Diversion of aid

It has been reported over the last two days that the federal government are planning to divert $375m of foreign aid to pay for the overrun in costs associated with the processing of refugees this financial year. The aim, clearly, is to ensure their short-term focus on a budget surplus is achievable.

The effects are dramatic. It will effectively make Australia the third largest recipient of its own aid. It will divert funds from countries and programs that are alleivating poverty, toward a program within Australia that we, as a country, have always funded separately.

Please view, for more details:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/labor-mp-slams-foreign-aid-cut-20121217-2bjd1.html
http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/blog/n/overseas-aid-and-refugees-in-australia-121219

Please also consider writing to your Labor MP to ask that the government do not proceed. In South Australia, our Labor senators are:

Hon Sen Penny Wong
Hon Sen Don Farrell
Sen Alex Gallacher
Sen Anne McEwan

We also have two Greens senators and an independant from South Australia:
Sen Sarah Hanson-Young
Sen Penny Wright
Sen Nick Xenophon

In the Marion area we are represented by Liberal members of the house of representatives, however our neighbours who may also be worth contacting is:

Hon Kate Ellis, Member for Adelaide
Hon Steve Georganis, Member for Hindmarsh (Glenelg and West Torrens area)
Ms Amanda Rishworth, Member for Kingston (Noarlunga area)

I have written to Sen Farrell, already and I'm trying to spread the word. Please consider your views on this and think about contacting the government to voice your concerns.

Christmas Cheer

It's that time of year again, when our church has the opportunity to support many in the community that are "doing it tough". We are grateful for the generosity of the community that make it possible for us to support hundreds of families each year. Today, alone, over 300 families from around Adelaide's south are going to receive toys that have been channelled from the KMart wishing tree through our Community Support Services to those who need some help. 

We are also grateful for the support of Bunnings and Westpac that each year send us teams of staff to volunteer to help us with the distribution. On top of that, of course, is our incredible staff and volunteer team who are working away as I type to make it all happen. Their dedication is second to none.

We pray that there will be 'cheer' spread as a result of this effort. We also pray that the love and community that are generated will transform someone's Christmas and will point to the Christ child that started the whole thing.

A Christmas Gift to the Community

This year we have again given a Christmas Gift to the community in the form of our family fun event last Saturday. A big thank you to Deb Strapp and Simon Fullbrook for their organisation of such a great day.

Hundreds of people were at our Seacombe Gardens centre to enjoy carols, bbq, devonshire teas, crafts, jumping castles, family games, competitions and plenty more. It was great to see the centre packed out. It was great to see the number of volunteers that came on board for the day from throughout our church community.

The whole point was to give to our community a sense of celebration, fun and a pointer to Christmas. We will keep these gifts up in future years (perhaps not every year) and keep finding new ways of letting our community know that God came to be one of us at Christmas, and that the church is here as Christ's body with the world now.

Responses to ministry

It's not often that you receive written thanks for the ministries that are undertaken.

As people head into Christmas, this sometimes changes.

We were blessed this week to receive a note from a mother, via our Facebook page, thanking our Corps for the way that we have helped her, and her family this year. While we don't seek recognition, it is encouraging to know that the work of our staff and volunteers is making a big difference in our community. The genuine way in which they shine God's light in Adelaide's south is helping people to know God and to experience his love.

Christmas Shopping

Today I went shopping. Just briefly. I had opportunity to witness two comic scenes.

Both of these scenes involved stressed retail staff antagonising each other. Both were pretty similar. On the first occasion, a shopkeeper had lost her windex - earth shattering stuff, indeed. She panicked and started annoying another staff member to help her find it. He was taken up looking after a customer, which he rightly persisted with.

The second incident was in the car park near the shop. The stressed worker couldn't get into her office, and was hassling the car park attendant, to whom I was paying my parking fees. Again, I was grateful that he put the customer first.

I smiled as I wondered about these two workers who were already stressed by the season. Or perhaps they are people that are persistently stressed - catastrophisers, if you will. Either way, I'm not sure that's how we should be - and certainly it's not what the Christmas season should be like.

Jesus came to give life, and life in its fullness. Stress, apart from the type that heightens our capacity and efficiency, is not life giving. It is draining and causes friction in our relationships. I need to, and I hope others will, take stock over the next few weeks and ensure that we are embracing the life that is on offer to us, rather than the stress that the season could, if unchecked, bring us.

Journey

Well the Nauru journey is over, and I am now settling back in to home.

As I think about journeys, and travel in general, I am thinking of the Christmas story. What sort of journey would Mary and Joseph experienced as they headed from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Trying to take this trip on dodgy roads, while heavily pregnant, is unimaginable. It was not by choice - the government had determined that this was the place they would be processed, much in the same way that asylum seekers have no choice in where our government decides they should be processed.

It was not the end of the travel experience for Mary of Joseph either. They were forced to flee their homeland as refugees and seek asylum in Egypt to avoid the infanticide of Herod. For at least two years they were unable to rely on the protection of their homeland - in fact it was government sponsored terror that kept them away.

Isn't it amazing how often the stories of Christ interact with our own. He has been there/ done that (whatever 'that' is). He has seen the best and worst of humanity as one of us.

As we each journey toward Christmas 2012, I pray that we will be able to identify each of the areas in which the Christmas story interacts with our own.

Final update from Nauru

The weather has turned up here. We have gone from 40 degree days, working in direct sunlight and high humidity, to cooler (30 ish degrees) with heavy storms every day. Believe it or not, while the days are still warm, it feels much more bearable. The only problem has been moving our cots and bags around our tent to keep them, and ourselves, dry. The other night I had a dripping on my face in the middle of the night - my only option at that time was to turn around and let the drip keep going on my feet.

After four weeks, I have a slight change in function. I have been leading one of our client support teams for most of my stay here. I am currently handing that over to another team leader and simultaneously helping with the finances in the office, as we have not had a bookkeeper with us for a fortnight.

We also continue to have new people deploy from Australia. They are taking on new roles around us and it is reassuring to see the way that things fall into place and continue as you phase out of your former roles.

Quite a few of us finish our deployment this week, including another of the team leaders, our HR rep and our imbedded psychological assistant. As a result we have planned a 'send off' dinner to celebrate what we have been able to do together and to say goodbye to each other... which will be a little odd as we will all be on the same plane to Brisbane!

I will see everyone on Sunday. Please pass on my thanks to those that have helped out in my absence, especially those that have supported Ange specifically.

Nauru 4

It has been a chaotic week, and I've spent most of it supervising the afternoon and night shifts. Today was a rude shock with my first switch back to 'days'. It was also a rude shock weather wise as the monsoon seemed to hit. The rain was torrential for a number of hours, causing havoc for all concerned.

Today highlighted the diversity of the tasks that we might be called upon to do. I've exchanged bed linen for guys, helped in an English class while someone took a break, had a meeting about HR and how we are going to succession plan some of our teams and then finished by providing a report to some government officials.

My team has changed significantly over the past week as some people have headed home. I have two new cultural advisors in my team and I've also picked up some brand new staff that are still in a state of shock about the fact that they are in (hot and wet) Nauru, let alone where they live and work.

Nauru 3

Last week I was on afternoon and evening shift all week, which has messed with any chance of really contacting home well, or catching up on news. We tend to sleep in and then work from midday through to 10:30 pm (roughly). Suits my body clock perfectly, but not good for touching base with home.

There has been a bit of grief in our camp since a lot of the media has been getting back here. Most of what is in the mainstream press is half true, but we are powerless to do anything about it. The men are able to use the internet and they are taking every opportunity to protest the very fact that they are even here. We understand that they will tell whatever story they can to change their circumstances. Unfortunately, we will bear part of the brunt of this.

We are ramping up the care management of the guys this week, which is good. Each shift is now given a list of 20-30 guys to do a well being check on every day. We are now able to identify melancholy, illness and other concerns much more proactively, which will help the 3 social workers we have in our team.

Today was probably the best day that we've had in the processing centre. The day started smoothly with all the functions going well and finished with a game of cricket and volleyball operating in the common spaces. Due to a variety of issues in the centre of late, this had not been possible until today. I was facing a very fast Pakistani player (we were Sri Lanka vs Pakistan - I was voted onto the Sri Lankan team somehow) who scared the life out of me, only to later discover he was the national Pakistani schoolboy champion bowler. He bowled me third ball of his over.

Tonight we had a meal out to farewell around 20 short term staff that are heading home to Australia. Their departure coincides with the announcement by the Eastern Territory about how they are going to structure the operations here for the long term. My position is one that will become a permanent paid position, along with a number of others.

Nauru 2

It's hot here, and very hot (around 30) overnight. I'm sleeping in a tent at the processing centre with a few of the other staff. It's cosy but we have some new fans so hopefully we'll all start to sleep better.

I had a day off on Sunday so I went to church. It was a good morning. the pastor was from the Solomon Islands and the musicians were mostly Fijian. It went for a little over two hours, but you didn't really notice. I then went to a chinese buffet for lunch - $10 all you can eat, which was pretty good. We had a drive around the island, saw some cultural sites and then went for a swim with some local kids.

