Faith & Friends June 2018

Two Missiles to Paradise

7 MINUTES TO LIVE? P.8

TV’s Mister Rogers

FRED’S FAITH P.11

Army Helps

HOUSING HOPE P.29

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

JUNE 2018

Pascal Siakam’s One Shot

TORONTO RAPTOR WAS DETERMINED TO MAKE HIS FATHER’S DREAM A REALITY. P.16

“ Give us

today our daily bread”

Have you ever witnessed a miracle?

God at work in a difficult situation?

Mother Teresa recalled this story: In Calcutta, we feed 10,000 people every day. If we don’t, 10,000 people won’t eat.

One day, the sister in charge told me, “Mother, we have nothing left. We do not have food for so many people.”

I felt numb. It was the first time that such a thing had happened.

That morning, a truck loaded with bread arrived. I don’t know why the city’s schools were closed that day, but all the bread ended up here.

You see, God had closed the schools.

He could not allow our people to go hungry. The daily bread was another proof of God’s tenderness.

Even though there was a crisis, God was at work. Daily bread, daily provision, daily tenderness.

Have you seen this same thing happen, in a different context, at one time or another? If so, we want to know!

To tell us about your miracle, email us at faithandfriends@can.salvationarmy.org.

Beverly A. Ivany, Words of Life January-April 2018, London, England, 2018

—Matthew 6:11

JUNE 2018

VOLUME 21 NUMBER 6

GOD IN MY LIFE 5 Building Bridges

A caring Salvation Army community welcomed me with open arms.

LAUGHING MATTERS 8 Two Missiles to Paradise

What would you do if you had seven minutes to live?

FEATURES

12

COVER STORY

16

22

5

COMMON GROUND 11 “Back Where They Belong”

Salvation Army finds Indigenous regalia stolen three years before.

Won’t You Be His Neighbour?

Inside the radical—but gentle—faith of Mister Rogers.

Doing It for Dad

Toronto Raptor Pascal Siakam was determined to make his father’s dream of a son in the NBA a reality.

Martha’s “Cradle of Sound”

Harpist practises a special kind of therapy for patients at The Salvation Army’s Toronto Grace Health Centre.

LITE STUFF 26 Eating Healthy With Erin

Sudoku, Quick Quiz, Word Search.

SOMEONE CARES 29 Housing Hope

Cover photo: NBA Photos

Helped by The Salvation Army, Billie Graham is now helping others.

REFASHIONISTA RULES 31 5 Sustainable Summer Tips

12

It’s easy to be eco-friendly with these suggestions.

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Faith&Friends

FROM THE EDITOR

No Tomorrow?

T

his past January, a friend and her colleague flew to Hawaii for a church conference.

After a week of meetings, the two took the Saturday off. The view from their hotel balcony was a picture of tranquility.

Seconds later, that tranquility was shattered when their cellphones started going crazy.

The alert that flashed across their screens was nightmarish: North Korean missiles had been detected heading for Hawaii and would make landfall in approximately 20 minutes. Odds were that they were nuclear-tipped, which would mean unimaginable destruction. The hotel’s PA system advised everyone to head for the basement.

Instead, the two headed back to their hotel room. Cocooned from the uproar outside, they joined hands and prayed for serenity within from the bedlam without. They prayed for family and friends, they prayed for fortitude to withstand what was to come, and they thanked God for the blessed people that had come their way.

Eventually the all-clear sounded, but that day changed my friend’s life forever. “I savour every moment now,” she says. “I don’t put projects off ‘for another day,’ and I really have stopped sweating the small stuff. I am grateful for every day of life— because who knows when it could be my last?”

What an attitude to emulate! What a difference it would make in how we behave and how we treat people if we, too, lived like there was no tomorrow.

As it happens, Phil Callaway was also in Hawaii that day, and his story is on page 8. Elsewhere this month, we look at TV’s Mister Rogers and how his quiet theology touched millions.

Ken Ramstead

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Mission Statement To show Christ at work in the lives of real people, and to provide spiritual resources for those who are new to the Christian faith.

