Television Coverage

Yesterday was a great opportunity for our Corps. The church was featured in the main Adelaide new bulletins on channels seven and nine.

While the broadcasts were focussed on our Christmas distributions to the community, they were also a great opportunity to portray our church as one which serves. Channel 9 gave great focus on our facilities as well and spent time interviewing volunteers, clients and staff.

Thank you to Kerryn, Anne and all the team that helped.

Over 1000 children recieved gifts through yesterday's activities. Today the team are offering food hampers for people. We are grateful to the community for their generosity that makes it possible.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas Cheer has had its realisation in a number of way for us here at Marion.

Last week the band were able to play to residents in Bucklands and Pines nursing homes, visit two of the boarding houses in Glenelg, play on Jetty Road and also play to shoppers at Westfield Marion.

Our children's ministries were able to have parties at both Busy Bee and First Steps playgroups, and enjoy a Christmas celebration at both Junior Soldiers and Kidzone. Being able to speak the meaning of Christmas into the lives of children is such an honour.

Our youth ministries finished up the year on a note of service. Over 30 gathered to help unpack the toys that had been collected from theKMart Wishing Tree ready for distribution to our community.

We've joined with local businesses to support our community. Bedford Park Westpac, The Commonwealth Bank branches at Hallett Cove, Marion, Glenelg and Brighton, Bunnings Marion and Westfield are all joining in our ministry to the community. This week over 300 families will be blessed with toys for their children (over 1000 children will be supported). Even now, I can hear the guys from Westpac busily helping in the hall as they set up for our distribution week.

Referrals have come in from country and interstate Corps to ask for assistance with their community members that are in Flinders hospital.

Last week 2 people came into our centre asking to speak to people about God. For Kim there was a new realisation that God was real and loved her. For Michael there was a reconnection with God.

Messy Church was launched on Saturday. 40 people came, half of whom were not previously connected with our Corps or a worshipping community. Please pray that as we worship with them and the families play together in this uniqued church environment, they will come to embrace God in their lives also.

For all of this, we need to thank God and our amazing team here at the Corps. Thank you to everyone who has helped with the Carol Service or the Collecting. Thank you to everyone who has been collecting or spoken in the schools. Thank you to everyone who has picked up toys and food, or handed it out. Our community is a better place because you have served this Christmas season.

Commissioning

What a weekend. Thank you to everyone at Marion for releasing our Corps Officer team to attend a wedding and Commissioning in Melbourne. Thank you, especially, to Majors Harry and Loris and Catherine and Craig for leading services in our absence.

Commissioning is a big event in Salvation Army circles. It occurs over three significant services. In the first, officers covenant with God their availability to serve. In the second, they are ordained as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ and commissioned as officers in The Salvation Army. In the third, they are vested with the authority of leadership and given their first appointment as commissioned officers.

This Commissioning weekend had some significance for us here at Marion as we had links with a few of the cadets, now lieutenants. Katherine Baudinette (nee Rowe) is Nathan's sister. She was commissioned and appointed as a Corps Officer at Richmond, in Victoria. Fiona Kean (nee Hailes) attended the Corps (at Seacombe) as a child. She, with her husband Matthew, were commissioned and appointed as Corps Officers at Hobsons Bay in Victoria (a multi-campus merger of Altona and Williamstown Corps). Marie Kovacs spent part of this year on 'out training' placement here at Marion. She was commissioned and appointed as the assistant corps officer at Sunshine in Victoria.

Please pray for our friends over the coming months as they prepare to move to their new homes and appointments.

Carolling

I have noticed that I have not been on the blog much this week. It's that time of year.

But the opportunities that have been presented to us already this year have been amazing.

We have been able to shine God's light through our presence at Christmas activities at:
Marion Primary School
Braeview Primary School
Brighton Primary School
Brighton Secondary School
Aberfoyle Park Campus School and Pre School
Brighton Beach
Myer Marion
KMart Marion

And we've only just begun! Within the next three weeks the band will play in Westfield, Nursing Homes and on the streets. The CSS Team will continue to connect with schools and with the community. 400 families will receive assistane with toys... and we're not sure how many we'll help with food. Another 120 families will be helped through the financial counselling service and over 120 seniors will remember their day on Tuesday, celebrating the arrival of Christ, with our Pioneer's Companion Club break up.

During the next week, the Junior Soldiers, Playgroup and Kidzone will have Christmas events and our youth group will be serving the community - they're helping sort the toys for CSS.

It's a busy season. But we love the chances we now have to mention Christ and to be Christ to our community. Think about the opportunities you will have as an individual; remember to invite your friends to our carols services on the 18th, too.

Messy Church

"Messy Church" is an all age, activity based style of church service designed to have families interacting and sharing with each other. Born in the UK, it has now spread around the world as both a viable contemporary outreach and a style of congregation in its own right.

Angela, Wendy and a few others have been praying about Messy Church and took some of our children to the Messy Church congregation offered by Henley-Fulham Uniting Church. Full of ideas they have returned and will be offering a Christmas Messy Church on Saturday December 17 at our Seacombe Gardens centre.

Keep the night free to bring your family and keep an eye out for the advertising/ details.

Promoted to Glory - Rose Collyer

It is with sadness that we note that Rose Collyer was promoted to glory last Friday.

Rose was a beautiful part of our church family, famous in our neighbourhood for her walks with her big dog! She was a sweet lady that smiled her way through life and added so much to our community while she was with us.

A rememberance service for Rose will be held at our hall at 1pm on Monday.

Congratulations Iris

The Federal government has this year announced awards in each electorate for volunteers. The awarding is coninciding with International Volunteers Day, December 5 (early next week).

Iris Collins has won an award within the Boothby electorate for her long term service to the community as a volunteers. Iris, in her usual humble way, has said this is a good opportunity for The Salvation Army to be seen. Of course, for the rest of us it is a great opportunity to recognise Iris and her service to God through The Salvation Army.

Iris will be presented her award by the federal member for Boothby, Andrew Southcott, at a ceremony on Thursday evening, December 1. Congratulations - and THANK YOU - Iris.

Callum Wright

Our family celebrates again. Please pray for and congratulate Nathan and Chrissy on the birth of Callum James Wright-Baldock. Callum was born yesterday weighing 9lb 6oz. Chrissy and Callum are both doing well.

Myer

Myer have been long term supporters of The Salvation Army. This year they have again launched the "Spirit of Christmas" CD, a collaboration of some of the country's best vocal talents, the profits from which will be donated to The Salvation Army.

As part of the CD launch, our singers were invited to go to Westfield Marion Myer to sing carols on Tuesday. For two hours we were able to wander the store singing carols, providing a background Christmas message to a few thousand invited shoppers. A great start to our carolling season.

Hall Hire at Marion

One of the means through which our Corps continues to connect with our community, and manages to supplement our income, is through the hire of our facilities to various groups during the week. Both our Seacombe and Glenelg centres have spaces that we can hire out to groups.

We are pretty fussy. Groups need to be compatible with our mission, have their own insurance and be flexible enough to allow for the needs of our Corps to come first. An example of this was in recent negotiations to move one such group to allow our Wednesday service use of the main hall at Seacombe Gardens.

We are also pretty careful with the rates we charge. Because of our legal situation we cannot be commercial hirers or providers of commercial rental spaces. The auditors check regularly to ensure that we are not placing ourselves at legal or financial risk - this means that Lynette often does a comparitive check to ensure our rates are in the right ball park.

I know of late that there have been enquiries about our rates from some members. Lynette can provide exact amounts for you, if you desire. However, the way that they are determined is fairly simple: we charge 'outside' groups a little less than 50% of retail rental for the space they use. Salvation Army uses get a 25% discount off of that low rate. Corps members recieve a 50% discount (on the already 50% rate). This means that our own members can have use of our facilities (power, water, urns, toilet paper, sound system etc) for less than a quarter of what it would cost for the same facility and equipment elsewhere.

Oh... and in case it comes up... we do not charge for funerals or weddings.

Gospel Arts

Saturday night saw the "Gospel Arts" concert held at Elder Hall. This was not a divisional or Corps event, but was devised by a group of Salvation Army personnel for the benefit of the Ingle Farm Youth programs - and just to have fun with some quality arts presentations.

Nights like this are rare, not least because of the effort involved in putting together such a quality presentation. Those that attended were treated to some world class performers. Keep your eye out for any such future events.

KMart Wishing Tree

For the last 24 years KMart have sponsored a wishing tree in each of their stores. This tree, usually at the front of the store, or in the main aisle as at Marion, is where people can place a gift for a child to be distributed through a local charity prior to Christmas.

The wishing tree has grown so that now it is a national event whereby around 475,000 gifts will be distributed this year. The Salvation Army continues to be the national charity of choice for KMart and the distribution of toys, along with Brotherhood of St Laurence in some other states and Uniting Care in country areas where The Salvation Army no longer sustains a permanent presence (e.g. Port Pirie).

Thank you to the members of our own team who are helping with the appeal this year. Each day for the next six weeks we have 'toy couriers', counters, sorters and packers working so that in the week before Christmas our centre will distribute toys to around 350 families in the cities of Onkaparinga, Marion and Holdfast Bay. Pray for Kerryn and her team as they manage this process, and pray that the recipient families will not only experience joy with the gifts but get a glimpse of the Christmas message and the love and grace of God.

