Salvationist 2 July 2022

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SALVATIONIST FUN AND FELLOWSHIP AT RIVERBANK 2022

A WORD FROM WILLIAM BOOTH PAGE 9

QUOTES FROM THE MEDIA

COST OF LIVING CRISIS IS PUSHING SOME TO BRINK OF SUICIDE, WARN CHRISTIANS AGAINST POVERTY The cost-of-living crisis is breaking down people’s mental health and putting lives at risk, as more lowincome families fall into debt, Christians Against Poverty (Cap) warns in a new report.

In 2021, the charity supported 13,452 clients on their journey to becoming debt-free, of whom 1,877 achieved this. Most (85 per cent) had an income below the UK national average. Its latest report, On the Edge … is based on a survey of these clients.

It shows that, in that year, more than one third (36 per cent) had considered or attempted to take their own lives... This was up from 28 per cent during the pandemic year of 2020 – suggesting a ‘concerning connection’ between the level of financial support, such as the temporary universal credit uplift, and mental health, the report says.

Mental health was cited as the top reason for falling into debt (19 per cent) in 2021, next to low income (17 per cent), relationship breakdown (11 per cent) and problems with budgeting (9 per cent)…

A former Cap client, Julie, who is a residential home carer in Port Talbot, Wales, was £28,000 in debt when she sought help… She writes in the report: ‘I want people to know they’re not alone. Help is available. There is a way out.’

Church Times

SALVATIONIST

CHILDREN’S STORY-BASED GAMING APP LAUNCHED IN HEREFORD CATHEDRAL Hereford Cathedral has launched a new children’s gaming app that allows kids to explore the history and heritage of the church.

Rapscallion’s Revenge, The Hoodlum of Hereford … challenges Hereford’s younger visitors to solve riddles and help save the cathedral from being taken over by Lord Rapscallion…

Children have to solve riddles to reveal vital clues to stop him and help his brother, Brother Thomas…

Adrian Smith from Your Heritage Ltd, the company behind Rapscallion’s Revenge … said he understood the need to balance heritage tourism and the difficulties of encouraging children to find adventure and stories during their visit.

The report … shows the state of faith in the UK [and] how people come to faith in Jesus…

The … research was carried out by Savanta ComRes, which conducted 10-minute online surveys among 4,000 UK adults…

The findings include: 45 per cent of the UK population believe in the Resurrection, 20 per cent … believe that Jesus is God… One in three non-Christians, after a conversation with a Christian, want to know more about Jesus Christ – up from one in five in 2015…

Evangelical Alliance CEO Gavin Calver [said:] ‘I hope this report will challenge, encourage and inspire us all, that the UK as a mission field is ripe for harvest and we all have our part to play.’

Premier

Baptist Times

CHRISTIANS IN OXFORD ASKED TO COMMIT TO PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT Christians being confirmed or baptised in the Oxford diocese will henceforth be asked to commit to protecting the environment as part of the church’s formal liturgy.

The addition to the ceremonies is supported by the Right Rev Steven Croft, bishop of Oxford, and asks people being baptised or confirmed to ‘strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the Earth’.

The move, thought to be the first of its kind in the country, comes amid growing concern about the climate and ecological crisis among religious leaders. Earlier this year, more than 500 church leaders signed a letter to the government calling for no new fossil fuel developments, and Christian activists have been at the forefront of many climate protests in recent years…

The addition to the liturgy comes as the Oxford diocese announces plans to spend £10m improving the energy efficiency of its vicarages in an effort to hit net zero emissions by 2035.

The Guardian

salvationist.org.uk/media/magazine Issue No 1865

CONTACT US 020 7367 4890 (main) / 020 7367 4901 (editor) salvationist@salvationarmy.org.uk

EDITOR Lieut-Colonel Jonathan Roberts

ADVERTISING advertising@salvationarmy.org.uk

MANAGING EDITOR Ivan Radford EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Simon Hope, George Tanton, Lyn Woods, Major Margaret Bovey ART DIRECTOR Hannah Holden GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Mark Knight, Louise Phillips PROOFREADER Chris Horne Published weekly by The Salvation Army and printed on paper from sustainable sources by CKN Print, Northampton. © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory.

ISSN 2516-5909.

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

LATEST TALKING JESUS REPORT NOW AVAILABLE

DISTRIBUTION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Salvationist Publishing and Supplies (Periodicals), 66–78 Denington Road, Denington Industrial Estate, Wellingborough NN8 2QH 01933 445445 / subscriptions@satcol.org @SalvationistOnline

@SalvationistUK

The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.

FOUNDER William Booth GENERAL Brian Peddle TERRITORIAL COMMANDER Commissioner Anthony Cotterill EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND PUBLISHING SECRETARY Major Mal Davies TERRITORIAL HEADQUARTERS 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN 0845 634 0101

FASCINATING FOUNDERS I WAS standing in a queue to board a f light at Madrid airport in 2011, when the man behind tapped me on the shoulder and asked a question. I was in full uniform, having been at the 40th-anniversary meetings of the Spain Command, and he wanted to know what the uniform was. That led to a brief conversation about the Army as a Christian church and its work in Spain and around the world. Then I asked what he did, and he said he was an accountant for Ikea. He added that Ingvar Kamprad had founded the furniture and household accessories company in Sweden in 1943 at the age of 17, and that he knew him personally. I told him that I didn’t know the Army’s Founder personally! I was, however, able to say a little about William Booth before we reached the boarding gate. It seems that founders continue to fascinate.

Fascination with the founders of The Salvation Army – not just William Booth but Catherine, who is rightly recognised as its co-founder, and the other early pioneers – finds a focus each year on Founders’ Day (2 July). To mark the occasion, this issue of Salvationist includes ‘A word from William’ in which the Founder exhorts us to have faith in God. He defines what faith is and clears up some of the confusion we might have about it. It is not to be confused with feeling and is not the same as seeing.

‘Faith is neither more nor less than believing that the promises God has given you will come to pass,’ he says.

With the Russia-Ukraine conflict in mind, George Tanton looks at what William Booth said about the Army’s attitude to war. Booth’s thoughts were first expressed in connection with the Boer War of 1899–1902, when he recommended a position of neutrality with an emphasis on caring for the spiritual and physical needs of all involved. Whether Salvationists should fight in the war was a matter of individual conscience. William’s daughter, Kate, and son-in-law, Arthur Booth-Clibborn, wanted to go further, and pushed for a pacifist stance. This led to a Booth bust-up!

As well as shedding light on different attitudes, the article reminds us that, however godly and inspiring our Movement’s pioneers were, they were still human and in need of wisdom and grace.

No doubt many corps will include the Founder’s song in their meetings this weekend. In another of the ‘Army snippets’ that General John Larsson wrote shortly before his promotion to Glory he describes how and why Booth wrote ‘O Boundless Salvation’. He also highlights the place of intercultural ministry within the Army and shows how words used in Army ceremonies have changed over the years.

I’m sure Catherine Booth would have been enthusiastic about the rebranded Army women’s conference, Riverbank, which, as Rachel Gotobed reports, enabled women of all ages ‘to encounter God in worship, engage in Christian teaching and explore their God-given potential’. Several delegates add their own reflections on the recent weekend.

One of the things the Ikea accountant told me in the airport queue was that their founder always took economy class whenever he f lew – and his employees were expected to do the same. Founders, and leaders of all kinds, set an example for others to follow. While we may not do everything the Army’s 19th-century pioneers did, their example of faith, vision and sacrificial service is something to emulate as we love God and love others in the 21st century.

CONTENTS Quotes from the media

2

News

4 to 8

Prayer matters

8

A word from William Have faith in God

9

Feature A conflict of opinion

10 and 11

by George Tanton

News feature 12 to 14 Delegates renew trust in God at Riverbank women’s conference Army snippets

15

from General John Larsson

Bible study How can I?

16 and 17

by Major Mal Davies

Through the week with Salvationist 16 and 17

by Major Howard Webber

Reflection Seeking the Lord

18

by Brian Colley

Reflection Strength to serve

18

by Major John Waters

New commitments

19

Book review With God on Their Side

20

reviewed by Steven Spencer

Read with us 20 Called to Be a Soldier: Chapter 9 Adverts

21

Announcements

22 and 23

The Salvation Army and me

24

featuring Sandra Katswere

LIEUT-COLONEL JONATHAN ROBERTS Editor Salvationist

SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (2011), unless otherwise stated

Salvationist 2 July 2022

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NEWS

EVENT

EVENT

Employment Plus helps job seekers online WEST MIDLANDS THE Salvation Army’s employment specialist service hosted an online jobs fair for registered job seekers across the West Midlands.

