects, we’ll share testimonies from the recently commissioned Heralds of Grace session and give you a glimpse into their future.

This approach represents our ongoing commitment to roll out the Salvation Army’s first multilingual and multicultural Christian lifestyle magazine.

We’ve designed SAConnects to reflect the creative and innovative spirit of such Army pioneers as Elijah Cadman.

In August of 1878, he capitalized on the sociopolitical climate of his day and conceptualized the Army’s first uniform.

The legacies of other Army innovators will continue to inspire us, such as Herbert Booth (film and multimedia), Major Ernest A. Miller (public relations), as well as General Arnold Brown (radio and TV broadcasting) and Colonel Henry Gariepy (editor and prolific book author) to name a few.

Today, Christians face unprecedented challenges. And at such a time as this, we must find a delicate balance between standing firm on our convictions and being inventive enough to successfully reach lost souls for Christ.

By the way, usage of your website, SAConnects.org, is at an all–time high.

Continue to go there. You’ll find the first appointments of the Heralds of Grace in their entirety, exciting prerecorded livestream™ videos of all the major Commissioning events, as well as an opportunity to share your story!

— Warren L. Maye

Editor in Chief / Editor en Jefe

En este ejemplar de la revista SAConnects compartiremos testimonios selectos de los oficiales recién comisionados de la sesión Heraldos de la Gracia y le daremos una idea de lo que será su futuro como tenientes.

Este enfoque representa nuestro compromiso de producir la primera revista del Ejército de Salvación multicultural y plurilingüe de la vida cristiana.

Hemos diseñado la revista SAConnects de manera que refleje el espíritu creativo e innovador de los pioneros del Ejército como fue Elijah Cadman. En agosto de 1878, él capitalizó el clima socio-político de su tiempo y conceptualizó el primer uniforme del Ejército.

Los legados que dejaron otros innovadores del Ejército seguirán inspirándonos; tal como el Mayor Ernest A. Miller (con las relaciones públicas), también el General Arnold Brown (con radio y transmisión televisiva) y el Coronel Henry Gariepy (editor y prolífico autor), por mencionar sólo algunos.

Hoy día, los cristianos enfrentan desafíos sin precedentes. Debemos hallar un delicado equilibrio; mantenernos, por un lado, firmes en nuestras convicciones y por otro, ser lo suficientemente ingeniosos para hallar novedosas maneras de alcanzar las almas perdidas para Cristo.

El uso del sitio web, SAConnects.org, ha aumentado día a día sin pausa. Siga visitándolo. En él podrá ver los primeros nombramientos de los Heraldos de la Gracia en su integridad, emocionantes videos pregrabados en livestream™ de todos los eventos de Comisionamiento, y a su vez, tendrá la oportunidad de compartir ¡su propio relato!

EDITOR IN CHIEF Warren L. Maye MANAGING EDITOR Robert Mitchell EDITOR / HISPANIC CORRESPONDENT Hugo Bravo KOREAN EDITOR Lt. Colonel Chongwon D. Kim ART DIRECTOR Reginald Raines PUBLICATION DESIGNER Lea La Notte Greene GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Keri Johnson, Karena Lin, Joe Marino CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brenda Lotz, Major Young Sung Kim CIRCULATION Deloris Hansen DIVISIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENTS

ARCC Major Charles Deitrick PENDEL Randall Thomas Major Kathryn A. Avery EMP Jaye C. Jones MASS Drew Forster NEOSA Major Thomas Hinzman NNE Cheryl Poulopoulos PR & VI Linette Luna SNE James Gordon WEPASA Captain Kimberly DeLong CFOT, GNY, NJ, SWONEKY

New divisional corrspondents will be appointed soon

Territorial Music Liaison Ronald Waiksnoris Territorial Youth Liaison Captain Gillian Rogers

THE SALVATION ARMY

MISSION STATEMENT

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

SAConnects is published monthly by The Salvation Army USA’s Eastern Territory. Bulk rate is $12.00 per month for 25–100 copies.

Single subscriptions are available. Write to: SAConnects, The Salvation Army, 440 W. Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994–1739.

Vol. 1, No. 4, July/August Issue 2015. Printed in USA. Postmaster: Send all address changes to: SAConnects, 440 West Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994–1739. SAConnects accepts advertising.

Copyright © 2015 by The Salvation Army, USA Eastern Territory.

Articles may be reprinted only with written permission.

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JULY/AUGUST ISSUE 2015

www.twitter.com/saconnects

relevents

ON file

Marilyn Canty, director of The Salvation Army’s Eliza Shirley House in Philadelphia, Pa., talks about flea markets, friends in Spain, her faith, and how being in recovery has brought her closer to God.

Photo by Javier Gonzalez–Rivera

Interview by Hugo Bravo

In 1976 when I arrived in the U.S., I was an addict. In my recovery program, I learned that when the urge to relapse comes, I should simply ask God for help. But to me, the Lord was a fearful Being and I simply believed that achieving sobriety was beyond me. One day, I went into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and said, “I’m sorry God, but I am going to let You down. I can’t keep this up. I don’t even want My recovery is ongoing. I still go to meetings and find to live.” At that moment, I felt a warm Presence with me, and a people whose situations are similar or worse to those I had bright light shot into the bathroom out of nowhere. I looked up, experienced. Recovery is difficult; I am fortunate to have and the hurt and self–doubt were gone. I knew then that “this too achieved it on my first try. I help friends who are trying to shall pass,” and God would guide me through every difficult day. get clean, or who had given up but now are trying again.

My recovery also helps in my career. When I started as a counselor, I wondered what I could say to these women Connecting with the staff and residents at the Eliza who had been dealt such troubled lives and unimaginable Shirley House is an important part of my job, and a gift from hardships. I asked God for guidance and I heard Him say God. I always try to step out of my office and connect with to me, “Give them freely what others gave to you. Tell them our residents. Sometimes, the women who come for help can who you are, how you got sober. Focus on today. How can be frightened and resist trusting us, and following rules and they get through today? Listen to them and give them hope.” regulations in such an enclosed environment may be new to their children. I also keep communication with our staff open.

Whether it’s money or family issues, I help them as much as I can.

Their lives are just as important to me as those of the people we help.

I’m always looking for something for my home, and the odds are good I’ll find it in a flea market.

I can spend hours hunting down what I need and haggle for it; it’s a bit of a rush! I helped a friend My mother and I love to visit Spain. It’s a gormove into a new apartment, and I got free range geous country, and a perfect place for everything to just to decorate it in any way I wanted. I did the whole “stop.” In the U.S., everything is such a rush. In Spain, apartment with everything from flea markets. l do things at my own pace. It’s easier for my mother, too; she knows the country and always finds her way.

We meet up with friends from all over Europe who also I always look forward to seeing my family in London, come to Spain. We made these friends through my late especially my mother. She’s a lively 86–year–old who tries to get father, who traveled with us and struck up conversaa little golf in whenever she can! She taught me to reject prejudice, tions wherever he went. Those friends introduced us to embrace acceptance, and treat everyone with fairness, important more friends, and now in Spain, we’re all a big group. lessons in my personal, spiritual, and professional life. I’ve made some dear friends in the States, but I like going home to mom best.

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2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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IN focus

letters from you

finding balance JUST A THOUGHT The inclusion of “Captivating” by John and Stasi Eldredge in the rightNow Media section (May 2015 SAConnects) suggests that this is a Bible study that would be good for women who want to reflect the love of Christ. While there is much that the Eldredges write about that resonates with me, their view of gender is of concern. This particular book/video stands in contrast to a Salvationist’s egalitarian understanding of gender.

I would really like to see our publications offer alternatives to the complementary view of gender that mainstream evangelical culture spews forth.

Blessings on you and your work; we have an amazing heritage in the lives of the women in the Army, both in our history and today.

—MAJOR JOANN SHADE Ashland, Ohio

I am appalled at the cover of the May 2015 SAConnects. With regard to what our uniform stands for as well as to all the directives given over many years regarding proper uniform wearing, this cover is inappropriate. Even a recent directive from our divisional commander has instructed that women officers and soldiers are not to wear slacks with

LIVESTREAM

tunics, a further directive to other directives from the past.

For many years, I have been opposed to actors and actresses wearing Salvation Army uniforms in films and in theatrical productions.

Only born–again and enrolled Salvation Army soldiers and officers should be allowed to put on this uniform that represents our walk with Christ. That’s it! Love, prayers, and hugs!