Gospel Arts Concert

A reminder to everyone in Adelaide that this weekend, on Saturday night at Elder Hall, there will be a great gospel arts concert that you will love! Styled after a night at the proms in England, it will include world class vocalists and instrumentalists, excellent ensemble work and great community singing.

Warm up your vocal chords, go to ticketek to book and join us on Saturday for all the fun and arts.

God's Provision

A little while ago we spoke about someone in our community who needed a microwave just as one appeared.

This week the UPS (Uninterupted Power Supply) that we have at the Seacombe Centre to protect our computers etc started to play up. Essentially it's a big battery that keeps things going so that we don't lose our computer data or important information when there is a power supply.

It is going to cost us about $600 to replace. The day that it started to play up, $600 was found in our shop. While we are going through the process whereby we have handed this in to the police in case it has been lost, we can't help but feel that God is again making sure that we have the means with which to keep going. God provides.

Seeking Asylum in Australia

One of the hot issues of today, and one touched on by Tim Costello on Monday evening, is the issue of those people seeking asylum as refugees in Australia. The whole matter seems to lose perspective in what, I percieve, is an immature political debate. Here are some realities to get people looking at this issue, less from a fear perspective, and more from a constructive perspective...

• Australia does not have a problem with illegal immigrants. There are two reasons for this: seeking asylum is not illegal, and our border control is one of the best in the world.
• Australia does not have a problem with boat people. More than 95% of people that arrive seeking asylum do so by plane!
• Australia is not being flooded with people seeking asylum. Compared to countries such as the US and those in Western Europe that have land borders we have a very small number of people seeking our help.
• Australia has demonstrated great hypocrisy in demanding that offshore processing sites are signatories to the refugee convention, as we do not uphold the refugee convention ourselves, despite being signatories. For example, we are obliged under the convention to process people that land in Australia here as expediently as possible, but have instead sent them away.
• More than 90% of people that Australia detains while processing their asylum requests end up being affirmed as refugees and settled in Australia. However, our current system of slow detention in unhelpful conditions is leading to many mental health issues. In the end, our slow, poor treatment of these refugees lands us with a large mental health bill that we would be rid of if we treated them humanely and processed claims on-shore and quickly.

The irony of the current debate is that both sides of politics may be forced into expedient on-shore processing by accident - because they are both blocking each other's offshore policies. The costs of offshore processing would be more than enough to establish a good system of processing in Australia - which would also keep the jobs related to processing within Australia, so would provide greater economic benefit.

We need, as a country, to rid ourselves of the irrational fear of refugees or general vulnerability and embrace mature discussion on this issue.

Business

In the past we've been accused of letting business get in the way of ministry. Sadly, a reality of our current world is that statutory and regulatory requirements mean that a degree of concentration and intentionality is given to business practice.

Yesterday, Brad and Nathan attended the Divisional Business Day. These are held three times a year to bring officers and network directors in The Salvation Army up to speed with things that they need to be kept abreast of in the business/ legal world.

In coming months some significant things will impact our operations. Some of you would be aware of the Work Health Safety rules publicised through the Messenger Press this week. Because we are already a best practice centre, some of the impact described by other churches and charities in the paper will not be issues for us.

As well as this we are waiting for a decision from Fair Work Australia about the wage case claim made by the Australian Services Union on behalf of the social and community services sector. This could have a major impact on our service delivery, or at least our capacity to employ people in that sector.

In the meantime, please pray for us as we continue to attempt to be faithful stewards of the business, money, and people that God has placed in our care.

Doris (Dot) Spencer

It is with sadness that we pass on the news that (Doris) Dot Spencer has been promoted to glory.

Dot was originally from the Colonel Light Gardens Corps and transferred to Glenelg in 1997. She became part of Marion Corps as we amalgamated last year. Dot was much loved by the people who knew her through the Corps.

Dot's funeral will be led by Major Laurie Venables. It will be held at Simplicity Funerals, Black Forest, on Tuesday November 15 at 10 am.

Walk Together, Talk Together

50 years ago, the men's fellowship groups from a variety of churches in Marion and Brighton got together for the first "Walk Together, Talk Together". This annual, ecumenical, men's night celebrated its half centenary last night at Holdfast Baptist Church, Somerton Campus.

Around 20 men from our church joined the celebrations. There were a few highlights, one of which was the guest speaker Rev Tim Costello, current CEO of World Vision Australia. Having approximately 280 men singing "Bread of Heaven" together was also something to be heard to be believed. And as is often the case with these events - there was a great meal.

The night highlighted our unity as Christians. It showed the importance of men being able to meet together (as was also discussed by the guest speaker). It demonstrated the capacity of the church to put together great events. It also highlighted how good our church is at serving - the ladies in the kitchen and hall were from Holdfast Baptist Church and Marion Salvos with their families!

Congratulations

Congratulations to Felix and Esther Chandrakumar on the birth of Olivia. Prayers and blessings on this special family, including older sister Felicia.

Update on National Schools Chaplaincy Program

Many of you would recall earlier posts on the High Court challenge to the federal funding of school chaplains. The High Court heart the case in August but is yet to deliver its decision.

However, 75,000 Australians signed the petition that was sent to the federal government at the time, supporting chaplaincy and the continued funding programme. In response, last month, the Gillard government confrimed its commitment to chaplains, and our children, by announcing continued support for the current chaplains and additional funding for 1000 more schools across the country.

This is great news. It is worth us also considering how we can support our chaplains. You might like to log on to the Schools Ministry Group website http://www.smg.asn.au/ to read about schools ministry in South Australia and the ways that you can support and pray for those that help our kids.

Ascot Park Thrift Shop

Today we received approval for the expansion of the Thrift Shop at Ascot Park. While the shop has done very well under the leadership of Wendy and Tryntje, we are limited by our very small floor space and the hours we can currently operate.

Recently, a new business plan was written for the shop to include relocation to the neighbouring premises, the employment of a supervisor and the inclusion of a conversation/ mission/ prayer/ reading area to truly make the shop a mission centre.

It is hoped that we will move next door by the end of the month. Today we have advertised for a supervisor, who, when employed, will report to Greg Varidel, our current shop manager at Seacombe Gardens. This position will be part funded by The Salvation Army South Australia Division to help us establish the new and improved shop. It is viewed by the Division as an investment - once our shop is running smoothly it will support itself and our Glenelg campus ministries.

As a bonus, we have been able to obtain some extra shop fittings from a recently closed thrift shop. It seems that God is pulling this together for us nicely!

East Africa Update

Turkana, in North West Kenya, remains the major focal point for The Salvation Army Kenya West Territory's drought resopnse activities. Short term relief programmes are being delivered for struggling communities suffering the direct effects of the drought.

A Salvation Army International Emergency Services team has been working in the area for a month. The situation remains fragile as communities wait for the anticipated seasonal November rains in the hope that they will begin to replenish the dwindling water table. Water continues to be delivered to many primary schools and outlying village communities around Lodwar, and teh community of Lokitaung which is around 200km north, close to the Ethiopian border. The water deliveries are providing much needed relief for communities that are considered vulnerable to the effects of the drought.

The Salvation Army is also assisting a local school to drill a bore hole in an area where neither the school, nor the local villages, have access to regular water. The bore hole is almost completed with the water tank stand ready and already built.

The Food for Fees project remains the main focal point for the IES team, whereby The Salvation Army has partnered with 19 local secondary schools to provide food to boarders enabling them to continue their secondary school through the drought. This is a major investment in the future of Kenya.

The team are now working with local NGO's, other international NGO's and government authorities to plan for 2012.

Haiti Update

It's always good to hear an update from Haiti, especially given the place it has in our hearts since I served there for a while last year.

It's great to see progress, albeit slow, as reconstruction and rehabilitation continues, almost two years after the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

Today we've received news from IHQ that nearly 700 students have started the 2011-2012 school year in newly repaired or rebuilt school buildings owned and operated by The Salvation Army. Four of the six schools slated for completion by The Salvation Army in 2011 have been opened.

Not only have the schools been reopened, but as part of the rebuild a local maintenance team have been trained in the upkeep and ongoing repair of the buildings, building local capacity and providing more local employment.

By the end of 2014 20 schools will be rebuilt. The Salvation Army is a major provider of education in Haiti, operating around 45 schools in the country, over half of which were damaged in the 2010 earthquake. Please continue to remember the people of Haiti in your prayers.

Walk Together, Talk Together

There has been a group operating in the Brighton area now for 50 years known as the "Brighton and District Churchmen's Interdenominational Fellowship".

Notwithstanding the crazy, long name, 50 years of church men praying together and fellowshipping together is worth celebrating.

So on Monday November 7 at Holdfast Baptist Church (formerly Somerton Park Baptist Church in Harrow Road), they are celebrating. Tim Costello from World Vision will bethe guest speaker - he is worth listening to and has had an amazing history as minister of a Baptist Church in Melbourne, Mayor of St Kilda (Vic) and now the World Vision CEO.

The dinner (BBQ!) will cost $15 and you can get your tickets from Colin Wood or Brian Hunt.

Nathan and Jenny

Lieutenants Nathan and Jenny Rowe have arrived in South Australia and we welcome them to the Marion Corps.

