News feature 10 and

Encounter prayer gathering

retired officer who runs a Core Recovery Church in Neath, and Paul Huggins, the chaplain at Charter Row Lifehouse who helps lead the Oasis community, which is rooted in Core Recovery Church principles.

At the end of the session Naar MfundisiHolloway (THQ) spoke about the listening phase of the territory’s Structure Co-ordination and Design Project, which aims to support local mission flourishing, and invited delegates to pray for the territorial leaders and others with territorial responsibilities.

On Sunday morning the TC spoke about pioneering in the territory as well as the need for some of the valued but established work to be done in new and innovative ways. He illustrated this by referring to London’s sewers, where new systems are being built and some of the Victorian network is being renewed. Turning to an Old Testament image he mentioned a tunnel that King Hezekiah arranged to have built to divert spring water into Jerusalem in the late 8th century BC. He said the Army needs to allow ‘the living water of Christ – that will sustain us and enable us and give us life and bring us freedom and fruitfulness – to flow into our hearts and lives’.

The final session included worship, time for prayerful response and another Godly Play story brought by Captain Vanessa, in which delegates were invited forward to rearrange objects on a story board to illustrate what God was saying to them.

Throughout the weekend there was the opportunity to spend time at prayer stations set up in the chapel and to place Post-It Notes on the wall of the main conference room so people could share what they had heard from God.

Having been able to listen to God in various ways over the weekend, delegates were encouraged to go on listening and to be responsive to him as they returned to their own settings across the territory.

DELEGATES’ THOUGHTS

NICKY WARING

STROUD I’m part of the Core Recovery Church and God has been building us into a real community. I came to the prayer gathering to encourage other people and to see what God’s saying to us all. One of the highlights of the weekend was what the TC shared on Sunday morning. It was spot on for where we are as a corps and The Salvation Army as a whole.

MAJOR MARJORY PARROTT

SWADLINCOTE I’ve been coming to these prayer weekends for a long time. It’s just brilliant to get together with people who are serious about praying. This time I wanted to listen to what God was saying for the future of The Salvation Army. I feel we need to focus on the name of Jesus and ask ourselves how powerful we will allow that to be in our lives and ministry. I’ve been struggling a bit with how we can be effective as we come through the Covid-19 pandemic, so the weekend was a reminder that God has a plan for us.

EVIE LOVE

HIGH WYCOMBE This was my first prayer gathering. What drew me was that friends who’d been before were really uplifted and enthusiastic. I came to give myself more to God and to ask for his guidance and his love. I feel very much that that’s happened this weekend. The testimonies from the Core Recovery team were very impactful for me – also Anthony and Gill’s talk about going back to our roots. I will definitely come again and I would encourage anyone to come and be willing to experience it.

Love God, love others

Colonel Jenine Main suggests we need to be more intentional about welcome, inclusion and hospitality

IN recent days my mind has been turning to the plight of refugees who are so desperate to come to the UK that they will risk their lives and the lives of their children to cross the English Channel. They set off in dinghies not suitable for sea crossings, often with tragic consequences.

Watching the TV, my heart was warmed by the sight of police officers and coastguards welcoming those stepping on to shore with towels and blankets. But what awaited them next? Where would they find themselves and what conditions would they be living in?

I also have in my mind the images of those who remain in the Calais refugee camps in horrendous conditions. They have risked everything to escape from the horrors of their homelands and now endure freezing, dirty, inhospitable surroundings.

Recently I was challenged by a picture by Tim Sanders (above) that I saw on social media. It reminds us of those refugees crossing the Channel, obviously depicting a family that could so easily be Mary, Joseph and Jesus. How does this challenge us in the welcome we are prepared to give to refugees coming to the UK?

The corps where I soldier has recently been privileged to welcome a refugee family as part of a community sponsorship project. The lead members of the group have worked tirelessly to raise money, secure housing and complete all the paperwork and requirements outlined by the Home Office.

The family arrived in October and a group from the corps has very warmly welcomed them and done everything possible to help them settle in – from arranging the children’s school places and English lessons for the parents at the local college to setting up bank accounts and taking the children to the dentist. It has been hugely rewarding to see a young family safe and secure. We have done everything we can to make them feel welcome and included in our country, town and culture.

The Salvation Army in the UK and Ireland has recently published its intention to ‘Love God, Love Others’,

Bromley Temple youth group

followed by the vision statement: ‘Fullness of life for all with Jesus.’ Both are based on words of Jesus, who further expands on how we show love to others through the story of the good Samaritan. The story tells of a Jewish man who was attacked by robbers on the way to Jericho and left for dead. Two Jewish religious men walked by, but a Samaritan man, who generally would not associate with a Jew, stopped to help, took him to a safe place and paid for his care. This Samaritan truly showed love for others.

There are many other stories in Scripture that illustrate welcome and hospitality to strangers and foreigners. There is the beautiful story of Boaz showing welcome and hospitality to Ruth (see Ruth 1–4), the story of the Shunammite woman making a room always available in her home for the prophet Elisha (see 2 Kings 4:8–10), Lydia urging Paul and his missionary friends to stay at her house (see Acts 16:15) and many more.

How good are we at showing this kind of welcome and hospitality to people we don’t know or who are different from us? It is a strong theme running through the Old and New Testaments, yet in our 21st-century culture being welcoming to others is sometimes neglected or assumed without being intentional.