Faith & Friends is published monthly by: The Salvation Army 2 Overlea Blvd, Toronto Ontario, M4H 1P4 International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4P 4EP, England William and Catherine Booth FOUNDERS

André Cox, GENERAL Commissioner Susan McMillan TERRITORIAL COMMANDER

Lt-Colonel Jim Champ SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS Geoff Moulton, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ken Ramstead, EDITOR

Brandon Laird DESIGN AND MEDIA SPECIALIST

Timothy Cheng SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Pamela Richardson, COPY EDITOR, PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR

Ada Leung CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR

Kristin Ostensen STAFF WRITER, PROOFREADER

Giselle Randall STAFF WRITER Scripture Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from New International Version Contact Us P. (416) 467-3188, F. (416) 422-6120 Websites faithandfriends.ca, salvationist.ca, salvationarmy.ca Email faithandfriends@can.salvationarmy.org Subscription for one year: Canada $17 (includes GST/HST); U.S. $22; foreign $24 P. (416) 422-6119 circulation@can.salvationarmy.org All articles are copyright The Salvation Army Canada & Bermuda and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064794 ISSN 1702-0131

Faith&Friends

GOD IN MY LIFE

Building Bridges I struggled with self-harm for years, until a caring Salvation Army community welcomed me with open arms.

by Sarah-Kate Salmon

Sunny Days “Healing comes in the light, life comes in the bright,” says Sarah-Kate Salmon

I

was 10 years old when I first picked up a razor blade to self-harm.

I began intentionally hurting myself with the hope that I would be able to escape the emotions that

overwhelmed my mind and body.

I’d been self-harming for a couple of years already, in other ways, because I was overcome with sadness, anxiety and a desperation to numb myself from it all.

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GOD IN MY LIFE

I realized I had a whole Army rooting for me! SARAH-KATE SALMON I can tell you now why I did it. It wasn’t a cry for help, for the sake of attention, or because I was “possessed”—despite what several teachers, counsellors and church leaders thought.

It was the physiological and psychological equation that worked for me. I was able to control my pain. I was able to see the source of my pain—rather than the stuff in my head I didn’t understand.

I struggled with self-harm and an eating disorder for all of my teenage life. It consumed me. I sought to destroy my body out of my understanding that it was evil and meant for evil.

Why? I felt that I wasn’t in control of my own body, that others were, people who abused it and judged it. People who had no right took advantage and robbed me of pieces and experiences not meant for them.

I felt as if it was owned by other people, who ruled my body and did what they wanted with it.

So I took matters into my own hands. And several times, I acted as if I were God and tried to take my life.

I was in and out of support groups, treatment centres, counsellors’ offices, prayer meetings focusing on

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mental health and healing, and— more seriously—hospital. My eating disorder could have claimed my life.

And self-harm could have ended my life long before God intended, before I could fulfil the purposes and plans God had for me. But there was hope.

Victory on the Other Side After being asked to leave one church for being “possessed” and a “hindrance,” I attempted suicide.

Thankfully, I failed, and wound up at a conference where I met my now-boyfriend, who belongs to The Salvation Army.

He connected me with a local Army church. I began to meet people who didn’t know my story, but I saw how they reacted to other people in my circumstances, people who suffered the same way I did with depression and anxious thoughts that hurt so bad, they didn’t want to live anymore. These Salvationists were full of love, grace and peace.

They walked alongside me, and their love was infectious. I’d never known such belonging before. They held me accountable, attended appointments with me and referred me to trusted professionals.

I realized I had a whole Army

rooting for me!

Just as importantly, with each step I took in faith toward God and a real relationship with Him, I saw the desires fall away. Every day that I walk in this way, it gets easier.

The Salvation Army church has been pivotal in my recovery.

Even with relapses and traumatic experiences, my church family has been encouraging and compassionate, never failing to refer, hold me accountable, sit with me, cry or laugh with me, offer me opportunities to be challenged and grow, and constantly praying with and for me, reminding me of my true identity as a child of God. I used to be ashamed, especially in church. I would wear baggy clothes to hide my weight loss, never go out for meals after services, and hide my arms under long sleeves.

Now, I choose to be authentic, to

be transparent. I lift up my tattered arms to God in thankfulness. I choose life, because what we hide in the dark remains dead and void.

Healing comes in the light, life comes in the bright.

I am 25 now, no longer walking wounded. Instead, I am a beloved warrior. I have been gifted with these experiences and these struggles in order to walk with other teens who seek to be loved and understood.

I wish I could say I’m fully recovered, but I think that’s what many of us fail to understand: the battle is never over. It’s a daily affirmation of faith that gets me by.

For those going through what I went through, you can break the stigma, and cross a bridge between the topic of mental health and the church. I promise you, the victory you will find on the other side will be worth it.

A Beloved Warrior Sarah-Kate is an official member of The Salvation Army who attends Cariboo Hill Temple in Burnaby, B.C.

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Faith&Friends

LAUGHING MATTERS

Two Missiles to Paradise What would you do if you had seven minutes to live?

Illustra

tions: D

ennis J

ones

by Phil Callaway

T

his past January, my wife, Ramona, and I were in Hawaii, where I was on a speaking tour.

