All The World (October 2011)

THE GENERAL – on opening doors Honest answers in HOME & AWAY EAST AFRICA – dealing with drought SPORTS MINISTRY – togetherness

This is The Salvation Army – every picture tells a story

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2011

VOL 49 NO 4

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION RESULTS REVEALED INSIDE

C O U N T RY O R T H E M E

CONTENTS

OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2011

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Visit ALL THE WORLD at: www.salvationarmy.org/alltheworld

03

UPFRONT From the Editor

04

FROM THE TOP Thoughts from the General

06

HOME AND AWAY Reflections from here and there

08

DEVELOPMENT Community questions

10

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION Results revealed

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EMERGENCY Dealing with drought in East Africa

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SPORTS MINISTRY Building relationships

20

WOMEN PREACHERS From the 1800s to today

22

SNAPSHOTS News from around the world

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Every picture tells the same story Kevin Sims, editor

population and back in the UK, where the Army was born, the strongest public perceptions are probably of its brass bands – especially around Christmas!

THE All the World Photographic Competition 2011 reinforced some things I already suspected.

First is that photographers want to get their work seen by as many people as possible! Many of the entries came accompanied by a word of thanks for the opportunity to take part. For most people the prizes we offered appeared irrelevant – the chief interest seemed to be in getting their photos to a wider audience.

None of these ‘versions’ of The Salvation Army is wrong. But, on the flipside, there is so much more to the Army in all these places, and in the rest of the world, than many people realise.

Second, there are a lot of very talented, creative people linked to The Salvation Army. There were so many excellent photos entered into the competition, many of which I felt genuinely sad to have to put to one side during the judging process.

Third, The Salvation Army is an organisation of remarkable variety!

We were sent photos of brass bands, songbooks and laughing officers; thrift stores, worship meetings and guitarstrumming musicians; marches, open-air meetings and a bus in the mist; waving flags, shaking tambourines and a dog wearing a bonnet!

The remarkable thing with this huge variety is that each photo really does represent The Salvation Army in some form or another.

As someone whose job is to communicate information about The Salvation Army, the huge variety demonstrated in the competition brings both opportunities and difficulties.

In Norway, for instance, The Salvation Army has a high profile with the public, especially through its annual TV fundraising day. Similarly, in the USA the

UPFRONT

FroM The ediTor

‘The Salvation Army is an organisation of remarkable variety!’

Army is ‘America’s Favorite Charity’ and is well known and respected for its emergency response work, its provision for the poor and its rehabilitation programmes.

In parts of Africa The Salvation Army is probably better known as a church, with the sight of uniformed Salvationists walking to worship familiar to many. In Hong Kong the Army is recognised for its wonderful education facilities and in Australia ‘the Salvos’ are highly esteemed from city centres to the remote outback stations visited by rural chaplains.

In the Indian state of Mizoram The Salvation Army forms a significant proportion of the majority Christian

Which, I suppose, is where All the World comes in. Sometimes All the World reinforces what people already understand about The Salvation Army but I would hope that in this issue, as always, it also opens its readers’ eyes to a Salvation Army with which they may not be familiar – a Salvation Army where sport provides young people with a sense of togetherness and purpose; a Salvation Army where women preachers have been and still are given recognition; a Salvation Army which helps poor communities find their own solutions to problems.

Because despite all the familiarity of flags, uniforms and brass bands, what really ties The Salvation Army together is summed up in its mission statement: ‘Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by love for God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination.’

The more I see of the Army the more I realise that, despite the many different ideas and approaches to its ministry around the world, wherever you meet The Salvation Army the message, mission and – just as importantly – motivation are the same.

ediTor Kevin Sims

FoUnder William Booth

deSiGn And ArTWorK Berni Georges

GenerAL Linda Bond

ediToriAL oFFiCe The Salvation Army international headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street London eC4V 4eh, United Kingdom

ediTor-in-ChieF Lieut-Colonel Laurie robertson

© The General of The Salvation Army 2011

Tel: [44] (0)20 7332 0101; fax: [44] (0)20 7332 8079

Published by Linda Bond, General of The Salvation Army

email: ihQ-alltheworld@salvationarmy.org

Printed in the UK by Lamport Gilbert Printers Ltd

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F R O M T H E T O P

Door

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ECENTLY I visited New York, USA, for the welcome to the Proclaimers of the Resurrection Session of cadets and to launch the American Bible Society’s Freedom Bible. The visit took place around the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In preparation for the messages, I read about the Army’s 2001 ministry at Ground Zero.

The stories were deeply moving. Major George Polarek told about Ron Fazio of Closter, New Jersey. Ron was vice president of a company that had its offices on the 99th floor of Tower Two. When the plane hit Tower One, Ron wisely ordered his employees out of the building. He held the door open until everyone from his company started down the stairs. He followed and all of them made it out safely. Ron Fazio however, remained outside Tower Two helping others. He was last

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F R O M T H E T O P

s r e p e e k ond B a d n Li neral e G y b

seen giving his cell phone to someone else. He was never seen again.

Major Polarek draws a lesson from this for The Salvation Army. He wrote: ‘The work of The Salvation Army is to hold the door open for others. This kind of love never lets up and never plays out. Let’s hold the door for the poor and needy, for people different from ourselves, for opportunity, for peace.’ He concludes: ‘Together we are doorkeepers. Hold the door open!’

I like that image of The Salvation Army. It speaks of inclusion not exclusion. It’s a door of hope, of acceptance, of opportunity. Our mission statement is very clear. Its concluding line states that our mission is ‘to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination’.

Without discrimination. The Army must never be selective, inviting into our corps and centres or moving out to serve only those of certain economic standing, or age, gender, colour or language. We believe that there is diversity in our unity. Our theology is about the ‘whosoever’. To be a credible people we must practise what we preach. All people must be made to feel at home at the Army. And when we move into communities, into their space, there should always be a presence that is gracious, warm, accepting and helpful.