The event attracted 21 recruiters, who offered 800 vacancies to more than 446 job seekers. Within 24 hours, 76 people applied for jobs that were featured.

Deputy Director of Employment Services Nick Read said: ‘The Salvation Army has a 150-year history of involvement in social work and fighting for social justice in the UK. Employment and the principle of Work for All has been at the cornerstone of this and, in response, The Salvation Army instigated the first ever labour exchange in the UK in 1890. We continue to look at new ways to bring opportunities forward to all those seeking work.’

The Salvation Army believes that supporting people in their search for employment will help those struggling with the soaring cost of living crisis.

Employers who would like to explore how they can be involved with future online jobs fairs can email: employmentplus@ salvationarmy.org.uk. – AP Editor's note In a report on the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Skewen (Salvationist 25 June), it was incorrectly reported that the cake was donated by Tesco. It was, in fact, made by Jersey Bakery and donated

by Maxine and John Price.

MAIDSTONE Believing that God is challenging the Army to broaden the horizon of what small groups look like, Songster Hazell Ball started the Wow (Walk on Water) paddleboarding group.

Sparking good conversations not only on water but also ashore, the quickly growing group is an opportunity for fellowship, encouragement and stepping out in faith. The inaugural afternoon saw children and adults venturing out on paddleboards for the first time and daring to stand up. – GP

156

year-old William Booth clock SEE PAGE 6

£2,000 raised for Ukraine crisis appeal SEE PAGE 7

PRESENTATION Reading Central corps officer Major Adrian Maddern and International Staff Bandmaster Stephen Cobb recognise Bandsman Barry Hollamby and YP Band Leader Alex Mitchell for their 70 years’ service

EVENT

Salvationist wants to hear your news Corps press representatives can email salvationist@ salvationarmy.org.uk.

Good quality pictures may be included.

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

GILLINGHAM More than 50 women from nearby churches and corps gathered for a women’s breakfast, themed the Daughter of a King. Chris Curtis, a guest from St Mark’s church, spoke with great honesty about her journey and finding identity in Christ. Community artist and corps member Hannah Whittaker hosted a crafts workshop where participants made personalised rubber stamps and Sarah Salcedo and Sherry Pablo led worship. – JM

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hours of music praise SEE PAGE 7

MUSIC

FUNDRAISING

ISB inspire congregation to live in Jesus’ presence READING CENTRAL AN enthusiastic, near-capacity audience greeted the International Staff Band (ISB) for a Saturday evening festival marking its first weekend engagement outside London since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The full sound of the band was immediately evident in ‘Christ Is All’ and again in such pieces as the title track of the ISB’s latest recording, ‘Powerhouse’, and Staff Bandsman Andrew Hedley’s debut march ‘The Rescuers’.

Soloists included Gavin Lamplough (cornet) with ‘Song of Exultation’, Jonathan Evans (euphonium) with ‘Scottish Folk Variants’ and Richard Woodrow (flugelhorn) with ‘So Glad’.

Sunday morning worship, led by ISB Executive Officer Major Paul Kingscott, challenged the congregation to live in the presence of Jesus, and was supported by the singing company.

The ISB’s afternoon programme, supported by the songsters, included the first performance of Andrew Wainwright’s ‘Deus Solus’ and concluded with a classic march, Emil Söderström’s ‘California’. – PM

COMMUNITY

THORNDALE FAMILY CENTRE After hearing about the work at the family centre, the congregation at Belfast Temple made more than 50 welcome packs of toiletries for families when they arrive there. Chaplain Lieutenant Amanda Sewell (pictured right) gratefully received donated items for the packs from Majors Chris and Liesl Baldwin (Belfast Temple) and the bags were purchased through individual donations. The initiative will go a long way towards helping families feel welcome after what is often a traumatic time. – AS

CARDIFF CANTON Sunday school members raised funds for the charity BookTrust to help every child in the country get a bedtime story.

The kids enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies and shared their favourite books while dressed in pyjamas. – ES

EVENT

Worksop home league members celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in style, sharing in a tea, enjoying fellowship and watching scenes from the Queen’s Coronation

EVENT

More than 100 people attend a Platinum Jubilee tea party in Lurgan Corps car park Salvationist 2 July 2022

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NEWS

MUSIC

SUNDERLAND MONKWEARMOUTH The North East of England Fellowship Band held its second festival of the year, joined by songsters from the host corps and Newcastle City Temple. The band presented a wide selection of pieces, including ‘Call of the Gospel’, ‘Songs of the Seasons’, ‘Take-Over Bid’ and ‘Jubilee’. Ken Johnson (Sunderland Citadel) brought the euphonium solo ‘That’s the Spirit’, while the united songsters shared ‘Showers of Blessing’ and ‘Under His Wings’. The event raised £600 for Swan Lodge Lifehouse. – JS

FUNDRAISING

KILMARNOCK Corps officer Captain Emma Heal received a cheque for £500 from representatives of Dreghorn Musical Society.

The society’s choir held two fundraising concerts recently, one in Kilmarnock and another in Dreghorn. In a thank-you speech at Dreghorn, Captain Emma told everyone present about The Salvation Army, particularly about the community work carried out by the corps. – EF

ARMY NEWS

General keeps watch over Founder’s clock PRESENTATION Councillor James Hunt, the outgoing mayor of the London borough of Bexley, awards Captain Katy Shubotham (Welling) the Civic Recognition of Outstanding Achievement for the work she has done in the community

EVENT

HADLEIGH TEMPLE An afternoon tea for 70 people was followed by a Round Britain quiz. Afterwards, everyone gathered to watch the Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace on the big screen. – MF 6

Salvationist 2 July 2022

IHQ A MANTEL clock that was given to William Booth has been put on display at International Headquarters.

The clock has been in the keeping of the Booth family for more than 156 years. An inscribed brass plate on the front explains that it was given to ‘the Rev William Booth’ on 2 July 1866 by ‘members and friends of the East London Christian Revival Society in commemoration of his first anniversary in London’.

The clock has not always kept good time, so Colonel Bramwell Booth – the Founder’s great-grandson – arranged for it to be refurbished by Mike Holwell, a graduate of the British Horological Institute. It is now permanently housed in General Brian Peddle’s offices, so that visitors can be inspired by a piece of Salvation Army history.

Presenting the clock to the General, Colonel Bramwell said that ‘the time had come for it to enter the wider confines of the Army’.

‘We are grateful to know that you have willingly undertaken to both care for and share the Founder’s clock,’ he added.

Two members of William Booth’s family who work at IHQ were present for the ceremony: Lieut-Colonel Anne-Florence Tursi (Administration), who is Bramwell’s niece, and Laura Booth (Literary and Editorial), who attended with her husband, Adrien, William’s great-great-great-grandson. – KS

PRESENTATION SNETTISHAM CSM Alison Kirby received a certificate of appreciation for her work as corps assistant over the past four years.

She has now relinquished the role to take up an appointment as a territorial envoy. – MW

FUNDRAISING A Platinum Jubilee fashion show at Cardiff Canton, organised by the community shop, raises £1,177 for the Big Collection

FUNDRAISING BIRMINGHAM CITADEL The songsters held a 12-hour Practice and Praise-a-thon to raise funds to support a refugee family settling in Birmingham. The day comprised rehearsals, prayer time and sharing, as well as a Golden Oldies session, and finished with a Come and Sing session. Videos from music leaders around the world motivated and encouraged the group. More than £1,100 was raised. – RO

MUSIC

STREETLY The West Midlands Divisional Fellowship Band undertook their first engagement in more than two years. The afternoon concert at All Saints Parish Church on the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday featured a varied programme. The audience particularly enjoyed singing along with ‘Singing Through the Years’.