Nathan and Jenny have a wealth of experience in Salvation Army ministries. Many of you would relate Nathan to his music, either through Paradise or Soteria (in his recording days). As Lieutenants (under the old non-commissioned system) they also served in youth and children's ministry. As cadets, they concurrently held the appointment as Corps Officers at Semaphore Corps, and since their commissioning and ordination have been the Corps Officers at Shepparton in Victoria.

Nathan and Jenny are very genuine, warm people and bring a love for others and a creativity that we are going to relish here at Marion. Nathan starts work here next Wednesday, and they will be installed and officially welcomed during the 10am service on November 6.

Kathleen

This week we farewell Kathleen. As I type, she is in Melbourne, enroute to her new appointment as the associate Corps Officer at Ulverstone in north eastern Tasmania.

Kathleen identified on Sunday the steep learning curve that she was on in her first appointment here. Many of us can identify with that, but at the same time hold a special place in our hearts for the places where we first served as officers. She contributed to our lives and our Corps during her time with us and we will see that in an ongoing way through many of the designs and publications that she put together for us.

Please pray for Kathleen in her new role.

Marion Life Community Festival

The Marion Life Community Festival was a great day where different community groups came together to advertise their services, their community groups, and, where applicable, worship services and the like.

Sally Varidel and her team did a great job representing our Corps. The display looked amazing. We had some good fair trade items for sale (there are still some available if you would like to call into the office). Many people took information about our Corps activities.

Thank you Sally. Well done team. Let's pray for fruit from the contacts made.

Global Leadership Summit

Each year leaders from our Corps, and hundreds of thousands of churches around the world, attend the Global Leadership Summit. This Summit is recorded each August in Chicago, USA, and then simulcast over subsequent weekends to hundreds of cities in 75 countries over September, October and November. There are 13 Australian sites.

Over the course of the two day summit we heard 10 speakers speak about a range of leadership and church related matters. Bill Hybels spoke to the group about the critical questions that leaders must ask, such as "When was the last time you examined the core of what your organisation is about", and "What is your plan for dealing with challenging people in your organisation".

John Dickson, from the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney, spoke about humility, reminding us that humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking less about ourselves. He added that true humility is embracing our powers but using them for the benefit of others. Patrick Lencioni, a catholic business consultant from California, spoke to us about being transparent with our constiuents. The Hon Corey Booker, mayor of Newark, USA, challenged us to stand up for what we believe in and make a difference in our communities.

Wess Stafford, the President of Compassion International, told us the story of Ethopian pastors that were persecuted under the communist regime (now fallen) and how their persistence and prayer grew the church five-fold during those hard years. Mama Maggie Gobran of Stephen's Children's Ministry in Egypt gave her testimony about how she was called to leave a prestigious teaching post at the Cairo Amercian University to serve the poorest in her city.

Leading Psychologist Dr Henry Cloud taught about working with wise people, foolish people and evil people. He not only described these groups but gave helpful tools for dealing with each should we encounter them. Michelle Rhee, the former Chancellor of Schools in Washington DC, most famous for closing 23 schools in a day and sacking a third of principals in the schools for underperformance, spoke about tough decisions - obviously something she was familiar with.

The final two sessions had Erwin McManus from LA speaking to the group about the church reclaiming its place as the epicentre of artistic creativity, and Stephen Furtick speaking about audacious faith. Stephen, at 26 yo, had got together with 3 of his friends, sold everything and moved to Charlotte, USA, to start a church. Five years later they had grown to a massive size - baptising 1500 people in one Sunday alone.

You can imagine that sitting at the summit is like a fire hydrant of information blasted at you. It will take us all a few weeks to sift and process what we have heard. Maybe you can help by approaching one of the Corps leaders and asking them to tell you what their highlights were (for me it was John Dickson and Wess Stafford).

East Africa Appeal

We reported a little while ago about the East Africa Appeal which continues to support the ongoing work of the Salvation Army, particularly in Uganda and Kenya who are suffering amid the worst drought in memory.

We are pleased to gratefully announce that our Corps has so far contributed $816.10 in personal contributions, not including the amount raised by the CAMEO fundraiser. Together we have raised over $1000 for this effort. Thank you and well done.

General's Vision

General Linda Bond recently spoke of her vision for The Salvation Army. This wise woman has worked with Salvation Army leaders from around the world to listen to their priorities. We can listen to her articulation of these at:

http://sar.my/one

Jetty Road Treasure Hunt

Well done to Lynn and her team for a brilliant community outreach through the Jetty Road Treasure Hunt last week.

Over 500 children came through our Glenelg centre to recieve a treasure (they received a Kidzone magazine, a craft kit, some information about our church and a thrift shop voucher that could be redeemed at either of our Seacombe or Ascot Park shops). The genius in the day lay behind two things. Morning tea was put on so that parents stopped and enjoyed our centre. While other shops had people come and go, we were able to engage some of these families in our church for up to 2 hours. The other genius was the vouchers that bring people back into our centres again.

Already some families have attended our Seacombe Gardens playgroup as a result of the inclusiveness, welcome and community feel that was presented. We wait with baited breathe to see how many people connect with our Glenelg playgroup also. Well done Lynn! Well done Wendy and Angela for the conceptualisation! Well done to all of our volunteers at the centre that portrayed the welcoming community we want to communicate to our neighbours!

Gideons

It is good to be exposed to other organisations that complement and work alongside our mission. The Gideon's is one such group. We thank them for their visit last Sunday morning.

We also thank Loris for giving her testimony about how the lady she shared her hospital ward with was saved through a combination of her witness and access to the helps in the Gideon's Bible. It was also great to hear the video testimony from the pastor who was suicidal before finding the hotel Gideon's Bible.

Thank you to those that gave to the retiring offering. Our generous church gave $180.90 spontaneously to support the ongoing work of the Gideons.

Euthenasia

This week the South Austrailan parliament will be reconsidering the Medical Defences Bill which would allow a defence for a doctor who euthenases a patient at their request. Both the AMA and the Law Society have expressed concerns about this bill, however the majority of parilimentarians seem to be in favour.

Some ammendments have been made to the bill since we last posted. For example, two specialists may now be called in to verify the request. However, any investigation of the legitimacy of the request will still only occur following the death of the patient.

There is pleny of reports about people that have been at a low ebb, wished to die and later were glad that was not possible. There are also plenty of palliative provisions that could be considered by doctors and patients that may be overlooked when this legislation is passed.

Please contact your member of parliament as soon as possible to express your concerns, if you have any. I have spoken to both Chloe Fox (the member of my electorate) and Alan Sibbons (the member representing the electorate where our Seacombe Centre is) to express my concerns. Both have graciously responded in writing. I believe that if enough South Australians are concerned and speak up, we can make a difference to the outcome of this vote.

We're back

Well, we've been back almost a week, and we have heaps of things to report, but haven't got to it yet! Sorry.

Over the next few days, expect the blog to be filling rapidly with reports that need to get out there.

First, but by no means most important, is a note to let you know that Brad will be 'appearing' (speaking, I suppose is more accurate) as the guest on "Encounters of a Community Kind" on Coast FM from 6pm this coming Monday. Tune in to 88.7FM.

You never know...

You never know what influence your ministry has.

This morning a man came into our centre for a conversation. He'd been in prison 20 years ago and had been profoundly influenced by a chaplain who had given him a Bible. He still remembers that chaplain, his name and his influence.

At the same time, Angela and I went for coffee down the street. As we walked into the cafe, a man saw us and said "Salvation Army - you're spiritual people"! From there ensued a conversation about God at work in the world and how we participate. (Sounds like a theme we've been looking at).

You never know where things will lead...

A great day out

Congratulations to our seniors team for a great day yesterday. All 90+ seniors that went to Mt Barker for the bus trip, meal and movie had a great time. Ross, Doris and their committee have excelled themselves.

There was singing, happiness, peace, joy, safe fun... things of the Kingdom. What a way to encourage community and build relationships with each other.

East Africa Appeal

Thank you to everyone that contributed to our extra offering for East Africa during our worship services yesterday. Even with extremely short notice $662.10 was given. Thank you.

Microwave miracles

Greg said yesterday, "If God can say 'universe' and it happens... why can't he say 'microwave'!"

We have often in recent days said that God is at work all the time around us. We need to identify where, and get on board.

Yesterday a lady in our community was having trouble with her new, quite advanced microwave. It was only weeks old, still with its box, receipt and warranty. She thought it was better for her to get a simpler machine, and felt God say to her "Give it to the Salvos".

She brought it to Greg with the instruction not to sell it (we can't sell electrical anyway, so it was a moot point), but to give it to the right person. Greg brought it up to our office with the same instructions.

Kerryn has been helping a lady in quite a desperate situation that has just moved into a flat. I was aware of this and asked her if she thought that this lady could do with a microwave.

"Are you kidding," came Kerryn's reply. "Just half an hour ago she asked me if I knew where we could help her get a microwave".

God is at work around us.

Seacombe Gardens Car Park

At our Seacombe Gardens centre you will start to see little yellow dots appearing over the coming weeks. No - you are not going mad.

In our rear car park, we have had ongoing trouble with where people choose to park, and mostly how they choose to park. This is limiting our car park capacity, which in turn has impacted some of our activities, especially our Pioneer Companion Club and our Garage Sale. If current trends continue, it will only be a matter of months before it impacts Sunday morning worship as well.