Having been brought up in The Salvation Army, I have seen Salvationists as doorkeepers. In a small corps in Nova Scotia, Canada, the door was opened for me as a young person to learn about Jesus, to get involved in activities that trained me,

developed my skills and welcomed my contribution. It brought me into the larger family of Salvationists and gave me a sense of belonging. The door of opportunity was never shut because I was a child, a girl, or my family was poor. When the Lord called me to officership, the door swung open for ministry in my home territory and into the world. The open door symbolises acceptance, inviting us in; and service, sending us out. This is true of The Salvation Army all around the world.

The prize-winning photographs in this issue of All The World emphasise

this may not be true for us in a physical sense, there is a sacrificial living and giving required to be open to others and to help them realise their potential. Personal prejudices and agendas have to go. The me-first has to die. ‘Others’ become our life‘s purpose, as they were to our Founder, William Booth.

The gospels give us a picture of religious leaders whose protectionist attitudes were just the opposite. They barred people from the Kingdom. Their closed minds and hard hearts robbed people of life with God. As doorkeepers, they kept the door shut and only on their terms could people enter.

In contrast, Jesus described himself not as the doorkeeper but THE DOOR. He said: ‘I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he will be saved,

‘The open door symbolises acceptance, inviting us in; and service, sending us out’ this. Salvationists in celebration; mother and child at home in the Army; young boys enthusiastically engaged in play despite their handicaps; ministry in a time of distress; the joyful abandonment of a young Salvationist – all remind us of the joy, freedom and purpose found when we keep the door open.

It was costly for Ron Fazio to be a doorkeeper. It cost him his life. While The General at her welcome meeting at international headquarters

and will go in and out and find pasture’ (John 10:9 New American Standard Bible). He went on to say: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’ (v10 New International Version). The context of these statements is Jesus’ teaching about his life-giving ministry and the cost involved in THE DOOR being opened. Through his death, the door swung open to LIFE. The Salvation Army flag flies in 124 countries. The ministry throughout the world is awesome. It is varied, practical and others-oriented. We serve, not for self-congratulation, nor for the applause of the public. We serve for Jesus’ sake and in his power and by his grace. Whether it is in a corps, an Army hospital, a school, a community ministry, or whether we are serving the hurting, broken, lonely, dispossessed or lost, we serve as doorkeepers, believing that through Jesus there is LIFE to the full for all.

General Bond is the international leader of The Salvation Army O CT OBE R– DE CE MB ER 2 01 1 | ALL THE WORLD |

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H O M E A N D A W AY

A SERiES lOOkinG AT ThE ThOuGhTS AnD ExpERiEnCES Of pEOplE wORkinG fOR ThE SAlvATiOn ARMy in ThEiR COunTRy Of BiRTh AnD OThERS GivinG SERviCE ABROAD Left: Major howard Webber (in yellow T-shirt) engages in street evangelism

MAJOR HOWARD WEBBER uniTED kinGDOM TERRiTORy wiTh ThE REpuBliC Of iRElAnD

What is your role in The Salvation Army?

Mission partner in Evangelism at territorial headquarters.

What would be your typical day?

There is no typical day. i visit Booth house, one of our hostels for homeless men in london’s east end, one day a week to spend time with the residents. i help corps (churches) with their evangelism and i go on the streets sharing with young people with a non-Salvation Army group. i also write [Editor’s note: the major’s book Meeting Jesus is Christianity magazine’s Book of the year 2011], and i conduct many weekend retreats focused on regaining the burden for the lost we once had.

How did you meet The Salvation Army?

My mother was a Salvationist and took me when i was small.

What is your favourite Bible verse? isaiah 50:10: ‘All of you that honour the lord and obey the words of his servant, the path you walk may be dark indeed, but trust in the lord, rely on your God’ (Good News Bible).

What is your favourite Salvation Army song?

‘O Thou who Camest from Above’.

What particular challenges does The Salvation Army face in the UK? The need to make the main thing the main thing again – reconciling man to God. The Officer’s Covenant states that he/she is ‘to live to win souls and make that the first purpose of my life’. we need to restore confidence in what God himself can do. with all the wonderful work we do in relieving suffering and fighting injustice, if people never come to know Jesus and so spend eternity apart from God, what then?

What do you like most about the UK? The greenery and the beauty of it all and the incredible variety of landscapes in such a small geographical area.

What aspect of another country’s culture/attitudes do you think would be useful in the UK? Many a country has more respect for, and takes far more care of, their elderly than many a family in this country.

If you were appointed General, what would be the first thing you would change?

Mmm, dangerous ... who will be reading this? we need to be totally focused on Jesus – General linda Bond has

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impressed me deeply on that – seeking his heart towards those who do not know him. Seeking them for their own sake, not to build up our numbers or as a means of filling our seats or the gaps in our corps. Our concern should be their salvation and helping them to discover where God would have them be, not trying to force them into a place or service we think would be best, or would improve our situation. Someone once asked me how we got corps to grow. i said that that had never been my concern. As with Acts 2:47, God has always added to our numbers those who are being saved.

If you could choose to work for The Salvation Army anywhere else, where would you choose and why? i used to dream of going to Africa when i was a boy, but came to the conclusion quite some time ago that today there is probably an even greater need for missionaries in the uk.

What skills do you use most in your work? i’ve tried to learn how to meet people just where they are, whether in the street, in prison, in school or in corps, and to adapt my efforts to engage accordingly. i try to identify with the person so they see something of themselves in me. The apostle paul was brilliant at this (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).

What skills do you have that you would like the opportunity to use more?

More of the above and helping others develop them.

How would you like to be remembered?

Two verses of ‘portrait of a Christian’ by Beatrice Clelland sum up my feelings better than any words of mine: To me ’twas not the truth you taught, To you so clear to me so dim.

But when you came to me You brought a sense of him.