—MAJOR JOAN E. “SUNSHINE” GULDENSCHUH Asbury Park, N.J

[Regarding the cover of the May 2015 SAConnects] Grabbing a potential reader’s attention and using Army publications to reinforce organizational standards are sometimes competing values. It will be interesting to see if the [Letters to the Editor] forum can develop a robust airing of the matter of how uniform wearing can contribute to, as you put it, “moving our ministry ever forward with more passion and with greater clarity of mission.”

Blessings to you in this wonderful ministry to which you have made important contributions.

—MAJOR DONALD HOSTETLER Divisional Commander Empire State Division

SHARING ART Thank you and the rest of the Communications Department staff for SAConnects magazine. It is terrific! Thanks also for the “Artsy After School” newsbrief you published regarding our new fine arts program in York, Pa. (SAConnects, May 2015). So well done, and a real upper for us, we are eager to share it. To that end, are there extra copies you could send us? I know I could use 3–25, or whatever quantity you can spare.

—MICHELE M. BAKER, PH.D. Director of Advancement York Citadel Corp

MULTICULTURAL CORPS Thank you for your high remarks and kind compliments of our corps (“The Language of God’s Love,” SAConnects, June 2015).

We especially appreciated how you highlighted our focus on the community and on our one–family vision. We want to encourage other corps. We still have much to learn, but we continue to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

I clearly see Commissioner Swanson’s heart on multiethnic ministry. I’m excited to see such resources on your “Finds” page.

SAConnects is a great Salvation Army magazine!

— CAPTAIN STEPHEN & SUJUNG NA Houston International Corps

Thanks for sharing “The Language of God’s Love” article (SAConnects, June 2015). My dream has been to see people of various cultures come together for worship.

In New Rochelle, N.Y., we are also building a multicultural corps with my assistants, Captains Marcia and Oscar Duarte. I will ask all our soldiers to read and discuss the article during a soldiers’ meeting.

After the International Congress, the Captains Duarte and I would like to visit this corps in Houston and learn from their experience.

Keep up the good work and God bless you!

— CAPTAIN DANIEL DIAKANWA Corps Officer New Rochelle, N.Y.

Editor’s note: We’ll use our letters forum to discuss diverse and reasoned points of view with the intent of bringing us closer together and moving our ministry ever forward with more passion and with greater clarity of mission.

SERIES

#SACONNECTS

WITH COMMISSIONERS SWANSON TOPICS: IMPACT 150 & WELCOME to CADETS broadcast starts

Monday, August 17, 2015 11:00 AM EST

Photos by Roblert Mitchell

a Drifter finds Christ

by Robert Mitchell

“I

t’s fantastic when you turn your life over to Christ and stop running on self–will and rely on God’s will,”

says Stanley Jackson, a drug and alcohol abuse counselor for the last 22 years at the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Wilkes–Barre, Pa. A gifted singer, for the last 19 years Jackson has spent many weekends singing baritone lead with the latest version of the Drifters, the famous group known for

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2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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a Drifter finds Christ

Photos by Roblert Mitchell

Photo courtesy of Facebook

hits such as “Up on the Roof,” “Under the garbage cans. My mother and father were both Boardwalk,” and “This Magic Moment.” drug addicts and alcoholics. I made my first “I have sung with a lot of the original detox at birth; I was born addicted to heroin.” members, including Charles Thomas and Those are some of Jackson’s bad numElsbeary Hobbs,” he says. “We carry on the bers. On the good side, “I’m going on 24 legacy of the Drifters.” years of sobriety,” he says, now 63.

Jackson’s office is adorned with photos Born in Harlem, N.Y., Stanley was an from his days with the Drifters and with only child who quit school in 8th grade. another group called “The Intrigues.”

“My grandmother pretty much raised me, “Every day I wake up to help somebody but I spent a lot of my life in the streets with else,” he says. “That’s my goal. Whether it’s the drunks, the pimps, the hustlers, and the a hug, a conversation, a cup of coffee, I do prostitutes,” he says. “I was introduced to Stanley Jackson (r) singing with Elsbeary Hobbs’ Drifters. something for somebody else. That’s my church, but I strayed as I got older.” goal—every day.”

Once upon a time, however, Jackson started his days WILD LIVING thinking about a life of crime.

What followed was a harrowing life of crime and drugs.

When he shares his dramatic testimony, he has a tendency Stanley says he probably shot heroin into his arm every day to rattle off numbers—25 rehabs, 15 detoxes, and 10 years in for 25 years and he needed money to support the habit. state prison.

“I was stealing cars and selling drugs,” Stanley recalls. “I’d “I’ve been shot and stabbed and I overdosed five times,” stay in the same clothes four and five months at a time withJackson says. “I’ve slept in abandoned buildings and eaten out of out washing them. I was all right with that. I was comfortable

Jackson often engages homeless people who live behind the ARC and under a nearby bridge (see page 7).

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un Vagabundo conoce a Cristo with the chaos and the drama. It allowed me to continue to be the insane person I was.”

His violence struck close to home when Stanley took part in the armed robbery of a supermarket. His job was to corral the customers into a back room using a sawed–off, 12–gauge shotgun, but he was in for a big surprise.

“Unbeknownst to me, my grandmother was one of the customers in the supermarket and that’s the last time I was in her presence,” Stanley says. “She didn’t die from what I did, but I was still doing my thing and that’s the last image that she had of me.”

Stanley and his gang got away with the robbery that day.

AN IMPRISONED HEART

“But I went to prison—here,” Jackson says, pointing emotionally to his heart. “I had a lot of guilt, shame, and things going on in my head.”

Eventually, Jackson went to state prison, serving several terms, each for about three years, before his final period, which was for seven years.

“I was an institutionalized individual, so going to jail and going to rehab—I had no problem with that,” he says. “I knew how to function inside of an institution. But I didn’t know how to function outside of one.”

The system finally released Jackson, but not much changed in his chaotic life.

“I still continued my drug addiction,” he says. “I was in and out of relationships and I was homeless.”

Then one day, the “high” was gone.

Jackson explained, “You buy dope and you shoot dope but you don’t get high. You drink but you don’t get drunk. I couldn’t get high anymore. I thought, something is wrong.”

HIS ‘MAGIC MOMENT’

Finally exhausted from the streets and from his lifestyle, Jackson heard about The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Brooklyn, N.Y. “I just made a decision,” Jackson recalls. “I was so beat and tired. I just got sick and tired of being tired and sick. I didn’t know anywhere else to go.

“The Salvation Army accepted me for who I was. I relapsed five times. They never gave up on me.”

Feeling he had to leave New York for a clean break, Jackson went to the Wilkes–Barre, Pa., ARC. “I said, ‘I don’t care what they ask me to do. If they ask me to sweep the snow off the roof or whatever, I am not taking my will back. I’m going to do what I need to do, according to God’s Word.’

“I wanted to get my daughter out of foster care. I wanted to step up and be the man that I was supposed to be and be a

Stanley Jackson es un ejemplo vivo y esperanzador de lo que puede llegar a ser la vida de una persona extraviada que un buen día conoce a Cristo. Hijo de padres drogadictos, Stanley nació adicto a la heroína en Harlem, Nueva York. Criado por su abuela, abandonó la escuela en octavo grado y se entregó por más de dos décadas a una vida de drogadicción, alcoholismo, robo y narcotráfico; lo que le llevó a la cárcel, donde estuvo confinado por varios años.

Tras salir en libertad, su estilo de vida no cambió, pero tocó fondo cuando se percató de que ni las drogas ni el alcohol surtían ningún efecto en él. Buscó ayuda en el ARC del Ejército de Salvación en Brooklyn, Nueva York, donde halló no sólo apoyo sino también aceptación. Pero se propuso dejar la ciudad de Nueva York para distanciarse de su pasado, por lo que optó por mudarse al ARC de WilkesBarre, Pensilvania. Fue ahí donde por primera vez sintió la presencia del Espíritu Santo en su vida. Con el tiempo, Stanley se graduaría del programa del ARC; por lo cual se ha dedicado más de una década a ayudar y a compartir su experiencia con personas que llegan al ARC, tal como él llegó una vez, sin norte y sin esperanza. Gracias a su experiencia, el trabajo de Stanley, tal como él lo concibe, consiste en plantar en esas personas —moralmente exhaustas y desesperanzadas— las semillas de la presencia de Dios en sus vidas. Esas semillas pueden tardar poco o mucho tiempo en germinar, pero cuando al fin lo hacen, esas personas se sienten renacer a una nueva vida en Cristo. Stanley trabaja cada día en el ARC de WilkesBarre para hacer realidad el milagro de la sanidad —que ha experimentado en su propia vida— en otras personas.