Bandsman John Crump gave a rendition of ‘Rule Britannia’ with everyone joining in the chorus. Players and listeners also enjoyed a cream tea during the interval. – TP

CARDIFF CANTON Over four days of sales, staff members at the corps community shop raised £2,000 towards The Salvation Army’s Ukraine crisis appeal. – AW

EVENT Celebrating Pentecost and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Tunbridge Wells Corps dedicates a new corps flag alongside a tree planted for the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative

PRESENTATION Greenock Life Skills service users receive certificates for food hygiene and Safe and Sound courses; they are pictured with Scottish Drug and Alcohol Strategy worker Lesley Anderson and Community Learning Development Officers Tricia Donaghy and Susannah Gallacher Salvationist 2 July 2022

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NEWS

PRESENTATION LOVE GOD, LOVE OTHERS FOCUS

by Lieut-Colonel Jayne Roberts (Secretary for Spiritual Life Development) SUNDAY 3 JULY Love God, love others is how Jesus so simply summed up the two greatest commandments. Yet simple instructions are not necessarily easy to fulfil. Is there anything that you find difficult about loving God? Pray for guidance to work through these issues.

MONDAY 4 JULY Our prayer focus continues today on the simple commandment to ‘love others’. Again, this may be a challenge, so you may want to use the words of Anna L Waring as your prayer: ‘In service which thy love appoints/ There are no bonds for me;/ My secret heart is taught the truth/ That makes thy children free:/ A life of self-renouncing love/ Is one of liberty’ (SASB 750).

HAMILTON Songster Leader Richard Hamilton received a certificate of retirement after serving in the role for 39 years.

Richard chose the congregational song ‘Someone Cares’ (SASB 10), which he has previously sung as a solo. He and his wife, Enid, cut a celebration cake that was enjoyed over coffee in fellowship with family and friends. Also pictured is corps officer Captain Wendy Leisk. – WL

EVENT

TUESDAY 5 JULY Love God with your heart and soul. Everything that makes us who we are – emotions, thoughts and characteristics – can find expression in our relationship with God. This prayer is articulated in the lyrics by William Himes: ‘All that I am, all I can be,/ All that I have, all that is me,/ Accept and use, Lord, as you would choose, Lord,/ Right now, today’ (SASB 568).

WEDNESDAY 6 JULY Prayerful listening and reflection are valuable, but let them not be passive.

The command to love God with our mind and strength is a prompt to respond to Christ’s call, putting our strengths and skills into action. What will that action involve for you personally? Pray about this today.

THURSDAY 7JULY In the parable of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25–37), Jesus challenged his listeners to identify with a man who showed great compassion to another person in great need, even though he would be considered an enemy. Where conflict, mistrust and hatred exist in our world – sometimes right on our doorstep – we are still called to love our neighbour as ourselves.

As we follow Jesus, his commands are the imperatives for our daily life. Pray for daily grace and strength as we love God and love others.

COVENANT FOCUS FRIDAY 8 JULY – CADET WENDY VERHEIJ Lord, thank you for your covenant with me. Thank you that while I choose to accept my part, you will keep yours. Help me to trust in your promise so that when the challenges arise and the struggles seem too difficult, you will equip me to continually do good and follow your will. Lord God, I trust in you.

Coedpoeth corps folk share in a Platinum Jubilee picnic, including a visit from ‘the Queen’ (Gwen Davies), accompanied by Gwen’s granddaughter, Ruby 8

Salvationist 2 July 2022

SATURDAY 9 JULY – CADET LESLEY HOLLAND Father God, as I commit my life to you today, may I remember that you are able to do immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine, because of your power at work in me (see Ephesians 3:20). May my trust in you strengthen, and my faith in you deepen.

O A PDF of the Prayer Matters booklet is also available to download from salvationist.org.uk/resources Salvationist Salvationist 28 11 May June 2022 2022

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A WORD FROM WILLIAM

Have faith in God Continuing a monthly series of messages that William Booth sent to corps to be read in Sunday meetings 1 9

R

A P R I L

1 9 0 8

ELIGIOUS faith is much the same as any other faith. The difference consists not in the faculty or ability to believe, but in the greatness of the being who is its object and the importance of the blessings connected with its exercise.

You know what it is to have faith in your husband, wife or any other person; you trust them. Faith in God is the same kind of thing. You receive the word spoken or written by these dear ones as being true.

That is exercising faith. But faith is more than believing in the spoken word. It signifies trust in an individual. It means confidence in the speaker.

Faith in God implies belief in the words he has spoken. However hard they may be to receive or however people may deny them, we are to believe that every word he has spoken is true and that every promise he has made will be fulfilled. But faith in God implies more than belief of his word – it includes faith in God himself as a living person. You need to believe, in spite of things happening within or around you, that God is loving you all the time and that he is making all things work together for your good.

Many serious mistakes are made respecting faith. Let me point out two or three of them, and so try to guard you from them.

First, faith is not feeling. In striving to believe you must not depend on any emotion. This is a mistake into which many people fall. The moment they start to seek any blessing that has been made

to depend upon their faith, they begin to look within to see if any feeling corresponding to the blessing they are seeking has broken out in their hearts.

Discouraged at not finding the expected emotion there, they too often give up trying to believe.

Faith is quite a different thing from feeling. It is true that it is often so closely associated with feelings or followed so quickly by them that it may be mistaken for the same thing, but it is not the same.

Believing ever goes ahead of feeling and to expect feelings before the exercise of faith is to put the cart before the horse. First believe and then feel.

Neither must faith be confounded with sight. Believing with what we call sometimes a ‘naked faith’ – a faith that trusts God without the assistance of signs and wonders, whether great or small – will be the most effective and enduring. I remember a man once saying to me as a youth, ‘Believe God in the dark, my son, and you will be most likely to trust him in the light.’

Believing that the thing is done or will be done is not the same as seeing the thing done or knowing it will be done.

And yet how often we want to see the thing accomplished before we are willing to believe that it will come to pass!

When Elijah was praying for rain on Mount Carmel, he did not put off the exercise of faith until his servant told him of the cloud no bigger than a man’s hand, which betokened the coming

flood. Oh, dear no! Although the sky continued to be one vast glaring sea of brass and the servant reported again and again that he could not see any sign of the expected rain, Elijah persisted in saying: ‘The rain will come. Jehovah has heard and Jehovah will answer my prayer!’ He had faith in God. Faith is neither more nor less than believing that the promises God has given you will come to pass. You must accept it as a fact that, whether you can see it or not, he is just as good and as faithful and as loving to you as he has described himself to be. Take God at his word.

I invite you to lay yourselves at his feet. Ask him to forgive all the unbelief of the past and wash out the memory of all the doubts and fears that you have allowed to live in your hearts.

Nay, go further. Is there not some blessing that you need that depends upon the exercise of faith? Is it the forgiveness of your sins? Is it restoration from backsliding? Is it a more certain assurance of the divine favour in your soul? Is it a pure heart? Is it a burning love for souls? Is it comfort or deliverance in some particular sorrow or trial?

Whatever the blessing may be that you need, believe that God is willing to give it to you. Ask for it, resting in the assurance that God is willing and able to bestow it. And if, after all, it be for a time or wholly withheld, trust him still and believe that, in withholding it, he seeks your truest and highest good.

Salvationist 2 July 2022

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FEATURE I The Booths and the Boer War

A conflict of opinion George Tanton examines how questions of war and peace divided early Salvation Army leaders

Arthur and Catherine (Kate) Booth-Clibborn with their children

I

N his ‘Thinkaloud’ article (Salvationist 28 May) John Coutts asked: ‘When is a war not a war?’ With the RussiaUkraine conflict in mind he looked at historical arguments for and against the notions of a ‘just’ war. Similar discussions were happening within The Salvation Army more than 120 years ago during the Boer War, which was fought between Dutch settlers and the British Empire in South Africa from 1899 to 1902.

William Booth detested all manner of warfare. It was an affront to his principles of universal human fellowship.

The War Cry of 21 October 1899 reported that the General’s heart had been ‘torn asunder’ by the outbreak of hostilities in South Africa.

To safeguard the internationalism of the Army, he insisted on a non-partisan approach, advising his followers to avoid the public ‘war spirit’. He instructed constant prayer for victims who were on either side of the conflict and encouraged Salvationists to provide humanitarian aid to all. Indeed, there were also Salvationists in the Boer camp. Referring to the Boers as the ‘enemy’ was strictly prohibited in Army publications.

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

Booth did not outlaw military service for Salvationists but advised each to look to their own conscience. This stance was scorned by Commissioner Arthur Booth-Clibborn, who was married to William’s daughter, Kate. Before joining The Salvation Army the Founder’s son-in-law had been a member of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers.

Killing fellow Salvationists was incomprehensible to him.

At the outbreak of the war, Arthur was the territorial commander in Holland, the Boers’ ancestral home. He accused the General of moral cowardice for refusing to condemn the war as incompatible with the teachings of Jesus.