That Sunday, Ramona and I were enjoying an early breakfast

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when suddenly at 8:07 a.m., the world went crazier than a cageful of monkeys. Here’s what happened …

Watching the World End A zillion cellphones buzz and a mes-

“ I wonder if we’ll see the missile?

Let’s watch.” PHIL CALLAWAY sage flashes onscreen: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii.

Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”

Pandemonium breaks loose.

People panic. Some scream. Others flee through the streets. Tearful goodbyes are said. Underground parking lots fill.

“It’s North Korea,” says someone.

“It takes a ballistic missile 20 minutes to get here.” Thirteen minutes have come and gone.

With seven minutes left to live, Ramona and I descend nine flights of stairs. A lady is carrying a Bible.

“That’s a good book,” I say.

“The best,” she smiles. “Especially this morning.” Call us delusional, but we stop and talk about heaven, about the good news of Christ’s love.

“We’re in God’s hands,” we agree.

With six minutes left of our lives, Ramona and I turn west onto Lewers Street, and toward the Pacific.

A hundred thoughts flood your mind when you have five minutes to live. The kids. Is there anything unsaid? No. They know we love them.

“I wonder if we’ll see the missile?”

I say. “Let’s watch.”

Not Today Three minutes to go and a man stops us. He’s furious at the world’s leaders.

“We can’t put our hope there,” I stop him to say. “Our hope is in Jesus.” I’m more fearless than normal. After all, what’s he gonna do?

Kill me?

With two minutes left, it’s important to know that your worldview works. I’m happy to report that Christianity does.

For many, fear reigns. For me, I’m a little jittery, but filled with peace.

I hold my wife’s hand and quote Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”

One minute to live and we are laughing. There are the mountains.

And there’s the sea.

My watch says time’s up. I pause.

“We’re still here,” I say.

“Shoot,” says Ramona. We laugh

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LAUGHING MATTERS

again. Most of her family are in heaven, and there are days she’d love to see them, but today isn’t that day.

A Real Blast It takes a whopping 38 minutes for authorities to issue a retraction. Someone hit the wrong button.

Oops. How prominent is this button? Did they hire someone whose eyesight wasn’t up to par?

Maybe he pushed the button thinking it said, “Go for lunch,” when it said, “Go for launch.”

It’s too early to go for launch, so we continue our walk along Waikiki Beach. It’s the emptiest I’ve seen it, but people are beginning to return.

I want to yell, “Don’t go back to the way you were. This is not the land of the living. It’s the land of the dying.

Are you ready? You have one life to live. One story to tell. Write it well.”

Perhaps each day should start with a missile scare. We’d be a little more aware that we’re not here long, a little more prepared to share the hope of Christ.

At 10 a.m., a friend emails to ask me if we are OK. “Yeah,” I reply. “But it’s been a blast.”

(left) Phil Callaway’s Laugh Again radio program airs 700 times a week in Canada. Visit him at laughagain.org.

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Faith&Friends

COMMON GROUND

“Back Where They Belong” Salvation Army finds Indigenous regalia stolen three years before.

by Keili Bartlett

Part of the Story Salvation Army Lieutenant Sabrina Silvey, Oliver Stewart and Roma Dawe hold the button blanket Oliver’s mother made when he was 10 years old

of the pieces that were found.

When asked if Oliver thought he would see his mother’s handiwork again, he replied, “Never. I didn’t ever think I would. It means a lot.

“I was 10 years old when she made this,” he said with the button blanket in his hands and tears in his eyes. “I’d just like to say thank you.”

“It was heartwarming to know that when something so precious was taken away, we could return it,” said Lieutenant Sabrina Silvey, the Prince Rupert Army pastor. “That doesn’t happen very often. It’s a good story, and I’m glad we were a part of it.”

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Photo: Keili Bartlett/Black Press Media/The Northern View

Reprinted from The Northern View, April 13, 2018

T

his past April, a woman was walking

by The Salvation Army’s storefront in Prince Rupert, B.C., when the window display caught her eye. The mannequins were wearing her family’s regalia— stolen three years before.

“We immediately took it out of the window and locked it in the office until all the channels were followed to make sure it got back to the right people,” store manager Roma Dawe said. The display had only been set up 20 minutes before the woman walked by.

“Today, we get to return it,” Roma said at the thrift store the next day while waiting for the family to arrive.

“It’s a wonderful feeling.”

The hand-sewn pieces include a vest, button blanket, tunics and furtrimmed boots, all complete with delicate First Nations designs.

“I’m glad they’re going back where they belong,” Roma said.

The woman’s cousin, Oliver Stewart, came to take his family heirlooms home. His mother made many

FEATURE

Photos: © The Canadian Press

Faith&Friends

All Aboard Fred Rogers and the trolley car that travelled to the Neighborhood of Make Believe

Won’t You Be His Neighbour?