Stanley no deja de agradecer todos los días por la gracia de Dios que hace posible ese milagro.

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a Drifter finds Christ

father to my children.”

Then one night, soon after Jackson had arrived in WilkesBarre, his turning point came. As he worked the midnight shift at the ARC’s front desk, and wrote about his children, he says the Holy Spirit paid a visit.

“It’s hard to explain when the Spirit comes over you. I just knew that something came over me. And it was a good thing because it put me in a position to say, ‘OK. This is it. Now is actually the time to do the work.’ ”

“

‘I’M A MIRACLE’

Looking back, Jackson says he would often pray “foxhole prayers” to God to get him out of his latest scrape, but “there was no sincerity.” However, even then, he believes God was drawing near.

“I believe that each time I fell and I struggled, God planted a seed,” he says. “Each and every time I fell, that got me closer to allow those seeds to grow and blossom.

“That’s what we do here at the ARC. We plant seeds.

You can’t help the unwilling. I tell them, ‘If you’re willing, we can help you. If you’re not willing, the only thing we can do is plant a seed.’ We cannot do it alone. You need other people and you need Christ. Every time I tried to do it on my own, it never worked out. I tried everything under the sun and nothing worked, until Christ.

NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

Jackson officially graduated from the ARC program in Wilkes-Barre.

“I haven’t picked up a drink or drug since,” he says. “Now, my biggest addiction is bacon and pork chops!”

Today, Jackson counsels many of the men who come into the ARC and he is straightforward in his presentation.

“I share my experience, strength, and hope with them,” he says. “I guide them the best way I can. I give them suggestions. I try to point out things that they can’t see themselves.

“You can’t help the unwilling. I tell them, ‘If you’re willing, we can help you. If you’re not willing, the only thing we can do is plant a seed.’ We cannot do it alone. You need other people and you need Christ. Every time I tried to do it on my own, it never worked out. I tried everything under the sun and nothing worked until Christ.”

Jackson says the men he deals with are “beat, dead, and spiritually bankrupt,” as he once was. He shows them there is “life after death.”

“When you’re caught up in the grips of addiction, you may be physically alive, but you’re spiritually and emotionally dead,” Jackson says. “To get to the point where you don’t have to suffer and live the life of a nomad, you must be brought back to life and have a relationship with Christ. He lets you know that there is life after death, and that’s beautiful.”

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”

—Stanley Jackson

Sometimes seeds take a couple of months or a couple of years, but when they’re ready to take root, God is there to water them. I believe seeds were planted all throughout my life through everything I did for a reason.”

Stanley said he thanks God every day for the grace he has received in his life.

HERE ‘ON PURPOSE’

“I believe I’m here for a purpose,” he says. “Based on how I lived, I should have died. But I believe in God’s grace and mercy. I am a child of God. I’m a miracle.

“I believe God works through people and I believe I’m alive today so he could put me a position to minister to other people.”

Jackson says he still works every day with a sponsor and on his recovery.

“Knowing where I came from, I’m scared to go back there again,” he says. “I know what happens when I use. I become a dangerous person. That scares me. And I want to hold on to God’s blessings.”

During his darkest days, Jackson’s children were placed in foster care, but he has since reconciled with them all and relishes his new life in Christ.

“When I came to Wilkes-Barre, I fully accepted Jesus Christ,” Jackson says. “Everything that is me is Him. That keeps me going each and every day.”

Photos by Roblert Mitchell

Jackson prays with beneficiaries and also takes time to talk.

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generation to

Photo by Ryan Love

FAITH in ACTION

GENERATION Warren L. Maye, Robert Mitchell, and Hugo Bravo contributed to this story

New lieutenants of the Heralds of Grace session are coming to a corps or an ARC near you. Their ministries are expected to positively influence the lives of Salvationists in the USA Eastern Territory and beyond.

We hope this new approach to commissioning weekend coverage will be informative and inspiring. For a complete listing of the Heralds of Grace session and their first appointments, go to SAConnects.org/lieutenants-heralds.

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Many of the 51 newly–commissioned officers represent several generations of Salvationists, marking a rich heritage of soldiers and officers who have contributed to the Army’s legacy in the USA Eastern Territory.

On Friday, June 12 in Hershey, Pa., the cadets received associate degrees in applied science from the College for Officer Training (CFOT). On Saturday morning, a younger generation of future Army ministers honed their skills as musicians, dancers, singers, and dramatists by participating in the Territorial Star Search competition. And at the same time, an older generation of active and retired officers enjoyed reflective session reunions. On Sunday, Commissioner Barry C. Swanson, territorial commander, ordained and commissioned the Heralds of Grace as ministers of the Gospel. Later that day, they received their first appointments amid an exuberant crowd of friends and family.

The continuation of Strikepoint, an initiative to empower Salvationists to think outside the box and to launch new and innovational ministries, featured special guests Willie Richardson and his daughter Sadie from “Duck Dynasty,” the A&E TV network’s hit reality show.

The weekend was also an opportunity to advance “Impact 150,” a campaign to increase the number of cadets next year to 150. Many prospective candidates came forward and were recognized.

In this article, personal testimonies and stunning photos will highlight the stories of a few Heralds of Grace. You’ll enjoy a glimpse into their lives and see how two years of rigorous CFOT training have transformed them.

‘THE TIME IS—NOW!’

Photos by Kajsa Swanson

My grandmother, Senior Soldier Bertha Payne, attends Lieutenant Barri Vasquez Brandon the Hartford (Citadel), Conn., Corps. When I was a child, I would stay at her house every weekend.

On Saturday evenings, we would watch the TV show, “Touched by an Angel.” And then, we would get ready for church. Before going to bed, we recited the Lord’s Prayer. “Ok, repeat it back to me,” she would say.

The next morning, I pressed my hair, put on my stockings, and, of course, my uniform. And then she would take my sister and me to the corps for meetings. By the time I was enrolled as a senior soldier at 14, I had an appreciation for the uniform—including the hat.

When I was 16 at a territorial Star Search event, I accepted God’s call. At that moment, the cheering, the clapping, and the exciting music seemed to go silent. I entered a moment of peace. I thought, Okay, God, I understand. This will be my life. My acceptance was exciting. And that feeling remains with me.

In college, I felt emptiness. I finally called my divisional youth secretary (DYS) and said, “I need something more.” One day, as I was putting on my uniform in front of a mirror, it seemed as if my epaulettes had turned red.

When I told this to my DYS, he said, “That was a vivid vision!” Right then, I accepted my call to officership. I thought, Okay. The time is—now.

In our family, there are so many A SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY other people whom we’ve Lieutenant Taylor Senak embraced as our brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles.

My friends and I used to jokingly call our home “The Senak Inn” because frequently we would meet someone new there who would be living with us for couple of months.

At the time, my parents were divisional youth leaders in Ohio. And during a summer break, we had 15 guys stay at our house.

On my mom’s side, we are fourth–generation Salvationists. My grandparents were avid soldiers. On my father’s side, we are third– generation Salvationists and third–generation officers.

In terms of my officership, I really want that attitude of hospitality that my parents displayed. And I want the people in my corps to be family— brothers and sisters in Christ—and to be treated as such.

This attitude actually goes back to my grandparents. Whenever people discover that I’m related to them, they say, “Your grandparents are great people.”

My passion is in sports ministry and young adult ministry. I want to develop and disciple youth to become outstanding leaders.

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2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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FAITH in ACTION

generation to GENERATION ‘SHOWING THE LOVE’

Lieutenant Nicolas Senak

‘LORD, SURPRISE ME!’

This year, clearly the most dramatic show of surprise and gratitude for a first appointment Lieutenant Carmen Colon came from Lieutenant Carmen Victoria Colon.

When Commissioner Barry C. Swanson, territorial commander, announced, “You are going to have a great time, I know, because you’re going to be the corps officer of the Norwalk, Conn., Corps!” Colon, who had served a summer assignment in Hartford, Conn., put her hands to her head in disbelief. Then she dropped to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and wept.