There is a minor challenge among the team to swim out to the drop off point, where the coral island drops away to the deep sea. Took the challenge, although realised half way back just how far it was, and how hard the swimming was. After that a few of us had fun jumping of the harbour wall.

My client interaction is diminishing rapidly as I'm spending most of my time managing staff. I am now the team leader of a group that are running the client services in the actual ayslum seeker compound. There are three teams: day and night shift, with a rotating two days off. I'm also the salvo rep on all casualty evacuation issues.

Nauru 1

This week I have started the journey to Nauru to join The Salvation Army team that is working with the Asylum Seekers currently held there. I have arrived half way, taking an overnight stop in Nadi before flying on in the morning.

There has been much conjecture and controversy over this government policy. Regardless of polity, there are a group of people being detained on this Island that are in need. They are, by definition, all traumatised. They are struggling with failed expectations about what would happen when they arrived in Australia. They need support, and this is why The Salvation Army, regardless of what our policy or position is or isn't, has become involved.

I am told that from here on in internet will be limited. I will however do what I can to send updates and information as I am able, and as is appropriate. Please pray for our team and for those that are seeking to have their claims for asylum processed.

Doorways

Today we welcomed Pamela Hanney from Territorial Headquarters to Marion. She visited as part of her role in coordinating the Doorways programme across our territory.

Doorways is a Community Support Services based programme that involves interventions and case management aimed at stopping generational, cyclical or entrenched poverty. Typically, at Marion, it allows clients that engage with Emergency Relief but have either complex needs or ongoing needs to be allocated a worker that spends significant time working with them.

We are blessed that or two primary case workers, Julie Davis and Kerryn Morriss are so experienced and bring their faith-based values to their interactions with our visitors. They are shining God's light incredibly and through their care dramatically assisting in the transformation of lives.

Patners In Recovery

The Federal Government has announced an initiative known as "Partners in Recovery". It is aimed at catching those people that experience mental illness before/ as they may otherwise fall through the gaps in service delivery.

Consortiums of service providers, usually led by a group called "Medicare Local" are being formed around Australia to partner with people in their journey, and make sure they access the services that they need.

The Salvation Army, through our vast array of community service programs, has frequent contact with people from many walks of life, including those that suffer mental illness. We are joining consortia where possible, so that we can be part of this partnership in assisting people in the community. Already we are part of the "Central Adelaide and Hills" group, and we are also meeting with the potential players in the southern Adelaide consortium next week.

Greg Varidel, our local Community Services Manager, is going to be at the table with the other service providers. Their task is to see what sort of partnerships will help people in southern Adelaide best. Part of this will be developing a service delivery model that harnesses the opportunities presented by each service.

We want to be part of this because it fits very well within our mission to shine God's light in Adelaide's south. As part of our "Know, Grow, Show & Go" process it will certainly lead to care for people and transformed lives (Show and Knowing God's love).

The work of God

Catherine Booth said,"We believe that the only reason why the work of God does not mightily grow and prevail, is because so few people make it their business to grow it. We believe that if there is anything worth being energetic and enthusiastic about, it is salvation." (Church and State, S.A. Publishing).


I found this quote on the AUS leadership facebook page. Worth a thought. Have we made the business of growing the Kingdom of God and doing his work in our community our primary business.

Global Leadership Summit 2012

Every year we take a team from our church to the Global Leadership Summit.

This Summit is run in Chicago, USA, and then simulcast to an audience of 160,000 leaders in over 90 countries. Adelaide has a simulcast site, which this year was at Clovercrest Baptist Church.

The speakers this year included former US Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice, Bill Hybels from Willow Creek Community Church and others from around the world.

There were speakers that inspired us, such as Pranitha Thomas, an Indian leader who has helped organise the release of over 4000 slaves, and Geoffrey Canada who established schools for the poorest of Harlem, NY.

There were also speakers that taught on leadership skill and capacity. This included some that spoke about receiving feedback on the church's activities and others that spoke on communications and staff management.

I trust that over time the application of the lessons learned will mean greater Kingdom impact in our community.

Having your say

It is important that we take the opportunity to have our say about things in our community that matter.

At the moment there are great opportunities presenting members of our church to be visible and vocal about the way our community is shaped.

I would encourage everyone to get involved in the Making Marion campaign. This is being run by Marion City Council and is a chance to have a say in how our city evolves over the next 30 years.

There is also currently a survey being run by the City Council on the dryzone at Marion Westfield. This zone prohibits alcohol consumption around Westfield and the Domain, outside the restaurants. The concept is to reduce anti-social behaviour resulting from intoxication in the public spaces.

Take a chance to reform society by participating in the conversations that construct our community.

Connecting the Urban Village

Over the past two days, the Southern Regional Alliance have hosted the "Connecting the Urban Village" conference at  Morphettville Racecourse. The Salvation Army have been sponsors of the event, and we also hosted a breakout session called "Spirituality and Wellbeing" - about holistic approaches to service provision. Major Susan Wallace and Andrew Elvin from our Divisional Headquarters led the session.

Speakers from around the region, plus two from the USA, spoke at the conference. The Premier, the Hon Jay Weatherall was kind enough to open the conference, and spoke to the attendees about the government's priorities as outlined from their state strategic plan. Of specific interest to the forum were the priorities that spoke of affordable housing, health and 'every chance for every child', addressing the inequities that mean some children don't have the same opportunities as others.

Other breakout sessions included conversations around the social determinants of health, the measurement of empowerment and the joining together with indigenous people.

More information will be available soon via the conference website. It was worth being involved and we look forward to next year.

The Salvation Army announces Humanitarian Support role on Nauru and Manus Islands

The Salvation Army announces humanitarian support role on Nauru and Manus Island
10 September 2012

The Salvation Army has entered into a contract with the Federal Government to provide humanitarian support services for asylum seekers who will be housed and processed on Nauru and Manus Island.

Under the agreement with the Federal Government, The Salvation Army will provide counselling, pastoral care and recreational and other programs aimed at supporting the welfare and emotional well-being of asylum seekers awaiting processing.

The Salvation Army spokesperson, Major Paul Moulds, said: “While The Salvation Army remains gravely concerned about the potential impact of offshore processing on the wellbeing and mental health of asylum seekers, our primary concern is to provide the best possible care in these circumstances.

“As an organisation The Salvation Army is driven by the desire to extend compassion and generosity to any who need it, wherever they might be.”

The Salvation Army already provides chaplaincy support to asylum seekers at Immigration Detention Centres in Australia, and is currently involved in the provision of housing and support services under the Australian Government's Community Detention program.

News release taken from www.salvationarmy.org.au

Val - our newest Soldier

Most Sundays we have something special to look forward to at our services.

This week was no different as we welcomed our latest soldier, Val Mortimer.

Val has had links to The Salvation Army for a number of years. Her late husband, Jim, was a Salvationist for all his 95+ years. Her sister is a soldier at Floreat Corps in Perth.

But Val came to our Corps later in life. She joined in activities with Jim only 2 or 3 years ago, and has never looked back. Already Val is well pressed into service, managing the kitchen on Messy Church nights.

It's nothing but a pleasure watching more people covenant to service, and as Salvationists we love seeing it happen within The Salvation Army.

Welcome Val.

Royal Adelaide Show

The Royal Adelaide Show is on. Hard to miss, really.

Thanks to everyone that has helped with our part in the show. We've had a few on the Yellow Brick Road stand giving out information to the passers by. If you were there at the right time, I believe you may have had an encounter with the spritely Betty Macsween.

Thanks to those that also stood at the gates - in some cases in wind and rain - to collect funds and help people visiting the show. I found myself helping people to the train station, calling the security guards to find some police in a hurry and sending people to ticket booths (as is often the case, my uniform was mistaken for that of a security guard once or twice. Thank goodness for the big Red Shield bibs!).

The show shows us some of the best of our community. We get to see fresh produce and learn from those that care for the land and the animals. We have fun as families and have thrill rides that give that adrenalin rush to remind us we're alive. Creativity is celebrated in the arts and crafts, musical performances and displays. Sportsmanship is on show.

It also causes me to think about our consumerist culture. How many showbag items last out the week?

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

Story Sharing

Each month at our Leadership Team meeting, we share stories - good news - about how we are going as a church. Here are some of the great things happening at the moment around our centres:

• 28 at Hymns of Praise this week, including more new people!


• CSS client rang to make an appointment for prayer and anointing.

• Katie, Michelle and Vonnie have been new this month in the 10am congregation and have been a few times.

• Telstra corporate team came to do a day of volunteering in our garden (pity they were washed out).

• Toilet tour going well. Good response to the giant toilet and the petition. Lots of good conversations generated.

• New ‘My Story’ testimony time going well in Hymns of Praise congregation.

• One of our youth, ‘Tim’ went forward for prayer at the recent Divisional Youth Event.

• Great to see the growth in volunteers like Matt, who is going to take on a new role in our test and tag project.