After some good research by Ross Lewis, purchasing work by Lynette Ritter, and some handy work from Kevin Wotton, we are trialling some car park markers in the gravel. They are pretty obvious - bit yellow dots. If they prove their worth over the next few months, we'll purchase some more and complete the exercise.

Oh - and to state the obvious... if you do park in the rear car park, park between the dots!

Back to Church Sunday

It is a few days ago now, but we are still celebrating the great day we had on Sunday. During this week Kathleen is organising the follow up of our first time visitors from Sunday so that they know how much we appreciated their being with us.

In reality, much of the success of the day happened well before Sunday. We proved, albeit with the prompting of an organised focus day, that we have the capacity to invite people to church. And - that they will respond. The next step, of course, is to make this habitual, a part of our culture. We also need to ensure that the welcome they receive is indicative of 'coming home' or back to church also.

Thank you to those that have taken this initiative on board and invited their friends and family along. 19 people visited for the first time on Sunday morning alone, with others coming Sunday night.

School Chaplains

I've promised in the past to keep everyone up to date with the School Chaplaincy campaign and any developments in this area. I believe that having chaplains in our schools is a vital service provision that is benefiting so many of our young people.

Yesterday the Federal Minister for Education, Mr Peter Garrett, announced significant changes to the federal schools chaplaincy program. These changes include further funding, which is welcome. They also include a new provision that allows schools to choose whether they would like a chaplain or a secular social worker. While the evidence is that the majority of principals are happy with chaplains, this means that some will choose to secularise their student services.

Other changes include new minimum qualification requirements (e.g. a Cert IV in Youth Work, Pastoral Care or equivilent). New benchmark standards will be introduced in service delivery and a new complaints process will  be introduced.

For further details, see the Minister's media release at:
http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/Garrett/Media/Releases/Pages/Article_110907_102159.aspx

East Africa Drought Update and Appeal Notice

The Salvation Army in Uganda is resopnding to drought conditions that have taken hold across much of the Horn of Africa. Children and particularly vulnerable, with malnourishment among under-fives having increased dramatically.

In one district the government has two health centres - Magada and Nzinze Clinics - solely for the purpose of dealing with malnoursihed children. The Red Cross and UNICEF are providing food but children and their families are sleepingo n the ground, there is no water, and hygiene is a major problem.

When Salvation Army assessment teams became aware of the situation they stepped in to provide 200 mattresses, 200 jerry cans, 200 wash basins, 500 long bars of soap and 100 jerrys of liquid soap. Plans are under way to sink a borehole so there is a constant supply of clean water. The Salvation Army's support is greatly appreciated. It is making a small but significant difference to the children and their families.

The staff in these compact health centres work day and night to look after more than 250 children. The night before The Salvation Army had delivered the mattresses a child died. Another nine were buried only a few days earlier. But the problem seen in the health centres is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a large number of malnourished children in the surrounding villages. The local government has started a campaign asking families to bring their children to the clinics before it is too late.

In one of the villages The Salvation Army project officer met a young woman, Malongo. Her name means 'mother of the twins'. She told him that her breast milk had run dry, probably because she had not eaten sufficiently. Once a day she tries to feed tha babies porridge made of cassava flour, which is not very nutritious - but it's all she can afford.

Mothers like Nalongo are in a very difficult position. The porject officer encouraged her to go to the loval health centre with her children. In the meantime she was one of more than 700 families who benefited from food provided by The Salvation ARmy. Each family received 15kg of maize and 10kg of beans.

More projects are planned and an international Salvation Army team is on its way to assist the Uganda Command. The drought in East Africa is set to last for some time.

Donations to The Salvation Army's Africa Disaster Fund will allow teams in Uganda and other East African countries, including Kenya, to provide vital assistance. Support has been offered from around The Salvation Army world with donations already coming in from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and US headquarters.

At Marion Corps we will be setting aside time in both worship services on September 18 for people to make a special offering to the East Africa appeal. Information will be available this Sunday (September 11) to help facilitate this.

Royal Adelaide Show

The Salvation Army has always been fortunate with the opporutunities that the public afford us. We are grateful to God for the good favour with which our church is held.

This week is the Royal Adelaide Show, which I'm sure that most of you would know. During the course of the show, there will be a number of ways that we are able to connect with the community. Most people going to the show would have already seen collectors at the gates. Some of the money raised will support our youth and children's ministry, and some will be supporting our Glenelg outreaches.

Inside the showgrounds, we have people stationed in the Jubilee Pavilion as part of the "Yellow Brick Road". Each person on the YBR that attends our stand will recieved something to eat (a fruit bar) and information on our churches and social services. Kathleen Pearce was there last night and can fill you in on some of the ways that the outreach works.

Also, on Saturday there will be a Salvation Army band on a few stages at the show, including in the Goyder Pavilion. This is a combination band from a number of Corps, including Marion.

All in all, plenty of ways for our church to be exposed to the community and create conversations.

TACO

"Train a Cadet Overseas" - TACO nights help to raise money for the training of Salvation Army Officer Cadets in countries that cannot entirely fund the activity themselves. Realistically, this is most of The Salvation Army world!

Our TACO trivia night, the Pioneer Companion Club trivia morning, has raised $973 toward the TACO effort. $603 was raised on Saturday night, and $370 on Tuesday morning.

Thank you to everyone that helped in this cause. You would be surprised how far this money will go in helping to train people that are serving God around the world. The impact they will have in their countries will be tracable to your contributions and support back here in Australia.

Tri-Territorial Theological Forum - Thought Matters

Over the last few days I have been representing our territory, along with 12 others, at the Tri-Territorial Theological Forum's annual conference "Thought Matters".

This conference has been constituted by the territorial leaders of The Salvation Army in Australia and New Zealand to consider theologically the issues that are presented to the group. The purpose is to provide sound theological/ biblical underpinnings to our practice and policy.

This year the leaders of our territories asked the group to consider a theology of social justice. And so, the 80 delegates from around Australia and New Zealand met in Wellington to do so.

The papers presented contained an ecclesiological perspective entitled "Un-Binding Salvation", and Old Testament paper about what it means to walk with God, a New Testament consideration of the church enacting social justice, a church history paper that looked to justice as understood by the church fathers and a missiological paper about how we construct our mission - rather than waiting to join God's mission.

The plenaries were varied and helpful as well. They covered everything from the 'so what' questions through to worship times that centered around the social justice theme.

The reports from the conference will ultimately be published, probably early next year. The group will meet again next year in Sydney to consider next year's topic: Reviewing Booth's Vision 100 years on... A Vision for the Lost, or a Lost Vision? (Next year is the centenary of the death of William Booth).

Parent Wellbeing Seminars

Lynn has been busy putting together our Parent Wellbeing Seminars. These are a great opportunity for our church to interact with parents in our community and help them with the hard task of being parents.

These seminars are running over two weeks, with one group meeting for a daytime session and another for an evening group. In total 34 families are registered with the seminars. (Praise God!)

Please pray for Lynn and her team, and for our guest facilitator, psychologist Jodie Beneveniste as they lead the parents through, provide child care for the children and create these connections.

Westminster School

The Westminster School has shared a close association with our church for almost a decade now. In the first place this was through their boarders offering support to our Red Shield Appeal. They have raised around $20,000 for The Salvation Army over the years, and it looks like continuing to grow.

In more recent times they have also started to get some of their students involved in other community service activities, such as helping local primary schools for their sports times, or sending students to our Munchiez food van.

Last night I had the great privilege of speaking at their chapel service. While it's always a little interesting when you have an enforced audience (the boarders are required to attend chapel) the kids seemed genuinely interested and engaged. It was supported by great worship from the team at Edwardstown Baptist Church, too, giving us a great sense of ecumenism and purpose in bringing the gospel to the teens at the school.

Please add Patrick, the senior school chaplain at Westminster, to your prayer list. (You could meet him, too, many Mondays at our Basketball games, as his daughter is playing for our U14 Basketball team).

e-Connect

If you haven't checked it out before, take a look at The Salvation Army's online newsletter:

www.salvationarmy.org.au/econnect

This week's edition includes a whole heap of stuff including reports on trafficking, anti-poverty week, men in worship, Melbourne's homeless issue, confronting suicide and the drought in Africa.

New Advertising Campaign

A criticism of our public relations department has been their advertising - namely that it concentrates on the secular aspects of our social ministry without outling our motivation as a church.

To this end a new radio advertising campaign has been launched that will specifically identify The Salvation Army as a church and invite people to get online and find their nearest Salvation Army Church.

These ads will run from September 2 through to November. Listen out for them. Particularly as we head toward Back to Church Sunday and our Volunteer Sunday they may help us start conversations and give an extra impetus toward people coming along to worship.

Words of Life

It's encouraging when we hear of people 'self-feeding', i.e. maturing in the faith and progressing in their jouney with God through their own reading of the Word, and prayer.

Often this is aided by devotional books. For many decades, one of these devotional books has been The Salvation Army publication "Words of Life".

Because of its longevity, Words of Life has had a number of authors over the years. This upcoming edition (Jan - Apr 2012) features the newest of these, Beverley Ivany. Beverley has been a Salvation Army officer for many years and has written three books, as well as over 100 articles for magazines and journals. She will be joined by guest writers from around the world to help cover every book of the Bible over the next three years with helpful thoughts for each day.