Cheers from the audience filled the air. The new lieutenants and officers on the platform also applauded her. Friends from the Coatesville, Pa., Corps where she had originally soldiered, as well as friends from Connecticut, stood to their feet.

Commissioner Swanson quipped, “Was it something I said?”

Later, Colon said in an interview with SAConnects that she was ecstatic to be returning to Connecticut. “They captured my heart,” the devoted evangelist said of the people she had met there. “I feel like I’m going home. I asked God to surprise me, and He did!”

One of the first people to give Colon a congratulatory hug was Dee Collier, O.F., a soldier from Hartford and a recipient of the Order of the Founder, the Army’s highest award given to a Salvationist.

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I’m a fourth–generation Salvationist.

My grandfather’s mother was one of the first social workers for The Salvation Army in Cincinnati, Ohio. For 30 years, my grandfather was a local officer at the Cincinnati (Citadel), Ohio, Corps.

And he actually sent 30 young adults to training. My mom was the 30th.

For having guided so many people in preparation for officership, he received the Order of the Founder, the highest award given to a Salvationist.

One day in a history class at the College for Officer Training, Major Kenneth Wilson talked about all the Salvationists who have received this award. My grandfather has that, I thought. When I went home for Christmas vacation, I asked my mom, “Do you have grandpa’s Order of the Founder? I’d really love to see it.”

When I looked at it, I was amazed.

He had died a couple months before I was born. But, through this award, I feel as if I’ve met him, and that I know the influence that he has had on the Army and on my mom.

As an officer, I want to show that same love.

A ‘6 G’ MINISTRY

Photos by Ryan Love

Lieutenants Bramwell & Jana Applin During his remarks, Major Ronald Foreman, principal of the College for Officer Training, said there were 22 first–generation Salvationists in the Heralds of Grace session, as well as 14 second–generation, nine third–generation, four fourth–generation, one fifth–generation, and one sixth–generation Salvationist.

The fifth–generation Salvationist was Valedictorian Lieutenant Jana Applin and the sixth–generation Salvationist happened to be her husband, Bramwell. The Applins are both the children of officers.

“We’ve always known that God called us to The Salvation Army,” Jana said. “We’ve grown up in it and it’s part of who we are. We had a calling to serve and to love people and to follow God. “It’s just a blessing to know that, for so many generations, God has worked in our lives and in the lives of our families.”

Jana said she and Bramwell heard the call

to officership individually.

Bramwell said, “A lot of times, as officers’ kids, you wonder if your calling is your own or if it’s just the only thing you’ve ever known. But, God [revealed] our calling to each of us. And it has really been a blessing to know that we’re continuing the legacy of The Salvation Army.”

Bramwell said that legacy is often on his mind. He thinks about all the lives that have been touched by his Salvationist ancestors.

“It’s a lot to live up to,” he said. “Much prayer goes into it. With God’s help, I hope to make a fraction of the impact made by the Salvationists who have preceded me.”

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2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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generation to GENERATION

Photo by Kajsa Swanson

FAITH in ACTION

‘TIME TO SHINE!’

Photos by Ryan Love

Praise & Prayer Gatherings

Friday evening’s Praise & Prayer Gathering included many contemporary praise songs. The platform musicians and singers, as well as a spirit–filled audience, transformed the Great American Hall at Hershey Lodge into a worshipful sanctuary.

Among other musicians and singers, the Praise Band included song leaders Doug Berry, Lieutenant Emeline Watch, Simon Morton, Anna Street, Captain Lorena Castillo, Kip Moore, John Copeland, and Tony Cenname.

Brittany Parks of the Territorial Youth Department helped facilitate the “Worship Wall,” where people were invited to write prayers to the Lord or artfully draw what He has placed on their heart.

“We just wanted to create an atmosphere where people could freely worship in their own way. It was pretty beautiful,” she said.

Simon Morton, who attends the Queens, N.Y., (Temple) Corps, spoke to the audience and explained how, at a church in Spain, he saw a display of small chains that represented how people were no longer in bondage to sin.

During Morton’s appeal for people to come and pray, he said, “Don’t leave until you’ve hung ‘your chain’ on the [Worship Wall].”

Saturday night’s Praise & Prayer meeting, called “Let It Shine!” included several musical performances by Star Search participants, and vocal selections from the Eastern Territorial Songsters (ETS), marking 10 years of ETS ministry.

In keeping with the theme, Commissioner Rosalie Peddle, Zonal Secretary for Women’s Ministries, recalled how, as a young woman engaged in evangelistic outreach, she went down into a pitch–dark mine. For several hours she relished the idea of returning to the light.

“Christ is calling all of us to be great lights in a very dark world,” she said.

“Jesus is calling all of us to be Heralds of Grace. It’s time to shine!”

STAR SEARCH

As many as 1,100 young people participated in Star Search 2015, representing hours of practice, hard work, and prayer.

FAITH in ACTION

generation to GENERATION

D.U.C.K.

They entered Saturday’s “Strikepoint” session to the strains of “We Are Family,” a 1970s song made popular by Sister Sledge.

The “Generation to Generation” event included T–shirt guns and games and a talk based on the acronym “D.U.C.K.” (D=Depend on God, U=United in Love, C=Continue to Share, and K=Know You Belong). That’s because the special guests were Willie Robertson and his daughter Sadie Robertson from the A&E TV Network’s popular reality show, “Duck Dynasty.”

During a Q & A, an interviewer asked Willie about how he passes his faith in God to his children.

“You have to live it out,” he said. “It’s more important how you live than what you say.”

Sadie responded to a question on how she fits in as a young Christian. The audience applauded her when she revealed that when she needed confidence in who she was, she realized that “I needed to be confident in God.” Willie talked about how the show exploded in growth. He compared the family to the persona of John the Baptist, who dressed oddly and may have looked a little funny, but pointed people to Jesus.

He also shared the dramatic testimony of his father, Phil Robertson, who led a wild life but decided to return to his family. In doing so, he had a major impact on the lives of his children and beyond.

“Now, 40 years later, that one decision ended up really affecting millions of people,” Robertson said, referring to their loyal TV audience.

Following the presentation,

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Photos by Ryan Love

Willie and Sadie Robertson

the Robertsons signed autographs and posed for photos.

And, during a short interview with SAConnects, he said he was impressed by The Salvation Army’s “family focus.”

“Families need a lot of help and structure and I’m just glad The Salvation Army is really acknowledging that and helping families at their core,” he said. “[The Army] does so much good work all over the world.

“My testimony is that I believe in Jesus and that’s worked for me,” Robertson said.

Two breakout sessions followed the “Strikepoint” event.

Included were such topics as “Discipleship Within the Family” with Majors James and Sue-Ellen Betts, general secretary and secretary for program for the Greater New York Division; and “Everyday Mission,” led by Envoys James and Vangerl Pegues.

The Pegueses, leaders of the Troy, N.Y., Corps, offered plenty of tips on urban ministry. They also shared their dramatic and heartfelt testimonies.

“When you touch one person, you touch so many,” Envoy Vangerl said. “Then they become the second and the third generation of Salvationists.”

Photo by Ryan Love

“One day, in a conversation between Brittany and me, officership came Lieutenants Brittany & Bryan Bender up. In that moment, we got a sense of clarity,” recalls Lieutenant Bryan Bender. “It’s hard to explain, but I just sensed a peace unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.”

Lieutenant Brittany Bender recalls, “When Bryan brought it up, I knew that it was confirmation from God that He was still calling me to be an officer and that I should put my plans aside to follow His.” Bryan is a fifth–generation Salvationist. Both of his parents and all of his grandparents on both sides of the family were officers. Brittany is a first–generation Salvationist. Her parents laid a foundation for her Christian walk by telling her stories about God. “I was so mesmerized by what they were telling me,” she says.

“And as I grew up, they told me I could do whatever I wanted to do.”

As a teenager attending the Empire State Division’s Youth Councils at Long Point Camp & Retreat Center in Penn Yan, N.Y., Brittany heard the call to officership. “But, from a little girl, I always said that I wanted to be a teacher. And so, I DELIVERING ‘GOOD NEWS’ put officership on the back burner.”

Lieutenant Kathryn Mayes Three years ago, a miscarriage brought the Benders to their knees.

Brittany remembers, “we prayed with our officers and got deeper into God’s word.

He got us through those hard times.”

Today, they have a two–year–old daughter and a seven–month–old son.