Kate supported her husband’s position and requested permission from William to preach pacifism in the Holland Territory. He refused, but Arthur had two books ready to publish expressing his own pacifist convictions. Salvation Army publications were regulated by William and Bramwell Booth – consequently, these unauthorised writings were the final severing of ties between the Booth-Clibborns and Movement, and the couple resigned in January 1902.

Bramwell Booth Arthur’s books were published after the South Africa conflict in 1907 as a single volume titled Blood Against Blood. In September 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War, a second edition was published in which Arthur proclaimed to ‘make no apology for the somewhat vehement character of this book’.

Letters between Kate and her brother, Bramwell – which are now held at the Army’s International Heritage Centre – also reveal a conflict of opinion. While Bramwell abhorred the war in South Africa, he interpreted warfare as a necessary evil to right a great wrong.

This school of thought had its origins in the teachings of St Augustine of Hippo and St Thomas Aquinas, who agreed that armed conflict could be permissible if fought for a just cause and authorised by a legitimate authority with the intention of building everlasting peace.

In 1899 many within the churches believed that the Boers were guilty of enforcing slavery upon the indigenous peoples in South Africa and were complicit in a long history of violence against them. Many Anglican clergymen, emboldened by the rhetoric that led to

the abolition of the slave trade nearly a century before, endorsed the conflict in South Africa as an anti-slavery war.

Kate, like her husband, had pacifist convictions. In her correspondence with Bramwell she echoed Arthur’s argument that all war was murder. ‘How do you reconcile war with “love your enemies”?’ she asked in one letter.

Bramwell replied: ‘My dear sister…

There could be no possible objection to Arthur or anyone else writing against murder… I for one do not believe that all war is murder, and I do believe that God has always sanctioned war under certain circumstances and I do not think he has changed… I really should have thought you would have been a little more anxious to know what the General thinks and to give weight to his judgement rather than fall back on the Quakers…’

Continuing to write to Kate, Bramwell added: ‘No nation can see another nation wronged or cheated or oppressed without interfering on its behalf if it has the power to do so without offending God.’ He used an example to justify this belief: ‘If I and Arthur walk out by night and meet a man murdering his wife, we are bound by every consideration of right and of love to lay hold of that man and rescue his wife from his violence.

We are, in short, answerable to God for the use of force we possess.’

Bramwell then applied this thinking to governments and international strife: ‘When, therefore, nations to whom [God] has given power see a wrong in the world on the part of another nation, they

“THE SALVATION ARMY OFFICER CARRIED WOUNDED SOLDIERS ALL DAY.”

‘War Cry’, 17 February 1900

‘War Cry’, 19 May 1900 are answerable to use such force as they possess to check and put down that wrong.’

In the case of the Boer War, Bramwell wrote with stern conviction: ‘God punishes nations as he does individuals.

He uses one nation to inflict punishment on another by war [and] sometimes making the same war punish both parties for their sins, as I believe he is now in South Africa chastising both the Dutch and the English for their abominable conduct to the native races…’ Concluding this, Bramwell warned: ‘My dear sister, never say again that all war is murder.’

The issue of political neutrality would again pose moral dilemmas for the Army’s leadership during the First World War. Bramwell, then General, was adamant in his Christmas message to the Army in 1915 that ‘every land is my fatherland, for all lands are my Father’s’.

When America joined the war in 1917, Evangeline Booth was national commander in the USA. She vocally supported the Allies, claiming that the war was a fight for civilisation against the forces of barbarism. The Salvation Army’s principled position of neutrality was hard to maintain in the face of the reality of war.

O A detailed

account of Salvation Army work and attitudes in wartime can be found in Shaw Clifton’s Crown of Glory, Crown of Thorns available from spsshop.com priced £9.99 (plus postage and packing)

GEORGE TANTON Editorial Assistant Salvationist

Salvationist 2 July 2022

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NEWS FEATURE

Delegates renew trust in God at Riverbank women’s conference WARWICK UNIVERSITY

UNDER the new name Riverbank, the rebranded Women and God weekend offered women of all ages the opportunity to come together to encounter God in worship, engage in Christian teaching and explore their God-given potential, writes Outreach Mission Partner (Family Ministries) Rachel Gotobed.

Taking the theme Just Imagine!, its purpose was to lead Christian women to imagine or re-imagine what God wants to accomplish through them in the 21st century.

The weekend was hosted by the director and deputy director of Family Ministries, Major David Betteridge and Liz Hall, and speakers included Director of AntiTrafficking and Modern Slavery Major Kathy Betteridge, Bekah Legg, the CEO of Christian domestic abuse charity Restored, and Rachel Turner, founder of Parenting for Faith.

Worship leader Lou Fellingham, supported by her husband, Nathan, led the inspiring sung worship on the Friday and Saturday, and their band joined them in leading a praise party on Saturday evening.

Major David Betteridge (front left) and the Riverbank team

Bekah and Lou

Paska, Norberta and Patronella

Swan Bank Gospel Choir leader Trudy Purkiss led worship on Sunday, which included testimony in word and song by Megane Moki (Birmingham Citadel).

Other highlights of the weekend included a beautiful prayer space, artwork created to reflect the weekend, a workshop led by Gilly Parish (Sale) and a PechaKucha session where five amazing women shared their personal stories of God doing more than

Gilly

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

they could have thought or imagined. There were also opportunities to join in challenges and raise funds for the Helping-Hand Appeal, receive a relaxing facial and visit a marketplace full of information, resources and things to buy.

Attendees described the event using recurring words such as ‘relevant’, ‘inspiring’, ‘real’, ‘uplifting’, ‘nourishing’, ‘encouraging’ and ‘wonderful’.

CAPTAIN ALI FRIDAY CANTERBURY Friday evening commenced with hearing how, in Acts 16, Lydia went to the riverbank in Philippi to pray with those gathered. We read of the life-changing encounter she had there with Jesus. This set the overall theme for the conference, and we listened to how this encounter became part of Lydia’s life story.

Throughout the weekend we continued to hear story after story of such encounters from those attending the conference. People shared how God had sustained, saved, forgiven and restored them. We heard how these everyday miracle moments had changed the lives of ordinary people.

As these daughters of God shared their heart-wrenching life stories, they then testified to God’s unfailing faithfulness and praised him for the new and trusting heart he placed within them.

Hearing the life-changing encounters of others led me, in my heart, to the riverbank, where I too met with Jesus and renewed my trusting heart.

Ali listens to a fellow delegate

VICTORIA DOWSE BOSTON I was so blessed and privileged to attend Riverbank and all I can say is wow! I’m not sure how I can share my highlights from the weekend because it was full of highlights.

People gave some brutally honest testimonies, where God used horrific situations and turned them into blessings.

They reminded us that, if we become rooted in God, then the Devil cannot make his way in, and that there is no doubt that God can do immeasurably more through us than we can ever imagine.

We were also reminded that we can do anything in God’s strength because his love will never let us go. We need to trust him that we can achieve healing and fullness through his amazing grace.

Because of the weekend, I am reassured that God places us where he needs us and that his everlasting love is mine. God gave more than I imagined this weekend and now I am excited to see what he can do through me!

PASKA MOORE DISABILITY ENGAGEMENT ADVISER, THQ I enjoyed listening to people’s testimonies about how God has worked through them, lifting and transforming them beyond all imagination amid the challenges they faced.

These stories lifted me spiritually. The worship was fantastic, Spirit-filled and helped me encounter God as I love worshipping and praising him through song.

With a quiet space and prayer rooms available, it was easy to step away from others and have a ‘me and God’ time for reflection and prayer. The event had sign language interpreters throughout and I am grateful for the opportunity to have met and shared with so many great people.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 X Salvationist 2 July 2022

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Praise party

W CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 MARILYN KILGOUR BASINGSTOKE I was invited to The Salvation Army by a young man when we were junior students at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. I loved the style of worship and soon began to attend regularly. I went to youth councils in 1964 and during the appeal I went to the mercy seat. I have never regretted making that decision and am still serving God at my corps.

Incidentally, that young man became my husband seven years later! When he was promoted to Glory 18 months ago, I felt my life was over. I am still grieving but I have turned a corner now thanks to conversation and prayer with others at the conference.

I so enjoyed our weekend because the fellowship and worshipping together is an amazing experience. It was so uplifting and helpful to me. I have attended in the past and hope to come back next year. I am so grateful to all the team for such a wonderful weekend.