• Kidzone have been working on ‘being on God’s team’ this term (to tie in with Olympics and Paralympics)

• Val Mortimer will be enrolled as a soldier on Sept 16. She tells us at least a dozen family and friends are coming to witness the event.

Give Poverty the Flush

Our foyer has been enhanced by the inclusion of a 2m tall toilet.

The Give Poverty the Flush campaign is aimed at raising awareness about the 780 million people that don't have access to clean, safe drinking water and the 2.5 billion people that don't have adequate sanitation. Every day around the world 3000 children die from preventable causes related to water, sanitation and hygiene.

People can come and take a photo on the giant toilet to share with their friends and keep the conversation going. They can sign the petition asking our government to keep their commitments in aid and water/ sanitation promotion schemes. They can educate themselves and their friends via the website or the factsheets at reception.

For more information check out www.micahchallenge.org.au or www.toilettour.org.au

Communications and Fundraising

Today we have hosted our state Communications and Fundraising team at Marion. The Salvation Army's C&F crew look after our media relations, public relations, business and corporate relations, bequests, Red Shield Appeal, planned giving and overseas development appeals. They are a critical part of the overall Salvation Army team.

We had the opportunity to introduce the team to what we do at Marion and take them on a tour of our facility. As would be the case on any given day, they ran into a range of groups. Today we had our prayer warriers meeting in the loft, the Mulitple Sclerosis group exercising in the Activity Hall, Playgroup in the main hall and CSS in full swing - not to mention the shop. The C&F guys appreciated the opportunity to see the end result of so much of their work and to talk further about they ways we work together.

Staff & Volunteers

Once a quarter we are able to gather all of our staff and volunteers together, in part to simply say 'thank you'.

Today was such a day, and we want to add to the verbal thanks a public post to say that we appreciate the way that so many people contribute to God's mission through our church.

Our vision of a multi-cultural, multi-congregational, multi-campus expression of the church that serves all generations takes some building. Our mission to shine God's light in Adelaide's south so that others join us as disciples requires a group of like-minded people working to this end.

We couldn't do it without you all.

Thank you.

Westminster

Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking at the senior school assembly at Westminster. Westminster has a proud tradition of promoting a holistic education that includes a strong community service focus.

For a decade now, Westminster's senior boarders have raised money for our Red Shield Appeal by participating in the doorknock. They have raised an average of $1500 per year. As well as this, at least annually they send a community services team to our Corps to learn and join in service activities at our Seacombe Centre. This happened last weeek.

I was able to present a certificate of appreciation to the Captain of Boarders, Alex, and also say a few words about the contribution that the school is making through their support of The Salvation Army. It was not insignificant that in the same assembly the students were promoting their next community service project - supporting Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child.

Our church is again, also, supporting Operation Christmas Child. If you are around Marion and interested in joining in this worthwhile project, please speak to Brian Hunt.

Letter from the TC regarding homosexuality and The Salvation Army

As late as today I have heard concerns from our people about a letter issued by our Territorial Commander in late June. Please refer to my blog from July 2 for some clarification including a note from our Chief Secretary  in addition to the TC's letter.

As I sit an ponder the pastoral implications of these conversations, I am prompted about who we ALL are in Christ.

God loves everyone unconditionally.
God forgives everyone.
Jesus has done everything that is necessary for our salvation - it's got nothing to do with what we do, or don't do; who we are, or who we are not.

I am also prompted by the thought that:

All have sinned and fall short of God's glory, BUT there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and there is NOTHING (including my actions) that can separate me from the love of God that is in Jesus.

Visit of Netty Horton

This week we were priviliged to welcome Netty Horton, The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory's Territorial Social Program Director, to Marion. Netty was accompanied by our Assistant Social Program Secretary, Major Sue Wallace, and our Social Policy Advisor, Andrew Elvin.

The purpose of Netty's visit was to continue her familiarisation with the social services provided by The Salvation Army in South Australia. We were able to speak to her about the incredible growth in our service delivery at Marion - now reaching over 4500 'client episodes' per year. We were also able to speak to three important issues for us: the diversification of our social service, the perennial funding issue and most importantly, the integration of all of our services to achieve our primary mission: shining God's light in Adelaide's south.

There has already been some good leads to come out of the conversation, as to where we can take our services next. Watch this space!

The toilet tour of Australia

From September 7-9, Marion Salvos will be hosting the toilet tour!

This is part of a broader campaign by the Micah Challenge and their partners (including The Salvation Army) known as "Give Poverty The Flush".

We are hopeful that the event will be attended by our local federal member, Dr Andrew Southcott. We have also sent invitations to our Mayor, Felicity Lewis, and our state member, Alan Sibbons.

Give Poverty The Flush is aimed at raising awareness about the 780million people who live without access to clean, safe drinking water and the 2.5 billion people who don't have adequate sanitation. Every day around the world, 3000 children die from preventable causes related to water, sanitation and hygiene.

The event will feature the giant toilet - a two meter toilet - in our foyer where people can have photos taken and sign the petition to ask for the federal government to do more in this area.

Look out for more information to come.

William Booth - 100 years on

Today marks the centenary of the promotion to glory of William Booth, co-founder of The Salvation Army. This was a significant moment in the history of the movement. Could it survive the death of both of its founders? (Catherine predeceased William by a number of years).

Well, under the consolidatory leadership of Bramwell Booth, and a number of subsequent Generals including our current incumbent Linda Bond, it has not only survived, but is now larger than ever with 2 million plus members spread across 124 countries.

But what of the vision and legacy of our founders. They didn't necessarily envisage a denomination at first, in fact William was keen that the movement should cease the minute it lost its focus on saving sinners. They didn't forsee an institution at first, but understood the need to structure an organisation that would serve the needs of society.

What they did see is many people coming into relationship with Christ. They saw a holy movement of people reaching every people-group with the freedom of the gospel and a holistic salvation that considered the whole person. Is that what we see today, 147 years after The Salvation Army was founded (as The East London Christian Mission) and 100 years after William's death?

The Marathon

Yesterday, I completed my fourth marathon. This morning, a nice email awaited me from the organisers.

Congratulations on completing the 42.20 km Run with a Finish Time of 03:35:30. Your position overall was 109, with a Gender place of 98, placing 53 out of 137 in your Male 16-39 Age Group.
(Context: 406 competitors)

Marathons teach a lot. There is the need to persevere, even when you hurt. There is the need for community - people to share the journey, people to train and coach you, people that are running the same pace as you that can encourage you on the way. There is the need for leaders and volunteers to set up the event and keep it running and safe. There are mental challenges on the way as well as physical.

In our life marathon, we could all do with the people that share our journey, lead us, coach us, and support us. We could all learn about persevering in the hard times and overcoming those lies and challenges that enter our minds. I'm grateful for what I learn... it's not just a run through the parklands!

Livable Cities

Every six months, the EIU (the publishers of "The Economist" magazine) publish a list of the world's most livable cities. This is based on security, healthcare, education, tranpsport etc. The purpose is to demonstrate to companies where their executives might like to live, and conversely where they wouldn't (so they'll ask for more money to go there).

It wouldn't come as any surprise to readers to know that there are four Australian cities in the top 10. Melbourne is the world's most livable city. Adelaide is number 5. Sydney comes in at 6 and Perth at number 9. The rest of the top 10 are Toronto, Vienna, Vancouver, Helsinki, Aukland and Calgary. (Some would be interested to know that the highest ranked US city was Honolulu at 26).

This brings to mind two things. In highly 'livable' countries, of which Australia is obviously one of the highest ranked, we often take for granted how blessed we are and the obligations we therefore have to consider the rest of the world.

Also, I think we need to guard against complacency. It would be easy to look at reports such as this and find that we forget that within livable cities there are still many lost people, addicted people, abused people and homeless people.

Social Justice conversations

At the moment The Salvation Army is supporting three campaigns in the social justice arena.

The first is to ask the Hon Nicola Rixon, Attorney General, to change Australian laws regarding the importation of goods that involve the use of slavery in their production. Australian law makes it illegal for any Australian company to engage in any financial transaction involving a slave, regardless of where it occurs in the world. Unfortunately, it is up to consumers to do their own extensive research to identify goods produced by slave labour. These goods typically include cocoa, seafood, clothing, bricks and rugs from some countries.

The second campaign is to ask the President of Hershey Chocolates to provide a public timetable by which all the cocoa used in their products will be independantly certified free of abuse of children trapped in harmful or expoiltative conditions, or who have been the victims of trafficking. In comparison, other large companies including Nestle, Cadbury, Mars, Kraft, Ferrero and Lindt have taken action to address exploited child labour in their production of cocoa.

The third is to ask the Hon Tony Abbott, Leader of the Opposition, to support legilation to stop Austrlian Ineternet Service Providers from allowing their clients to access child sexual abuse sites by requiring them to block ready access to such sites. At this stage Telstra and Optus do so voluntarily. We ask that all ISP's be mandated to block ready access. Blocking access to such sites is reccommended by INTERPOL as assisting the police in combating this activity. It makes it harder for commercial child sexual abuse sites to build a customer base. It also respects the rights of victims to minimise access to the abuse of their images.