INSIDE THE RADICAL—BUT GENTLE— FAITH OF MISTER ROGERS.

by Tyler Huckabee

N

orth Americans seem to love sharing myths about Fred Rogers, the friendly neighbour known the world over as Mister Rogers. Consider the one about how he wore cardigans to cover up his tattoos (false).

Or the one about how he was an ordained minister. That one is 12 • JUNE 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

true—he graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1963—and it’s far more foundational to Rogers’ legacy than you might think.

As They Are Rogers was a man defined by his Christian faith, and the message that he taught every day on

Reprinted from The Washington Post, January 30, 2018

his beloved children’s show was shaped by it. “If Protestants had saints,” Jonathan Merritt wrote in The Atlantic, “Mister Rogers might already have been canonized.”

The news that Tom Hanks was portraying Fred Rogers in a biopic was met with frenzied glee, as Hanks is one of the few contemporary celebrities who approaches Rogers’ universally beloved status.

But even Hanks, for all his charms, doesn’t occupy the same stratosphere of Rogers’ legacy of moral and spiritual importance.

He was a pastor on television in the golden era of televangelism, but unlike televangelists, Rogers’ focus wasn’t on eternal life, but our own interior lives. Christian evangelists were making a name for themselves preaching about the wickedness of

mankind, but Rogers was more interested in his viewers’ inherent value and worth. Evangelists were finding ways the human race didn’t measure up to God’s moral standard. But Rogers said over and over again: “You’ve made this day a special day by just your being you. There is no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.”

If this sounds like the sort of shallow talking point espoused by the likes of American televangelist Joel Osteen, consider these words: “Love isn’t a perfect state of caring,” Rogers wrote in The World According to Mister Rogers. “It’s an active noun like ‘struggle.’ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” Rogers wasn’t telling children that they were so perfect that

Happy Three Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood regulars Mr. McFeely and Lady Aberlin pose with Mister Rogers faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2018

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

there was no room for them ever to improve as people; just that he loved them as they were, regardless of who they were or what they had done.

Hi, Neighbour!

“I think everybody longs to be loved, and longs to know that he or she is lovable,” Rogers said in the 2003 documentary America’s Favorite Neighbor. “And, consequently, the greatest thing that we can do is to

country of Samaria stopped and showed kindness. This was Jesus’ roundabout way of answering the question “Who is my neighbour?”

Jesus’ point—that the Samaritan and the Jewish man were neighbours in a spiritual sense, if not a physical one—feels right at home on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, where Rogers greeted you with a daily “Hi, neighbour!” as if the whole world lived in the same close-knit community.

“ There is no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” MISTER ROGERS help somebody know that they’re loved and capable of loving.”

Rogers echoed the sentiment of the biblical passage 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The focus is not just how important it is that you’re loved, but also how vital it is to be loving.

Rogers’ theological messages could be traced to the biblical notion of “neighbour” and Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37), where a Jewish man was mugged and left for dead, his body ignored by the religious elite who passed by.

But then a man from the despised 14 • JUNE 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

As They Are It might be tempting to think Mister Rogers’ message came from a simpler time, but his show debuted just a few months after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the world remained on tenterhooks. Rogers’ message upended a few apple carts in his own time, and it frankly remains countercultural today.

The notion of a worldwide neighbourhood in which everyone belongs has been replaced by a call for isolationism. Rogers was aware of our own propensity to kick people out—an early episode of his show featured King Friday, the ruler of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe,

Everyone’s Neighbour Fred Rogers’ series originated on CBC television in 1963 as Misterogers

attempting to build a wall around his kingdom to protect it from change. Sound familiar?

A Necessary Theology Perhaps the gentle, accepting theology of Rogers is all well and good for children, but adults do not have the luxury of unconditional love and acceptance. You can feel this sentiment in Family Research Council President Tony Perkins’ recent Politico interview, where he hedged Jesus’ language about turning the other cheek. “You know, you only have two cheeks,” he said. “Christianity is not all about being a welcome mat which people can just stomp their feet on.” Jesus’ teaching

is a nice idea, Perkins seems to be saying. But it’s just not realistic.

Rogers thought of the act of loving and accepting someone as your neighbour as holy business, as he said in a 2001 commencement address at Middlebury College: “When we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does; so in appreciating our neighbour, we’re participating in something truly sacred.”

It may sound old-fashioned, but Mister Rogers’ theology was radical in 1962 when his show debuted, and it remains radical today. That’s why it resonated. That’s why it’s still necessary. faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2018

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

Doing It for Dad TORONTO RAPTOR PASCAL SIAKAM WAS DETERMINED TO MAKE HIS FATHER’S DREAM OF A SON IN THE NBA A REALITY.

by Jayne Thurber-Smith 16 • JUNE 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

To the Hoop!