Liz and Meg

AMY BAYLISS-FOX STAFFORD It was my first time at the conference and I am so glad I went! It was such a blessed time. The worship was refreshing and I came away with renewed energy, especially after worship on Sunday morning when the Holy Spirit was clearly moving in our midst.

The speakers were inspiring and each one definitely delivered their message on behalf of the Holy Spirit. I could name each speaker one by one and reflect on what I learnt, but that would take up half this issue! Major Kathy and Megane’s testimonies were moving and I know that each of their stories delivered desperately needed messages for many of us.

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

Bev and Alison

I would really recommend Riverbank to any woman connected to The Salvation Army. I want to recommend it especially to my fellow young women as it’s important to have strong support systems and people around us. This conference is an ideal way for us to get to know others who can support and guide us through the trials we face as Christian women.

The whole response to the conference has been overwhelmingly positive and, if the stories of these delegates have inspired you, then put 9 to 11 June 2023 in your diary now so you can join us at the Riverbank next year!

Army s t e p p i sn

1878 1890

A onishing As teen Ast ir teen Thiir eeaa s That Shaped Year Y Ye Yea hee Salvation Th Th A Army

g,, ing b rnin ng, bur nin ni Burni Bu g,, ays burnin way lw alw y sta it, ir pir S Sp ly Hooly with me; your will my To y , is turning will is w lI u wil at you hat Wh . be.. o t t nt an wa w

... from General John Larsson*

INTERCULTURAL MINISTRY THE Salvation alvation A Army’s intercultural ministry is as old as the Army itself. lf It started in the 1880s, when thousands of Scandinavians migrated to the USA and Scandinavianlanguage corps were established there. So successful was this work that whole Scandinavian divisions were formed.

Over the years, as migration to the USA has expanded, corps ministering in Spanish or Portuguese have been established and Hispanic tracks have been introduced at the training colleges for officers. In the west of the country, corps working in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and other Asian languages have flourished, whether as separate corps or as bi-congregational corps. And this same diversity has been mirrored around the world wherever there has been movement of people.

In the UK, the Army’s intercultural ministry got off to a

good start in the early 1900s with the Chinese corps ps at Limehouse. Today in the UKI Territory, intercultural ministry is increasing. People from other cultures are welcomed and integrated by corps. Where relevant and possible, meetings are held in their languages or translation is provided.

Languages in which the gospel is shared today include Korean, Spanish, Farsi and, in the Roma congregations, Czech, Slovak and Romani. Where requested, Englishlanguage courses are being set up.

Interculturalism is the ultimate expression of the Army’s adaptability and ability to reach people and welcome them. As the song says: ‘They shall come from the east, they shall come from the west,/ And sit down in the Kingdom of God’ (SASB 1011). In the Army they are doing just that.

ARMY CEREMONIES IN CHANGING TIMES TIMES change and this is reflected in the wording of Salvation Army ceremonies. Here are some of the key changes made in the 1989 edition of Salvation Army Ceremonies.

Salvationists no longer marry The Salvation Army. In the previous wording the officiating officer asked each party in turn: ‘Will you love her/him, comfort, honour and keep her/ him in sickness and in health, and never seek to prevent her/him doing anything that is in her/his power to do, or giving anything that is within her/his power to give, to help The Salvation Army?’ In the new text the italicised phrases have been omitted.

Salvationists no longer dedicate their children to The Salvation Army. The former wording included the following charge to parents: ‘You must be willing that he/she should

spend all his/her life for God wherever he may choose to send him/her, and not withhold him/her at any time from such hardship, suffering, want or sacrifice as true devotion to the service of Christ and The Salvation Army may entail.’

The new text exhorts the parents to ‘support him/her in the commitment of his/her life to the service of God’. There is no mention of The Salvation Army.

Salvationists are no longer buried or cremated to the sound of the archaic committal words – ‘As it has pleased Almighty God to promote our dear comrade…’ – which in some situations were very painful to hear. Instead the words have been changed to the simply factual: ‘As God our eternal Father has promoted our brother/sister to the home prepared for him/her in Heaven...’

A GOOD NIGHT’S WORK ONE night in November 1893, when William Booth was 64, he worked through to the early morning writing the words of his song ‘O Boundless Salvation’ and handed them to his secretary when he called at 6am.

A Boundless Salvation campaign had been held across Britain during the autumn. William Booth was to lead the climax of the campaign with two days of meetings at Exeter Hall, on the Strand in central London, and had written the song for that occasion.

That was the first time that Booth led his song. From then on he used it to personally open most of his Sunday night

meetings. The last time he gave it out was at his 83rd birthday celebrations in the Royal Albert Hall on 9 May 1912, which turned out to be his last public appearance.

Boundless – The Whole World Redeeming became the theme of the 2015 International Congress in London. A retired officer friend of mine watches Richard Phillips’ arrangement of the song most evenings before going to bed. It was recorded by the soloists and music sections from around the world taking part in the congress. It can be found on YouTube by searching for ‘O Boundless Salvation – Boundless Congress 2015’ and is well worth watching.

*Published with the kind permission of Commissioner Freda Larsson following the General’s promotion to Glory Salvationist 2 July 2022

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BIBLE STUDY

How can I? Major Mal Davies considers the calling of Gideon

JUDGES 6:1–24

A

FTER Moses came Joshua, and after Joshua came…? The book of Joshua ends with a report of his death and burial and the following book, Judges, commences with fighting and confusion as the Israelites lacked a leader.

In Judges 2:10 and 11 we read: ‘Another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.’

God’s response – as captured in Judges 2:16 – was to raise up judges, champions who delivered the Israelites and provided leadership and justice.

For the period between settlement in Canaan (the promised land) and the commencement of the monarchy (with Saul proclaimed king), a series of these judges ruled for varying periods of time.

Through the week with Salvationist – a devotional thought for each day

by Major Howard Webber

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QUESTIONS O Can you recall a situation you found yourself in when there was a lack of clear leadership?

O What went wrong, and how was the problem resolved?

In our study passage, we find that the Israelites had again rebelled against God and, for seven years, the Midianites dominated them. Then an angel of the Lord appears at Ophrah and speaks to Gideon, son of Joash, referring to him as ‘mighty warrior’ (v12).

It may be that the angel thought more highly of Gideon than he did. After all, the preceding verse says that Gideon was effectively hiding – ‘threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites’ (v11). A mighty warrior who hides!

Gideon’s fearful mindset is perhaps

also revealed when he replies to the angel: ‘If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?’ He then adds: ‘The Lord has abandoned us’ (v13).

This is an interesting take on the situation because, in reality, the Israelites had abandoned God. The book of Judges shows a repeated pattern: the Israelites rebel against God, they are dominated by a neighbouring nation or people, they repent and then God provides them with a judge. No part of that cycle says that God abandoned his people.

QUESTIONS O Does God ever choose to abandon us or can he be silent for a reason?

(See Psalms 13 and 88.)

O If you feel a distance between God and yourself, how can you seek to close the gap and have a renewed sense of his presence?

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you...

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he set out from Harran.’

(Genesis 12:1 and 4)

Dear Lord, I do surrender/ Myself, my all, to thee;/ My time, my store, my talents,/ So long withheld by me./ I’ve heard the call for workers,/ The world’s great need I see,/ O send me to the rescue,/ I’m here, my Lord, send me!

(SASB 580)

The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.

Am I not sending you?’ ( Judges 6:14)

Gideon is advised to go ‘in the strength you have’ (v14) to which he replies, possibly with some exasperation: ‘But how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family’ (v15).

That question – ‘How can I?’ – has been the ready reply for countless generations of believers when God calls them to do something that seems beyond them. Thousands of years ago it was the plea of Moses (see Exodus 3:11). Today it is often the plea of Christians when God calls them into action.

QUESTIONS O Have you ever used the ‘How can I?’ response with God? What did he want you to do? Did you end up doing it or not?

O When you plead your inadequacy to

God, are you just being humble? What are you really worried about?

God assures Gideon of his presence and Gideon says, ‘Oh, good. OK then.

In that case, I’ll go.’

Wait! No, he doesn’t! Instead he says: ‘Give me a sign that it is really you talking to me’ (v17). Moses took a similar approach in Exodus 4:1–9 when God showed him several signs to demonstrate that it was God giving the instructions.