If you are interested in joining one of these campaigns, more information can be obtained from www.stopthetraffik.org.au or from Major Marion Weymouth at Territorial Headquarters in Melbourne.

It is great that we are not alone in such campaigns. In these cases we are joined by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydeny, The Freedom Project, The Churches of Christ, Childwise, Starfish Ministries, The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, the Oaktree Foundation, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, the Victorian Trades Hall Council, the National Tertiary Education Union, the ACTU and the National Council of Churches in Australia.

The General's Prayer Letter

For those that are interested, our General, Linda Bond, has been issuing letters with prayer topics included.

If you would like to read one, and pray for our General and the worldwide Salvation Army, then please have a look at  http://www.salvationarmy.org/thegeneral/prayertopics

Kimberly

Last night it was great to welcome Kimberly Farwell as the latest adherent of our Corps during a ceremony at the Glenelg Centre. Kimberly is the first new member to be welcomed at Glenelg since we recommenced worship services there, last September.

Kimberly's testimony was sweet. She mentioned that she had been volunteering at the Seacombe centre since last December, and how she enjoyed being able to come to worship.

Thank you for joining our team, Kimberly. May God continue to impact your life.

Volunteers Sunday

Throughout the year we plan events that help us to recognise the contribution of our volunteers.

The latest was a special Sunday service that celebrated their service, recognised their contribution and offered a small gift in thanks.

Perhaps the best part of the morning was the interviews with Susan Lynch and Bev Cairns. I loved the simple statement from Bev, when asked, "What keeps you coming back?" "God!"

Susan spoke about how she was surprised by how welcoming the team were at Ascot Park, and how she loves being able to use all of her talents in her role.

Those that serve alongside us - soldiers, friends, adherents, employees, volunteers, advisors, collectors and so on - all contribute to our mission to shine God's light in Adelaide's south so that others join us as disciples of Jesus Christ. Each of them make up an important part of the life, community and transformation that we offer to our local area.

Thanks to all our volunteers.

Children's Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated children.

They are an integral part of our church, and we took the opportunity yesterday to develop our worship time entirely around the children.

In the morning at Seacombe Gardens we 'wiggled and froze', sung about our Great Big God, and prayed with thanks as our Junior Soldiers renewed their pledge. It was sobering also to hear Angela and Wendy speak about the 90 children connected with our children's ministry at the moment, and the responsibility we have to ensure they are in a safe, gospel-oriented environment.

In the evening at Glenelg we joined with other Salvationists around the world in observing the International Day of Prayer for Children. We prayed that the children in our community would have a safe environment in which to grow. We prayed for our children's ministries, that they would be places where children learn about God's unconditional love.  We prayed for our mission, remembering lost children in our community. And we also prayed for children that are born into extreme poverty.

I can't accept the notion that the children are the church of tomorrow. They are the church of today! They are more spiritually aware than many adults, and need to hear and use God language, and see and learn about Kingdom values NOW. May we be instruments by which this happens.

Team Building

Each year we take our senior leadership team for a team building exercise. In the past these have included meals out, or even a trip to a chocolate school.

Following a suggestion from within the team, this year we did things quite differently. We went first to the Australian Refugee Association's offices in Underdale for a meeting with their staff to learn more about the plight of refugees in Adelaide. The purpose was to open our eyes to what is happening in our community and learn the best ways of serving those recent arrivals.

We spoke together about intercultural competence, visas, organisations that help and ways of working together.

Following this, we went over to Hindmarsh to have an Afghan meal.

Whenever you are building a team, it is important to create experiences (learning, social and memorable) that build a team memory and ethos. If you work in one of the teams at our church (shop, children's, youth, seniors, CSS etc), ask your team leader or manager about a team building experience. It will bring immeasurable value to your teamwork.

Back online

It's been a few weeks since the last post. During this time I have been attending a course for the Australian Army, related to my chaplaincy, had a week's holiday and then headed to our Division's Officers' Fellowship.

Things have not been quiet at the Corps during this time.
Our extension at the Seacombe Gardens centre, which will incoporate a new storage space and free up some of our other areas, is well and truly underway.
Our latest soldier, Peter, has been enrolled and others have started their soldiership preparation.
Our Red Shield Appeal has been finalised - with increases in both the Cities of Marion and Holdfast Bay.
We held our latest lead and lunch event, concentrating on the qualities of a leader.
We received a new grant for our Glenelg centre, which has meant we've bought a coffee machine and multimedia projector. It will also pay for the sound system to be rewired and installed.
We farewelled Bruce McDonald, promoted to glory.
Our women's B Grade basketball team brought home the premiership.

Things never sit still.

We also look to the next two weeks when we celebrate Children's Sunday (August 5 - we used to call them 'Sunday School Anniversaries') and Volunteers' Sunday - a great chance to say thank you (August 12).

It's good to be back online.

God at work

We often talking about looking for where God is at work among us. In the last week:
A lady came back to our church because this is where people listened to her. The gospel was shared with her, and we prayed with her.
A soldier of our Corps felt led to sponsor a child to attend the Creative Kids camp in September.
We are able to connect with 500 families through the Great Jetty Road Treasure Hunt.
We have young people connected with our Corps attending a basketball carnival where the gospel will be shared.
We have had open doors to pray at a military event and to represent The Salvation Army at a Rotary function.
One of our local members has sought the assistance of our church with an elderly couple in dire straits after immigrating from England.
A person made a bequest to The Salvation Army through our Corps for $5000.

This is just in a few days.
God is at work.
Good things are happening.

A matter for concern and prayer

The Salvation Army is affiliated with ACOSS - the Australian Council of Social Services. This is their latest media release, following the passage of Income Managment legislation through the Senate recently:

Wrong way, go back: Communities seek a change of direction on income management


Friday June 29, 2012
Peak welfare bodies the Australian Council of Social Service and the National Welfare Rights Network and grass roots community groups are disturbed by the entrenchment of Income Management in the Northern Territory and its extension to five new areas from 1 July. The groups argue that to impose income management on communities without proper consultation and solid evidence on its effects is wasteful and demeaning to those people whose household budgets will be controlled by Centrelink.

“We are extremely disappointed to see the Government’s ‘Stronger Futures’ legislation passed in the Senate in the early hours of this morning, that not only extends the NT intervention by another 10 years, but also now imposes the unproven income management model for people on social security payments to five trial sites outside the Top End. The Government committed to evaluate the Northern Territory scheme before extending it further but has now extended aspects of it anyway, both in the Territory and the five new sites, ” said ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie.

“From this Sunday the communities of Bankstown in NSW, Playford in South Australia, Shepparton in Victoria, and Rockhampton and Logan in Queensland, in addition to the Northern Territory, will have an invisible fence around them and be treated differently from the rest of Australia, at a very high cost. Spending around $6,000 per person to manage people’s very low incomes just doesn’t make sense. Most of the people targeted are on Newstart Allowance or single parenting payments who are living on as little as $35 a day,” Dr Goldie said.

Maree O’Halloran from the National Welfare Rights Network said, “The passage of the ‘Stronger Futures’ legislation makes us a weaker nation. Ninety per cent of people under compulsory income management in the Northern Territory are Aboriginal which should be a matter of national shame.”

Pam Batkin, Executive Officer at Woodville Community Services and member of the Not in Bankstown Not Anywhere Coalition said, “Income management is a bad social policy. Rather than helping people look after their families better and manage their money better income management punishes and stigmatises people in our community who are already struggling.

“When so many people across our community agree that the Newstart Allowance is simply not enough for anyone to live on, there is something profoundly wrong with the government spending so much to manage the spending of a single person on this allowance. We call upon the government to abandon income management across Australia and to act to ensure that all people in our community simply have enough money to live on,” Ms Batkin said.

Ms Randa Kattan, Executive Director of Arab Council Australia and spokesperson for the Bankstown Coalition, visited NT communities late 2011 to see firsthand the impact of income management. "From the bush to Bankstown, people do not need income management. They need job opportunities, higher incomes and improved social services. But here in Bankstown 'Stronger Futures' means the same punitive approach that we see in the NT. Only $2.5 million has been allocated for community based programs, while $23 million will be spent on income management,” she said.

David Tenant, CEO, Family Care, in Shepparton, Victoria said, “It’s absolutely vital that the people who are referring clients to income management ensure they are not making difficult situations more difficult for those people. Too much of welfare reform is focussed on what is wrong in communities. The Commonwealth needs to work harder on building strength and opportunities and that work has to be done in partnership with communities.”

Terry Stedman, Chairman, Logan Indigenous Community Justice Centre in Queensland said, “We are very concerned about the absence of any way of evaluating decisions made to refer people onto income management and the lack of an appeals process. Instead of punishing people the government should be spending this money on ensuring enough support services for these families - such as more mental health services for children and adults, more advocacy services (particularly for migrant families), domestic violence perpetrators programs, drug and alcohol diversion facilities and others - which are sorely missing or lacking in Logan. Local businesses are worried too about the impact this will have, especially when you consider that there was no economic impact statement done in our community.