And from his light he beckoned me, And from your lips his love is shed, Till I lose sight of you and see The Christ instead.

What’s so special about The Salvation Army? its purpose – ‘The world for Christ!’ – and that sense of belonging to a family wherever one goes.

&

away

Ò MAJOR LEOPOLDO POSADAS is General Secretary for The Salvation Army’s Bangladesh Command. he and his wife, Major Evelyn posadas, moved to Bangladesh from their home country, The philippines, in 2008. They have three sons and one daughter.

What is your role in The Salvation Army?

As general secretary i assist the officer commanding with the efficient oversight and direction of the Army’s work throughout the command.

Do you have a ‘claim to fame’? in one of my appointments as a corps officer (minister) i led Sunday outreach activities on a small island. i had to travel there on a bangca (motorboat). One day, while i was waiting for the other passengers, a boy fell in the water, which was very deep. i have no knowledge of swimming or how to rescue people but i found myself – in my uniform – rescuing the boy! i don’t know if this is a ‘claim to fame’ but people never forgot what i had done!

Above: meeting community members on a visit to Shahargachi; below: Major Posadas (centre) harvests vegetables with men from a village

Do you have a ‘hero of the faith’? yes, my first corps officer, lieut-Colonel Alex urbien, now retired. he is the one who moulded and guided me in my faith, encouraging me and motivating me to become an officer. he is always on my side, praying and supporting me in every appointment.

&AWAY

What is your favourite Bible verse? ‘i have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer i who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which i now live in the flesh i live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20 New King James Version).

What is your favourite Salvation Army song?

‘God’s Soldier Marches as to war’.

What particular challenges does The Salvation Army face in Bangladesh?

Registration of The Salvation Army as a church, the transition of new leadership and the continuity of funding for all the projects and programmes. All this in a country that is 80 per cent Muslim.

What do you miss most about your home country? i miss many things! number one on my list is fellowship with my family members, especially my three grown-up children.

What do you like most about Bangladesh?

The people – they are hard-working and hospitable. Although they have to cope with poverty, unemployment and other social problems they have a fighting spirit to face any challenge. Also, it has been my experience that even people from the Muslim or hindu communities respect The Salvation Army.

&AWAY

How did you meet The Salvation Army? in my village in The philippines, every Sunday afternoon i would see and hear lively singing from children in the company meeting. i became curious to know more about it and i joined in with the singing from outside, gradually moving closer! One of the youth leaders saw me and invited me to attend the Army’s activities.

If you were appointed General, what would be the first thing you would change? i would want to find and remove any forms of discrimination.

If you could choose to work for The Salvation Army anywhere else, where would you choose? i have been in Bangladesh for four years and i would like to stay here. My wife and i have a huge opportunity to work with the people, sharing the love of God and extending the kingdom of God through our spiritual and social programmes and activities.

Of course, if our international leaders felt it was God’s will for us to work somewhere else, we would say yes!

What skills do you use most in your work? i am always with people (officers and staff) – organising, leading, directing and planning. i regularly use my leadership, interpersonal and listening skills.

How would you like to be remembered? for my faithfulness to my calling.

&AWAY

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DEVELOPMENT

THE PHILIPPINES

‘So, what do you need?’ it’s a common question for project workers to ask when they enter a new community. it is often met with a hail of requests for anything from schools to light bulbs. The worker can leave with an overwhelming burden of expectation while the community has not had the opportunity to explore what is really causing its poverty. But there is another way – an altogether better way ...

by Jonathan Hibbert-Hingston

S

ITTING in what I can only describe as a village bandstand in rural Philippines, slowly recovering from a very sweaty walk, I looked at the smiles on people’s faces. Seven of us had walked back down from an isolated village where we had helped three communities plan a project that could change their lives – and we were buzzing!

What was even more exciting for the project officer and me was being able to put our training into action.

My colleague Jo and I had arrived in Manila five days before. We had come to lead a workshop for community workers about tools they could use to build deeper relationships with communities and to support community members as they identified solutions to their challenges.

The workshop was a lot of fun. We spent time looking at Jesus’ attitude to the poor and learned from his example as a leader. We thought about how, as outsiders to the communities we seek to help, we interact with people. We looked at the impact that body language and tone of voice can have on people.

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Digging deep to discover solutions without imposing our own ideas and up the hill, chatting away with obvious ideologies. care and passion about the indigenous Some of the trainees led sessions on communities we were going to meet. tools they had found useful in their The 150 villagers who had come appointments. Major Leanne from from three communities deep in the Taiwan spoke about a ranking tool she jungle were broken into four smaller used to assess which areas needed to be groups: one male and three female. prioritised in order to fulfil a particular Airene suggested a community mission. Airene Lozada from The mapping tool that would allow us to Philippines showed us how to use discover the most important features of ‘problem trees’ to discover the the community to the different groups, underlying causes of observable and which would help us to ask probing problems. We practised using these questions so that everyone could tools so we would be confident understand the weaknesses and applying them in the communities we strengths which might influence work with. a project.

The day the workWithin five minutes of shop finished, Airene starting there was absolute and I flew to Palawan ‘We discussed pandemonium as people Island. By eight o’clock how to ask crowded round large pieces of the next morning we paper to draw their maps. were walking through questions that There was healthy debate coconut palms and will help us dig about where certain features banana groves up to a should be drawn and, quickly, Salvation Army corps deeper into the the group dynamics were (church). Our guide, becoming obvious. Spending heart of the Captain Jun, led us some time with the men’s along the winding path problems’ group, I could see that the

THE PHILIPPINES

elderly dominated. They were keen to talk about their hunting practices, traditional crafts and games that were in decline. With some encouragement, the young men spoke up, talking about the things that were important to them – sports, unemployment and agriculture.

Back in the bandstand after the community meeting I talked with my colleagues about the exercise and we considered how we should proceed.