Gideon prepares some food and places it on a rock, where the Lord produces an intense fire that destroys the food immediately. Gideon is so convinced that he builds an altar there.

O Is there any way to test whether advice or an instruction is from God? (See 1 John 4:1–6.)

The Bible is full of stories of lives being turned around after an encounter with God. Gideon is one such example.

From a position of fear, hiding from the Midianites and questioning God, he agrees to ‘save Israel out of Midian’s hand’ (v14).

He goes with God’s encouragement: ‘Do not be afraid’ (v23).

QUESTIONS you sense God is saying something to you, how do you know it’s from God? O When

MAJOR MAL DAVIES Editor-in-Chief THQ

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

I, the Lord of sea and sky,/ I have heard my people cry./ All who dwell in dark and sin/ My hand will save./ I, who made the stars of night,/ I will make their darkness bright./ I will speak my word to them./ Whom shall I send?

(SASB 1002)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’

(Isaiah 6:8)

Night with him is never night,/ Where he is, there all is light;/ When he calls us, why delay?/ They are happy who obey./ Be it ours, then, while we’re here,/ Him to follow without fear,/ Where he calls us, there to go,/ What he bids us, that to do.

(SASB 689)

‘Then I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the Lord replied. “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.” ’ (Acts 26:15 and 16)

Prayer Father, although I may feel unworthy, inadequate, incapable and unqualified for the task you have in mind, give me a trusting heart, willing to obey your call.

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REFLECTION EC CTI O N REFL RE FLEC FL ECTI TION ON

REFLECTION R REFL RE EFL FLEC ECTI EC TION TI ON

Seeking the Lord

Strength to serve

Brian Colley (Clowne) continues a series of reflections on verses from Psalms My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’

Your face, Lord, I will seek (Psalm 27:8)

S

EVERAL psalms are written with two contrasting moods – from joyful praise moving to a desperate prayer or vice versa. Psalm 27 is one of the former, the first part being happy, ending in verse 6 with the words: ‘I will sing and make music to the Lord.’ There then follows a plaintive petition to God, with a plea for mercy in verse 9: ‘Do not reject or forsake me, God my Saviour.’ The psalmist is seeking a sight of God, yearning to dwell with and serve him.

Many people are busy with church work that may not always be God’s work. Salvationists can be busy people – but not all Salvation Army busyness is necessarily God’s business, which is what it should be.

All my best works are naught, Please they not thee; Far past my busy hands Thine eye doth see Into the depths of mind, Searching the plan designed, Gladdened when thou dost find First of all, thee.

(SASB 704)

Others worship in a habitual, sentimental way, which at times can be more about self than God. They are more concerned about what they can get out of worship than what they can put into it. So many people don’t seek God’s face; they only know his name and serve him from a distance.

True worship and service are only possible when we live in God’s presence and can behold his beauty. The final words from the psalmist are: ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord’ (v14). To truly wait for the Lord is to meet him face to face, see him in all his beauty and perfection, and serve him in the way he wills for us.

Show thyself to me, show thyself to me, That I may reveal thy beauty; Show thyself to me.

(SASB 771) 18

Salvationist 2 July 2022

Major John Waters continues a series of reflections on classic prayers

F

OR much of the 1800s the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, was a leading social reformer. He endeavoured, in private and as a parliamentarian, to alleviate many ills. He was originally sympathetic to The Salvation Army, inviting William and Catherine Booth to participate in various conferences. He later turned against what he termed the ‘appalling Salvation Army’ and described it as a device of the Devil designed to make Christianity odious and ridiculous.

Nevertheless he championed many causes the Army supported, including campaigns against the trafficking of young girls, long working hours, women and children working in mines and boys being employed as chimney sweeps. He also successfully campaigned for the humane treatment of people experiencing serious mental illness and for the establishment of ‘ragged schools’ to make education available for children living in poverty.

This remarkable list of reforms testifies to a long and enlightened life of public service, maintained against frequent opposition, including from the then prime minister, Robert Peel.

Here is one of Anthony’s prayers, which suggests something of his breadth of vision and his desire for the divine aid needed to pursue it. It repays diligent reflection and deepens devotion.

O God, the Father of the forsaken, The help of the weak, The supplier of the needy, Who has diffused and proportioned Thy gifts to body and soul, In such sort that all may acknowledge and perform The joyous duty of mutual service; Who teachest us that love towards the race of man Is the bond of perfectness and the imitation of thy blessed self; Open our eyes and touch our hearts, That we may see and do, Both for this world and for that which is to come, The things which belong to our peace.

Strengthen me in the work I have undertaken; Give me counsel and wisdom, Perseverance, faith and zeal And, according to thy pleasure, prosper the issue.

Pour into me a spirit of humility; Let nothing be done but in devout obedience to thy will, Thankfulness of thine unspeakable mercies And love to thine adorable Son, Christ Jesus.

MAJOR JOHN WATERS Retired Biddulph Moor

NEW COMMITMENTS

BIRMINGHAM CITADEL Julia Henderson was enrolled as a soldier by corps officer Captain Clare Allman. Julia attended a corps as a child but left to find her own path. After years of not going to church but never losing her faith, in 2018 Julia attended Christmas with The Salvation Army at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and made contact with Birmingham Citadel. By the end of 2019 she had decided to start soldiership classes. Julia testified that she feels accepted and knows she belongs. Julia and Captain Clare are pictured with Recruiting Sergeant Carole Richardson.

NORWICH CITADEL Caitlin has become the latest junior soldier at the corps. She shared her love of God and talked about her favourite things, before the congregation sang and danced to ‘The Way It’s Gonna Be’, one of her favourite songs. Caitlin is pictured with corps officers Majors Andrea and Mark Sawyer, who said: ‘Caitlin is, as the song says, a bright shining star!’ – AG

Obioha Queen Evans-Nwosu was welcomed as an adherent by corps officer Major Adrian Allman. She was walking past the hall one Sunday morning after the corps had reopened for worship with a limited number of people following the Covid-19 lockdowns. She has faithfully attended since and has become a much-loved member of the church family. Queen is pictured with Major Adrian.

– RO

PAISLEY CITADEL Reg and Doreen Clark have been followers of Jesus since childhood and active in the Church of Scotland for many years. After their local church closed, they started joining the corps Zoom meetings. They have attended the corps since, including many groups and activities, and enjoyed returning to their families’ Salvationist roots. It was a pleasure for Captain Megan and Lieutenant Elliot Kervin to enrol them both as soldiers. Doreen and Reg spoke with excitement about continuing to serve the Lord in The Salvation Army. – EK BRIDGWATER Peter Brooksbank, Wendy Lay and Jenny Pitman were welcomed as adherents. The meeting began with the statement: ‘Happiness is to know the Saviour’ (SASB 835). During the meeting a clip was played from Toy Story 4 to illustrate what it means to belong. Lieutenants Heather and Jon Culshaw led the meeting and enrolment, alongside Recruiting Sergeant Alan Crawford. As part of their public declaration of faith, the congregation also stood to recite the Salvationist doctrines. Peter, Wendy and Jenny shared their heartfelt testimonies and everyone enjoyed a faith lunch. – HC Salvationist 2 July 2022

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READ WITH US

BOOK REVIEW

Bringing history to life Steven Spencer, director of the International Heritage Centre, reviews With God d on Their Side: William Booth, The Salvation Army and Skeleton Army Riots by James Gardner

Called to Be a Soldier CHAPTER NINE International Headquarters invites s us to share in a worldwide reading ga and nd reflection plan, focusing on one e chap chapter of Called to Be a Soldier each week

H

ISTORIAN James Gardner came across the Skeleton Army while researching Sussex history. His motivation to write With God on Their Side stemmed from his ‘great shock’ at the evidence of Salvationists facing persecution and the level of violence against them: ‘Why on earth, I asked myself, would anyone want to attack an organisation that clearly did so much to try and make the world a better place?’

The book looks at the hostility The Salvation Army faced in the 1880s and 1890s, particularly on the south coast of England, in an engaging and accessible style. Gardner brings to life a period when Salvationists were derided in the press as ‘hyper-zealous fanatics … bawling music as discordant as a colony of rooks’.

Early chapters contain a concise account of Salvation Army origins and the opposition against it. The first appearance of the Skeleton Army at Exeter in 1881 began a wider pattern of ‘spontaneous and relatively disorganised’ attacks on Salvationists, which were ignored by police and magistrates.