“I fear where this is all going when we start to treat people differently like this. We’d like to see a Families Responsibility Commission set up in Logan so we don’t have bad decisions and so targeted individuals and families have some sort of recourse. This seems to work well in North Queensland where the FRC can properly assist people and even be critical of government where support services for our society’s most vulnerable families are simply inadequate,” Mr Stedman said.

“Despite any evidence that income management is effective, $117.5 million will be spent to fund a mini-bureaucracy to micro-manage the spending of 4000 Australians living on poverty-line payments,” Ms Maree O’Halloran said. “As discriminatory social policy, welfare quarantining has pervasive and far-reaching impacts. For example, half of the Clean Energy Supplement and the Clean Energy Advance, as well as the proposed $210 per year Supplementary Allowance announced in the recent budget, will be quarantined on the BasicsCard.”

Ms O’Halloran added, “With just days before the starting date we are struggling to obtain a comprehensive picture of how the rules will operate in the five new areas. The lack of clear information about how the schemes will operate is causing unnecessary anxiety. In some circumstances, the right to an independent appeal is effectively being stripped away. In light of the recent Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report on the experience in the Northern Territory, this is deeply concerning.”

Dr Cassandra Goldie said, “Neither Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory nor the communities of Bankstown, Shepparton, Logan, Rockhampton or Playford asked for income management. It was imposed by Government. As the peak national body for Australia’s community sector, we urge the federal government to rethink income management. The Government should work with local communities, peak bodies, and grass roots services on lasting solutions for the real problems that exist in these communities.

“There are good models available, including the Northern Territory’s ‘Every Child Every Day’ strategy on school attendance, the Cape York Family Responsibilities Commission model, and new investment by the Federal Government in local employment, family and support programs in the five regions targeted for income management, ” Dr Goldie concluded.
 
Each of the communities affected have a significan Salvation Army presence. Please pray for our staff, volunteers, Corps and officers in these areas as they engage with the communities that have been disempowered and impacted through these policies.

Building works

For those that frequent our Seacombe centre, please be aware that we've started building works again.

The new extension will provide much needed storage space, freeing up the corridors and other areas where we currently stack boxes, deliveries and the like. It will help us to secure items as required and also move stacks of gear out of some of the offices.

Please be careful, especially if venturing around the Sturt Rd/ Profix side of the church building.

Commissioner's Open Letter to Salvationists

In the last fortnight, Major Andrew Craib from THQ was interviewed twice by Joy FM as part of their 'expose on some of the realities of 'charities' and 'Christianity'' (from their website - http://www.joy.org.au/). Both interviews are still posted on the front page of their website. The first, Major Craib suggests, went quite well. The second was bitterly framed, misinterpreted our doctrines, beliefs, postional statements and practices and became a nasty personal attack on Major Craib. He was not given real opportunity to respond to questions and the female presenter, particularly, often cut him off dismissively.

This has left an unfortunate and misinformed situation, and a lot of hurt people on both sides of the conversation. Both Australian territories have responded to try and clarify our position with mixed resuls.

The Eastern Territory responded with a letter to Joy FM, from their communications and fundraising team member Major Bruce Harmer, which Joy FM have posted on their website. The Southern Territory responded through an open letter to Salvationists, but have yet to respond in the public arena, perhaps, it would seem, through a mistrust of how it will be handled in the light of the Joy FM interview.

The open letter to Salvationists has raised more questions than it has answered for many of our people. It has led to one or two telling me that they will discontinue their association with our church because they believe that our Commissioner has been deliberately ambiguous so as to pander to public opinion. I disagree, and have tried (unsuccessfully, to date) to clarify the Commissioner's letter with these folk.

It seems that the questions regarding the Commissioner's letter are not confined to Marion. As such the Chief Secretary, Colonel Peter Walker, has issued supplementary comment as follows:

On receiving the attached Open Letter from our Territorial Commander on Friday, some of you have raised some queries; for example:
membership
does sexuality mean practicing, celibate or both in the context in this letter?
does 'service' mean that those engaging in same sex sexual relationships are now "not" excluded from holding service as "officers" within the Salvation Army?
with the proposed change to the marriage act if successful under the rights of marriage as celebrants for the Salvation Army will we be able to marry same sex couples?


... and you may well have others that have arisen in your mind.

In raising some of these issues with him, the following response has been received from the Chief Secretary, which I trust will provide some clarity for you as you share the contents of the Commissioner's letter with your people:
There have been no changes to our teaching or understanding.
The essential question is whether the person concerned is a practicing or non practicing homosexual.


We would continue to recognize a distinction between homosexual orientation and practice, and while our services of any nature will always be offered freely to anyone regardless of their sexuality or practice, officership will not be available to practicing homosexuals, in a similar way that we would not consider a defacto couple for officership, or a promiscuous single person. There are already those in our officer ranks who would regard themselves as gay, and who live a lifestyle of abstinence in the same fashion as would any single heterosexual officer.


In regards to marriage, as we are required to marry under the rites of The Salvation Army, we will therefore be precluded from marrying same-sex couples. A change in the law of the land does not release us from adhering to biblical teaching. The legislation before parliament respects the rights of faith communities not to be forced to conduct weddings where it would conflict with their beliefs.


You would be aware that we are an international Christian movement, and it would require a fundamental change to our understanding of Scripture at an international level for these requirements to alter.

Clearly this issue demonstrates the wide variety of views within our movement and within the broader community. At this time, let's pray for a sense of unity among The Salvation Army and particularly for our leaders as they navigate this complex situation. Please also pray for Major Craib and his family.

Prayer ministry

One of the aspects of our evangelism weekend recently was the need to engage in spiritual warfare and pray in many of the breakthroughs that are necessary in our community.

Some people have taken up the challenge to pray around particular parts of the community that God has placed on their hearts. One or two are going to pray at our schools. Yesterday, two of our soldiers went to pray over the Women's and Children's Hospital, where they had some great encounters.

Ask God where more breakthroughs are needed in Adelaide's south. Where is he calling you to stand for the Kingdom of God and pray in breakthroughs for people?

Basketball

This week three of our basketball teams have found their way into their respective Grand Finals. They will be played on Monday night (June 25) at the Distinctive Homes Dome, Crittendon Road, Findon.

At times sports ministry takes a seemingly peripepheral role to the rest of church life. Some would even argue that sports ministry doesn't have a place in a church, when it is done so often (and sometimes so much better) by a range of community groups, from councils to YMCA's to sports associations.

So long as the sports ministry finds a way to contribute to the mission of the church, and is fruitful, it can be an asset. We would hope that, regardless of on-court success, our basketballers are seeing God/ witnessing God's light and are finding ways to join us as disciples. To this end, please pray for this ministry and Bronwyn Nunns who coordinates it.

Kym's Message

Sunday evening at Glenelg we had an incredible message delivered by Kym Lear.

Kym is a message in himself. He is an old-school 'Trophy of Grace', in that his testimony includes a dramatic salvation from drugs and alcohol into God's Kingdom.

Kym preached up a storm, in his own understated way. Using powerful stories and emotion, he reminded us that as God's people, God's character should be seen in us, and in our care for others. He concluded by suggesting that while we are not God, and therefore cannot create a universe with our words, we can certainly create a new world with our love.

Thanks Kym.

Grace

We had a great weekend of teaching during our 'Grace' seminar. We are grateful to Greig and Craig from Sydney, who came to share with us great testimonies from their church in Ryde, and also teach us Kingdom principles that help us to a) embrace grace for ourselves, and b) share grace with others.

The keys to the weekend:

God loves us without cause - we can't make him love us more or less, he just loves because he IS love
God forgives us even before we ask - when Jesus did the work of salvation on the cross and declared the work finished, it was finished
Jesus (plus nothing) is needed for our salvation. We can't add to his work, take from his work or try and do things ourselves.

This is liberating news. It's great news worth sharing. And here's the reality... God rescues us all from something, and based on that testimony, we can encourage others to discover their rescue story and rewrite their personal stories in the light of God's grace.

BBQ Day

Well done to the guys at our Ascot Park Centre. On Saturday they held their first BBQ day, where they invited the public in to check out the centre and gave them a feed at the same time. Helen writes:

Our sausage sizzle was considered a success in all area's by myself and my staff. I was very touched by the number of my volunteers that came in to lend a hand on the day. Sarah,  Barbara and myself baked muffins, cakes etc and they both stayed the entire shift on a day they dont work. Jane was amazing with one of our customers and Mary and Steve came and socialized out by the BBQ the entire shift. John was our main man cooking the BBQ and he and Susan ran around collecting said BBQ etc. Before we left to go home they all asked if we could do it again in 6 months time.