Pascal Siakam was selected as the 27th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors

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Faith&Friends

COVER STORY

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES of a gangly, soccer-loving Cameroonian who lived almost 10,000 kilometres from Toronto standing underneath the basketball net at the Air Canada Centre, proudly sporting a Raptors jersey with his name on it?

Insurmountable? Well, Pascal Siakam did it.

“Who I Am” When Pascal moved from Cameroon to North America in 2012, he learned more languages than just English. He also became fluent in trash talk and social-media communications. On Twitter, he’s not only generous in sharing his stylish fashion photos and videos of verbal sparring with teammate Jakob Poeltl, but he openly shares how his faith has helped him ride out the roller-coaster that is his basketball journey thus far.

“Believing in God is a big part of who I am,” he says.

When he was assigned in March 2017 to the NBA G League’s Raptors 905, Pascal posted on his Twitter feed: “In due time. Until then just grind. Whoever counted you out can’t count.” A few weeks later, he wrote, “Patience is trusting in God’s timing.”

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Not long after that, Pascal played a major role in helping the 905 win the league championships and hoisted the MVP trophy to prove it.

In October, the Raptors signed him to the end of 2019.

“Happy Birthday, Dad!” Growing up, Pascal’s first love was soccer. He played basketball just for fun but was good enough to get invited to the Basketball Without Borders camp in South Africa in 2012. It was there that he first met his future Raptors teammate, Serge Ibaka, who was originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and was working as a camp counsellor. It was also there that basketball became Pascal’s passion, and being in the NBA went from just a dream his dad had for him to one of his very own.

He was recruited by a coach from God’s Academy, a high school in Lewisville, Texas. Pascal speaks excellent English now but barely spoke any at the time and had never left Africa before. His dad encouraged him to pursue this new opportunity. At this point, all three of his older brothers were playing, or had already played, college basketball in North America. It was a real culture shock for the 16-year-

Photos: NBA Photos

Standing Tall On October 26, 2016, Pascal became the first Toronto rookie to start a season opener since Jonas Valančiūnas in 2012 and had nine rebounds to go along with four points in a 109–91 win over the Detroit Pistons

old, but Pascal says he never once considered giving up.

Recruiters had noticed him because of his natural talent and athletic ability, but now he had to learn the game. He wanted to silence the teammates who kept teasing

him, so he put in a lot of solo hours working on his shots and got better every match.

Pascal went on to play for New Mexico State University, but just before his first game in October 2014, he got a life-changing call. faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2018

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COVER STORY

“ Believing in God is a big part of who I am.” PASCAL SIAKAM His father had died as the result of injuries suffered in a car crash back home. Somehow, Pascal fought through his heartbreak and showed up for the game, but this was a turning point for him. Instead of playing to prove himself to the naysayers, he was now playing to make his dad’s dream of having a son in the NBA a reality.

“I wanted to make him proud and give him this gift,” Pascal wrote in The Players’ Tribune.

He played two years for New Mexico, then, after working out with various NBA teams, he decided to declare for the draft. He had received varying feedback, some suggesting he play out his two years of college eligibility and others saying he should play in Europe for a season, but he had confidence in his skill level that he had worked so hard at.

He was taken by the Toronto Raptors as the 27th overall pick.

Pascal’s Twitter bio reads: “God first. #RipDad #DoingItForYou.” On July 7, 2016, he posted: “I made my dad’s dream come true by signing my first NBA contract on his birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!” 20 • JUNE 2018 I faithandfriends.ca

All Work and No Play …

As a rookie player in the big leagues that year he sometimes found himself in over his head.

When he was assigned to the G League in the spring, he used that time to get more comfortable with the game.

“I learned to just go out and do my job,” he says. “I always knew that if I kept working hard, things could change. You have to be tough mentally to be able to handle ups and downs, and keep moving forward.”

Pascal takes the responsibility of representing not just the City of Toronto but the entire country of Canada in the NBA very seriously.

“Our fans create great energy,” he smiles. “I spent my summer working on my game, being a better playmaker overall, working on my shots, watching film, changing little things, learning and improving by inches. I feel a lot more comfortable on the court. I know what’s going on and what to expect a little better.”

It’s not all work and no play for Pascal. In his downtime, he enjoys hanging out with Jakob, his teammate from Austria.

Slam Dunk “I always knew that if I kept working hard, things could change,” says Pascal

What’s in a Number?