“I can’t imagine our lives without them,” says Bryan.

God has placed a passion on Brittany’s heart—to offer childcare to moms and dads and to provide a place where they can grow deeper in the Word and in their family.

Photo by Kajsa Swanson

‘THE CONVERSATION’

Lieutenant Kathryn Mayes, a first–generation Salvationist and the representative speaker for the Heralds of Grace session, recalled her first job as a newspaper delivery girl living in Kentucky while soldiering at the Newport, Ky., Corps.

Mayes called on her sessionmates to be as excited about delivering God’s “Good News” to the world as she was to deliver the daily news to her community.

Mayes, a passionate evangelist, as well as an avid athlete in basketball, said, “We are God’s delivery people.

We have news this world needs. A heartbreaking number of people don’t know about this News.”

“This [realization] should set us on fire,” Mayes said. The former Hands On team leader to South Korea repeated, “This must set us on fire!”

Photo by Kajsa Swanson

‘RISE UP, MIGHTY CHURCH!’

On Sunday morning, the tears flowed freely at the Ordination and Commissioning service.

Commissioner Brian Peddle, International Secretary for the Americas & Caribbean Zone, turned to the new lieutenants and asked rhetorically, “Can I say today that you are a living example of God’s continued work in the world?

Can I say to you today that, if there is any evidence that God has not taken His hand off the Army, it is you?

“Rise up mighty church! Let your light shine!” Peddle said. “Onward Christian soldiers, the battle is the Lord’s! The gates of hell will not prevail!”

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the ARC in

PATERSON to Grow, Learn, and Find God

by Hugo Bravo

Photography by Christopher Lane

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the ARC in PATERSON

I

n years past, a 3–story high–rise building in Paterson, N.J., housed massive electrical generators that harnessed the rushing waters of the Passaic River’s Great Falls. It was the source of power for the entire city and beyond. Today, that same building now houses the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC). In its basement, a working generator remains in operation and requires maintenance by the city every year.

As a rehabilitation center, the ARC sources a higher power. Up to 76 men seek alcohol and drug addiction recovery, a basic education, and God’s guidance. The staff’s love, dedication, and drive to help the men who come through their doors equal the power of 10 Great Falls.

couple as their leaders. These men were familiar with disappointment, having come from all corners and walks of life in Paterson, a place burdened with a reputation for being one of New Jersey’s most dangerous cities.

“My husband and I have an open–door policy when it comes to running the ARC,” says Merchant. “We make ourselves available, and remind them that everyone deserves another chance. Recovery is hard to do on your first try. We don’t turn away someone on their 4th or 5th time, because those times might be his time.”

The men are free to use the ARC’s many facilities. These include lounges with TVs, movies and video games, a library room with an illuminated fish tank, and even a 1–chair barber corner where free haircuts are offered. The dining hall has chairs and tables donated from a luxurious cruise ship.

Everyone is required to follow a schedule that involves 40 hours of work therapy a week. In partnership with local churches, the men feed homeless people, cook for children who attend the Salvation Army’s local corps (church’s) summer camp, and hold concerts in the park located across the street from the ARC. The park is named after Lou Costello of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Costello was from Paterson.

The ARC’s good will and charity encourage more beneficiaries to help. “The guys are our best recruiters,” says Merchant. “They foster our relationship with the city, with the churches, and with the local residents.”

‘EVERYONE DESERVES A CHANCE’

Captains Amy A. and Brian L. Merchant, director of program & residential services and ARC administrator, respectively, arrived four years ago after having worked in ARCs in Manhattan, Cleveland, and Connecticut. Immediately, they sensed the attitudes of the beneficiaries and the employees.

“There was an air of uneasiness in everyone’s demeanor, maybe even a drop of hostility, which is understandable,” says Captain Amy Merchant. As the previous officers received new appointments, having only been at the ARC a year, many beneficiaries were resistant to embrace yet another Captains Brian L. Merchant and Amy A. Merchant

“

Retired teacher Joe Singer is the driving force behind the ARC’s Learning Center. Participating in the program gives the men a sense of routine, discipline, and accomplishment—crucial elements on the path to recovery. During class, Singer’s students intently study math problems on computers and hold each other accountable.

The computer software Singer found for his class is from an El Paso, Texas–based Christian company. The Innovative Learning System computer program was originally created to teach homeless people how to read, and its lesson plans are applicable for the center’s curriculum.

We make ourselves available, and remind them that everyone deserves another chance. Recovery is hard to do on your first try.

Photo by Christopher Lane

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THE LEARNING CENTER

”

— Captain Amy A. Merchant

JULY/AUGUST ISSUE 2015

(Clockwise, from top left) A beneficiary gets a free haircut in the ARC lounge, Joe Singer instructs students at the ARC Learning Center, checks their work, and poses with beneficiary Dana Gladden, who is studying to get his GED certification. “A GED opens up doors and gives opportunities to our beneficiaries that you would not believe,” says Captain Amy Merchant.

Photos by Christopher Lane

“I have three filing cabinets with applications from men who have come and taken the program,” Singer says, proudly.

“Any location can set up computers and buy software,” says Merchant. “The challenge is to find someone like Joe, who shows up for every lesson, writes the schedules, sits with students, and helps them. It’s a huge responsibility. And he does it all as a volunteer. The Learning Center is his ministry.”

“The software we use teaches reading, math, typing, and computer literacy,” says Singer. “It can gather information based on the user’s skill level and make it challenging, but never overwhelming. It works for someone who can’t read just as well as it does for someone trying to get his GED. Other beneficiaries are even taking vocabulary courses at college level because that’s what challenges them.

“Also, the program is mission–based. It teaches through Scripture. One of my favorite things to see is a man using the reading comprehension program, and he’s reading the book of John while doing so. That’s powerful.”

But before the Learning Center was blessed with computers and software, Joe used the Word of God. “When a gentleman came in who couldn’t read at all, I sat down with him and started with the Bible. The first four words of the Bible are ‘In the beginning, God.’ We began there.”

Students have learned to read, have taken pre–GED courses, and have received their GEDs. Next for Singer is teaching the men to use job search engines, and obtaining more computers to accommodate the growing classes.

‘HE LED THEM TO US’

The men are also encouraged to find a church. Early on Sundays, the ARC holds services in a chapel at the building.

The close proximity allows the men time to worship at the ARC, and then attend services at a church of their choosing.

The corps is only a short drive away and offers transportation for anyone needing it.

“Sometimes, we get a person who may not want anything to do with God,” says Merchant. “He feels God has left him, or worse, was never there at all. He thinks, He can’t possibly love me, because He put this life on me. We tell such a person that God has been with him through every difficulty. And the proof is that He led him to us.”

“It’s such a joy to see our beneficiaries give back to the community, or to hear a grown man reading for the first time,“ says Merchant. “We make our men feel comfortable.

We believe that they can all grow, learn, and find God. No one who walks out of an ARC should ever feel less of a person than they did walking in.”

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2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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FAITH in ACTION

through the

fire

by Robert Mitchell

“Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.” —PROVERBS 30:5

(above) Captain Jessica Irwin surveys the damage.

The Captains Irwin outside their former home.

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Photos by Roblert Mitchell

Captain David Irwin finds his family Bible among the remains.

Milford, MA—A Saturday night before Easter at the home of Captains David and Jessica Irwin will live forever in their memories.

The family had gone out to dinner and a movie. After they returned home, David drove to the corps for some last–minute business. Jessica went downstairs to attend to the family’s sick dog.

Three of the couple’s children went upstairs to sleep, except for son Tyler, who was home from college. He was also upstairs, but busy doing his homework.

Then, just after midnight, the fire alarm went off. Tyler alerted everyone and moved quickly to get the family out. The home filled with smoke.

Before leaving the church, David called home to see if anyone needed anything. That’s when Jessica told him how Tyler was yelling for everyone to leave the house.

“I sped home as quick as I could and got there in four minutes,” David recalls.

“The fire was already upstairs. Within 15 minutes, all exits were blocked.”

Jessica remembers, “Every once in a while, you could hear the glass shattering or you could just smell what was burning.

You knew it was your home that was going, but everybody was with us and we were safe. That was the most important part. Soon, the house was gone.”

FATEFUL NIGHT “Had we all been asleep, I think it would have been a different outcome,” says David.

Jessica added, “There were a lot of things that didn’t always happen that happened that night in a way that meant everyone was safe.”