If you are interested in Words of Life, subscriptions or single copies can be purchased throught Salvation Army Supplies in Melbourne via their online store.

Army Chaplaincy

Some of you are interested in the work that I do as an Army Chaplain. Well, that's good, but there's not much I can tell you, for obvious reasons.

What I can say is that on any given weekend that I am working, I will be helping the servicemen in our community with issues from marriage difficulties to personal injuries to depression to employment worries. (They are just from the last few days).

Then there are the more public and fun engagements. Yesterday afternoon I was fortunate enough to be asked to dedicate a new memorial established by the RSL. This memorial is in the form of a leopard tank at Echunga, and is dedicated to the memory of all servicemen that trained and served their country but, through lack of need or timing, were never deployed. These soldiers, sailors and airmen still offered their life to their country upon enlistment, but were not sent overseas.

The oppotunity to represent both Army and The Salvation Army in that instance is amazing. I was dedicating this memorial with politicians, including ministers, RSL representatives and many community leaders present. Better still, the opportunity to bring Christ into the equation was very real. To pronounce a benediction, to pray for the gathering and to represent faith in a secular ceremony is a profound privilege.

Back to Church Sunday

Yesterday was a great day in God's house. One of the blessings for me was to see how readily people took invitations to go out to their friends, asking them to come back to church on "Back to Church Sunday".

We had 100 invitations ready to be sent out at the start of the day. By the end of morning tea, I had at least two families asking me whethere we had any more. Sadly, yesterday we didn't.

While we see if we can get some more, can I encourage everyone to push on anyway! Use some of the prayer bookmarks and adapt them to be invitations. Or, use another means altogether - letter, phone, visit, Facebook, email.

Most of us know people who used to go to church but for a variety of reasons have stopped. Research indicates that most of these people would be open to an invitation to return. Back to Church Sunday is simply a means by which we are intentional about letting these people know that we remember them, value them, and wish they were sharing with us again. Let's use the opportunity to its maximum potential.

African Drought Update

The Salvation Army in Uganda is resopnding to the drought crisis that is developing in some partsof the country. As is being seen across the horn of Africa, people are dying because of simple lack of food and water.

In central and eastern Uganda, thousands of families have had poor harvests for the past five years, either due to lack of rain - or because too much rain destroyed the crops. There are many people on the ground, but there are areas where The Salvation Army is the only non-governmental organisation providing food.

Following a recent landslide in a moutainous region of Uganda, The Salvation Army supported 680 families with food.

Staff from The Salvation Army's Ugandan Headquarters and our International Emergency Services have visited families in the Namutumba district near Mbale to assess the needs of another 4000 families. Projects are being arranged for food and sanitation goods to be supplied. Boreholes will be drilled to ensure water is available to the most needy of families as the drought worsens.

The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory has been asked for financial assistance from our International Office toward our work in Uganda. At the moment they are considering their response (i.e. scale of response, I assume, not whether or not they respond). Individuals wishing to support our drought projects in Africa can donate through the IHQ website www.salvationarmy.org or through Corps and Centres.

Corps Finances

In the past we've endeavoured to always be transparent with details about our Corps Finances. This is a continued intention.

You would be pleased to hear that following our end of year wrap up, we can report a surplus of $44,341.91 for our Corps (Seacombe centre) in 2010-2011. This is a massive turnaround on previous years and allows us to be able to continue working towards our stratgic plan and building repairs.

At the same time this year we reduced our Corps loan to under $500,000 for the first time. This means that we have paid off 3/4 of our building costs in some way in just the first 10 years we have been here.

It's not all rosy, just yet, however. Our Glenelg cost centre is running very close to the wire and unless we pick up some extra shop sales, we may need to consider cross funding (i.e. our Seacombe account pays for some Glenelg activities) or approaching the Division to return onto Mission Support Funding (previously known as 'deficit' funding). This year is the first year in many that Glenelg has not been on deficit and we would like to keep it that way, however, it remains an option unless we can generate some more funds.

If you have any questions about our finances, please speak directly to Brad or Iris.

Self Denial Appeal

It may seem strange to some that this has only just been finalised, given that the altar service was held at the start of April. However, payroll deductions and credit card payments are often not finalised until the end of June.

We are please to report that this years Self Denial Appeal raised $15318.35 at Marion. This is a lift of 20% on our giving in 2009-10 and almost our highest total (which was $18052 in 2008-9). Thank you so much.

Having worked overseas, I can give first hand testimony to the difference that the giving at OWSOMS/ Self Denial makes. The giving in our Division each year, for example, can fund everything that is done in the India Central Territory for 3 months! This is meaning that so many lives around the world are being transformed, disciples are made and our light is shining way beyond Adelaide's south. Thank you.

Junior Soldiers

Junior Soldiers is one of the most amazing discipleship programs for children. It teaches a balance of Bible, practical living, church history and community involvement that provides a balanced platform of Christian faith for the kids that are involved.

Our Junior Soldiers program, under the leadership of Marion Sampson, is working away quietly in the background, meeting each Wednesday afternoon. Last night we popped out to help with a drama presentation for the group and saw 10 kids learning and working together. It is a program that is slowly growing in our Corps, and needs our prayer support. Check in with Marion and ask her how the kids are going and ask her how you can help or pray.

City to Bay - TEAM TYSON

Most of you know that I (Brad) like to run. Most of you would also know our good friends Nathan and Chrissy Wright and their young son, Tyson.

Tyson is almost two years old. In his short life he has spent many months in hospital with a congenital heart condition that has required two bouts of open heart surgery in Melbourne. (Pity we don't have the facilities in Adelaide for families like Nath & Chrissy!)

During their stints in hospital, groups like Ronald McDonald House and HeartKidsSA have been absolutely amazing. Salvo chaplains have been to see them as well. It's been a team effort... not to diminish the amazing power of family and friends that have stood by them.

Which is what we are doing again, but in a different way. Nathan has rallied me into the City to Bay and we have joined TEAM TYSON to use the run as a fundraiser for HeartKidsSA. Please support us by sponsoring the run. The difference it makes to families experiencing the hardest time with their sick kids is incredible.

You can see me directly with some sponsorship dollars, or make a donation on line through our TEAM TYSON website: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/team_tyson

Growing Healthy Corps

Most of our blog followers would be aware that our Corps is a part of the Growing Healthy Corps network. This was established in South Australia at the start of 2006. It is a network that enables Corps leaders to be trained in leadership and Corps health, provides bi-annual training for our senior leaders and allows Corps the opportunity for consultations with church teams who can guide us (as with the visit of Rev Dr Paul Borden to our Corps in 2007).

Some may wonder what we do each month when we meet. Yesterday was the monthly GHC cluster for Corps Officers.

The day started with devotions and prayer, usually led by one of the cluster - in this case Major Peter Walker from Arndale. We then review a book that we have read during the month and work out how to apply the reading to our Corps situation - in this case it was "Biblical Church Growth" by Gary McIntosh. It's a great read based on the materials taught over many years by Dr McGavran at Fuller Seminary in California.

After a break we then do some leadership training. Because of the number of conferences that have occured lately, this months training was in the form of reports from each of the delegates. Angela spoke about Brengle. Major Paul Beeson (Golden Grove Corps) spoke to us about why men aren't in church. Major Wendy Hateley (Ingle Farm C0rps) reported on the Healthy Corps Supercluster held in Melbourne. Peter Walker reported on the recent consultation that was held at their Corps at Arndale. Cadet Claire Merrett (Arndale) spoke about the youth leadership training being held in the Division at the moment.

At lunch time we would usually look at some of the Experiencing God material that our Corps is journeying through at the moment, also. However yesterday we ran out of time! After lunch is a time where the Corps leaders pray with each other. It's a great time of support for each other, and those that recieve the Corps prayer newsletter would often have seen some of the specific prayer requests that have come out of this time together.

African Drought

Photos from Major Drew Ruthven and Damaris Frick are available for people to see. They show some of The Salvation Army's response to the drought in Africa, particularly Kenya and Uganda. There will be reports coming out soon to go with the pictures.

You can view them at:

http://sar.my/afdrt1 for people using Flickr
http://sar.my/afdrt2 for people using Picasa

Journey to Emmaus

What a great opportunity this morning to speak to students in our community. Students from St Martins de Porres, Stella Maris, Christ the King, St Bernadettes and St Theresa's got together this morning for their annual "Journey to Emmaus". This is an opportunity for them to think about being Jesus to their neighbours. It's a time where they focus on the story of the Journey to Emmaus (Luke 24) and consider the good news of Jesus' resurrection and how he appears to us on our journeys.

Today I (Brad) was asked to come and speak to the group about my overseas work, with a focus on how students can show Jesus' care to their world. What an amazing opportunity. I pray that the influence we can have on young people in these situations, and in our own children's ministry, is such that they grow as strong disciples of Jesus Christ.

SACOSS Report

Well, it's our 400th post. Thank you to those that continue to follow the news in our Corps.

Today we want to focus beyond the Corps to our community. South Australians are finding it tough. The latest report, released today by SACOSS Executive Director Ross Womersley demonstrates just how tough it's been. Food has risen by 13.2 % above CPI in recent years. Utilities have risen by 33.4%. The staples and the simple needs are the things that are driving inflation.

