18 minute read
Pocket Change
Fictional Salvation Army captain saves souls in new book series.
by Jeanette Levellie
When award-winning author Marsha Hubler set out to write a teen series, she thought she was writing to change young people’s lives. Instead, her own life changed in the process.
Tornado or Open Door? In her Tommi Pockets trilogy, Marsha features a Salvation Army captain as the protagonist. With her no-nonsense yet loving approach, Captain Arlene “Ar” Masters helps broken, hurting teens find meaning for their lives at her Salvation Army counselling centre.
The novels, set in Ashland, Pennsylvania, during the 1950s, appeal to grown-ups as well as teens. “Adults love the books because of all the nostalgia,” says Marsha.
Tommi Pockets, published last year, introduces Tommi, a 13-year-old pool shark who has one goal in life—to be the first female champion pool player. But girls are not welcome in pool rooms, so Tommi disguises herself as a boy to play a male-only sport. When she takes part in a gang rumble and is arrested, the judge sentences her to counselling sessions with Captain Arlene, a Salvation Army pastor. She shows Tommi the unconditional love of Jesus, teaches her about life in the real lane, not the fast one, and encourages her gift for billiards.
The second novel, Runner Shoots His Best Game, released in August, has Tommi’s fellow pool expert, Runner, caught stealing. Captain Arlene
tackles the challenge to help Runner out of his mess. Will he receive her help or go back to his old ways?
The third volume of the trilogy, Double Trouble at Post 71, will feature Tommi and Runner, now both Christians. When a set of delinquent twins show up at Captain Arlene’s counselling centre, Tommi and Runner think the kids have too many problems for even God to fix. But Captain Arlene refuses to say “impossible” and asks the teens to mentor the twins. What follows is a tornado of disaster.
Or could it be an open door for
Fieldwork To ensure the highest accuracy in her writing, Marsha Hubler (left) spent many hours interviewing Salvation Army Captain Jessica Duperree growth? Readers will have to wait for the answers until late summer of 2021, the projected release date for the final volume.
Why the Army? Marsha, who grew up in Ashland, chose a Salvation Army captain as her protagonist due to her parents. “My mom and dad always supported The Salvation Army,” she says. “I grew up hearing, ‘When you want to give, that’s the organization you give to, because they make sure it goes to help people.’ ”
Marsha has supported the Army all her life. “I’ve always felt they deserved it because of their biblical stand and for the wise use of the funds they
“I grew up hearing, ‘When you want to give, that’s the organization you give to, because The Salvation Army makes sure it goes to help people.’ ” MARSHA HUBLER
receive.” She admires The Salvation Army and its concern for the welfare of those in need.
Many hours of research went into the writing of the Tommi Pockets series. Marsha studied the type of uniforms worn by The Salvation Army in the ’50s and the history of the Army during that time. She also interviewed Captain Jessica Duperree, who is posted to the Salvation Army church in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
“Captain Jessica told me that the church’s major ministry is, ‘Feeding physical needs and spiritual souls.’ ” says Marsha. “Captain Jessica and her husband, Captain Scott, hold youth services every week and mentor kids who need a friend, similar to how Captain Arlene mentors Tommi and Runner.”
A Past to Remember “People ask me if Tommi’s character is based on my own past,” says Marsha. “I always say no, but Tommi is a compilation of the 12 teens— many troubled—whom my husband and I fostered through the years.”
The author seemed destined to help marginalized kids. For more than 14 years, she served as a teacher and principal. Following that career, Marsha worked as a teacher/counsellor at a treatment centre for conduct-disordered youth. But she patterned Captain Arlene after her own mother, a strong woman of faith who “kept our family together,” says Marsha. “She lived her Christian beliefs and prayed for my unsaved, pool-shooting, drinking dad for 37 years. When he was 70, he finally gave his heart to God. I owe everything I am to my mother.”
But Marsha also owes her skill as a billiards expert to her dad. When she was 10, her father bought a used Brunswick pool table—one of the world’s finest—and restored it. He then taught the young girl to shoot pool. “My dad could’ve gone professional if he’d wanted to,” Marsha states. She still owns the antique Brunswick and often shoots pool with friends.
