The Salvation Army Spryfield Community Church and Family Resource Centre

Lieutenant Rob Jeffery mans the kettle along with friend and mentor, Bandmaster Peter van der Horden

Today on Friday, November 27th, we are marking the beginning of The Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettle Campaign.  In malls, shopping centres, stores and sidewalks, kettles are appearing all over the country.  Nationally, The Salvation Army’s goal for this year’s kettle season is $13 million.  An ambitious, but necessary goal for us to achieve if The Army is to carry on with its numerous social ministry programs that impact the lives of thousands of Canadians on a daily basis.

In an age in time when we’re consuming and buying more things than ever before, standing at the kettles is a radical reminder to a materialistic culture that our resources should be spent on more than just ourselves.  “Manning the kettles, radical you say?”  Absolutely.  Our silent witness in these shopping centres (temples of consumerism) prophetically engages the culture and challenges people to be less driven by the need to possess and consume.  It also reminds them that there is a very vulnerable segment of our population who figuratively (and literally) will be left out in the cold this Christmas.  At least that how I see standing on the kettles…

Standing on the kettles is a long standing tradition that Salvationists adhere to. It’s something we always do from the end of November until Christmas Eve.  We do it for a variety of reasons; some people enjoy conversing with the public, some enjoy the satisfaction they get in knowing they’re helping the Army out, and some probably do it because they feel compelled to.  But have you ever thought of kettle manning as an act of prophetic engagement with the public sphere?  Perhaps it’s time you should; or perhaps at the very least, we’d all do well to re-examine why we hold to our longstanding traditions in light of our discipleship calling.

So soldiers and saints of Spryfield Corps, stand to! Man the kettles and spread a little bit of Christ’s warmth to all you meet.  If you want to help out with this year’s campaign, please call Lieutenant Rob at (902) 477-5393.

A brass ensemble dubbed "The A+ Band" plays at the Halifax Metro Centre.

“WANTED ALWAYS to become an OFFICER IN THE SALVATION ARMY, men and women of God…

THE FOLLOWING NEED NOT APPLY:

by Larry Sinclair

I am in the latter part of my second week of chemo/radiation treatment. I’ve had my sick moments and my strong moments, but I think through them all, I never lost my focus or my faith in Christ. The power of prayer and a close relationship with the Lord on a daily basis, talking as if He were there beside me, or as if He were my invisible friend. People probably think I’m “nuts”, but we know the difference. 

When I find my mind wandering, or dwelling on my situation, I immediately get into a conversation with the Lord, and He has a way of talking me through this, and getting me onto more pleasant things. My two sisters keep close tabs on me, while my two brothers also have cancer. Anyway, one of my sisters,who lives in Burtts Corner, N.B., always talks to me about the role the Lord is playing in my life and in my recovery. I have a very researching attitude towards things in life and this has helped me greatly in my journey with my Lord and gives me the opportunity to write things down that mean so much to me. The following are some quotes, which I can relate to , and I hope that you can enjoy them also and get some meaning and value from them.

1. Lord, grant me a heart of compassion; So burdened for others needs; That I will show them your kindness; In attitude, words and deeds.

2. We can do whatever God wants us to do;if we depend on His power to do it.

3. Personal Prayer — Lord, the newness of the day; Calls me to an untried way; Let me gladly take the road; Give me strength to bear my load.

4. To live is Christ; to die is gain.

5. Colossians; Chapter 2, is a very important passage for fullness of life in Christ, for personal prayer and also, with regards to outside influence and how basically to cope.

6. When you do something for someone, do it in private, and be humble, for the Father sees and knows what you do , and you shall be rewarded accordingly. Matthew 6:4

7. Personal Prayer—Open my eyes Lord to the people around me; Help me see them as You do above; Give me the wisdom and strength to take action; So others may see the depth of Your love.

8. If you believe that Jesus lives, you don’t need to fear death.

9. Gentle words are more powerful than angry words.

10. My Personal Prayer: “Lord, grant me grace throughout this day; To walk the straight and narrow way; To do whatever in Thy sight; Is good and perfect, just and right.”

As for a suitable ending to this part, I would just note, I believe that Faith and Prayer is what will see me through at all cost.

Lieutenant Rob Jeffery and Captain Sean Wilson, November 11, 2009

I was happy to spend this past Remembrance Day (Nov 11) with my best friend Sean Wilson.  I first met Sean likely at some Salvation Army youth event; we worked at camp together for two summers and we’ve been friends ever since. In 2002 we joined the Canadian Forces together, went through two summers of basic training and one summer of phase II army training . But it was there that our paths went separate ways.