“We were drafted the same year, and he’s a hard worker like I am,” Pascal says. “We like practising together but also just hanging out, encouraging each other. Our trash talk is all for fun, because we are more competitive with each other on my FIFA video game than on the court … but I’m definitely the better one at FIFA!”

“Every time I enter the game,” says Pascal, “I touch the number ‘4’ on my jersey four times for my dad and three brothers, then I touch the number ‘3’ three times for my mom and two sisters, then I cross myself for God and point up to the sky. I know my dad is watching.

It’s definitely tough without him, every day, but knowing I am doing exactly what he wanted gives me the strength.”

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Faith&Friends

FEATURE

Martha’s “Cradle of Sound” HARPIST PRACTISES A SPECIAL KIND OF THERAPY FOR PATIENTS AT THE SALVATION ARMY’S TORONTO GRACE HEALTH CENTRE.

Photos: Eric Gerard, Creative Director, Element Eighty (e80)

by Gerry Condotta

Helping Hands “I strive to effect positive changes that will meet the needs of the patient,” says Margaret Lawrance

E

very Tuesday, Martha Lawrance plays her harp for the patients at The Salvation Army Toronto Grace Health Centre (TGHC).

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Martha is a certified therapeutic harp practitioner (CTHP) and is accredited by the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians.

As a CTHP, she does not diagnose

The Toronto Grace Health Centre is the only hospital in Canada with a therapeutic harp program. illnesses or prescribe a treatment plan for patients; in fact, she rarely has much knowledge of the specific illnesses of the patients for whom she plays.

“Instead, as a therapeutic musician,” Martha says, “I play prescriptive music through sound and vibrations to enhance their wellbeing, to create an environment conducive to the healing process.”

Harp therapy, the benefits of which are now documented, is an art based on the science of sound. Live harp music effects positive changes in the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual functioning of individuals with health problems. The resonance and tone quality of the harp provides comfort and gently creates a “cradle of sound” as support, to address anxiety, breathing problems, fear, pain and depression.

“As a CTHP,” Martha says, “I strive to meet the wants and needs of the patient. I do that by designing a musical experience to enhance their quality of life.”

Helping to Heal Martha has been a harpist for most of her life. She began playing

the piano at age six and studying the harp at the age of eight. As a child, she studied with Marie Lorcini of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and by the time she reached high school, she was playing professionally. During that time, she also worked as a volunteer, both musically and as a caregiver.

She furthered her studies at the University of Western Ontario’s faculty of music, and has played the harp professionally with the London Symphony Orchestra, Theatre London, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and the Blyth Festival Theatre.

“I’ve always shared my music,” smiles Martha.

After hearing about the benefits of therapeutic music, she became interested in learning how to play her harp in a health-care setting where she could promote health and wellness through music. Her research directed her to Christina Tourin, the director of the International Harp Therapy Program and author of the harp therapy book, A Cradle of Sound. Martha enrolled in the two-year program and trained as a practitioner. faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2018

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Beautiful Music Martha has been a harpist since she was eight

“Central to the program is the recognition that each individual has their own resonant tone, style of musical preference, mood and rhythm,” she explains. “The practitioner, after learning these, is able to combine them to offer the patient their own personal musical journey, their own cradle of sound, to help in emotional, mental, physical and spiritual healing.”

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Finding the Tone When Martha begins a musical session with a patient, she plays in response to the moment, observing such things as a patient’s facial expressions or the surroundings and “vibe” of the room.

“I’ll evaluate all of this and respond accordingly.”

She will typically play in one of three strains: sleep, sorrow or joy.

“I create a sound oasis, matching tempo with breathing patterns.”

The selection of music can be improvised or familiar, but in most cases, the key, mode and melodies are played in the patient’s own resonant tone.

The musical session can elicit a number of beneficial effects, such as increased relaxation, improvement in sleep, decreased pain and anxiety, stabilization of vital signs and improvement in mood. On a palliative care unit, an end-of-life music vigil can also help a patient to achieve a peaceful transition.

Realizing that some are skeptical but believing that harp therapy is a much-needed service, Martha approached TGHC to determine if there would be an interest in implementing a harp therapy program for their patients.

“Although I had serious interviews and auditions,” Martha states, “right from the beginning, TGHC totally embraced harp therapy.” The TGHC is the only hospital in Canada with a therapeutic harp program.

At TGHC, Martha works with patients in complex continuing care, post-acute care rehabilitation,

palliative care and those with various mental-health issues. Not all patients want harp therapy but most do; some patients even follow her around.

“Mostly though, I make my rounds on my own,” she says.

“Having provided harp therapy at the TGHC for a while, I know the patients that appreciate and need my services.”

Martha wants to ensure that people understand that harp therapy is about the science of sound—resonance.