Previous activities with the community had identified that literacy training and assistance with agricultural equipment would be a suitable way forward. With the information from the mapping we had a clearer idea of the risks and possible negative impacts projects could have on the destruction of the forest as well as the potentially disruptive time demands they could place on families.

From The Philippines I flew to Mongolia with the project officer from The Salvation Army’s Korea Territory – which oversees the work in Mongolia.

We carried out a problem tree analysis with children from a Salvation Army

Above far left: at a rural Filipino village; top: one of the three women’s groups that took part in the community mapping programme; above right: another group works on its community map; above : an example of the outcome; right: children in Mongolia prepare a problem tree

after-school centre. In less than an hour the children had made a tree that articulated the problem of low levels of education and the cycle of poverty this traps them in. The staff were encouraged by the tool and saw opportunities of how they could help families in tackling the problem of low education.

So there we have it. At no point in the use of the mapping and problem tree tools did we ask: ‘What do you need?’

By using a structured tool that allowed members of the community to express themselves without fear of

recrimination from spouses or others, the team gathered more information than from months of large group discussions.

Instead, the community assessed its own situation, articulated its own problems, and by doing so became a partner with The Salvation Army in working towards possible solutions.

Jonathan hibbert-hingston is Community Development Coordinator (Africa) at the international headquarters of The Salvation Army O CT OBE R– DE CE MB ER 2 01 1 | ALL THE WORLD |

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keri Shay, uSA (currently living and working in South korea) keri says: ‘i was brought up in The Salvation Army and have a huge heart for its mission. i studied photography in college and feel called to share God’s people and their stories with the world through pictures. Over the past eight years or so i’ve travelled to various countries photographing different Salvation Army projects. i recently had the incredible opportunity to visit pakistan, where i travelled around the country and photographed different projects such as a mother-and-child programme and outreach programmes to a tent community.’

FIRST PLACE

KeRI SHAy USA – a Salvation Army open-air gathering in pakistan

Matt writes: ‘This photo was taken in pullman, washington, uSA. The subject is my brother Daniel standing in front of the local thrift store. To me this photo embodies the hope the Army brings to those who have none ... and that’s The Salvation Army i know.’

SECOND PLACE

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MATT RyAn Australia – ‘Salvo leaves’

OCT OB ER –D E CEM BE R 2 0 1 1

Results of the photographic competition

2011

i h T

the

s i s

kevin Sims, Editor of All the World, writes:

Army

On behalf of the All the World team, huge thanks to everyone who took part in the 2011 photographic competition. The number and standard of entries was beyond anything we had hoped for. when the competition closed on 18 August we had received an astonishing 370 images from all over the world. it was with great excitement that we began sorting through the photos, deciding which ones clearly fulfilled the brief – reflecting the theme ‘This is the Army’ – while being interesting, aesthetically pleasing and avoiding cliché.

simple objects. for me, it demonstrated as clearly as ever the breadth of The Salvation Army – and yet it was striking that there was little that would be unfamiliar to most of the 1.5 million-plus people for whom The Salvation Army is their place of worship.

Some unexpected aspects also emerged. i wasn’t expecting many old photos, for instance, but there were several images that showed The Salvation Army from a number of years ago. Also interesting was the number of people from the developed world whose entries were of The Salvation Army in Africa or South Asia.

All that remains is to announce the prize-winners!

Some of the photos we decided against, for instance, were powerful images but only fulfilled the theme when accompanied by a full explanation.

The standard was incredibly high. After working with All the World designer Berni Georges to whittle down the images into a shortlist we were still faced with 70 photos, any of which would have made an excellent winner. A more ruthless cutting session led to a ‘shorterlist’ of nine before the really difficult decisions began. for the final decision we called in extra help in the form of lieut-Colonel laurie Robertson (Editor-in-Chief and Communications Secretary, international headquarters), Mark Read (artist and former teacher) and Jooles Tostevin (Designer, The Officer). Between us we came up with unanimous decisions for the winner and second place but we couldn’t choose between three photos for third place – so we awarded a joint third prize.

The incredible variety of content we saw throughout the competition is well reflected in the prize-winners. we were fascinated to see what people thought fulfilled the ‘This is the Army’ theme. Some picked up on music, others on social services, some on worship and others still on people or

In fIRST plAce is a picture of a Salvation Army meeting in pakistan, taken by keri Shay, originally from the uSA. we loved the dynamism in the picture, along with the aspect of the unexpected. Take the Army flag away and it could appear to be something completely different.

SeconD plAce went to ‘Salvo leaves’ by Matt Ryan, now in training to be a Salvation Army officer in Australia – although the picture was taken in the uSA. we really liked the sheer joy in this photo.

In JoInT THIRD were three photos. Robert Cox, from the uSA, sent a great story-telling photo of assistance given to emergency service workers. The black-and-white photo by luke Tearle, from new Zealand, shows a mother and child looking very at home in a Salvation Army hall.

Also third is a wonderful action shot from Matumaini School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, taken by Morag Cordiner, from the uk.

See a selection of competition entries online at: sar.my/photocomp2011

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JOINT THIRD luke Tearle, New Zealand This striking black-and-white photo deserves more than a passing look. The mother and child seem very much at home in the large Salvation Army hall.

Morag cordiner, UK A vibrant action shot from The Salvation Army’s Mantumaini School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Morag explains that the boy on crutches ‘takes off his prosthetic leg to move faster for football’!

Robert cox, USA This photo captures the atmosphere at a fire in Austin, Texas.

The Salvation Army’s presence is subtly picked out.

photographer Ewan Arnolda says: ‘The image is from a glass slide (magic lantern) narrative series entitled “Orange harriet”, produced by the Army in England in the late 1800s. This photo was taken in our heritage centre in Melbourne. i love the old black and white photos/slides. i hope this photo of the slide can be preserved for future generations.’

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PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

This is the Army A selection of the many photos that didn’t quite make the top five but which deserve to be reproduced

1

2 1 christina Schülze, Germany This cute photo brings a smile from everyone who sees it!