This is driving more and more people seek assistance from places like our Community Support Services. Most of them are people that previously could sustain themselves, but are now seeking information and advice, such as financial counselling. In fact 82% of people seeking assistance from charities in 2009-2010 were seeking this type of assistnace.

Let's pray for our community and continue to actively serve so that God's light is borne to our neighbours.

Training

There's always some sort of training happening. Addressing the training liability of our church in the current legislative and regulatory framework is a pretty demanding task.

Yesterday we moved forward again with 12 people, from across all of our teams, completing their "Apply First Aid" course (it used to be called "Senior First Aid"). Sadly, one of our team members used her newly acquired skills the minute she got home!

I am pleased to let you know about this sort of thing, however, as it is another demonstration of our care for people and the safe environment that we want to create in our centres. If you are interested in training in the future, please let your team leader know so that they can search out the appropriate courses.

A prayer from Dietrich Bonhoffer

Recently I have been reading a lot about Dietrich Bonhoffer. If you have not read some of his material - look it up. He has written classics such as "The Cost of Discipleship", "Life Together", "Ethics" and so on. He was an astounding theologian and pastor that was executed by the Nazis. His biography is incredible reading. He once prayed:

"I Cannot Do This Alone

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you;

I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;

I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me….

Restore me to liberty,
And enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before men.

Lord whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Amen"

John Stott

John Stott was a legend. Not only was he the Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, but he influenced the world and was one of the most influencial Christian leaders of the last century. John was promoted to glory (I'll steal a Salvo phrase for this Anglican saint) late last month, aged 90.

Billy Graham said last week, "The evangelical world has lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I get to heaven".

Rev John Stott was Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II.
He was one of the principle authors of the Launsanne Convenant.
He wrote over 50 books, some of which have been classics (e.g. "Basic Christianity") and many of which are texts in theological colleges around the world.

Thank you, God, for the gift that John Stott was to the world.

As a postscript... it is worth reflecting on the influence of youth and children's ministries, including school chaplaincy. John Stott came to faith as a young person during his time at the Rugby School in England. His father wanted him to be a diplomat, but his coversion as a teen meant he changed the world as God's ambassador, not the Queen's, while still working closely with her! Twice the influence! All because someone was faithful in sharing their faith with a teenage boy.

Growth Enablers

Among the material to cross my desk this week is a paper from the Rev Dr Paul Borden on the enablers for church growth. Many of you would remember Paul from his visit to Marion in August 2007.

He lists ten things that each church should work towards, with the mindset of reaching the community for Christ:

1. The church must be led by the staff (i.e. both the paid and lay leaders). It should have culturally relevant ministries that are led well in order to transform consumers into fully committed soldiers of Jesus Christ. Excellent staff members (paid and lay) have gifts and talents that enable them to lead, communicate and relate to the community.
2. Fellowship opportunities and shepherding must be programmed. People are primarily cared for as they participate in ministries.
3. Newcomers are assimilated intentionally; the goal of assimilation is mobilisation.
4. The Corps vision is kept before people. The senior leader's role is to communicate this vision every time that they speak to groups.
5. Communication is maintained until it becomes redundant. The leader continually speaks of the mission, vision, values, structure and strategies.
6. The Corps Officer's main role is to lead the staff and equip the leaders.
7. The Corps Council or Leadership Team affirms its leaders rather than granting permission. It spends more time considering the future than dealing with issues of the present.
8. The expectation is that ministry is primarily for the people who are yet to attend the church. This external focus is maintained.
9. The Corps has 'third places'. Third places are gathering points that are not a home or a workplace. For many people sporting clubs, gyms and pubs fill this role.
10. Mission and vision takes priority to self interest. Every Corps behaviour is evaluated in light of the mission and vision. If it is found wanting it is either changed or discarded.

So we continue in our mission to shine God's light in Adelaide's south so that others join us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Our vision is that we will be a multicampus, multicultural, multicongregational church that serves all generations.

While this is far from our present reality, we are on the way. The above principles will help.

London

You will have seen the tragic events unfolding on the news from the United Kingdom. I've been watching closely - my parents are in London at the moment!

A report has been received from The Salvation Army in the UK about the services being currently provided amid these circumstances:

The Salvation Army has deployed emergency response vehicles that are being located in secure locations. Haringley City Council in North London has placed The Salvation Army counselling teams into the Tottenham Community Centre which is open 11 hours per day at the moment for people that need pastoral or emergency support.

Support is also being provided to emergency services personnel in the form of refreshments in both Manchester and London.

McPherson Lecture Series

Each year The Salvation Army Training College sponsors the McPherson Lecture Series. They are named in honour of Lt Colonel Milford McPherson who was the training principal of the college around 60 years ago. He was renowned for his spiritual leadership. To that end, each year, the college brings to Australia a renowned Spiritual leader to speak to us about matters of importance.

This year's guest, speaking on Saturday night at Arndale Corps, is Commissioner Christine McMillan. She is currently the head of The Salvation Army's international social justice department, based in New York, and part of our team that interacts with the United Nations on global issues of concern. She will be speaking on 'Caring for People'.

On Saturday a book named Mission Mandates will also be released. It is a transcript of the four most recent McPherson Lectures covering topics such as Making Disciples, Reforming Society and Transforming Lives. Commissioner Stuart Mugate and General Paul Radar are among the contributers. I'm sure it will be worth checking out.

Gilbert Foster

I said that I would post some of the material from our sessions with Gilbert Foster.

One of the things that he spoke about on Saturday was the fear in some smaller churches that they would grow. There are a lot of myths around about larger churches. There are a lot of things that we sacrifice when others come into our fellowship. But that's why we exist - so that others will join us as disciples.

Some of the myths that he wanted to dispel included:
Large churches only care about attendance
Large churches grow at the expense of small churches
You must choose between quality and quantity in a church
If you are dedicated enough your church will grow (he contrasted this by speaking of two equal errors - practical humanism where we try and do it all ourselves, and pious irresponsibility where we stand back and forget that God wants to use us in his mission)
There is only one way to church growth
All God expects of us is faithfulness

This last myth may cause a bit of controversy. Yet I agree that it is a myth. God doesn't ask for just faithfulness - he wants fruitfulness. Any survey of the gospels shows us how many times Jesus spoke about his disciples bearing fruit.

More food for thought...

Reverence for the Word

As a Dad I have looked for ways to be involved in my kids lives. One of these ways I found is to contribute to their school as part of the school board.

Today, in that role, I was able to attend the opening of the new facilities at Stella Maris that were built following government grants in the Building an Education Revolution program. The school has built a music room, community space, administration block, sick bay and renovated their library using the grant. The new library has also freed up space for a new science room.

Being a Catholic school the ceremony took the form of a church service. I was impressed with the participation of the children, but most of all I continue to be impressed with the way that our Catholic friends treat the Bible. Apart from acknowledging its place and reading from it extensively, they paraded the Bible into the service, escorted by three students and two candles.

While the liturgical framework is foreign to many of us, we continue to learn from each other, and I wonder whether we fail to place such significance on the Word of God in our own lives.

The Salvation Army's legal first

The Salvation Army has launched a high end commercial law firm to raise money for its humanitarian work while providing legal advice and service to people in need. In a world first, "SALVOS LEGAL" has a unque business model that allows it to operate free of donations and is the only law firm of its type in Australia.

The concept is not a new one. In William Booth's book "In Darkest England and The Way Out", written over 130 years ago, the concept of the poor man's lawyer was included.

The model uses profits from property and transactional services to enable the employment of specialist lawyers who can then freely represent clients without charge. Companies and individuals capable of engaging their own legal representation can also engage Salvos Legal knowing that their payments will help others that cannot afford such representation.

The New South Wales Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Greg Smith, recently launched the service. Currently Salvos Legal operates from six NSW centres in Campsie, Parramatta, Miranda, Auburn, Surrey Hills and Canterbury.

For more information, check out salvoslegal.com.au

Gilbert Foster

Gilbert Foster led training with our Corps leadership team on Saturday. For this event we joined with Corps teams from Gawler, Ingle Farm, Oakden, Port Lincoln, Unley and Golden Grove. The guys from Golden Grove did a great job of looking after us and fed us far too well.

Over the next few weeks I want to share with the rest of the Corps some of the key learning that came out of the training sessions. Some of the material will be confronting or controversial for some, but all of it is designed to get us thinkning about the future directions for our church. Anything like this helps us to raise the bar in our efforts to shine God's light in Adelaide's south so that others join us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

For example, Gilbert suggested that good things in our churches cannot begin until bad things end. He quoted CS Lewis who said that "Festering lillies stink more than weeds", and then went on to speak of 'necessary endings'.

Sometimes in our churches we:

• Hang on to something too long when it should be ended now


• Don't know if an ending is the reality we should embrace or if something is 'fixable'


• Are afraid of the unknown


• Are afraid of confrontation


• Are afraid of hurting someone


• Are afraid of letting go and the sadness associated with an ending


• Don't possess the skills to execute an ending


• Don't know the right words to use to speak about an ending


• Have had too many painful endings in our personal history so go out of our way to avoid another ending


• Don't know how to process endings that are forced upon us, so we sink and flounder


• Don't learn from endings and then repeat the same mistakes over and over again


• Forget that everything has a life cycle and may out live its purpose or effectiveness

I wonder that even if we understand the above principles we still get so personally invested in things that we forget that they should be achieving some goal or purpose. I know that when we have spoken about some endings in our church, the concept has not been well received. While some endings have been executed well, others haven't necessarily ended well. There may still be some ministries that is we were honest need to end. Or maybe some practices that need to end.