Normally on a Saturday, the family would have been in bed by midnight in anticipation of attending church the next day.

By 6 a.m., David had hired a company to board up their home. He and daughter Abby then headed to church,

where Major David Davis, the divisional commander, preached.

“The service was definitely a blessing and I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else,” Irwin says. “I just felt we needed to give God thanks for protecting us in the way He did.

“Very quickly, we realized there’s a difference between life and possessions. Possessions are temporary, but you can’t replace your loved ones.”

NEIGHBORS HELP While The Salvation Army is usually the one helping victims of a fire or some other disaster, this time, the opposite was true.

“Immediately the community started reaching out,” Irwin says. “It hasn’t stopped. They’ve been very loving to our whole family and wanting to make sure that we’re okay and we have what we need.

“When the tables are turned, it is very overwhelming and humbling that the community would rally together and help us in that way. We’ve been told that they’ve seen us so many times helping others that they want to help us through all of this.”

The Irwins said the community has even helped their children replace sports equipment and musical instruments.

David said Abby lost her prom dress in the fire, but handled her loss with aplomb.

“She had just bought her prom dress the day of the fire and it was sitting close to where the fire originated,” David says. “It never fazed her.”

She was able to get a prom dress through the high school’s “Cinderella’s Closet” program of donated dresses.

While living in a local Holiday Inn, the Irwins have soldiered on as they look for more permanent housing. Their children have gone to school and the Irwins have arrived at the corps each morning, upheld by prayer.

MIRACULOUS FIND The fire, which was electrical in nature,

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started under a downstairs desk and caused an estimated $300,000 in damage.

“We have been able to rescue a couple of things, but for the most part, everything is gone,” David says.

When David returned to the house for the first time since the fire, he made an amazing discovery. In a curio cabinet—a few feet from where the fire started—David found his family Bible.

“When I walked through the house, everything was black—except that Bible,” he says. “The cover was still white. Nothing else was white in the building. It gave me chills.

“I know that Bible was sitting there to give me comfort that God watched over my family. It just convinced me and assured me that God is always present.

That’s the family Bible I grew up with.

While everything else was taken and burnt in the fire, God’s Word wasn’t. We were moved by that.”

GIVING THANKS The Irwins lost many mementos in the fire, including family photos and love letters written in the 1950s by David’s father to his mother, but the Irwins remain amazingly upbeat. The family is used to overcoming tragedy; David lost his parents and a sibling in recent years.

“We recognize that we do not have anything, but we have everything in the fact that our family is together,” Jessica says. “We do not have a home, but we are not homeless.”

David adds, “It’s hard to feel angry when you feel so blessed. We could sit here and gripe about all of the things we don’t have. We lost a lot of wonderful things, a lot of wonderful memories, but I can’t be angry. I still have all that stuff in my heart and in my head.

“How can you be angry when you have a God who loves you so much that He protected you? I must live my life giving thanks if I am to ask other people to live their life like that.”

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THE RICHARDS

TRG JOB: SAL-14-00

CLIENT: Salvation A

AD NAME: Expect Cha

PUB(S): The War Cr

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QUESTION Brenda Tala 214-891-58

N a t i o n a l A d v i s o r y O r g a n i z a t i o n s C o n f e r e n c e 2 0 16 Phoenix, AZ

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POSTCONGRESS OFFERINGS Online coverage of Boundless –The Whole World Redeeming, The Salvation Army’s 150th anniversary international congress, is accessible online at www.boundless2015.org The website incorporates recorded video content as well as posts from a daily blog and from social media provided by SAVN.TV (a ministry of USA Western Territory).

Use the #Boundless2015 hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See and share photos that capture the essence of this incredible event!

wholly living

ON file

‘pure in heart’

by Major Lauren Hodgson

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” —MATTHEW 5:8

Called to be Holy

by Major Young Sung Kim

Our hearts can be full of healthy things, or they can be full of other things. What are the healthy things that can fill our hearts?

If you thought love, hope, kindness, joy, and cheer, you’re right. And there’s a lot more that we can add to this list.

However, what does it look like if those other things, the unhealthy ones, fill our hearts?

Have you ever stepped into the waters along a riverbank or a lakebed? Did you notice what happened as your feet stirred the bed? It got all cloudy and dirty, didn’t it? Before your first step, you could easily see the bottom. But after, there was only murkiness.

What if you took a clear jar and filled it with that cloudy, muddy water? River water is filled with bits of sand, pebbles, dirt, and specks of plant life—a far cry from clean water, wouldn’t you say?

On the other hand, water from your kitchen sink or bottled water from the store is filtered.

Someone has taken all that gross stuff out. We could hold a glass of this water to a shining light and easily see through it. We would consider this water clear, clean, and pure.

When we read the word heart in the Bible, it refers to the spiritual part of you that connects with God rather than that big, strong muscle that beats in your chest. Your spiritual heart symbolizes that place inside you where your thoughts, desires, character, and understanding originate. It’s the place where you feel a sense of purpose for your life.

So what does it mean to be “pure in heart”?

It means having clean thoughts and desires and wanting what God wants in our lives. You can tell if people are pure in heart because, in all things, they have an uncompromising desire to please God. So, the more our hearts are pure, the more we will act, speak, and do what Jesus would do!

It is the Salvationists’ clear understanding that we are God’s people and that we are called to live holy lives. The Call to Holiness is the 10th call of the International Spiritual Life Commission’s 12 Calls for Salvationists, and it declares that

We call Salvationists worldwide to restate and live out the doctrine of holiness in all its dimensions - personal, relational, social, and political—in the context of our cultures and in the idioms of our day while allowing for, and indeed prizing, such diversity of experience and expression as is in accord with the Scriptures.

—Commissioner Robert Street, Called to Be God’s People Salvationists firmly believe that holiness is an essential aspect of God’s nature. “There was no holiness apart from God. People or things only became holy when they participated in the life of God,” writes Commissioner Street.

Salvationists agree that holiness is God’s desire and command to His people. “For this Christ died, for this Christ rose again, for this the Spirit was given. We therefore determine to claim as God’s gracious gift that holiness which is ours in Christ,” writes Street.

As a key biblical definition, Salvationists understand that “holiness is Christ–likeness.” The essential way of being Christ–like is to live out His great commandment to all God’s children: to love God with all one’s heart and one’s neighbor as oneself (Matt. 22:37–40). This affirmation leads us to confess, “at times we have failed to realize the practical consequences of the call to holiness within our relationships, within our communities and within our Movement.” This earnest confession reaffirms a crucial lesson for the church that a system, program, or regulation does not make us be holy! It requires an intentional resolve “to make every effort to embrace holiness of life, knowing that this is only possible by means of the power of the Holy Spirit producing his fruit in us,” writes Street.

Following God’s call to holiness, Salvationists boldly declare our 10th doctrine, which speaks to “the very heart of Salvationism,” Street writes.

“We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be ‘wholly sanctified,’ and that their ‘whole spirit and soul and body’ may ‘be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’” (1 Thessalonians 5:23. KJV). May God help us to possess an unalloyed passion for holy living and to live it out in His grace!

find us on facebook / estamos en facebook / 페이스북 방문 환영 www.facebook.com/saconnects

—Major Kim is the Territorial Ambassador for Holiness

2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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ON file

unity

The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC) offer men and women the help and support they need to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. In this month’s Unity section, three Army officers share how being a part of the ARC program has enriched their lives, their ministries, and their connection with God.

하나님의 처방전 구세군 재활센터(Adult Rehabilitation Center, 통상 ARC라 불림)에 오시는 대부분의 사람들은 다양한 삶의 기로에서 후회스런 선택이 해산한 고통스럽고 위협적인 부산물들에 대한 해결책으 로 술과 약물에 장기간 의존하면서 생긴 무수한 시행착오가 뒤엉킨 행적들을 갖고 있습니다. 이 런 행적들은 창세기 3장에 기록된 아담과 이브 가 에덴동산을 떠날 때와 같은 참담하고 오갈 데 Photo courtesy of ARC Command Headquarters

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

— GAL. 6:2, NRSV

The Apostle Paul’s advice to the Galatians in Chapter 6:2 is particularly evident in the unique ministry of the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC).

Today, I’m saved and an officer (pastor) because of the healing ministry I received as a beneficiary of the ARC in Mount Vernon, N.Y. While there, Major Richard Kuhl, administrator, and the counselors displayed a Christian passion about their work and a sincere compassion toward me.