“Everybody has their resonance tone that can change daily,” Martha states. “But when I’m with a patient, I’ll determine their tone through their voice or something non-verbal such as a moan, if they can’t communicate verbally, or by their facial expressions or body movements. If the notes I play agitate them, then I have it wrong. However, when I find the right tone, the one that is the ultimate sound or vibration that allows the patient to experience the connection of inter-related moving energy between the two sources— the person and the music—that is the ultimate cradle of sound.”

(left) Gerry Condotta is a writer and creative director for Element Eighty (e80) and works on assignment for The Salvation Army Toronto Grace Health Centre. faithandfriends.ca I JUNE 2018

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Faith&Friends

LITE STUFF

Eating Healthy With Erin SPLIT PEA VEGETABLE SOUP TIME 120 min MAKES 4 servings SERVE WITH toast or crackers

560 ml (2¼ cups) dried split peas 2 L (9 cups) vegetable or chicken broth 2 onions 1 garlic clove 1 head of cauliflower 1 russet potato, peeled and diced 5 ml (1 tsp) thyme 5 ml (1 tsp) parsley 1 bay leaf 1 ml (¼ tsp) black pepper 2 ml (½ tsp) sea salt 500 ml (2 cups) kale 5 ml (1 tsp) olive oil

1. In large pot, cover peas with broth.

Bring to boil, remove from heat and soak for one hour in fridge.

2. Dice onion and garlic and cook in a skillet until soft, for about 2 minutes.

3. Return pot in fridge to medium-high heat and add onion and garlic.

4. In another large pot, boil cauliflower and potato in salted water until fork-soft, about 10 minutes. Drain.

5. Combine both pots’ contents and blend thoroughly with immersion blender.

6. Return to stove and add thyme, parsley, bay leaf, pepper and salt. Bring to boil and then allow to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

7. Sauté kale in olive oil and add as garnish.

TIME 5 min MAKES 4 servings SERVE WITH French baguette or crackers

250 ml (1 cup) pitted kalamata olives 1 garlic clove 15 ml (1 tbsp) capers 15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil 15 ml (1 tbsp) dried oregano 45 ml (3 tbsp) goat cheese 60 ml (¼ cup) cherry tomatoes pinch of black pepper (optional)

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1. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Slice baguette into 25-mm (1-in.) slices and spoon mixture on top.

3. Top with crumbled goat cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes and black pepper to taste.

Recipe photos: Erin Stanley/veganvirgin.ca

OLIVE TAPENADE WITH FETA

A Friend in Need

“CALL LOU ANN” P.13

NFLer’s Aim is True

BRANDIN COOKS P.21

Armoury to Sanctuary

ARMY HELPS OUT P.27

Faith&Friends I N S P I R AT I O N F O R L I V I N G

faithandfriends.ca

MAY 2018

Arms of Love

HOW A SUMMER VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE TURNED INTO A FOREVER FAMILY. P.16

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Sudoku Puzzle

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3 × 3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

QUICK QUIZ 1. What is the currency of Morocco?

2. What colour are a Siamese cat’s eyes?

3. What does the symbol Pt stand for on the periodic table?

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© www.kevinfrank.net

HEAVEN’S LOVE THRIFT SHOP by Kevin Frank

Answers on next page.

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Faith&Friends

LITE STUFF

Word Search Pokémon: Gotta Catch ’Em All O W T W E M E L D E E W B U N D C F E T I M E N G A M R T A U I A L H I D R A G O N I T E V V R L R W M P E A P I D G E Y B B V X T B C A K E C W J I G G L Y P U F F O A M R V O I C E B Y B U Y M O T K T S B E L S H R K D D D L A T N N T L A E D I A L P O V R D Z A P U E Y E U J N X N O O P O Y A E X S R F F T R A A Z D W L W X K V Z Q P T G F M A F M W S K I O A Y J U I S N O E L E M R A H C W L T N I E V R D T I P U N A E R B A S A R A P I D A S H S J H H Y E C G O T L D R R P Z H D Y E L C Q W P W L T V M E O W T H C D U H C I P A E Z A O U D O D K A K U N A E S A K U Y R A T S A P I K A C H U W N G R W P Q H X A L R O N S K S O D P A Z ALAKAZAM ARBOK BLASTOISE BULBASAUR BUTTERFREE CHARIZARD CHARMANDER CHARMELEON DODUO DRAGONITE EEVEE JIGGLYPUFF

KAKUNA MAGNEMITE MEOWTH METAPOD MEWTWO NIDORAN PICHU PIDGEY PIKACHU POLIWAG PONYTA PSYDUCK

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RAICHU RAPIDASH RATTATA SANDSHREW SLOWPOKE SNORLAX SQUIRTLE STARYU WARTOTLE WEEDLE WIGGLYTUFF ZAPDOS

Quick Quiz Answers: 1. dirham; 2. blue; 3. platinum.