After the 1882 court case of Beatty v Gillbanks – responding to violence in Weston-super-Mare – established that Salvationists couldn’t be held responsible for attacks on their processions, the book examines how local authorities in Worthing, Torquay and elsewhere still found legalistic and violent ways to oppose them. This period ended in 1892 with ‘the Skeleton Army’s dramatic last stand’ at Eastbourne. It closes with a short account of Skeleton Army violence at Egham in 1893.

While limited opposition lingered and some Salvationists were imprisoned into the 1910s, this was the end of any violent riots.

Gardner links the Skeleton Army to a defence of ‘local communities and culture from changing circumstances’. While not addressing the looseness of the term ‘Skeleton Army’, his studies make it clear that each instance of opposition arose from local circumstances, led by people without any broader Skeleton leadership. He writes: ‘Skeletons had no headquarters or national strategy and no single, unified army.’

The questions of how much we can speak of a single Skeleton Army, or how widely that appellation should be used, are still unanswered.

God on Their Side is available from lutterworth.com as a paperback to pre-order priced £20 (plus postage and packing) or as a hardback priced £70 – or from amazon.co.uk as a Kindle ebook priced £14.69

O

UR loving heavenly Father wants the best for us. He wants us to be free – free from harm, from addiction, from distraction, from all things that hold us back from fullness of life in Christ.

We are all made in the image of God. And that beautiful truth comes with a responsibility to guard our hearts and our spiritual, physical, social, intellectual and emotional wellbeing.

How we live our life matters: the way we spend our time; what or who we give our attention to; where we spend our money; the media we consume; the way we interact with others. All these things, even the seemingly insignificant, shape who we are becoming.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul describes what a Spirit-empowered life looks like. When we invite the Holy Spirit to live within us and to take the lead, we discover the richness of the life intended for us. We discover true freedom.

Freedom is not for us to see how much we can get away with. It is freedom to bear fruit and to serve one another with love that overflows. It is freedom to pursue health and wholeness, to recognise those things that are potentially harmful to us and other people and to chase after those things that will enable us and others to flourish and grow.

Salvation Army soldiers make a commitment to live out their Christian discipleship free from the influence of any substance or activity that enslaves the body, mind and spirit.

This is not a decision that makes soldiers morally superior.

This is a public declaration of a personal intention to live fully and with integrity as those who belong to Christ. It is a declaration to live undistracted in a world full of distractions and, by the grace of God, to live free.

O With

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

O For

more details find The Salvation Army International Spiritual Life Development on Instagram and Facebook @SalvArmySpiritualLife

ADVERTS

Can you help?

NORTH WALSHAM Hall Lane NR28 9DT Sunday 10 July 10.30am and 4pm

RETIREMENT MEETINGS for Major Richard Durrant

Everything that happens at New Wine’s summer event, United, is made possible by an incredible team of volunteers and, this year, there aren’t enough.

We are particularly short of volunteers for additional needs provision for Our Place and Access teams, who look out for and work alongside children and adults who have any kind of additional support needs.

There are also places across stewarding, event support, catering, cafés and kids groups.

Led by Captain Carl and Territorial Envoy Heather Whitewood

It’s more than an opportunity to serve the wider Christian family.

Volunteers become part of a friendly and faith-filled team, receive training and experience from some of the best practitioners in the country, and get to see God at work both in and through them.

Please send any memories/greetings to carl.whitewood@salvationarmy.org.uk

Could this be an opportunity for you or someone you know?

Find out more: new-wine.org/teamstatus CHIPPENHAM Foghamshire SN15 1HB Saturday 24, Sunday 25 September

REUNION OF CHIPPENHAM BAND Weekend leader – Andrew Blyth, Music Editorial Manager (THQ) Saturday afternoon workshop followed by evening programme After having to postpone this event for two years we are holding a reunion of Chippenham Band. On Saturday afternoon there will be a band workshop/rehearsal followed by buffet tea, then an informal programme. If you are a past member of Chippenham Band and are able to join us for this special weekend please contact Diane Lloyd.

Tel: 07759 447984 Email: dianejlloyd@hotmail.co.uk

Can’t make it to Birmingham for Together 2022?

Join us via livestream on Sunday 17 July at 10.30am for the Commissioning and Ordination of the Messengers of Reconciliation session and again at 3pm for the territorial sending out and celebration meeting. Highlights from the weekend – including worship, concerts, interviews and sports mission – will be available later via the UK and Ireland Territory’s YouTube channel

youtube.com/salvationarmyvideo

Salvationist 2 July 2022

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

ARMY PEOPLE WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Diamond O Majors Ena and Paul Latham (14 July) O Commissioners Arthur and Karen Thompson (14 July) Emerald (55th) O B/Sec Roy and Songster Shirley Blythe, Sutton-in-Ashfield (29 June) Golden O Bandsman Jim and Linda Burns, Dunstable (1 July) DEDICATED TO GOD O Edward George Amos, son of EmilyAnn and Jonathan Amos, at Reading Central by Major Beth Maddern O Eli Julian Cyril Jones, son of Becca and Wes Jones, at Winton by Major Jane Alton O Elora Simon, daughter of Simon Sundar Dhas and Pauleen Jeya Dorcas, at Belfast Citadel by Major Mark Waghorn O Grace Chinelotam Adaji, daughter of Obioha Queen Evans-Nwosu, at Birmingham Citadel by Major Adrian Allman RETIRED OFFICERS’ BIRTHDAYS O Major Margaret Parkhouse (85 on 10 July) O Lieut-Colonel Peter Dalziel (80 on 13 July) O Lieut-Colonel Jessie Dawson (85 on 15 July) PROMOTED TO GLORY Jean Arundel, Knottingley O Pamela Veal, Abertillery O Songster Olive Barron, Sherburn Hill, on 13 June O

B/S/Reservist Ruth Elizabeth Eves, Wrexham, on 14 June O Kathleen Housley, Hull Citadel, on 16 June O Major Margaret Thomson from Blackpool Victoria Hospital on 21 June O

BEREAVED O Brenda Faiers and Kathryn Heath, both Knottingley, of their sister Jean Arundel O Major Colin Bradshaw, Parkhead, Shettleston and Dennistoun, of his father John Bradshaw O Bandsman/Songster Ken Barron, Sherburn Hill, of his wife Songster Olive Barron, Susan David and Mark Barron of their mother O Edward Eves, Wrexham, of his wife B/S/Reservist Ruth Elizabeth Eves, Brian Eves, Keith Eves and Gilly Thornton, Hendon, of their mother O Fred Housley, Hull Citadel, of his wife Kathleen Housley, Captain Wendy Ferguson-Smith, Selby, Captain Angela Noble, Scarborough, Linda Posnett and Peter Housley of their mother ICO DELEGATES The 250th session of the International College for Officers begins on 13 July O Captain Graciela Arkell, Canada and Bermuda O Major Wendy Mouland, Canada and Bermuda O Major Marie Davis, Caribbean O Major Claudia Klingbeil, Germany, Lithuania and Poland O Major Emelia Asante Appiah, Ghana O Major Jeenkalvin Vedamanickam, India Central O Major Lalhmingthanga, India Eastern

ENGAGEMENTS THE CHIEF OF THE STAFF (COMMISSIONER LYNDON BUCKINGHAM) AND COMMISSIONER BRONWYN BUCKINGHAM O ICO (welcome meeting), Thu 14 Jul

Major Thanga Tombing, India Eastern Major Minati Nayak, India Northern O Major Christopher Yacobu, India South Eastern O Captain Soumya Reni, India South Western O Major Shailesh Macwan, India Western O Major Jaynisha Mecwan, India Western O Captain Andrianov Luturmas, Indonesia O Captain Mariko Suzuki, Japan O Captain Margaret Makau, Kenya East O Major Violet Matodze, Kenya West O Captain Dehmon Collins, Liberia and Sierra Leone O Captain Bazile Mwepesa, Malawi O Captain Eric Kamperman, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia O Captain Robert Adams, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa O Captain Steven Lavaki, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands O Captain Ariel Misa, The Philippines O Major Lalroengi, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar O Captain Melisa Gutiérrez, South America East O Captain Ruben Ponce, South America West O Major Nhlanhla Ziqubu, Southern Africa O Major Elisabeth Hjerpe, Sweden and Latvia O Captain Nicola Brooksbank, United Kingdom and Ireland O Captain Peter Renshaw, United Kingdom and Ireland O Captain Kristina Sjogren, USA Central O Major Paul Cornell, USA Eastern O Major Jodi Lloyd, USA Eastern O Major Missy Romack, USA Southern O Major Richard Pease, USA Western O Major Arnold Chinyemba, Zambia O Major Kumbirayi Kazembe, Zimbabwe and Botswana O O