Sean continued to serve in the Armed Forces eventually becoming a fully qualified infantry officer. It’s amazing to think that someone as young as Sean has been entrusted with such a responsibility: as an infantry officer in the Royal Canadian Regiment, Sean commanded a platoon of infanteers, leading them onto the battlefields of Afghanistan. At 28 years of age, Sean has already completed two Afghan tours (and although he’d never say this) is one of the Canadian Forces rising stars. But that is only one side of Sean.

Sean is married to a wonderful woman named Jane Anne and is the proud father of a beautiful little girl named Logan. Sean is an avid reader and a very deep thinker. I know him to be a person that excels at everything he does. But even more importantly, Sean is a man of faith. Our Canadian Forces need men and women of faith to be lights in dark places – people that bring with them Christ’s compassion and justice to the battlefields of this earth. In this post remembrance season, let us pray for all of our Salvationist and Christian “soldiers”.

Rob and Sean (far right) on the day of Lieut. Rob's wedding, August 2003

Joseph Fiennes staring as Martin Luther in "Luther". MGM Studios 2003

October 31st has come and gone. No doubt you are still chowing down on your kid’s leftover Halloween goodies. But before it became known as Halloween, October 31 was significant for another reason: On this day in 1517, Martin Luther reportedly nailed his “95 Theses” to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, thereby launching the Protestant Reformation.  Luther, a German Augustinian monk wrote his great theses to correct what he saw as the false doctrines and abuses of the Roman Church. When he became the target of a papal inquisition soon after, the rift between the reformers and the church would forever be established.

Today the Protestant Church numbers over 500 million people. And whether we acknowledge it or not, all non-catholic churches have their theological roots in one of the four founding protestant denominations: the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Church, the Reformed Church, and the Anabaptist movement. While we are prone to focus on the many differences between the hundreds (and   possibly thousands) of denominations and churches that stem from those four movements, it is amazing to consider the unity of doctrine that all protestants share.

The five classic tenets of protestantism that we are all in virtual agreement on are: 1). sola scriptura (scripture alone; 2). sola fide (faith alone); 3). solus christus (Christ alone); 4). sola gratia (grace alone); 5). soli deo gloria (glory to God alone).  Fortunately today, there is a great spirit of ecumenism between all Christians.  The differences that divided us in the past are not as profound today.  All believers should work together in a spirit of unity. But as we contemplate our own faith in this post-reformation era, perhaps we should give some thought to our protestant family tree. What does it mean to be a Christian-protestant, or an Anglican-protestant, or a Salvation Army-protestant in 2009? To what extent does the term even apply to us anymore? What is it that we’re being ‘Protestant’ about? What are we protesting?

I would pray that no matter what church you find yourself in, you would remember your spiritual legacy and that all ‘Protestant’ people would be a people that love justice – a people that see the abuses of the age and take action – a people that work hard to stop the church from bedding down with mediocrity, or taking on the sins of the culture. We can do this because of our steadfast faith in Christ, who as Martin Luther said is as, “A mighty fortress… a bulwark never failing.”

The last dying strains of the bugle can be heard in the morning air.  The Reveille has been sounded as people take the poppies off their jackets, leaving them at the base of the cenotaph.

What was it that made so many young men in two world wars take up arms for “King and Country”?  Well, quite simply, it was patriotism and love for their homeland.  The tyranny of National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany represented a threat to the world’s fragile democracies. So when the call was sounded, Canada’s young men and women answered it – and oh how they answered it! Let us give thanks today for the privilege of living in a country like Canada.

The musical poetry of Alexander Muir expresses well our love of country.  Seeing Canada become a country on July 1st, 1867, Muir was inspired to write a song about this new dominion that he was a part of.  After reflecting on the new Dominion’s national symbol – the humble maple leaf, Muir penned the words to a song that soon became Canada’s unofficial anthem. Click on the picture below to hear a beautiful rendition of Alexander Muir’s, “The Maple Leaf Forever”.

The Maple Leaf Forever

The Maple Leaf, our emblem dear,
The Maple Leaf forever!
God save our Queen, and Heaven bless,
The Maple Leaf forever!

The War Memorial in Grand Parade, Halifax

In honour of those who served (and are still serving) we leave you simply to reflect on the Ode of Remembrance.

“They shall now grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

Probably within 10 years, the last remaining veterans of WWII will pass on. Do you think we should still celebrate Remembrance Day as we do now? Leave a reply and express your opinion.