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Faith&Friends

SOMEONE CARES

Housing Hope

Photo: Caroline Franks

Helped by The Salvation Army, Billie Graham is now helping others.

by Caroline Franks “I want to go forward,” says Billie Graham

“S

he pulled me out of the gutter. If it wasn’t for her I would probably be in hospital. But she pulled me out and I’m so glad she came into my life,” says Billie Graham. He pauses and tries to hold back tears before continuing. “She has been a godsend, she really has. There should be more people like her.”

Step in the Right Direction Sixty-year-old Billie is referring to one of The Salvation Army’s Housing Response Team case workers. Natasha met Billie after he was referred to the program by a member of Housing Help, an organization that assists people on low incomes to find permanent housing.

Billie has been living in an Ottawa rooming house he used to work at before he had as heart attack, which he believes was brought on by stress.

With a number of health issues, Billie was unable to maintain his position as superintendent.

This isn’t the first time Billie has had to ask for help. He was homeless for a year back in 2011 before working at the rooming house, and he’s spent some time in shelters.

“I had it in my head that it was just going to be the same old thing I had experienced before, but then that’s when I met my case worker, Natasha, at The Salvation Army,” says Billie. “She helped me get all the proper identification I needed. She came to my doctor’s appointments with me and helped me get on

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Faith&Friends

SOMEONE CARES

the provincial disability support program, which is great. Big time!

“I’m still living in a rooming house right now, but Natasha is helping me work on finding housing. That would be the biggest step for me.”

So I keep it in storage and then when new people come in and they don’t have something, I offer it to them.”

Billie is now facing a new challenge as he has recently learned that he is going blind.

Billie enjoys helping others because he knows what it’s like to be struggling.

Toward Independence Billie says when new tenants arrive at the rooming house and he can see they are struggling, he often recommends they visit The Salvation Army Housing Response Team for help.

“A lot of people out there don’t know about this program so that’s what I do with the new tenants where I live and it’s because of Natasha.

That’s why I do it,” Billie continues.

“I tell them I have a good case worker and, if Natasha can’t do it, she’ll get someone else that can help.”

Billie enjoys helping others because he knows what it’s like to be struggling.

“Whenever we get new tenants, I try to help them as much as I can.

Like when we have tenants move out, a lot of them leave stuff behind.

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“I was upset because everything is going good for me right now. I don’t want to go back six steps. I want to go forward. So I am trying not to let this bother me,” he says.

“Natasha told me, ‘We will set you up with all the things that you will need to live and live well. Those will be your next goals—getting an apartment but also getting connected with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind so that you are fully capable and still have all your independence. That’s going to be our next feat.’

“The staff at The Salvation Army has been good to me. It’s a great organization,” Billie concludes.

“Being connected to the Housing Response Team is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Faith&Friends

REFASHIONISTA RULES

5 Sustainable Summer Tips It’s easy to be eco-friendly with these suggestions.

The bright warm days of summer are a great time to start new routines and change your habits. Try these five tips for a more eco-friendly lifestyle:

4. Ditch the car. Walk, bike, car-share or take public transportation to your destination. Enjoy the sunshine, get some exercise and reduce your carbon footprint.

1. Create the perfect picnic from preloved gear. Putting together a unique, reusable, do-it-yourself picnic in the park is a cinch as sturdy baskets and bags, along with dishware and cutlery, can all be found at Salvation Army thrift stores.

5. Throw a clothing swap party.

Sort through your clothing, shoes and accessories, and have your friends do the same. Enjoy a fab evening of swapping your unwanted gear for new-to-you wardrobe faves!

It’s a fun and completely free way to refresh your style and décor.

2. Wash in cold water and line-dry.

Heating water accounts for more than 90 per cent of the energy used for laundry. Washing in cold water is just as effective as washing in hot, plus your garments won’t shrink and will last longer. Line-drying is a simple, sustainable alternative to energy-wasting dryers. Tip: Hang dark or dyed garments in shaded areas to avoid fading.

3. Shop local. Farmers markets offer ultra-fresh foods that haven’t travelled thousands of kilometres to reach your table, cutting down on the use of fossil fuels and reducing pollution.

(left) Sheri Pavlović is the do-it-yourself diva behind the Confessions of a Refashionista book series, channel and blog, which are full of step-by-step upcycling tutorials for everything from clothing and accessories to home décor. She is also a lover of all things related to thrift stores. Find a Salvation Army thrift store near you at thriftstore.ca.

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