I Am What I Am Marsha wrote this unique trilogy to help introduce young people to God
and to see their lives change for the better. In the process, her own life has changed.
Shortly before Tommi Pockets was released, the author heard God’s voice in her heart, telling her to give away 500 copies of the book. She took a deep breath and then agreed. “I’ll do that, Lord, if you provide the postage.”
To date, Marsha has given away 274 copies of Tommi to Salvation Army churches across North America, as
Behind the Eight Ball Marsha owes her skill as a billiards expert to her father
well as to other organizations who work with youth.
“God has already provided all I need to buy and ship the remaining 226 books,” she says. “By stepping out in faith and agreeing to give away books, I’ve really increased my trust in God’s faithfulness.”
Marsha’s favourite Bible verse attests to that fact: “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
(left) Author of five books and hundreds of published articles, Jeanette Levellie and her husband make their home in Paris, Illinois. Jeanette’s hobbies include spoiling her three grandchildren, pampering her cats and inventing new ways to avoid housework. Find her splashes of hope and humour at www.jeanettelevellie.com.
The Sins of the Past
IN BLACK WIDOW, NATASHA ROMANOFF MUST COME TO TERMS WITH HER PAST. CAN THE AVENGER DO SO? by Ken Ramstead
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, is one of the Avengers, a respected voice for reason, a redoubtable ally and a fearsome foe. Adept at espionage and an expert martial artist, she is an invaluable force for good and an important part of SHIELD, Earth’s counter-terrorism agency.
But it wasn’t always so.
Before she joined her friends Hawkeye, Captain America and Iron Man, Black Widow was one of their deadliest enemies, responsible for countless acts of evil.
“Before I worked for SHIELD,” she says, “I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn’t care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD’s radar in a bad way.”
In Black Widow, which opens in theatres next month, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) finds herself alone after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past, she’s being pursued by forces that will stop at nothing to bring her down.
Founding Father Natasha must deal with her history as Black Widow and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
“I’ve got red on my ledger,” she says. “I’d like to wipe it out.”
The Apostle Paul would be able to relate. More than any other person except Jesus, Paul is responsible for starting Christianity.
It is estimated that he travelled more than 15,000 kilometres from one end of the Roman Empire to the other in order to spread the good news about Jesus.
During that 30-year journey, he was shipwrecked three times, suffered numerous beatings, was publicly stoned and was imprisoned more than five times.
In the process, Paul founded churches, converted unbelievers, and 13 of the New Testament’s 27 books claim him as a writer.
Fateful Encounter But it wasn’t always so.
Paul, or Saul, to use his Hebrew name, was once an intolerant traditionalist who persecuted the followers of the crucified Jesus.
“I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today,” he told a crowd of Jews in Jerusalem. “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as
Photo: Courtesy of Marvel Studios prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished” (Acts 22:3-5).
It was on the road to Damascus that Saul was hit by a light so intense that he was blinded and fell to the ground in agony (see Acts 22:7-10).
A voice asked him, “Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus of Nazareth,” the voice replied, “whom you are persecuting.”
“What shall I do, Lord?” Saul asked.
“Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.” That encounter changed Paul forever. His sight eventually restored, he went on to become the greatest missionary of all time.
Who We Are Like Natasha, Paul had to make peace with his past if he was to make anything out of his future. For Paul, his conversion had given him an entirely new outlook on life and religion. It had made him a different person.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
For Natasha, alone and isolated, it also comes down to something within herself.
“At some point, we all have to choose,” she says. “To be what the world wants you to be. Or to be who you are.”
That’s something we all must heed.
A Week With Major Ann
MY SEVEN DAYS ASSISTING IN A SALVATION ARMY LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY DURING COVID-19 CHANGED MY LIFE. by Major Jim Mercer
THE CALL CAME LATE ONE
Friday evening this past spring from Salvation Army public-relations director Glenn van Gulik.
Salvation Army long-term care facilities were dealing as best they could with the COVID-19 crisis, but the hard-working staff needed assistance.
“Is there any way you can help?” Glenn asked.