The good can only begin when our time and environment is free of the bad.

News Release Re Togo

The Salvation Army is now at work in yet another country. The first Salvation Army officers appointed to the west African country of Togo have arrived, bringing with them their three children and the new Togolese Salvation Army flag. Captains Hervé Michel and Naty Dorcas Ahouyanganga, originally from the Congo (Brazzaville) Territory, travelled by road to their new appointment from Accra in Ghana, where they had been preparing for their pioneering ministry. The work in Togo – officially known as the Togolese Republic – is overseen by the Ghana Territory.

The Salvation Army began work in Togo in April, initially under the oversight of Major Rockson Oduro, Divisional Commander of Ghana's Volta Division. While in Accra, Captains Ahouanganga had opportunity to spend time with Major Oduro as well as staff from Ghana Territorial Headquarters.

A quarters in the town of Atakpamé has been renovated and prepared for the incoming officers. Their main task will be to coordinate and assimilate several current expressions of Salvation Army worship. These comprise some existing independent congregations with no previous denominational affiliation, and some which have been established by Salvationists who became soldiers while living in Ghana before returning to their home in Togo. There are also outposts established through initiatives from the neighbouring Volta Division in Ghana. Other opportunities to expand the Army's mission are emerging in Lomé, the capital city of Togo.

Currently these various expressions are widely spread across the country – north, south, east and west, with Atakpamé in the centre. One of the initial challenges facing the captains is to bring cohesion and unity within these diverse groups.

Dry Zones

Marion City Council periodically reviews its six Dry Zones and is currently seeking community input into the process.

Dry Zones are public areas that have been declared alcohol-free in order to reduce alcohol related public disorderly behaviour. The City of Marion has six Dry Zones, located at:

Hallett Cove Shopping Centre (24 hours)
Capella REserve Hallett Cove (8pm -8am)
Coastal Walking Trail (24 hours)
The Foreshore at Heron Way Hallett Cove (8pm - 8am)
Olivier Terrace Reserve in Hallett Cove (8pm -8am)
Westfield Shopping Precinct (24 hours)

The City Council is inviting resident input into the Dry Zone review. Perhaps, for example, it occurs to you, as it does to me, that there is great dry zone allocation in the south of the city but nothing in the central or northern areas.

If you want to participate or require additional information, contact the Community Safety Officer at Marion Council on 8375 6619.

Our church talks about Social Justice quite a bit. Justice relates to local activism as much as global issues and this could be a way that we can promote safety and security for our local community.

Acts 3

Twice in the last week we have heard messages from Acts 3 in our services. Maybe God wants us to have a look at this passage!

Ross spoke yesterday at our midweek service about the 'Gates Beautiful' where the crippled man waiting for alms each day.

He noted that we need to have 'gates beautiful'. These are places where, like the man in the story, we can meet God's people, find healing and find a way into God's sanctuary/ presence.

Each of our lives and ministries should be such 'gates'.

Thanks for the message, Ross!

School Chaplains

You may or may not be aware that there is currently a case before the High Court in Canberra aimed at removing federal funding from school chaplaincy (known in South Australia as 'Christian Pastoral Support Workers').

The premise of the case launched by Mr Ron Williams is that it is unconstitutional for the Federal Government to be funding chaplains.

Angela Jolley, the acting director of Schools Ministry Group SA, writes:

The outcome of the case could have a significant impact on the Chaplaincy services that we are able to offer our communities in the future.

What we do know is that:

• Chaplaincy is a great service that is of great value to school communities by providing pastoral care, spiritual support and referral pathways.


• Chaplains are trained and work in partnership with other caring professionals.


• There is overwhelming public support for school chaplaincy, and we provide support and care to the whole school community, including staff and parents.


• Qualified educational professionals affirm the role of chaplains. A 2009 national survey found that 98% of responding principals that had a chaplain in the school wanted government funding for school chaplains to continue.

You my also like to go to http://www.supportschoolchaplains.com.au and register your support.

Please pray about this issue and register your support for our kids, by supporting their chaplains.

Playgroup

This morning was a unique opportunity for me (Brad) to attend Playgroup at our Seacombe centre. I think it's the third or fourth time in 6 years I've been able to attend the whole morning. Lynn is doing a great job as our new Families and Childrens Worker. She had the kids attention, taught them about God's creation and creatively played with them and their parents. She also had two new mums this morning, one from our English classes and the other (ironically, perhaps) from England. Keep praying for Lynn and her ministry among the families in our community.

Kathleen and Angela

For those that were away Sunday, you'll be keen to know where and when our officers are.

Angela has been on a week's leave and then for a week at Officer's Fellowship at Tanunda. She spent this last weekend at the "Messy Church" conference in Melbourne and has now proceeded to the Brengle Holiness Institute in Geelong. She will be back at Marion on August 14.

Kathleen has also been on leave and to Officer's Fellowship. She has headed to Melbourne last night for the Growing Healthy Corps Supercluster and then will be at the Divisional Women's Getaway this weekend leading worship. She will be back at Marion early next week.

If you have any enquiries, speak to Brad and he'll try and help.

Ascot Park Shop

Our shop at Ascot Park is doing well and is only being hampered by our capacity to open. In other words - the 10 hours per week that we are trading are going really well. Please pray for this ministry. Pray that it will reach the community, serve the community and that we will have the volunteer staff to open for more hours. Consider volunteering yourself. Especially we need people who can 'manage' a day - i.e. look after the shop for a day and look after the other volunteers.

Ascot Park

Margaret Collis

Margaret Collis was promoted to glory from her home at Linsell Lodge on Friday. Margaret was a soldier of the Marion corps, and had been so faithfully since 1975. In latter years she was in care, but appreciated the care of the chaplains at her centre and the visits by people from our Corps.

This is a time to recognise the great work done under various banners such as the League of Mercy or Community Care Ministries, by people in our Corps. Margaret in the past had been visited by Charlie and Thelma Kieswetter and consistently by Dorothy Russell. They are people that have represented the officers and soldiers of our Corps in caring for those shut in. They have been ambassadors for Christ.

Margaret's funeral will be held on Wednesday August 3 at the Linsell Lodge Chapel at 10.30am.

Compensation for survivors of human trafficking

Our Corps has participated with the Stop the Traffick campaign to write to the House of Representatives and Senate asking for copmensation for victims of Human Trafficking.

In 2005 Australia ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. This supplemented the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime.

Article 6.6 of the protocol states that each State Party shall ensure that its domestic legal system contains measures that offer victims of trafficking in persons the possibility of obtaining compensation for damages suffered.

However Australia has failed to provide direct avenues for survivors to pursue compensation.

While Australia has recognised that there have eben over 175 victims of human trafficking brought to Australia (this is not an overseas issue!) since 2004, only a handful have been able to obtain compensation through the state government crimes compensation schemes.

Today we have sent off our petition to join with the others in the campaign.

If you would like further information, look at the Stop the Traffick website (making sure you look at the Australian one... often if you search stop the traffick you will get the UK site).

Justina Stojanovic

Two weeks back we remembered Justina. Justina was a member of our Pioneer Companion Club and was also our neighbour.

She was a truly generous person who loved her family, her neighbours and her God. She would always come and call on our children on Easter Sunday with painted eggs and would be more thank happy to help her neighbours. She would feed our animals whenever we were away and was a blessing to everyone in our street.

Her funeral was a great time with the Glenelg Funeral Chapel overflowing (we were standing at the back!). Please pray for Eddie and their five children and many grandchildren.

Gail Iskov

Yesterday we farwelled Gail from our Community Services team. Gail has served as one of our financial counsellors and has been a welcome member of our team. We wish her well as she enters retirement, and ask everyone to pray for her potential replacement.

Carbon Tax

Obviously the carbon tax is the big issue of the moment. Many of you would be interested to know the official Salvation Army position, which is as follows (quoted from a media release dated Wed July 13):

The Salvation Army acknowledges the efforts and intentions of the Federal Government to preserve the environment for future generations through the introduction of a carbon tax. For many years The Salvation Army has encouraged environmental responsibility in its operations and also encourages measures that assist our community in reducing our impact in the environment.

“Given the finite resources of the world and its expanding population, together with the impact of industrial and rural activities, development must take account of the need to preserve the earth – an exercise in responsible stewardship,” said Major Bram Cassidy, Media Relations Director for The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army also acknowledges the approach taken by the Government in the introduction of the carbon tax package in seeking a resolution that is equitable to all members of the community, including considering the impact of such measures on Australians who are experiencing severe financial strain.

“We cautiously welcome the assurances of the Government that the members of our community in the most need will be adequately supported as a consequence of the costs of living increases that will result from the flow on of the carbon tax,” said Major Cassidy.

"The Salvation Army appreciates the Government’s intention to ensure that those providers of social services, like aged care, receive compensation for the increased operational costs,” he said.

