LETTERS
WHAT IS BEAUTY? I HAVE begun a personal writing project whereby I ask some open and abstract questions. What is beauty? What is bravery? What is tragedy? The answers I have so far from friends, family and wider members of the community have been varied and wonderful. The thoughts and memories evoked and connections made when talking through these questions have also been really positive and enjoyable. The questions are simple, yet trigger lots of fantastic conversations and realisations. Would any members or groups within the Army be interested in the project? I would love to include the answers on a website I am building centred on conversations with the general public. The answers to the questions can be anything at all – there are no right or wrong answers. I would be honoured to have the opportunity to do this with some Salvationists. If interested, I look forward to hearing from you: email supplied. Sarah Palmer London
WHO IS THE SALVATION ARMY? I HAVE just read with great interest the ‘Viewpoint’ article titled ‘Making the case for democracy’ by Tor Martin Ødegaard from Norway (Salvationist 8 February). What is of at least equal interest to me is that an article of such nerve should find its way into Salvationist at all. What Tor writes is absolutely correct. Anyone who denies that The Salvation Army is undemocratic has no awareness of how it really operates. This for me raises a simple question: Who is The Salvation Army? Is it IHQ or THQ? Is it the officers? In these two groups the personnel are selected for their particular positions rather than elected. As I see it, the soldiers are the core (no pun intended) of The Salvation Army and are only rarely, in selected cases, involved in certain issues. For instance in the decision to produce the new tune book, I was never asked about any preferences I had despite being a bandsman for most of my life. Whoever decided, to my knowledge, never thought it their responsibility to make an in-depth study at grass roots level. Gordon Archer Portadown
CHANGING AND THRIVING I FELT I must respond to Major Andrew Bale’s ‘Dreams and visions’ article (Salvationist 15 February) and the heartfelt letter from Lesley Webb, printed the week before, mourning the closure of Redhill Corps, as I fear many more corps will go down the same route in the very near future. I belong to a small corps, 133 years old in May. We have a twice-weekly parent-and-toddler group as our only midweek activity. The group is well attended, with families bringing their second and third children and good relationships being established. For many of them we are their church on Wednesday and Friday mornings and they don’t see the need for more than that. When I was asked recently why we couldn’t get any of them to attend on Sundays, my reply was that I wouldn’t expect them to. Born just after the war, my generation sat in rows at school facing the front listening to the teacher. Children now move freely around the classroom ‘learning through doing’. If families were to walk in one Sunday then the children might be well catered for with colouring sheets and copies of Kids Alive! but however warm the welcome, the parents would find it very different to anything they had experienced before. Andrew in his article said: ‘Unless we embrace change, and thereby remain relevant, the current rate of decline suggests we will die.’ The corps I grew up in embraced change several years ago, merging successfully with a neighbouring corps with similar values and moving to a new location. It is now thriving, with people of all ages attending on Sunday and a very busy community-based programme throughout the week. However, many corps are trying to halt the downward spiral of decline and face a very uncertain future, with limited resources locally and nationally. Only the Lord knows which will survive and thrive. May he act quickly to set us back on the right path! Mary Tyler Pontefract
LETTERS Readers’ letters are a popular and well-read section of Salvationist. Many years ago General Frederick Coutts said letters for publication in the Army’s press should be ‘carefully thought out, logically presented and charitably expressed’. Letters may be edited and should ideally be no more than 300 words.
Salvationist 29 February 2020
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