2 Ruben Timman, The Netherlands The colours in this photo add interest to an everyday scene 3 eli Silva, USA An unusual angle for this photo of the uSA Southern Territorial Band 4 ewan Arnolda, Australia Something completely different – a photograph of a photographic slide!

3

6

5 George Obondo took this photo of District Education Officer Captain Joseph Biketi at Gakame primary School, Meru District, kenya. George explains: ‘The school is situated in an arid area and life is very difficult for the inhabitants, especially for the children ... water and food scarcity is the norm rather than the exception.’ he concludes: ‘Captain Biketi ... interacted with the children [and] managed to put a smile and hope on their faces.’

5 George obondo, Kenya A photo that captures the warm relationship between schoolchildren and a Salvation Army officer 6 Alexis Marriner, New Zealand A striking version of a Salvation Army shield, taken by 16-year-old Alexis

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D R O U G H T I N A F R I C A

by Damaris Frick According to a united nations report, almost 12.5 million people across the horn of Africa are currently affected by drought. This number is likely to rise as conditions worsen. The Salvation Army cannot help all these people but it is putting in place projects in kenya and uganda that will save lives and alleviate suffering for many of the region’s poorest people.

J

ENNIFER is a widow. She lives in north-east Uganda with her five children and makes a meagre living growing and selling maize. Her field is only half an acre so her profit has always been small. Today, Jennifer would be glad of any profit at all.

For the past few days it had been raining – but the rains came too late. All the fruit withered before it was ready to be harvested. This year there won’t be any maize in her field.

The only other option Jennifer has is to make and sell charcoal. To collect wood for the charcoal she has to walk eight kilometres to the hills, several times. It takes her up to three weeks to produce two bags of charcoal. If she is

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lucky, she can sell it for US$3.50 per bag.

In bad times it might be only $1.50.

That’s the only income she has and she knows that, however hard she works, it won’t be enough to feed her children. The drought makes life very difficult.

The Salvation Army is planning a project that will provide her village and 28 others with emergency food for the coming months. Once the funding has been found, 4,000 households will have food.

Jennifer will still continue to work and she will also make plans for the next season. She will do this in the knowledge that her children will not starve.

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THE

Standing in gap

In another location in Uganda The Salvation Army is assisting health centres that deal with severely malnourished children. Eighty children have died because of malnutrition during the past few months in this district alone. The local government has now partnered with UNICEF and the Kenyan Red Cross to treat the most serious cases in the health centres. They provide therapeutic feeding and keep the children under supervision until they have stabilised.

I visited one of these health centres with other members of the Salvation Army team.

Food issues seemed to be adequately addressed but water, sanitation and bedding are still a major concern. Water has to be collected from quite a distance by the family members of

D R O U G H T I N A F R I C A

opposite page: three young people in Turkana, Kenya, collect water from a Salvation Army bowser; above: the arid landscape of Turkana; far left: Jennifer, a widow from Uganda, with a bag of charcoal; left: a mother feeds her malnourished child at a health centre in Uganda where The Salvation Army is providing assistance

In 2006, when Kenya experienced its previous big drought, one of The Salvation Army’s responses was to buy tractors and bowsers (large containers to transport water). These have now been reactivated and water is distributed to 20 locations each week.

Water is vital for the people and their livestock, and this project will bridge the gap for the coming months. Further involvement in more sustainable water projects is currently being considered, but these require a large amount of funding.

As the result of severe drought and a sharp rise in food prices, many people in Turkana struggle to pay fees for their children to attend secondary school. A large number of children have had to drop out of school.

Primary schools are targeted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in coordination with others but, according to Elizabeth Nabutola, the Head of the WFP’s Turkana office, no agency had any plans to target secondary or high schools.

Elizabeth asked if The Salvation Army could fill this gap. Providing food to the schools would obviously benefit the children, who could be ‘Many of their animals have died or sure of at least one good a day. Also, schools became so sick that they had to be meal w h i c h h av e b e e n put down’ contacted have agreed the little patients. There is hardly enough for drinking, let alone for washing.

The centre had more than 100 children and their mothers or other family members staying there. But there were only about 20 mattresses for all the people. The Salvation Army has provided mattresses and arrangements are being made to assist with water and hygiene items. It will also provide food to three of the villages in this area.

Across the border, Kenya is experiencing similar problems. Turkana, an arid district in the north west, is among the worst-hit areas.

I met three girls who live 30 kilometres from Lodwar, the biggest town in Turkana.

Their beads show that they are married in the traditional Turkana culture. Their families are pastoralists (farmers), looking after little flocks of goats and sheep.

The drought is hard on these people.

Many of their animals have died or became so sick that they had to be put down. Water is a major concern. People have to walk long distances to collect water from small streams in dry river beds or even use the salty water from Lake Turkana.

to waive fees for the next term in exchange for food.

The schools get added benefits in that they will not have to face the difficult decision to exclude children whose parents are unable to pay fees. Plus, resources that have been set aside to purchase food can be freed up to buy school materials.

A similar ‘food for fees’ project was implemented during the drought in 2006

by The Salvation Army in Kenya. This means that there is a high level of experience and also established links to secondary schools.

Funding has now been found, and this is one project that is being put in place quickly but with long-term benefits.

There is still much more to be done.

The Salvation Army will be seeking further funding over the next few years so it can continue to make a significant difference in the lives of people with desperate needs.

Damaris frick is a member of The Salvation Army’s international Emergency Services team, based at international headquarters in london, uk. for more information on The Salvation Army’s drought response in Africa, or to make a donation, go to www.salvationarmy.org or email IHQ-emergency@salvationarmy.org

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VERY Saturday morning I go to my corps (church) at Nunhead in south London, pull some tatty goalposts and tired footballs – soccer-balls in some parts of the world – out onto the little inner-city park in front of our hall, and spend a couple of hours having a kick-about with a group of local teenagers.