Reconciliation Week

This message has been received from Bishop Mabo at the National Council of Churches as we observe Reconciliation Week this week:

“The theme for National Reconciliation Week “Let’s talk recognition” is also relevant to Christians as we start the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation,” said Bishop Saibo Mabo Chairperson of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) the peak Indigenous ecumenical body and commission of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA).

“We as Australians need to be united in one mind, one heart, and in one action as we continue on the journey of Reconciliation. Reconciliation is all about positive and respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and all other Australians.
Reconciliation needs to be fair and include justice and proper recognition. True reconciliation is not to just talk about recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture but it is to act. We need to start at the policy level and start at the top with the Australian Constitution.”
During National Reconciliation Week 27 May to 3 June the churches are celebrating the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation. Bishop Mabo said “I call for all people to pray for Reconciliation and Recognition. It is important for us all to pray and understand people. We need to be of one accord, there’s no good fighting we must understand each other. We must see the land where we are as belonging to Creator God We need to work together in love, peace and joy.
I strongly encourage everyone to attend one of the many services for reconciliation that are happening in every part of this land and unite all our prayers together for a better future. Reconciliation needs to be lived and real in every level of the Australian community.”

For more information go to http://www.ncca.org.au/departments/natsiec

Good news story

One of our court chaplains, Bev, has written the following message:

We hear so much bad news I thought I would share something precious. A client from Intervention Court was in an extreme state of hopelessness after having to sleep in an empty house with her young son on the floorboards for sometime just so they were safe.

She found closed doors at every point to seeking assistance, she was on the edge. The option to return to a violent situation or her thoughts of suicide appeared to be all she could see. Either way the result would be the same, due to the situation she ran from.

I spoke to her for a while & asked if I could pass on her information to our doorways staff at Marion Salvation Army. She cried out to God that night & then the next day was contacted by Kerryn from Marion. They have helped this lady & her son in such a precious way, treated her with dignity , respect ,care & compassion. Reminds me of our God who calls us to be His light in the Darkness.

This lady has a new lease on life, believes that God heard her prayer & that there are some beautiful people in the world.

I thought this was something definitely worth sharing - our workers are such a gift, may we treasure them as they treasure those we send to them.

Thanks to Bev for such positive feedback. Thank you to Kerryn for her service, and Greg for his leadership of the Community Services team. Note Bev's reference to light: We continue to shine God's light in Adelaide's south so that others lives are saved (!) and others will join us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Volunteers

We value volunteers. There is no other way to say it. We are grateful for all that they do to further our mission and help us achieve our vision under God.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to some of the Divisional team about the value of volunteering as part of the discipleship journey. We can point to real stories of transformation in our Corps where people have been through our services, and then started volunteering as a stage on their spiritual journey. Or they have started with us as volunteers and then been staff, or come to church and come to faith.

Today, I was able to meet with the volunteer coordinator for Marion Council. Our hope is that we will be able to partner in providing volunteering opportunities. The relationships we have we council often open doors for us in the community as well.

Marriage Act

The Salvation Army has made submissions to the Senate committee reviewing the marriage act. To view this submission go to:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=legcon_ctte/marriage_equality_2012/index.htm


You will need to then click on "Submissions" and then scroll down a fair way until you find The Salvation Army submission among the hundreds of others.

The General's Letter/ Greenland

The Salvation Army continues to grow. The General has just announced the commencement of official work in our 125th country, Greenland. This will be overseen by the Denmark territory, and the first officers to Greenland were appointed at recent commissioning events in Copenhagen.

You can read about this and more in the General's quarterly letter to Salvationists, available at:
www.salvationarmy.org/thegeneral

Others

It has been a weekend about others for Marion Salvos.

Others have joined us as we've worshipped. In fact all three congregations on the weekend had first time visitors. Some came to Messy Church on Saturday after seeing the new banner. Some came to Glenelg because a friend had recommended The Salvation Army as a place of worship. Some came to Seacombe because they are new to the area - two from PNG, no less.

Others have volunteered to help us collect. It was great to be at both Seacombe and Glenelg centres over the weekend to meet people who are putting up their hand to help with the Red Shield Appeal. We couldn't do it without the extra help from the community.

Others are the reason we serve, really. We shine God's light in our area so that others join us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We offer a helping hand so that others come to know God, grow in God, show God's care and go in God to serve their world.

Red Shield Ministries

The Red Shield Appeal can be a ministry. There is a real ministry that occurs in the contacts that are made while out and about.

One year I remember speakinga at length with a man that had been abused in a Salvation Army home as a child. While I wasn't able to satisfy all of his concerns, it certainly was a step toward reconciliation.

Another collector spoke to me this morning about his experiences last year. He called on a home where a man had recently been widowed. He found an opportunity to care for this man, pray with him, follow him up with a card and link him in with someone else to also support him.

Over the next fortnight of collections and conversations, shine your light so that others see God - take those ministry opportunities.

Ric & Suzet - an update

Ric and Suzet Sutcliffe, from our Glenelg congregation, have given us an update on their work in the Philippines. Ric writes:

Hi all

I just posted the blog re the school graduation recently. It was great to see the 3 Joyland kids in their gowns and toga’s – take a look at the blog and some photos.

They each have a story and I have included some details there. We need to be cautious what we say for obvious reasons. They all glowed on the day and so grateful for the God given opportunity they have in life.

Also we are completing a new building which will be used as Dining/Recreation Hall. It is large and is looking great. The funds for this were donated by an old friend who now lives in the USA, Nats Kusuangko. He recently was here and saw the development. We wish he could be here now to be part of a Thanksgiving dedication. We hope to use it this Thursday – if the painting is all dry.

Suzet and I leave Thursday afternoon for the USA as Joshua and Julie are expecting twins late May. We still have not personally met Brynn, their daughter, so this is a great occasion for us. We are excited. We sold our car to do this. Joyland has an old Suzuki multicab, which is small and a squeeze for us foreigners, but heh, we survive. We are looking to raise funds to by an L300 style van for transport for Joyland kids. At the moment we do 2 trips when we go anywhere. If you can help it would be a blessing.

To all we thank you for your moral, prayerful and financial support. We know times are tough at the moment. If you desire to give from Australia it can be done through our website and is ‘tax deductible’. If in the UK it can be done through Heart of the Father and thereby is ‘tax deductible’ also.

To go to the blog and photos click here: http://joylandglobal.com/Content.aspx?contentK=80

Please pray for Ric and Suzet as the work and travel for the Lord.

Red Shield Appeal Advertising

Yes the Red Shield Neighbourhood Appeal is here for another year.

This is a great opportunity for The Salvation Army to communicate our message to the community. Our visibility and public relations are worth as much as the money raised - although, let's be honest, we also need the money!

Today I've been to speak on Coast FM, and also have been interviewed by the Guardian Messenger (to be in an article next week). What a blessing that Brian, the Coast FM interviewer, asked about my role, and I was able to explicity tie our faith to our service.

Let's be ready for the divine appointments that God has already prepared for us ahead of these two-three weeks in appeal season.

Federal Budget

Last night Wayne Swann handed down his fifth budget as Treasurer. This is probably his most controversial, with carbon pricing, a surplus that may be more politically than economically sound, and a range of spending cuts that will hit most sectors.

While we don't know yet if there will be any impact on our own service delivery, there has been some good news in the federal budget for the Marion community.

Among the fine print was a significant sum ($3.5m) toward the construction of a community centre and library at Hallett Cove. This will be constructed by Marion City Council on the corner of Ramrod and Lonsdale Roads, opposite the two churches. This is something to look forward to, and something worth celebrating for our community.

Garry Raymond

After some time away, it's great to be able to report back in.

Last Sunday night was extraordinary. At our Glenelg congregation we heard from Ret Det Insp Garry Raymond about his life and faith. He shared how he had almost lost his life twice, at the hands of his own mother. He shared about the life of service that he offered through the New South Wales Police Force Rescue Squad.

Most of all he continuously kept referring back to his faith. It was God that got him through, and early on, by miracle, brought his family to church. Since then he has been through divorce, the loss of a child, tramatic rescues and crime investigations and in all circumstances has been able to find his God faithful and true.

Everyone who attended was blessed to hear from Garry.

Visit of Garry Raymond APM OAM

This Sunday evening we are privileged to host Ret Chief Inspector Garry Raymond, APM OAM, at our 5pm congregation at Glenelg, where he will speak. Garry will also be speaking at a Men's night at Adelaide Congress Hall this Thursday evening, and on Sunday morning at ACH.

CHIEF INSPECTOR GARY RAYMOND APM, OAM (Rtd.)


BIOGRAPHY

Chief Inspector Gary Raymond APM has just retired after being a member of the NSW Police for 33 years. Prior to his retirement in December 2005, Gary was performing duty at the Blacktown Police Station as a Duty Officer specialising in Emergency Management and Crime Scene Management.

Prior to joining the police, Gary performed 5 years service as an Ambulance Officer with the NSW Ambulance Service in the Sydney metropolitan area.

Gary joined the NSW Police in 1972 and performed general duties at Redfern Police Station as a Probationary Constable. He was then chosen to join the elite NSW Police Rescue Squad.

