LETTERS
ALSO ON THE FRONT LINE VOLUNTEERS OF BRITAIN AFTER reading the article about the SATCoL shops reopening (Salvationist 22 May) can I respectfully acknowledge the hard work that local Salvation Army charity shops do for communities across the country? Mostly run by corps folk, they do a tremendous service and raise vital money for corps and communities. Often in the shadow of the SATCoL shops they don’t get the recognition I think they deserve. Sometimes it’s the only way the public see The Salvation Army in their everyday life, so it’s a great responsibility that isn’t taken for granted. What they can do is offer a friendly Salvation Army smile and maybe a listening ear to customers who have just come in for a chat. And if people need spiritual advice or have questions, they are there for them. They also help community centres with furniture or clothes for people who are vulnerable or experiencing homelessness. So please do not forget our local Salvation Army shops. I know that here in Eastbourne we have earned massive respect from the local community. Mark Ayling Eastbourne
LETTERS Many years ago General Frederick Coutts said letters in the Army’s press should be ‘arefully thought out, logically presented and charitably expressed’. Letters may be edited and should ideally be no more than 300 words.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SOLDIER? LIKE Tor Martin Ødegaard, I read the ‘Viewpoint’ articles about soldiership (Salvationist 23 January) with interest. However, whereas he suggests that transparency, accountability and integrity are vital to recruiting new members, I believe that a deeper process of theological reflection is required. The Salvation Army, I propose, needs to clarify what it means to be a soldier. Is being a soldier The Salvation Army’s version of basic discipleship or is it something more than being ‘just a Christian’? Since The Salvation Army has now decided that it is a Christian church (or denomination) and being a soldier is the essential form of full membership, it might seem to follow that this is the Army’s version of basic discipleship. If that is the case, then perhaps we need to consider how the Soldier’s Covenant relates to the covenant that is shared by all who believe in Jesus, and how the calling to be a soldier of The Salvation Army expresses the basic disciplines of sharing the gospel, supporting each other in spiritual pilgrimage and growth, serving suffering humanity and campaigning for justice in society. David Cavanagh Major Assistant Secretary for Scotland
WE read with interest the letter from Tor Martin Ødegaard (Salvationist 16 May), and his concerns about ‘transparency, accountability and integrity’ within The Salvation Army. We would like to think that those values go without saying, but wonder whether surreptitious changes are afoot? A number of Conservative politicians recently left their party believing they retained core values but that the organisation was moving away from them – without consultation. Could something similar be happening within our Army? Shouldn’t Salvationists expect consultation about any proposed fundamental change in our Church or at least an explanation of the vision? In her excellent book William and Catherine, Cathy Le Feuvre describes the Founder’s ‘autocratic authority and control’, which created division and dissent: the outcome of a lack of ‘transparency, accountability and integrity’. Consequently, in 1896 Ballington Booth left the Army and formed the Volunteers of America focusing on social care, while The Salvation Army continued as an evangelical Christian church with a mission based on faith in Jesus Christ, summed up by the motto ‘heart to God and hand to man’. General Frederick Coutts reaffirmed this in No Discharge in this War: ‘The main object of [our] mission is the proclamation of the Christian gospel.’ Is there a strategy within the Army to stealthily drop worship and the Christian church element to become a well-meaning humanitarian charity providing services to the community, while eradicating the congregation and Sunday worship? If our Church in the UK is changing, should there not be transparency and discussion – before we become the ‘Volunteers of Britain’? Garry and Yvonne Reed Barnstaple Editor’s note Readers can be assured that there is no intention or strategy to change the Army’s vision or purpose. See page 7, which previews the launch of two new books that reaffirm the Salvationist calling and covenant.
PRAYING FOR ANSWERS I READ the article (Salvationist 15 May) by my old friends Ron Thomlinson and the Rev James Macfarlane – we shared the same session at the training college in 1966 – with interest, as it touched on a problem I have with prayer, mainly that it does not appear to work! In recent times I have followed the TV programmes of Professor Brian Cox about the origins of the universe and how life on Earth began. It appears to me that the laws that govern natural events were set in motion at the moment of Creation and the Creator does not appear to override them in any meaningful way. Hence the example of the home league secretary praying for a safe journey was, in all due respect, a nonsense. Had the journey been uneventful it would indicate the prayer had been answered but as the bus broke down – due to the laws of thermodynamics or bad maintenance – the Creator would not override the natural laws. Therefore if you ask God for something and you get it, the prayer has been answered and, if you don’t get it, the answer is no. My problem has always been whether I can believe in supernatural intervention or not, as this would mean the Creator subverting his own eternal laws. I am quite prepared to believe in unseen forces at work – I commenced my working life as an RAF radar technician and you cannot see radio waves, but they are part of the universe’s natural laws. I do agree with my friends that confession is good for one’s mental health and the soul, but feel that prayers mostly benefit the prayer rather than the Creator answering the petition. Jeffery Morton Retired envoy Frome Salvationist 19 June 2021
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