While there are books and websites that detail the value of large-scale sports ministry – involving international events, great tournaments and witnessing for Christ to thousands of people – I actually prefer my tatty goalposts and little park.

Laos Christian Football is a youth team that developed two years ago, through the youth church at Nunhead Corps. Kick About is a Saturday morning session where the team meets to play.

In honesty, it began out of frustration. Football is massive in London. Within a 10-mile radius of Nunhead there are 11 Premier League or Championship-level professional teams. Within the Peckham/Nunhead area there are about 20 different youth football teams, as well as school teams.

All this is great but it begs the question – why was I frustrated?

My wife Ellie and I are responsible for Laos Youth Church at Nunhead

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Above: team sports encourage social interaction

Salvation Army. As a part of the church programme we run a youth club.

Among the youth are a couple of young men who live and breathe football. They watch every game and read every match report. When I first got to know them I asked them if they played regularly. (Laos had an adult team in the local Christian league that I played for, but these guys were only 14 so too young to play.)

‘I got banned for bad behaviour,’ the first replied. He had played for a team but, because of breaking several rules, he had been banned, meaning he was unlikely to find a space in another team.

‘I love football, but I’m no good,’ the other responded. He had been for trials, but when he had been rejected he lost confidence.

From this brief conversation stemmed my frustration. From a young age I’d been in teams – school teams, Christian and non-Christian teams for football, and also mountain biking, rugby and hockey. I’d really enjoyed all of it – not just the sport, but being part of a team.

I was frustrated that the two guys at our youth church would not experience this. I also knew that teenagers in the

brilliant. We do play matches (we even won once!), we do have a kit, and we do train every Saturday – but that is where the similarity to my initial ideal ends.

The team spends time playing football but we also spend lots of time laughing (more accurately, they laugh at me, but that’s OK!). We talk through what’s happening at home or at school.

We talk about my beliefs, and theirs; what we share and the things that are important to us.

What I’ve learned is that it’s not really about the sport as much as it’s about relationships. At Kick About we all love football but I cannot say that any of us were made for it. We were all made for relationships.

Over time these footballers have built healthy relationships, supporting and encouraging each other, laughing together and experiencing life in its fullness. And it seems that each week there’s someone new who comes along.

‘It’s not really about the sport as Anyone who believes much as it’s about relationships’ leading sports ministry is about being good at playing sport is a long way

Nunhead area want to feel part of a group. A huge problem for the community is young men satisfying this need by getting involved in gangs.

One of the best things about my wife is her ability to deal with a frustration by coming up with a response! On her suggestion I left our senior team and started a club for these young men. The Salvation Army is called to the poor and marginalised and these young people were the ones that no one else wanted to invest in – the young people who wouldn’t behave, couldn’t play well enough or couldn’t afford to pay club fees.

But what should this team look like?

I imagined a large, consistent and welldisciplined squad, an organised programme of regular training and matches, new equipment and fresh kits.

On reflection my naivety was obvious. Kick About could not be further from this dream, but it is

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from reality. In fact, sports ministry is about pastorally caring – being able to live out God’s word and build good relationships.

It is amazing what God can do – sometimes we forget this. I’m aware of who each of these young people is. I know their family situations and their difficult backgrounds. All this makes it even more remarkable when I see God moving in their lives, especially when they put themselves out to help others.

One Sunday evening I was speaking about the story from Acts chapter 3 of Peter healing a crippled beggar. We talked about doing the things we can do – using what God has given us – and specifically how we can help those in desperate need.

The next Saturday two team members approached me about holding a football fundraiser for the children they had seen in photos Ellie and I had taken in Malawi. Their justification was that although, like Peter, they had no money, they did have football – and if they gave their football in Jesus’ name, they reasoned, it might help.

What they did next staggered me.

They completed the fundraiser – a sixhour non-stop football match – and Below: Mark read (with back to camera) speaks to the young people

raised a significant amount through sponsorship. During the match, when they were tired or it was going badly, they encouraged each other by remembering the children in Malawi. I was amazed at the strength and depth of the relationships they had developed.

People in our world run a risk of becoming increasingly detached from societal groups. While Internet communities grow, genuine and authentic relationships are on the decline. Independence is promoted rather than interdependence; people no longer rely on the network of a family or a community.

But when this trend has run its course what will be left? Interactions are becoming less frequent, and slowly the fabric of our society is fraying at the edges. We are all part of the body of Christ, and if we are not together then the body suffers.

This is where sport can be important.

Most sport is naturally relational.

Sport encourages interaction; in fact team sport relies on it. Communication and teamwork are necessities to enjoying a sport and team-mates learn

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how to become interdependent and part of a community.

One of the most simple and exciting things about Kick About is that it happens outside of our church building.

By being outside of the church it increases the visibility of the church in our community.

Most people recognise church. They have seen some worship, heard parts of the Bible and feel a familiarity with ministry. Sadly, it seems many individuals in Nunhead know just enough to think they do not want to know any more about ‘church’.

If people are not attracted to church by what they recognise already, do we believe that by doing those things louder or bigger or more frequently, or with more proficiency and professionalism, we will change that?

Sport is an international, intercultural language. The common ground provided by sport means that, like the disciples, churches can find other ways

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to get out into the world. Sport provides, at the very minimum, a conversation starter. Beyond that, it supplies a location to cultivate relationships.

These relationships are likely to be deeper and more significant because they have authenticity. They are not forced because of a pastoral circumstance; rather they are grown because of a mutual respect and trust.

In Queen Elizabeth II’s 2010 Christmas speech she spoke of how sport is a powerful way to create harmony and build communities – ‘bringing people together’. As she spoke of people up and down the country meeting in parks of towns and cities, my mind went to our little park and tatty goalposts.