However, the most profound healing came through the ministry we, the beneficiaries, brought to each other. In our recovery, I remember helping to build our prayer room, praying for my conversion with a fellow beneficiary, and having conversations that stretched long into the night as we plumbed Scripture for divine reinforcement.

During my brief tenure as an officer, I have been blessed to be in appointments where there were active centers that were well connected to a local corps (church), in Cleveland, Ohio, Providence, R.I., and now in Syracuse, N.Y. Leading Bible studies with the men has kept me grounded. Studying with them has given me a real hunger and thirst for knowledge of Him who died for each of us, and reminded me of the fragility of my salvation and of my recovery.

We are all in recovery from something, a hurt, a harm, or a habit; certainly we all are recovering from the bondage of sin. The ARC ministry reflects the aim of the Founders, William and Catherine Booth, who sought through social service outreach to heal the body so as to save the soul.

I am blessed and honored to be a graduate of the ARC program, and to take joy and pride in being able to share my experience, strength, and hope through Christ.

— Captain John C. Luby

없는 외로운 여정으로 이어집니다. 가족과 친구 와 직장으로 되돌아가지 못하고 어디로 가야 할 지, 무엇을 입고 먹어야 할지, 또 비바람은 어디 서 피해야할지 등의 최소 삶의 문제가 최대 좌절 로 돌변하여 헤매일때 사람들은 최선의 도움을 찾아 구세군 재활센타로 옵니다. 수년 전일입니다. 그는 알콜 중독자로 구세군 재 활 센터에서 생활을 하고 있었읍니다. 그가 다시 돌아 왔을 때 반가운 한편에는 초췌하고 남루한 모습이 그동안 어려웠을 시간의 흔적을 가늠케 하였습니다. 다행히 잘 적응하며 웃음을 보이던 어느 날 그가 갑자기 쓰러져 병원으로 실려 갔습 니다. 이유는 평소에 복용하던 처방약을 임의로 중단하였기 때문입니다. 왜 중단했는지 묻는 제게 그는 이렇게 답했습니다. “사관님, 이제 다 나은 것 같아서 처방약을 그만 먹었습니다.” 당연하게 들릴지 모를 그의 말에서 한 가지 중요한 점이 간과되었음을 알았습니다. 그는 의사의 처방대로 약을 먹었기에 건강해 졌는 데 좀 더 나아졌으니 약을 복용하지 않아도 된다 는 판단의 착오를 범했습니다. 이런 자가 진단으 로 인해 결국 다시 병원 신세를 지게 된 것입니다. 더 나아졌다는 것은 지 속적이고 반복적인 처방 약의 복용이 중요하다는 것을 의미하는데 그는 이 젠 됐어라고 생각했던 것 입니다. 우리의 신앙생활도 이 와 유사점이 있는 것 같 습니다. 몸이 아프면 처 방약을 복용을 하는 것

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처럼 하나님이 주시는 치유와 회복, 죄의 구속으

“Porque tuve hambre, y ustedes me dieron de comer; tuve sed, y me dieron de beber; fui forastero, y me dieron alojamiento; necesité ropa, y me vistieron; estuve enfermo, y me atendieron; estuve en la cárcel, y me visitaron”.

로 부터의 자유 그리고 구원을 향한 열정이 생 활 속에서 믿음을 통해 지속적이며 반복적이어 야 됩니다. 가 진단이나 처방의 신앙은 치료에 필요한 처방 약을 중단하는 것과 같을 수 있습니다. 몸이 아프면 처방약을 먹듯이 삶이 앓으면 믿음 이라는 약이 필요합니다. 술과 약물 중독으로 인 해 삶을 몹시 앓는 사람들이 하나님을 믿음으로 죄의 습관과 성품을 극복하고 건강한 사고와 긍 정적인 삶의 자세를 배우며 그 실천이 매일 반복 되어 결과적으로 가정이 회복되고 속죄와 용서 가 경험되며 구원의 하나님을 체험되도록 준비 하는 것이 구세군 재활센타의 사명입니다. 그래 서 부질없는 취담이 삶의 진담으로 변모하고 구 원을 향한 주담으로 성화하여 하나님의 영광과 은혜가 증거되는 곳입니다. 모든 삶의 앓이는 의사의 처방이 아닌 하나님의 처방이 필요합니다. 어떤 익숙한 경험이나 상황 또는 감정에 좌우되는 신앙의 자가진단이 아닌 지속적이며 의도적인 부단한 믿음의 노력이 곧 매일 실천해야하는 처방전입니다. 구세군 재활센 타는 바로 이를 위한 육체적 정신적 그리고 영적 훈련장과도 같습니다. 그래서 고린도후서 5:17절 에 기록된 쉽게 기대하지 못했던 새로운 피조물 이 태어나는 곳입니다.

— 오늘 믿음의 처방약은 드셨습니까?

Photo courtesy of Captain Mike Lee

이용준 정위(구세군 Mount Vernon ARC 원장)

En las palabras de William Booth: “Mientras sigan llenándose las prisiones, una y otra vez, lucharé”. He tenido el privilegio, junto a mi esposo, de trabajar con el programa de rehabilitación del Ejército de Salvación para hombres y mujeres adultas conocido como el “ARC”. Este ministerio es conocido mayormente por las tiendas de artículos donados y por los camiones que recogen las donaciones. El propósito de este ministerio es ayudar a los hombres y a las mujeres a romper las cadenas de adicción y destrucción por medio de un programa intensivo por seis o hasta doce meses en que intentan cambiar su comportamiento.

Sin embargo, este propósito es ignorado o hasta desconocido. Las tiendas de artículos donados proveen el financiamiento para el ministerio. Sin donaciones el ministerio no existiría.

Una aproximación de ochocientas personas pasan por nuestro programa al año.

En el tiempo que pasan con nosotros les enseñamos acerca del amor de Dios y su poder regenerador. También les enseñamos a cambiar su comportamiento y acerca de los efectos que causa la adicción en su mente, cuerpo y alma. Les enseñamos principios de humildad, respeto y obediencia. Algunos permiten que el poder de Dios los transforme, pero otros no.

El Señor me ha mostrado que mientras están con nosotros experimentan un efecto dominó de bendiciones. La primera bendición es personal. Cuando están con nosotros están en un ambiente limpio y seguro. La segunda bendición es familiar. Los familiares del adicto saben dónde se encuentra y por tanto pueden estar tranquilos. La tercera bendición es en relación a la comunidad. El tiempo que pasa un adicto en nuestros centros evita que se expongan ellos, y otros, a los peligros que enfrentan a diario cuando intentan conseguir drogas. La cuarta bendición parte del efecto la reciben cuando completan el programa y regresan a la comunidad para ser miembros productivos. Ya no representan un peligro para sus familias ni para la sociedad.

Dios nos dio una misión y una visión para este ministerio. Mi petición a Dios es que podamos continuar sirviendo a los marginados como Jesús nos instruyó.

“Les aseguro que todo lo que hicieron por uno de mis hermanos, aun por el más pequeño, lo hicieron por mí.”

find us on facebook / estamos en facebook / 페이스북 방문 환영 www.facebook.com/saconnects

Photo courtesy of Major Carmen Diaz

—MATEO 25:35-36.

이만하면 됐어 또는 할 만큼 했어 라는 식의 자

— Mayora Carmen Diaz

2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

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great moments (Left to Right) Photos courtesy the ARC; the Territorial Heritage Museum

ON file

The pictures above are worth a thousand words. The words below capture a vivid picture. In it you’ll see the origin, the purpose, and the process that brought the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers ministry to where it is today. Enjoy.

SOMEBODY’S BROTHER

A History of The Salvation Army Men’s Social Service Department, 1891–1985*

by E.H. McKinley

Somebody’s Brother! O who then will dare To throw out the lifeline, his peril to share?

Of those homeless transient alcoholics who, over the years, have resolved to allow the process of their own dissolution to proceed no further, who gathered their flagging and intermittent courage for one last active escape, one occasionally found himself, a few days after setting out on that desperate resolve, in surprising circumstances. Not, as he might have pictured himself, drowned or hanged or crushed, but alive, sober, and perched on the seat of a spring–mounted delivery wagon behind an elderly horse whose appearance, no less than the driver’s, drew pitying glances from kindly passersby.