As a member of the Police Rescue Squad, Gary performed over 1,500 rescues including 1,000 motor vehicle collision rescues, 200 cliff rescues, and 200 suicide negotiations at heights such as cliffs, buildings, bridges, roofs and towers. He also performed industrial and domestic rescues. He conducted searches both on land, air and sea whilst working as crew on the police helicopter. Gary has also performed duty at numerous siege and barricade situations as well. Gary attended and dealt with many identified explosive devices.

Gary performed duty at the Granville Train Disaster, Thredbo Landslide Disaster, the Newcastle Earthquake, Luna Park Ghost Train Fire and Hilton Hotel Bombing. Gary has received a number of awards for his bravery displayed during rescue and suicide negotiation missions.

In 1983, Gary was transferred to plain clothes policing for training. He qualified a Designated Detective. As a Detective Sergeant at Blacktown, Gary was involved and in charge of many successful homicide and other criminal investigations including the tragic murder of Nursing Sister Anita Cobby at Blacktown and the murder of six year old Tess Debrincat at Quakers Hill.

He has also received commendations and notations on his Police Service Register for performing acts of bravery during encounters with armed offenders. Gary physically arrested an offender (who was holding a female with a knife at her throat) without harm to the hostage, offender or himself.

In 1991 Gary was appointed as a Senior Investigator to the State’s Royal Commission into Corruption in the Building Industry in New South Wales. Gary’s team successfully prosecuted a number of organised crime figures, trade union delegates and construction companies during their two-year investigation into criminal activity.

Whilst stationed at Cabramatta Police Station, Gary received a Commander’s Commendation for the single-handed arrest of an armed robber after the offender held up staff at a fast food restaurant with a gun and stole money. The arrest was executed after a lengthy foot pursuit resulting in Gary arresting the offender at gunpoint without harm to himself or the offender. All money and firearm was recovered.

Gary was also involved in the crime scene command and successful investigation into Australia’s first political assassination, the shooting murder of John Newman, the State Member of Parliament in Cabramatta. Gary also commanded the Manly area for 3 years and gave evidence in the successful Police Integrity Commission Inquiry and Prosecution into police corruption in that area.

During this command, he was the officer in charge of the successful rescue of 800 passengers from a Manly ferry which ran aground at Little Manly Cove. Gary has been awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM), the National Medal with Clasp and the New South Wales Police Medal for 30 years distinguished police service that included a large number of successful rescues and suicide negotiations. He also has the
Granville Train Disaster Medal.

Gary was a member of the NSW Police Peer Support Working Party and was a Senior Peer Support officer along with Police Psychologists and Police Chaplains involved in helping traumatised or suicidal police officers. Gary was a member of the Crisis Team who assisted police and family members after the homicide of Constable David Carty at Fairfield.

Gary is leader of the Christian Police Association (CPA) (NSW Branch). This organisation provides Christian ministry, help and fellowship for both sworn and unsworn police employees.

Gary is a member of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International and attends the Blacktown Chapter in Sydney. He is involved in FGBMFI outreach including meetings, Mayoral Prayer Breakfasts and conventions.

Gary is Vice-President and Senior State Chaplain to the Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) of New South Wales. This organisation has over 73 squads and 3,000 volunteers as members. The VRA provides land, sea and air patrol rescue capability. Gary conducts workshops to help people in the VRA become aware of Critical Incident Stress Management. He also defuses rescue squad operatives after high emotional impact rescue events referring them to professional help if needed. Gary has spoken both in Australia and overseas conferences including the Hendon Police Training College, London.
Gary is a member of the Rotary Club of Blacktown City and is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. He also received an Australia Day Achievement Award and Blacktown Citizen of the Year in 1993 for his commitment to Street Kid Programmes and Suicide Awareness Programs. Gary is a State member of the Drug Arm Board. The Drug Arm organisation facilitates street van teams and other street level drug prevention programs.

Gary conducts workshops helping people to defuse aggressive behaviour in the workplace. He also helps with the construction and rehearsing of risk management and emergency plans in the workplace.

Gary received the Police Commissioner’s Olympic Citation for his policing, planning and operational management during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

In August 2002, at an International Conference in Melbourne, Gary was presented with a National Award of Excellence from the Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation of Australia for outstanding contributions to the field of Critical Incident Stress Management.

Gary was the Strategic Terrorism Risk Assessor for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He recently received a Commissioner’s Certificate of Merit for his risk management work during the Rugby World Cup security & safety planning. The Cup was the biggest public event in the southern hemisphere that year.

In November 2004, Gary was a keynote speaker at the Risk Management Institute of Australasia Conference in Hobart. He spoke on the Safety & Security Risk Management of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

In February 2005, Gary went to tsunami affected Ski Lanka to help in the recovery effort. He helped in tsunami affected areas on the south, west and east coasts of Ski Lanka. He visited the site where the “Queen of the Sea” train was washed off the tracks by the tsunami drowning around 1200 people. Gary advised the Government Medical Officers at the Galle Hospital mortuary in dealing with the Disaster Victim Identification of hundreds of tsunami victim’s bodies. He performed training and education workshops to community and church leaders in Critical Incident and Post Traumatic Stress management of tsunami survivors and their family. Gary counselled a large number of tsunami survivors in refugee camps as well during his visit to Ski Lanka.

In March 2005, Gary was nominated by the Blacktown community as one of Blacktown’s Police Officers of the Year.

In February 2006, at a Blacktown City Council meeting, Gary was presented with the keys to Blacktown City by Mayor Leo Kelly for services to the people of the Blacktown Local Government area. This was only the fifth time this honour has been handed out in Blacktown the last one hundred years.

In February 2006, Gary went to the USA to lecture the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LCSD) on Suicide Negotiation techniques. He also spoke in a number of churches and Christian Police groups in the Los Angeles area.
In April and June 2006, Gary was called by Chaplaincy Australia to North Queensland to conduct trauma and suicide prevention workshops to the victims and emergency managers of Cyclone Larry. He also went into the field to counsel devastated cane and banana farmers in the aftermath of the cyclone damage.

In May 2006, Gary spoke at a FGB convention in Alice Springs. He lectured in a number of Alice Springs Primary and Secondary schools on trauma in the indigenous community.

In June 2006, Gary was invited to lecture at the Royal Fijian Police Academy, Suva, Fiji. He also conducted negotiation training to their Tactical Response Group (TRG).

Gary was a keynote speaker at a NSW Governor’s Prayer Breakfast and six Mayoral Prayers Breakfasts both in NSW and Queensland in 2007.

This year Gary has visited Lightning Ridge, Wee Waa, Narromine, Gunnedah and many other country towns presenting Suicide Prevention workshops for the farmers and graziers affected by the drought.

On Australia Day 2007, it was announced that Gary has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the community on critical incident stress management and suicide prevention.

After retiring, Gary now presents workshops to the community and lectures at the NSW Police Rescue & Bomb Disposal Squad, NSW Ambulance Rescue Training School and NSW Volunteer Rescue Association Squads. Gary conducts Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Awareness, Evacuation and White Level Search education.

Gary presented at the recent Suicide Postvention Conference hosted by the Salvation Army in Sydney. Gary spoke on Suicide Negotiation in High Risk Situations and the Issues of Those Left Behind after Suicide.

Gary recently presented a paper on Suicide Negotiation for First Responders at a world conference conducted by the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) at Killarney, Ireland in August 2007. He also lectured in London on the same tour.

Gary’s wife Michelle is a Primary School teacher at Caddies Creek Public School and they live at Glenwood, near Parklea Markets in Sydney. Gary and his wife are both uniformed members of The Salvation Army at Parramatta.

Ugandan Update

Well it's been a few days since  was online. A mixture of internet outage, and an inability to charge the laptop, has cost a few days of news.

The week concluded with visits to the field and reformation of story so that the group could harvest our joint knowledge as part of an informal assessment of the village we visited. The combined stories, knowledge and information were put together and it is hoped that future projects will evolve to help the communities concerned.

We visited Kyirandongo, in the north of Uganda (about 4 hours drive north of Kampala). This village includes four refugee camps. One is for those that have fled the DR Congo. One is for those that have fled from South Sudan. The third is for those that fled the Kenyan election conflict last year. The fourth is for internally displaced Ugandans that were the victim of the Kaabong landslides in 2010.

Each of these groups have been resettled in the area. The government have helped with some housing (about 100 homes so far for 600 families just in the Ugandan section) and the people have been encouraged to get on with farming. However there are many difficulties. The climate is different to their previous home. The soil isn't flash. Water harvesting is next to zero, and two of their four boreholes (for drinking, cooking, washing etc) aren't working. That leaves two wells, some distance from the camp, to serve so many people (around 15,000 perhaps in total between the four camps).

The Salvation Army helped with food when the families first relocated. We are now considering agricultural assistance to help them farm, water harvesting programs, advocacy with the government to get the rest of the houses built and continuing social services through the local Corps. (There is a neighbouring Corps that has already started an outpost in the village; there is also a Catholic church and an Adventist Church).