Sporting films tend to take a scrappy outfit like Laos Christian Football and follow it on a predictable journey; eventually winning the big match at the end – this has become engrained in our minds as the success story.

Actually, I’d like to think that in five years Kick About will still be a scrappy outfit. I think it could lose its value if it were anything else. It would stop being for the kids who can’t play anywhere else.

It would stop being so locally orientated and the main focus of a training session might start being to improve as footballers, rather than improving as people.

Relationships are valuable. Relationships rooted and established in God’s love – where the example of Jesus’ life is lived out – are incredibly valuable.

They transform lives. They build communities and they spread the gospel. Kick About is a way for me to build relationships with young people in Nunhead and Peckham.

Young people in our community will participate in sport willingly. By providing an outlet through the church some young people who would not otherwise even meet a Christian can be set on on a journey to meet Christ himself.

Sport can be much more than a hobby. It can be a way to promote living life in all its fullness – in relationship with a community and with God. At the time of writing, Mark Read worked in the programme Resources Department of international headquarters, with responsibility among other things for the Sports Ministry Desk. he and his wife are now in training in the uk to become Salvation Army officers

in August 2011, many parts of london were shaken by riots and acts of vandalism. Many of the disaffected young people at the heart of the riots were from areas like nunhead, peckham and Croydon.

Each year nunhead Salvation Army, with laos youth Congregation, runs a community week. This year it fell the week after the worst of the riots, leading us to have major concerns about how things would go in what was still a potentially volatile situation. what happened was this – each day a group of young people ‘took to the streets’, but in a different way. using various sports, including football, basketball and rounders, our youth church showed the community not to give up on its young people. it used sport to engage with the very people that had been involved in the riots, giving a demonstration of another way to lead their lives.

Sports ministry is usually a longterm, relational ministry, but in these unusual circumstances it became a ministry of reconciliation and healing in our community.

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WOMEN PREACHERS

The publication of Called to Preach – Sermons by Salvationist Women continues a long legacy of preaching

by Salvation Army women. Colonel Margaret hay, who in 2000 won The Times preacher of the year Award – the first woman to do so – writes for All the World about The Salvation Army’s history of women orators

fire

IT’S a ‘fire in the bones’ thing, the tradition of women preaching that Catherine Booth, co-Founder of the Salvation Army, began. The sparks began to fly when, in a letter to Dr David Thomas, a Congregational minister whose sermon had implied women’s inferiority to men, the 21-year-old Catherine wrote: ‘Permit me, my dear sir, to ask whether you have ever made the subject of women’s equality as a being, the matter of calm investigation and thought. If not, I would, with all deference suggest it as a subject well worth the exercise of your brain ...’

The flame flickered in a letter to her husband, William, on his 26th birthday: ‘If God has given her the ability why should not woman persuade the vacillating, instruct and counsel the penitent, and pour out her soul in prayer for the sinners?’

And the fire leapt high in her 1859 pamphlet ‘Female Ministry’, which defended the principle of women’s right to preach the gospel. Finally, principle and practice were joined when – in the north-eastern English town of Gateshead on Pentecost Sunday 1860 – Catherine preached with persuasive power on the text ‘Be filled with the Spirit’.

The burning coal touched Catherine and William’s elder daughter Kate’s lips, too. Witness this striking girl at 17 speaking in 1876 alongside her father at the Christian Mission’s annual conference in Whitechapel, then campaigning to crowds throughout England. At 22 she was storming Paris for God, determined – despite her hesitant French – to use neither notes nor interpreter, and addressing her mocking, mimicking audiences as ‘citizens and comrades’.

The blaze spread over the globe and across generations, firing the spirits of women like Adjutant Florence Birks, assistant officer at Timaru Corps in New Zealand’s far south.

Her Bible message of 17 September 1927 on Jesus’ parable of the great feast, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel, began by ‘briefly outlining world history so far as God’s dealings are 20 | ALL THE WORLD |

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WOMEN PREACHERS

in the Bones concerned’! The lyrical, imaginative power of this gifted orator gathered momentum as, striding the centuries, Florence portrayed the continual refusal of the King’s invitation, finally coming to the Servant’s mission.

‘There is nothing exclusive about the message this time,’ she said. ‘Nothing about going to the next of kin – not to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, this time it is for “Whosoever”. The final appeal is to be broadcasted, not from the Temple, not from the pulpit, but (O wondrous grace of God) from the

gutter! ... And when God goes to the gutter he can go no further!’

So the call went out, renewed in the cottage meeting on the following Tuesday when Florence’s notes show the theme being pursued with the same passion and panache.

In our own times who could be unaware of truth on fire as young women like Canada’s Major Danielle Strickland proclaim God’s righteousness and amazing grace where things are a bit broken.

Access and passion are the

hallmarks of such preaching – access gained by the astonishing Catherine Booth, and passion impelling Army women, both the famous few, and a host of little-known Salvationist sisters who let the Word speak in places where the fight is hard but the victories remarkable.

On our knees we pray for them all, asking for the strengthening of nerve, imagination and knowledge, for the rekindling of the call ‘to proclaim the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’.

And may these sisters have brothers on their journey!

Colonel Margaret hay MBE is a Salvation Army officer living in retirement in her home country of new Zealand. Colonel hay is a contributor to Called to Preach (see advert below)

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Called to PreaCh – Sermons by Salvationist women

Foreword by General Linda Bond Called to Preach – Sermons by Salvationist Women is a collection of sermons penned by women Salvation Army officers from around the world. The writers represent Salvation Army work on six continents and subjects include faith, holiness, prayer and salvation.

The project to gather together the thoughts and words of Salvationist women was originally proposed by former world president of women’s Ministries Commissioner helen Clifton, who was promoted to Glory in June 2011. This collection is dedicated to Commissioner Clifton.