A familiar sight: a dark green wagon, a patient old horse, and a client from the Salvation Army Industrial Home. ”Client”—what hope, what a force to blow upon the feeble but still living embers of manhood is contained in that

word—a client! A person, an object of care, official and personal, an agent capable of self–improvement—a client!

— a bum no longer, nor so soon to be a corpse as the man himself originally imagined — a Man, a Brother to Somebody, somewhere, at last.

Decades will pass, and this scenario, acted out against an infinitely variable background, will be repeated a dozen, a hundred, 10,000 times. The wagons will give way, slowly, after 40 years, to motor trucks, green, black, blue, then mostly red. Kitchens, dormitories, chapels, shops, warehouses, and stores will proliferate. The story will remain, in its basic elements, the same.

In June 1984, the Eastern Territory held a great Congress, one of those exuberant, overcrowded happy affairs, punctuated by brass bands, slideshows, stirring

addresses, parades, and altar services so uniquely appealing to Salvationists. One of the large public sessions, on Saturday, June 9, was called ”A Celebration of Hope,” and as part of that, all too appropriately, the “Center Singers,” made up of men from many different adult rehabilitation centers in the East, sang twice; the first song was ”Oh Happy Day, When Jesus Took My Sins Away,” and the second was “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart.”

When they had finished, there was thunderous, heartfelt applause, an avalanche of hallelujahs and cheers that were as much for the men as for their performance—and affirmation from every cheering, flag–waving Salvationist in the great auditorium that the Center Singers and all the men like them in all the centers in the territory, and in the country, were somebody’s brother after all.

* Somebody’s Brother: A History of the Salvation Army Men’s Social Service Department, 1891 —1985, was published in 1986

by The Salvation Army as Volume 21 of a series entitled “Studies in American Religion.”

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testimony

to

dance again

I am an independent person who loves to dance. I love to help at the church. I admit, I have a slight obsession with cleaning. But who doesn’t like a clean church?

So, when doctors diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis, such news was difficult to accept. In just a year, my body drastically deteriorated. I had trouble keeping my balance and I stumbled often. I also developed double vision.

‘

One day while praying in church, I asked God, “Please heal me.” I said, “I so much want to dance again!” I told Him how much I wanted to turn my body without struggling to keep my balance.

Then I heard Him answer me, “I will not heal you.” I began to weep. Then He also said, “But I will help you dance again.

Every movement you make, you will make because of My strength, not just your own. Every step and every turn you take,

ON file

by Soldier Lavynia Galarza

be major tests, minor problems, or simply the Lord putting our feet to the fire to cleanse us.

Even in my most painful moments, I felt His divine presence.

All we need to do is look for the areas in life where we want to improve, close our eyes, and open our hearts to God’s help.

Trust that He is there waiting for you with open arms.

Then I heard Him answer me, “I will not heal you.” I began to weep. Then He also said, “But I will help you dance again.”

’

it will be Me giving you the power to do it.

Try it. Believe in Me, and see.”

So I did. In faith, I spoke with the director of a local dance team. I explained who I was, how my condition affected me, and, most of all, what God had said to me.

For six months now, I have been part of a dance ministry called ‘Yafuil’, based out of my church, ‘El Tabernáculo’ in Clarksville, TN. I have participated in three group and two individual performances, which have demanded of me plenty of quick turns and steps. As He said, I tried it, believed in Him, and I saw.

In life, there are many obstacles in the path God has set for us. They can

find us on facebook / estamos en facebook / 페이스북 방문 환영 www.facebook.com/saconnects

Photo courtesy of Lavynia Galarza

My right hand and head constantly trembled so much, it made me look and feel like a “bobble head” doll.

Inside my head, my brain’s neurons were quickly losing myelin, a substance that covered them. And as it slips away, my neurons gradually send an increasing number of wrong messages to the rest of my body.

I was unable to help in the church as I always had done. I had to learn to depend on other people and give up my slight obsession with cleaning. And the most painful concession for me was giving up what I loved to do, which was dance. Losing my independence was difficult. On many days, I cried.

Soldier Lavynia Galarza in her dance performance uniform.

2015 JULY/AUGUST ISSUE

31

finds

a new songbook for today’s Salvation Army Almost 30 years after the last Salvation Army songbook was published, a new “user–friendly” edition is being released in the Army’s 150th year.

The Song Book of The Salvation Army, which launches on July 2 (Founders’ Day) at the Boundless international congress, is intended to meet the needs of contemporary Salvation Army worship around the world.

“Music has always played an enormous role in the worship of God’s people,” General André Cox says. “It touches the soul in a unique way and can lift and inspire. God has gifted The Salvation Army with great poets who have a unique ability to express in words some of our deepest emotions, desires, devotion, and love for God, which many

of us would struggle to do without their special talents. As well, The Song Book of The Salvation Army is a repository containing much of our doctrinal teaching, making it an essential tool for the development of our faith.”

Recognizing that the Army song book is no longer so widely used in some places, the General says “There is nothing wrong with using modern and new songs, but equally there is no reason to neglect the richness of what we have. It is sad when we no longer know or use some of our great songs that are taken up by other denominations. I think in a world of shifting values, our songbook is more than relevant in reaffirming our beliefs and nurturing our faith.”

Salvation Army songbooks have tended to be updated around every 25 years. The vision for the latest edition came from General Shaw Clifton, who convened a Song Book Council in 2009, a year before his retirement as the Army’s international leader.

“Our songbook

by Major Christina Tyson

has come to mean a great deal to me through the years as a spiritual help and source of inspiration,” says Retired General Clifton. “I spoke with my predecessor [General John Larsson] before taking office and he agreed a new book was needed. I also discussed it at length with my closest and most senior advisers, and then sought feedback from throughout the Army world.”

Although the use of large screens to display congregational songs has changed the way the English language Song Book of The Salvation Army is used, the feedback received by International Headquarters was that this technology should not deprive The Salvation Army of a printed songbook.

For those counting the cost of upgrading to the new songbook, General Cox recommends it as a worthwhile investment. “Many people spend the equivalent cost of a songbook for a decent meal out, or for other forms of entertainment,” he says. “My parents purchased a copy of the 1986 songbook when I was a young officer serving in Zimbabwe. That copy has been with me for almost 30 years now and the pages are well turned, so I guess that was good value for money!

And it certainly has been with me through some personally difficult times.”

To purchase the Song Book please contact the Trade Department saconnects.org/trade–e–catalog (888) 488–4882 use.trade@use.salvationarmy.org

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Watch for information on all available products and pricing.

TRADE FOR HOPE

@othersusa Others USA

Each purchase of an Others product contributes directly to the financial well–being of a woman, her family, and her community. If you are interested in making Others a part of your ministry, please contact April Foster, Others Director, at April.Foster@use.salvationarmy.org.

usa.tradeforhope.com

Donate Goods

Shattered Dreams?

Lost Your Way?

Your Clothing is URGENTLY needed.

o

od

s  Rec

l

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ec

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yc l i ng

im



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Alcohol, drugs and other issues shouldn’t determine your direction.

a

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For furniture and items requiring special handling, call 1-800-SA-TRUCK.

nce 1865

To find real help and hope, contact The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center. We provide residential programs for adults who seek purpose, meaning and solutions.

 SM

Learn more at SATRUCK.ORG or call 800-SA-TRUCK

When I Heard About Gift Annuities, I Thought....

“

There’s No Better Way to Give to The Salvation Army!

- Nancy Dill, Salvation Army Donor

“

We Couldn’t Agree With You More, Nancy.

The Salvation Army is excited to have a giving opportunity that furthers our mission AND benefits our dedicated and generous donor friends and members. Our work could not reach all those who need our ministry and services if it weren’t for “the army” of support we have.

Our Gift Annuity can provide:

4Fixed Payments for Life

4A Charitable Deduction

4A Solid Rate of Return Based on Age*

4Peace of Mind & Accomplishment

CALL (845) 620-7297 and find out the rate for your age.

It is an honor to have the trust of Salvation Army Gift Annuity donors, like Ms. Dill, and it gives us great satisfaction to know they are pleased with the way this gift opportunity meets their needs for income and for putting their money where their values will be reinforced for generations in the future. * e.g., at age 75 the payment rate is 5.8% and at age 85 the rate is 7.8%

For further information, please contact: The Salvation Army, Department of Special Gifts 440 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, NY 10994 (845) 620-7297

15PG4SA107