THE TERRITORIAL COMMANDER (COMMISSIONER ANTHONY COTTERILL) AND COMMISSIONER GILLIAN COTTERILL

OFFICIAL GAZETTE

O WBC (Covenant Day), Wed 13 Jul

PROMOTIONS To major – effective 10 June O Captain Jae-Soo Cha, New Malden O Captain Jung-Hee Hwang, New Malden

O ICO (welcome meeting), Thu 14 O ICC, Birmingham (Together 2022), Fri 15 – Sun 17

THE CHIEF SECRETARY (COLONEL PAUL MAIN) AND COLONEL JENINE MAIN O WBC (Covenant Day), Wed 13 Jul O ICC, Birmingham (Together 2022), Fri 15 – Sun 17

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Salvationist 2 July 2022

ANTHONY COTTERILL Commissioner Territorial Commander

TRIBUTES PETER MILLEST, GAINSBOROUGH THE son of Bramwell and Lily, Peter was born in 1953. His family worshipped at Ashby Corps (now Scunthorpe). After becoming a junior soldier, he learnt to play the tenor horn and eventually moved to euphonium. As a senior soldier, he developed musically and spiritually under the direction of his father, who was the band leader.

Peter was encouraged to attend Tylney Hall and Cobham music schools. In later years he enjoyed playing at the Easter Music Course and also in the East Midlands Fellowship Band. He held the positions of YP band leader and songster leader. Twice a year, in the summer and at Christmas, he organised the band to play in the marketplace of a nearby corps.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns, Peter played tunes at his garden gate to encourage his neighbours. His other interests were photography and woodwork.

Widowed at an early age, he leaves two sons and a sister. – AN

During this time he continued to serve the Lord as corps treasurer, corps cadet guardian and corps sergeant-major in three different corps.

When they returned to officership in the Scotland Territory, Kath continued in corps work but Ernie was encouraged to use his experience to set up a chain of New to You Salvation Army charity shops.

Ernie and Kath retired in 1993 and settled in Diss for a time before moving to Leamington Spa. After Kath was promoted to Glory in 2008 Ernie moved closer to family in Nuneaton, where he was active in the corps until his promotion to Glory on 5 May. Ernie always loved the Lord he served and will be missed by his many friends and all five generations of his loving family. – GT

MAJOR MAURICE HAYLETT MAURICE was born on 16 January 1929 in Rochdale, Lancashire. After national service in the RAF and working in a textile mill, Maurice entered the Salvation Army training college in 1950 as part of the Ambassadors session. Following his marriage to Anna Trainer in 1957, MAJOR ERNEST they were appointed as corps officers THOMPSON ERNIE first encountered in England and his beloved Scotland, before returning to England in 1976 to The Salvation Army the Public Relations Department prior when his mother was to their retirement in 1994. In 2010 they encouraged to attend Erdington home league returned to live in Reading until Anna was promoted to Glory in 2011. and to bring her fourMaurice represented the very best year-old son with her. Soon after this first of Salvation Army officership, being meeting, his father was converted and so, compassionate, hard-working, humble, encouraged by his parents, Ernie’s own approachable and of the highest integrity. long journey of faith began.

With Anna, he was always looking out In 1946, before being able to complete for those at the margins who needed his toolmakers apprenticeship, Ernie was to be enfolded in community life. His called up to serve in the Royal Corps of conversations were witty, engaging Signals. Soon after the completion of his military service he entered the International and spiced with his offbeat sense of humour, often delivered with a deadpan Training College in the Ambassadors expression, a half-suppressed grin session and was commissioned in 1951. and a twinkle in his eye. He would Married to Lieutenant Kathleen J often remark that he was thrilled, not Cavanagh in 1953 they went on to to mention surprised, to be a father of serve their Lord together in many corps three, grandfather of seven and a greatappointments in the British and Scotland grandfather of four, who were such a Territories.

For some years Ernie and Kath resigned source of joy to him.

At Maurice’s heart was a total devotion from officership and, during this time, to the person of Jesus, to whom he Ernie worked for Dr Barnardo’s, where he had given his life at an early age – a was responsible for turning around the commitment that continued for the rest of efficiency of their chain of charity shops.

his years. His faith in Christ touched every aspect of his life and held him in love throughout it. He will be greatly missed by friends and family, particularly his children, Christine, Ian and Phillip. – IH ANGELA FLETCHER, STAPLEFORD BORN in Stapleford in 1948, Angela attended Stapleford Methodist Sunday school as a child with her sisters, Judith and Liz. On leaving school Angela trained as a nurse in London. She returned to work at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, reaching the status of matron.

During her career Angela spent time nursing in Zambia but had to return home due to ill health. In later life she gained a bachelor’s degree in history. She loved her holidays and walking, becoming a member of a local walking group.

Angela started attending Stapleford Corps in 2010 and became an adherent.

She helped with the parent-and-toddler group for many years while also looking after her father. She was respected and loved by her family.

Angela’s faith was important to her, and her calling in life was to care for others. – FT DEREK HARRISON, COVENTRY CITY DEREK was born in Bristol to Salvationist parents, and his grandparents were officers. At the age of 17 Derek joined the RAF, which took him to east Yorkshire, where he attended Hull East Corps. It was during this time that he was called to officership. He went to the training college and was appointed to Outwood Corps.

Derek married Monica in 1971 and together they served as corps officers at Brighouse, Teignmouth, Harlesden and then in the Public Relations Department in London, Yorkshire, the South East Region and finally Birmingham.

Derek’s health deteriorated but, after leaving officership, he still served his Lord and Saviour at his local church as well as Coventry City Corps. He had a wonderful personality and took every opportunity to share his faith and love of music.

Promoted to Glory, he will be missed by all who knew him. – VS Salvationist 2 July 2022

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‘‘

Stand up, stand up for Jesus!

Stand in his strength alone

All kinds of people attend, join, volunteer with or work for The Salvation Army.

We’ve asked some to tell us about themselves.

This week…

SANDRA KATSWERE BASINGSTOKE How did you first come into contact with the Army?

I was born and raised in the Army and went to Army schools in Africa.

What made you want to become a soldier?

When I moved to the UK and experienced life’s biggest challenges on my own at a young age, I lost my way and stopped going to church. One day a friend invited me to Basingstoke Corps, as she knew I was a member of the Army back home. I received a warm welcome and started attending regularly. I gained a family in Christ, so I decided to enrol again as a soldier.

Picture: Sean Oulashin/Unsplash

What is your day job?

I am a bariatric clinical/surgical nurse specialist.

What is the most interesting thing about your job – and the most frustrating?

The most interesting thing is doing the post-op follow-ups and noticing patients’ amazing lifestyle changes. Funding issues are frustrating.

(SASB 982)

What is your favourite Bible verse?

‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10). This reminds me to stay calm and trust in God. He always carries me through.

Which Bible figure would you like to meet and what would you ask them?

Mary, the mother of Jesus. I would love to ask her what it was like raising the Son of God and how she coped with the challenges he faced along the way.

If you could be in a film, which would it be and what character would you play?

X-Men. I would play Storm.

If you were to create a slogan for your life, what would it be?

‘A woman forever blessed.’

What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?

Swimming. I was very good when I was younger.

Apart from English, what languages do you know?

Shona and a bit of French.

What is your favourite kind of holiday?

A sunny beach holiday.

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What is your favourite hymn or worship song?

‘Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus’ (SASB 982).

Is there something about life or the world you’ve never understood?

Racism.

If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be?

I would eradicate poverty and war by moving global military funding into humanitarian aid and development.

Did you have a nickname growing up?

Dimba (Little robin bird).

If you had to be handcuffed to one person for a day, who would it be?

Michelle or Barack Obama.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I am good at learning people’s character.

Apart from the Bible, which book would you want on a desert island?

Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd.

C I you had a ‘theme song’ that played If whenever you walked into a room, what w would it be? w ‘‘I Am Blessed’ by Mr Vegas.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve W ever been given? e Always trust God’s timing.

A What is the most valuable thing you W possess? p My family.

M Something interesting that people might S want to know about you is… w I am kind, courageous, fun and always willing to help others prosper in life. w