Called to Preach costs £4.95 plus postage: uk £0.65/within the Eu £2.32/rest of the world £3.89 Please send a cheque made out to ‘The Salvation Army’ to: Communications Section, The Salvation Army international headquarters, 101 Queen Victoria Street, London eC4V 4eh, United Kingdom. Be sure to include your name and address and to be clear which item(s) you wish to purchase. Salvation Books publications are also available from territorial trade/supplies departments and on amazon.co.uk, although prices will vary.

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C O U N T RY O R T H E M E

SNAPSHOTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

JAPAN from miracle to practical ABOvE is a photo of international Emergency Services personnel Officer Major Drew Ruthven in Onagawa, Japan, with local man Takahiro Aoyama.

Drew discovered that Takahiro had a miraculous escape when the tsunami struck the town in March 2011.

tower, where he was stuck for a day and a half before being saved.

Today Takahiro is the project consultant overseeing reconstruction work in Onagawa, where The Salvation Army is building a temporary shopping area which will bring employment and boost the local economy.

The photo on the right shows Takahiro (circled) on top of his house, speaking on his mobile phone to his wife, saying he is not expecting to come back. The house floated past a tall building – pictured in the distance behind Takahiro and Drew – and he managed to cling to the top of the

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and so pleased that we could be involved not only with his town’s recovery but also with him.’

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S N A P S H OT S

NORWAY Salvationists offer support at time of public grief

This photo was entered by ole Kristian Valle into the All the World Photographic Competition, where it reached the latter stages. it shows a Salvationist from The Faeroes taking part in an open-air meeting just a few days after the bomb explosion and shooting in norway. The gathering – held just before midnight on 28 July – is part of the Fareoese celebration of Ólavsøka (Saint olaf’s Wake), a national holiday. The 2011 openair meeting and march also recognised the tragedy in norway, with people carrying red roses in commemoration of those who lost their lives.

SAlvATiOniSTS in norway were a comforting presence in the public displays of remembrance for all affected by the bomb and gun attacks that killed almost 80 people in July. The Salvation Army’s leadership in norway asked that, where possible, Salvationists should wear uniform or items of clothing featuring a Salvation Army logo so that members of the public could identify them as people who could offer prayer and words of comfort.

Members of The Salvation Army joined the ‘Rose March’ in Oslo and other cities. The gathering in Oslo, attended by more than 150,000 people, was a time of shared remembrance and grief, with appeals being given for people to show love and to stand together in the face of hurt.

Colonel Jan peder fosen (Chief Secretary, norway, iceland and The faeroes Territory) wrote: ‘Salvationists in their uniforms and others with a Salvation Army logo on have had a great response from people talking to them on the street. we have received phone calls at territorial headquarters from people who simply want to talk over some of the things that have happened.’

One of the most moving stories reported by the colonel comes from The Salvation Army’s harbour light rehabilitation work.

Some of the men being treated through the programme made donations which they put together to buy flowers to place with the ‘ocean’ of tributes outside Oslo Cathedral. Colonel fosen says: ‘They wanted also to show their respect.’

£1.00

INTERNATIONAL HEADqUARTERS Here, there and every prayer GEnERAl linda Bond launched a worldwide prayer initiative from 1 September 2011, calling on Salvationists and friends from around the world to set aside a time from 5am until 8am every Thursday when they will resolve to pray for 30 minutes. The General says: ‘Because The Salvation Army serves in so many different time zones it means that for all, or most, of Thursday the Army is at prayer.’ participants from around the world can sign up through a worldwide prayer Meeting link on the General's website, www.salvationarmy.org/thegeneral. The General will be providing specific prayer topics of an international nature, and everyone who has registered to pray will receive an email with these prayer subjects, which will also be available through the website.

SPECIAL OFFER The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ – An Ecclesiological Statement (in English, Spanish and French)

Salvation Army territories and commands have responded to the initiative, organising their own prayer meetings. international headquarters [in london, uk] prays from 7.30am until 8am. people already at the building gather with the General in the international Chapel, next to her office.

The rest of the staff and officers are encouraged to pray at the same time, wherever they are – at home or on their way to work, in the car or on the bus or train.

The General hopes that soon there will be tens of thousands of people across the world praying together every Thursday. She says to all who take part: ‘As we pray together across the Army world, i know the lord will unite us in a special way as we seek his direction and blessing. Thank you for your partnership in prayer.’

£2.00 The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ Study Guide – English version, Spanish version or French version (Please state which language you require)

Special Offer £1.00 (normally £1.99)

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Plus postage: UK £0.44/ within the EU £1.47/ rest of the world £2.04

Plus postage: UK £0.44/ within the EU £1.47/ rest of the world £2.04

Please send a cheque made out to ‘The Salvation Army’ to: Communications Section, The Salvation Army international headquarters, 101 Queen Victoria Street, London eC4V 4eh, United Kingdom.

Be sure to include your name and address and to be clear which items you wish to purchase.

Salvation Books publications are also available from territorial trade/supplies departments and on amazon.co.uk, although prices will vary.

OCT OBE R– D EC EM BE R 2 0 11 | ALL THE WORLD |

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photographic competition

2011 This photo of a Salvation Army bus in Norway was highly regarded during the judging of the All the World Photographic Competition 2011.

Photographer Kjell H. K. larsen has captured a remarkably atmospheric picture but there is more to this bus than meets the eye.

The writing on the side of the bus and the familiar Red Shield make it clear that it is from the Frelsesarmeen (The Salvation Army) but the other inscription is even more descriptive.

‘Suppe – såpe – frelse’ it says: Soup – soap – salvation.

It’s a familiar phrase, used all over the world to describe

The Salvation Army’s mission, but this bus takes the description literally. For the poor and homeless on the streets of Oslo, the bus offers soup, soap and salvation come rain or shine (or mist!).

At the back of the bus is a feeding kitchen (soup). The middle doors lead to an area where people can take a shower (soap) and the front is a comfortable space where anyone can relax, pray or receive counselling (salvation).

It’s The Salvation Army in a metallic nutshell!