(left) Sacred Trust "I will never regard my calling as simply preaching on Sunday anymore," says Major Jim Mercer
Christmas Duty Major Jim standing at a Salvation Army kettle last year with Both Chuol Gakah, a new Canadian from South Sudan. The Salvation Army's Barrhaven Church sponsored him and his family and helped them settle in their new home
He gave me a couple hours to think it over, but I didn’t really need that long.
My wife and I had seen the news and read the headlines, but this was different. Now I was being asked to care for people, some with COVID-19.
I was on the road the next morning.
Reporting for Duty While I had visited nursing homes many times over the course of my 18 years as a Salvation Army pastor, this would be different. My experience had been purely in a church setting and I had never worked in long-term care.
Arriving at the facility, a dozen of us Salvation Army pastors who had volunteered to serve spent the morning in an intensive training session. We were taught how to put on our gear, including our masks and gloves, correctly, and to discard
them for fresh garb each time we left a room.
Almost immediately, my fellow Salvation Army pastor, Lieutenant Ian Robinson, and I were assigned to the fourth floor of the facility.
Hard Week We were expected to be ready for work by eight o’clock in the morning, and we would leave at around seven in the evening, so we averaged 12-hour days over the week we were deployed there.
We’d meet up with staff, support them and learn from them, and deliver meals to the residents, helping to feed them and give them water, coffee and tea.
The facility was short-handed, and the staff were appreciative that we were there to offer support.
Going from room to room, we’d encounter people at different levels of need. Some could sit up and feed themselves while others weren’t very responsive.
Over the week, we saw some of those people deteriorate, and we witnessed a number of people who passed away during that time. That was very hard for me. As a pastor, I had seen a lot and I thought I was tough, but this was different.
Major Ann In the days I was at the facility, I spent a fair amount of time with a retired Salvation Army officer, Major Ann Murray.
The staff always referred to her as “Major Ann” and treated her with dignity, as they did all the patients.
My time with her was precious. I have never met anyone who appreciated a cup of cold water as she did. She had stopped eating days before, but she was alert and looked everyone in the eye. Each time I gave her a drink, her response was, “Aww, that was good. Thank you.” She was courteous with everyone she encountered.
There was one morning in particular that was very emotional for me. Major Ann was in some discom-
fort and asked for a nurse. Then she said, “Don’t leave me.”
I responded with, “I won’t leave you, Major Ann.”
I then prayed with her, quoting Psalm 23 as well. It was amazing to hear her echoing my words with, “Amen, amen, thank you, Jesus.” As the nurse came in to help, she turned to me with a thank you and said, “You should be very proud of what you are doing.” Her words of affirmation were a divine moment for me.
Mixed Emotions The journey from room to room was physically and emotionally tiring for us, but we saw it as a privilege to serve.
These patients were not permitted to see anyone from the outside, so we became their family. We’d point to pictures on the wall and ask: “Is that you playing piano there?” They would nod their head and I’d respond, “Wow, you obviously love music!” Or I’d ask them the names of their children. It wasn’t a conversation in the normal sense as most could only nod and smile or say one or two words. But they were moving interludes for all that.
As I left for the last time that Sunday, I intentionally went around to every room to tell them that this was my last shift.
“You’re leaving?” some said. “What are we going to do now?”
“The Salvation Army is going to
In the Eye of the Storm Major Jim speaking with a group of volunteer workers in Dunrobin, Ont., near Ottawa, as The Salvation Army responded to a tornado in 2018
Food Dash Major Jim and Captain Jeff Arkell deliver food in Ottawa this spring during COVID-19
send in more people,” I’d answer. “You don’t need to worry.”
I walked out of the facility with mixed emotions. Part of me wanted to stay, although I knew I had family at home, and ministry I needed to get back to. However, I knew other Salvation Army pastors would take my place.
A Ministry of Presence No other experience I’ve had compares to that week. It changed my life.
I will never regard my calling as simply preaching on Sunday morning anymore. I’m humbled by the fact that I was called and I responded. The faces and the names of the residents I served, along with the amazing staff on the fourth floor, will forever be etched on my mind, especially Major Ann.
It is often said in The Salvation Army that we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus on earth. My fellow Army pastors and I actually lived that out that week.
