Reflecting holiness

Lieut-Colonel Judith Payne looks ahead to this year’s Commissioning, which will be part of Together 2023

SHARING in the commissioning and sending out of the new lieutenants of the Reflectors of Holiness session at Together 2023 this July will be an opportunity to celebrate that our great and holy God is still with us and still calling people to participate in his mission within The Salvation Army.

The Reflectors of Holiness are another session of cadets who went through the application process in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which required such determination. Their arrival at William Booth College in September 2021, along with their 14 children, gave us so much joy and encouragement.

Save The Date

WHAT: Together 2023

WHERE: Fairfield Halls, Croydon

WHEN: 14–16 July

BOOK YOUR TICKET: salvationist.org.uk/together

They are a diverse group of people with great stories of faith and a deep passion for serving God and his people with love and commitment. The session includes people who were brought up in Christian families within the Army or discovered God and his love as adults, who were called to serve in corps communities or called to be with marginalised people experiencing exclusion, who were at the beginning of their working lives or had much work experience in other contexts. They have all received life in all its fullness through their relationships with Jesus and accepted his invitation to follow him in this way.

In 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, we are reminded that – like Moses, who spent time with God and then returned to the community with his face shining and reflecting the glory of God – we are called to reveal God’s life in our lives too. ‘And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

There is much darkness, evil and suffering in our world that could be transformed by the holiness, beauty and love of God, and we can all participate in this. The Reflectors of Holiness have given their lives to doing this as Salvation Army officers and I have no doubt that God will use these ordinary people in extraordinary ways as a result.

Please join with me in supporting them in prayer as they are commissioned on Sunday 16 July and sent out to begin their ministry as officers. I also invite you to listen to God’s call for your life and accept his invitation to follow and reflect his holiness where you are.

For more information about Together 2023, which includes Commissioning, Congress and Symphony Sounds, visit salvationist.org.uk/together