“We seek to work with Government and other social service providers to ensure that the ability of such organisations will not be negatively impacted by the introduction of the carbon tax,” said Major Cassidy.

Commissioner Helen Clifton

As promised, here is the (truncated) international news release from the memorial service for Commissioner Helen Clifton. Please especially pray for her son John and his finace Naomi who will be commissioned this weekend in London, and married in a fortnight.

The service of thanksgiving for Commissioner Helen Clifton was help in the assembly hall at William Booth College, London, UK. It was a fitting tribute to a woman of God.

Countless examples were given of how she did so much for others throughout her Salvation Army officership, from early days as a corps officer through to her last appointment World President of Women's Ministries, supporting her husband General Shaw Clifton (now retired). The congregation of family, friends and Salvationists filled the newly refurbished assembly hall.

Following a presentation showing snapshots of the commissioner's life, and the entry of The Salvation Army flag adorned with white ribbons, the Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Barry Swanson too the lead of the meeting, saying, "We meet to remember the life and influence of Commissioner Helen Clifton. We are not the same for having met her".

The Chief ackonwledged the presence of General John Larsson (R), former WPWMs Commissioner Freda Larsson and Commissioner Gisele Gowans, as well as the former Chief of the Staff Commissioner Robin Dunster. he then led the large congregation in a song before Captain Lynne Clifon (daughter in law) and Cadet Naomi Shakespeare (son's finace) both prayed.

The commissioner's son in law Captain Marcus Collings read from the Bible and each of her children gave their own tribute. Commissioner Sue Swanson read a tribute from The Salvation Army on behalf of General Linda Bond. Bromley Corps Songsters and Enfield Corps Band both participated.

After the Chief of the Staff gave a Bible address, the Clifton's Corps Officer Major Brian Slinn (Bromley CO) prayed and offered a benediction.

The Salvation Army Iraq

The Salvation Army last week signed a memorandum of agreement with the Iraqi Salvation Humanitarian Organisation to continue our relationship with the Iraqi NGO.

The Salvation Army operated extensive services in Iraq following the second gulf war through the International Emergency Services team. In 2006 this work was handed over to ISHO with the intention that The Salvation Army would continue to work in partnership with this organisation. The signing of last week's agreement perpetuates this partnership.

View the international news page of The Salvation Army for further information.

The King Single Bed

There are so many things that happen in our centres that must be God at work.

Earlier this week Greg was telling the story of a lady who felt led by God to deliver to the shop some manchester for a King Single bed. King Singles aren't all that common, and as a previous owner of one - the aren't that easy to get manchester for. This lady insisted that the manchester be saved for that moment when someone needed it and we could give it away.

Within a day or so, Greg had another lady come in who was helping someone that is struggling in our community. Amongst other things, he discovered that this person needed help to fit out a King Single bed!

Thank you for using us to help, God.

Lynn Wann

Welcome to Lynn Wann who joined our team this week as the Families and Children's Worker. If you see her around, or her husband Mike, please introduce yourself and make them welcome.

Junior Soldiers

We can't not put up a post about Sunday's enrolments!!

Wasn't it great to welcome our three newest Junior Soldiers: Joshua Maikowski, Jessica Edmunds and Zoe Watson. Isn't it great to see the decisions that they are making to follow Jesus, the testimony that they make in declaring their promises and the discipleship that is occuring through the Junior Soldiers program.

Thank you to the prayer pals, David, Kay and Jean for your support of these young people. That, of course, doesn't mean that the rest of us shouldn't also be praying for them!

Thank you also to Marion and Kay for their work during the week with the Junior Soldiers. I'm sure there will be more to come.

Stephanie

Thank you to Greg, Sally, Fay, Dawn, Elizabeth, Tryntje, Iris, Kath and anyone else who baked scones and helped on Sunday morning for our special morning tea.

We were able to make a great finish to our great morning with our Junior Soldiers.

Moreover, this helped to send Stephanie, one of our volunteers to the national disabled netball competition in Waverley, Vic, where she will represent our state.

We raised $215 through a simple, but profound, community exercise. Thanks guys. Well done. Good luck Stephanie.

Laurel Schubert

It was a privilege yesterday to lead the funeral for Mrs Laurel Schubert, a soldier of our Corps that was promoted to glory at the age of 94 years.

What stood out was the incredible way that her legacy continues through the choices of songs and scriptures that gave powerful testimony to her family and friends.

A good crowd gathered at Centennial Park to salute one of God's ladies.

Well done, Laurel.

Basketball Season

Congratulations to the players in our basketball club for excellent results this season. These include:

U14 Premiers - Marion White Knights
Runner up association Best and Fairest, U14, Maegan McDonald
Runner up association Best and Fairest, C Grade Men, Amos Gaskin
Runner up association Best and Fairest, B Grade Women, Rebecca O'Connell
Association Best and Fairest, A Grade Men, Travis Schmidt

Well done everyone!

Weights

I was reading during the week from Hebrews. There's a verse that is often quoted in regards to getting rid of sin in our life: "So throw off the weight and sin that so easily entangles and run with determination the race set before us".

This version of the verse caught my attention. Reason being, it's not only sin that can entangle us, but many good things that could be separate from sin - yet are still weights. While I haven't gone back to the original text to test the veracity of this translation yet, it still bears thinking about... Are there even good things in our lives that are getting in the way of the best things?

Are their things that we carry around with us (thoughts, emotions, hang ups) that get in the way of the best things that God has in store for us?
Are we overworked with things that don't matter, and therefore get in the way?

As a church, do we have a lot of good ministries that are running but are not achieving our mission? Do these services and activities shine God's light so that others join us as disciples of Jesus Christ? Maybe our church has some weights that are preventing us from running with determination the best race that God has laid before us? Maybe the good things are getting in the way of best things - having new disciples on the journey with us.

Promoted to Glory - Laurel Schubert

We are saddened by the news of the death of Laurel Schubert. Laurel was promoted to glory earlier this week from her home at Resthaven Marion.

Laurel was 94 years of age. She first came into contact with the Glenelg corps many years ago, and was enrolled as a soldier around her 80th birthday by Captain Kevin Grant in 1997.

Laurel's funeral will be on Tuesday afternoon at 1:15pm in the Florey Chapel at Centennial Park.

Families and children's ministries

We are pleased to announce that Lynn Wann will be joining the leadership team of our church in the role of Families and Children's Worker. Lynn will start on Monday July 4.

Lynn has a background as a school teacher and has worked for many years in the school system. She has an Anglican heritage and says that 'being in God's grace is the best place to be'. Many of you would know her as she has been part of our community for a while, volunteering in the Seacombe Gardens shop.

Please pray for Lynn as she continues to develop the families and children's ministry team, and works with the families of our community.

The ministry of a lawnmower

Today I had the privilege of conducting Warren's funeral. Warren wouldn't be known to many except his family and his neighbours out at Port Parham.

Warren's link with The Salvation Army goes back to 1937. It was then, not long after his family had moved to Adelaide from Clare, that he and his parents settled two doors up the road from Whitmore Square, where The Salvation Army has offered a range of services for many years.

When Warren's family needed to mow their lawn, they borrowed the lawn mower from The Salvation Army centre. This started a link with The Salvation Army that continued for 74 years.

Warren ended up marrying a Salvationist, his kids went to a Salvation Army Sunday School and he had contact with The Salvation Army during WWII when he served with the Army and the Air Force.

The profound influence that The Salvation Army had on his life continued to the point where he specified that he wanted a Salvationist to conduct his funeral and has left a small bequest to support the ongoing work of The Salvation Army. This opportunity meant that the gospel could be shared with his broader family who have now also been influenced by the movement we work within.

Please pray for Warren's family this week.

Ascot Park Shop

Today is an important day in the life of our Corps as the Ascot Park Shop opens for its first day of trade.

Up front I need to thank Greg Varidel and Wendy Sudron for their incredible work in getting the shop to the stage that it's at - ready for sales.

This shop is going to help us remain sustainable financially, especially at our Glenelg campus. It also broadening our outreach base and our exposure to the greater Marion community. It is another opportunity for us to shine God's light in Adelaide's south so that through the testimony of the volunteers and the assistance offered to the public (as well as the funds raised) others will join us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

At this stage the shop is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am - 2pm. We need volunteers to help staff other days. The more we open, the more consistently people will shop, the bigger our customer base and the better our fundraising. This is critical in the next month or so, so that we get to the stage where we cover our costs (e.g. rent and power).

Please pray for this ministry and conisder how you can assist the mission by offering a few hours at Ascot Park. If you can do so, please speak to Greg or Wendy.

Basketball

Congratulations to our U14 Basketball team that last night won their third premiership in a row. Our team defeated Seaton Christian Family Church 37-26.

Thank you to Bronwyn Nunns who is our club secretary and also to James Smith who has been coaching the junior team.

The basketball club will be having a social celebration at our hall this Saturday. This will be a chance to relink the ministry into the church. There will also be a presentation night next Monday at Arndale Corps where the juniors will recieve their premiers' trophies.

Please pray for this ministry. Our concern with all of our ministries is not that they do well of their own accord but that the ministry is missional. There can be great services offered, great sports teams operating, but if they are not contributing to the mission of the church they lose their purpose. For our basketball club, and for any ministry that we run, this means that they must be shining God's light so that others join us as disciples of Jesus Christ. Let's pray this is so.