We were a ministry of presence for those we looked after and for their families who depended on us, individually and as an organization. I didn’t take that trust for granted, and I never will.
(left) Major Jim Mercer is the pastor at The Salvation Army’s Barrhaven Church in Ottawa.
Photo: sturti/ E+ via Getty Images Plus
The Play Date
WHEN IT CAME TO RACE RELATIONS IN OUR TOWN, MY MOTHER WAS DETERMINED TO RIGHT A WRONG. by Diane Stark
The summer before I started Grade 1, I walked into the living room and saw my mother watching the midday news on TV. I was only six, but I’d never seen that look on her face before. She looked incredibly sad, but angry at the same time. Before I could ask any questions, she said, “Get your shoes on. We’re going to visit some people.”
“Please Come In” Within minutes, Mom, my fouryear-old sister, Mandy, and I were in the car. We’d only driven a short distance when Mom pulled into the driveway of a house we’d never been to before. I saw that the front of their house and the grass were covered in spray paint, as though someone had written messages on it. I couldn’t read the words, but Mom’s face looked even madder than before.
We followed Mom to the front door. When she knocked, someone yelled, “Go away. Please. Just leave us alone.”
“I saw on the news what people did to your house,” Mom said, her voice cracking. “I’m here to say that I’m sorry this happened to you. I live around the corner, and I wanted to welcome you to town. And tell you that I’m sorry for the ignorance of others.”
The door opened slowly. A Black woman stood there, a little boy in her arms and another standing next to her. The boys looked about the same ages as Mandy and me.
“I had to come over,” Mom said. t“I hate that people did this to you.”
The woman smiled and opened the door wider. “Please come in.”
Games and Cookies We went inside and the lady introduced herself and her sons. Mom did the same. “Do you girls want to go play?” the lady asked Mandy and
me. “Not all of the boys’ toys are unpacked, but I’m sure you all can find something.”
We looked at Mom and she nodded.
The two boys led us into a bedroom filled with moving boxes. “This is our room in our new house,” the older one said. “Those boxes have toys in them.”
We looked through the boxes. Mandy and I were unimpressed by their Star Wars figures and other “boy stuff.”
“We’ve got games, too,” he said.
The four of us played Candyland and Cootie, two of my favourites. After we’d all won at least once, the younger boy asked if we were hungry. “My mom will give us a snack,” he said.
We headed for the kitchen, where Mom was sitting at the table with a glass of soda. She seemed happier and more relaxed now.
The boys’ mom smiled and asked if we liked cookies. She poured us each a glass of milk to go with our snack.
After we ate, we played hide-andseek. Too soon, Mom told us it was time to go home. She hugged the lady good-bye and promised to look for her at PTA meetings once school started in the fall.
“Just Be Nice” When we got in the car, Mom asked if we’d had fun.
“Yeah, they were different from us, but it was fun.”
“Different how?”
I laughed. “They were boys, Mom. We didn’t like their toys, so we just played board games, so everyone had fun.”
“I’m glad you had fun. Those boys will be going to your school next year and you need to be friendly with them, no matter what anyone else says.”
“I have other friends who are boys, Mom. No one will say anything.”
Mom started to speak, but she seemed to change her mind. “Just be nice to them, OK?”
My sister and I attended school with those boys up until graduation. They were the only Black children at our school. They were both wellliked and I never heard anyone be unkind to them. We were always friendly with one another, but we never spoke of that first play date.
Two Rules I was in Grade 5 when I figured out why we’d actually gone to their house that day. We were studying the Civil Rights movement in school. I saw a picture of two drinking fountains with signs above them. I was infuriated that people used to treat others that way. My heart broke when I remembered the spray-painted house. I realized that people were still treating others that way.
Looking back on that play date now, it makes me smile to think that the only difference I noticed that day was our genders. And how easily that difference could be overcome by the simple compromise of playing board games instead of Star Wars.
It makes me wish that our differences could be bridged so easily today. While race has become a complicated issue, it’s not how God intended it to be.
He created all of us. We are all made in His image.
And He gave us all two rules: Love Him and love each other.
It might not fix everything, but loving people is always a great place to start.
Photo: comptine/gettyimages.ca