This situation brought home two truths to me.

Firstly, we do NOT have a refugee problem in Australia. Australia only recieves about 3500 applications for Asylum each year, less that 10% of countries like Canada, and a lot less than places like Uganda - and yet we in Australia have the resources to help. Further, the Ugandan government have actively helped resettle the people in Kyriandongo, and while they haven't followed through on all of their promises, or kept to a timeline, I think they could teach Australia a thing or two about 'welcome'.

Secondly, it is a privilege for me to be able to travel and see the world as it is. Better still I can be part of a process that may help. Please say a prayer this week for the people in Kyriandongo. Their lives are unimaginably difficult.

Today's workshop was broken into two halves.

This morning constituted a conversation with the Ugandan Red Cross. Much of the morning was an introduction to Red Cross methodology, which was a little dry for most of us that have worked in the field before. However, importantly, there was opportunity to discuss inter-agency cooperation, dissemination of resources, sharing of statistical data and so on.

The afternoon sessions were more lively and serious. Security and safety are becoming major concerns for all humanitarian actors, definitely including The Salvation Army. For the first half of the afternoon we discussed the new inclusions of protection principles in the SPHERE handbook (minimum standards manual in humanitarian response). We worked through practical examples of how we protect project beneficiaries when we are at work.

The second part of the discussion was about protection of our own teams. Litigation is one concern, but more than that we need to ensure that we are aware of our duty of care to our teams in the field.

This evening we are preparing for our road trip into the Ugandan countryside.

Uganda Day 2/3

The workshop has moved up a gear, with quite a full day of discussions and training today. We've been looking at an international policy for The Salvation Army's reponse to emergencies. We've looked at safety and security in a range of environments, as well as transparency and accountability and even the writing of international news releases.

While we've been inside for most of the day, that hasn't been a bad thing as quite a bit of rain went through Kampala today. Even now, as I write, it is dry but ery humid and you can see a lot more rain in the sky.

More tomorrow.

Uganda, day 1

Our first day in Uganda (well, our first two days if you include the day we arrived) have been relatively relaxed, although not without unique experiences. Last night at our hotel there was a wedding that took over the facility (and our eardrums).

We have gathered from around the world,  and it's fair to say that The Salvation Army's leaders in Emergency Response are a unique and hardy bunch, with their own sense of humour. Within the group are Australians, Americans, Canadians, English, a Nigerian, a German, a Swiss, a Czech, some Chinese, a Malaysian, one person from Bangladesh and a Kenyan. All have worked in the wildest of environments, but all seem to have quite a bond.

Today we spoke about disaster preparedness. What kind of activities our territories do to prepare for disasters, and how we do assessments of needs and concerns once disasters occur. In our analysis there is a keeness to engage with sustainable livelihood issues and look beyond the immediate disaster to longer term development wherever possible.

Tonight we are looking at the lessons that have been learned from the largest world disasters that The Salvation Army have been involved in over the past 5 (or so) years. These include earthquakes in Kashmir and Christchurch, Tsunami in Japan, Earthquakes in Haiti, droughts in East Africa and so on. It is hoped that learning from the past will obviously teach us much for future preparedness.

South Africa

My time in South Africa was short but a great experience.

I visited, firstly, the Ethembeni Children's Home. Ethembeni (Xhousa word meaning "place of hope") is a home catering to 60 children under the age of 5, all affected in some way by HIV/AIDS. Most are waiting for foster placements or adoption, many will end up 'graduating' to another Salvation Army children's home in Johannesburg. The logistics of such a place are mindblowing. Just think of the bottles and nappies involved in caring for so many children!

From there we went to Soweto. I was excited to put a place to a famous name and see many landmarks along the way (including Ellis Park Stadium for the rugby fans out there). Soweto is obviously a challenging town. While there we attended a Salvation Army service with all the trimmings - I mean "all" the trimmings including a march of witness, timbrels and even lots of women in their Salvation Army hats.

Johannesburg is a modern city and obviously a fast paced one. There are many challenges there. While it is impressive to see the vestiges of apartheid are gone, the challenge of integration continues. In some cases there is reverse discrimination, and I spoke with white officers who now fear for the continuation of The Salvation Army's english speaking work, but are afraid to speak out for fear of being labelled racist.

From there it was on to Uganda...

Travelling

On the road again...

Some people have asked why I'm heading over to Africa.

First stop will be in Johannesburg. This is really just a stopover. Having said that, I'm using it as an opportunity to catch up with my friend Heather Russouw. Heather is a South African officer who is responsible for a children's home that caters to victims of HIV/AIDS. You should check out their website by googling Ethembeni Salvation Army Children's Home in Johannesburg.

After that i"m off to Kampala, Uganda. Here I will be joining the International Emergency Services Team Leaders' Workshop. Over 5-6 days we will be learning about training for emergency services, security for beneficiaries and staff, international finances for development work and other pertinent issues. We'll also visit the Ugandan Red Cross and some of The Salvation Army's field projects.

Assuming that I have internet access, which I don't always assume (!), I will keep everyone informed about how things are going.

The Arty Shed

The first thing worth noting is that this is the 500th blog posting! We hope that this continues to be a means via which we can communicate about what is happening in our Corps and some of the life transformations God allows us to see.

The Arty Shed is a project initiated after years of attempts to resolve a few concerns. Firstly - we are a prominent property  at our Seacombe Centre, with public thoroughfares, which makes us a prime grafitti target. Also, we want to continue to think of ways to engage kids during school holidays in creative programmes.

Catherine, our youth and young adults pastor, was successful in obtaining a Marion Council grant last year for a project that enables us to bring in the kids during the holidays to paint a mural on our shed, hopefully discouraging grafitti, while also helping to communicate our message to the public. With the help of Morgan, our contracted artist, we have been able to paint three great images onto the shed.

On the front is a "blood and fire" slogan, representing our belief in the efficacy of the blood of Jesus and the fire of the Holy Spirit. On the side is a great image of the lighthouse, reflecting our mission statement about shining God's light in Adelaide's south, and our heritage of salvation. You will see a cross on the side, and lots of Salvos fishing people out of the waters. On the front of the building is a big Red Shield.

Not only is the artwork good, and - three whole days in - still left alone by the vandals, there have been numerous instances where people have stopped to ask Catherine, Morgan and the kids about the meanings behind the images. People are hearing the gospel through creative means, the kids are enjoying their Easter holidays, we're beautifying the back of our property and we might even be preventing crime at the same time.

Congratulations to Catherine, Morgan, Greg, Kerryn, the youth group and all who have been in some way involved.

Please take the chance to come and have a look at our new artwork.

CAMEO

Come and Meet Each Other

This is a group of women that meet for fellowship each month. Next month they're heading to High Tea at the Stamford Plaza, if you don't mind!

Fellowship groups such as these meet as gateways to community, and in particular, our Corps community. It's great that we have such groups whereby people can meet, can encounter the Corps and its membership and become part of our church life.

Pray for groups like our CAMEO, and consider whether such a social group might be beneficial to you, or a means through which you can serve and witness.

Playgroup toys

Yesterday our playgroups receieved a real blessing. Glenelg Church of Christ has, a year or two ago, ceased their playgroup. They had thousands of dollars worth of toys that were not being used, including climbing toys. Generously they have handed all of the toys over to our playgroups to reach the community. This spirit of generosity and ecumenism has meant quite a delivery of toys for both the Busy Bee Playgroup at Seacombe, and the First Steps Playgroup at Glenelg.

Thanks also to John, Barbara, Zoe, Dominic and Peter that helped us move them all!

Easter Celebrations

A great Easter had by all at Marion Corps!

Friday morning at Seacombe Gardens we remembered Jesus' crucifixion and recalled that no matter which metaphor we use to explain its efficacy, it's a demonstration of God's love for us. The sharing of communion was a special time.

Friday afternoon in the city we joined with other Salvationists from around the city for a service with a difference. Similiar to our Messy Church services, it was a tactile, experiential service catering to the whole family. Worshippers journeyed to stations where they could paint tiles, hammer in the nails, leave a burden (rock) at the foot of the cross, taste the bitter and the sweet of Easter (sour lollies and chocolate) etc.

Sunday morning we enjoyed the sunrise at Seacliff Beach with the other churches from the Marion/ Brighton area. We appreciated the drama from the Catholic Evangelism Team and the worshippers enjoyed the contributions from our Corps band, as well as the breakfast afterward.

Sunday morning continued with the celebration at our Seacombe Centre. Video clips, music, kids messages and Bible readings all pointed to the invitation to write a resurrection story over our own lives. We celebrated with some of our guys that have been living in tents - they have a house starting this Tuesday!

Sunday night at Glenelg we met for a Passover meal. It was a few days late (Christians usually would have a Passover meal on Thursday night to remember Christ's last meal with his disciples, and our Jewish brothers start their passover celebrations on Friday evening).

A great weekend, where God continued his work among us.