Cool “Addiction Services” Images
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The Salvation Army – To Give or Not to Give. . .
Image by ckaiserca
Giving (or not giving) to the Salvation Army
Okay folks here’s the scoop. I am a Christian. More specifically, I attend a church (or Corps) of the Salvation Army. I an not a Salvation Army Soldier, as I like to smoke a fine Cuban cigar or have a wee dram of a nice single malt now and again. Nevertheless, I am an adherent (the Salvation Army’s official term) to the Salvation Army’s beliefs and doctrine.
I have been reading quite a few blog posts and articles of late telling people not to give money to the Salvation Army kettles (buckets, bubbles, what have you). Some LGBT groups are telling their members to drop Ant-SA coupons or vouchers into the kettles instead of a donation (in fact, most of the coupon drive information is out of date by eight years or so). The reason? The Salvation Army is anti-gay. There is some truth to this reason, but let me try and explain something:
Here is the Salvation Army’s official position statement on homosexuality:
The Salvation Army upholds the dignity of all persons. For this reason, and in obedience to the example of Jesus Christ, whose compassionate love is all-embracing, The Salvation Army does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in the delivery of its services.
The Salvation Army believes that God’s will for the expression of sexual intimacy is revealed in the Bible, and that living fully in accordance with biblical standards calls for chastity outside of heterosexual marriage and faithfulness within it. We do not believe that same-sex attraction is necessarily blameworthy and we oppose the vilification and mistreatment of gays and lesbians. We believe that we are accountable for the ways in which we express our sexuality. While recognizing the challenge that this presents, The Salvation Army believes firmly in the power of God’s grace to enable all to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him.
In keeping with our mission, we are committed to proclaiming the good news of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and transformation by the Holy Spirit. We welcome all seekers of faith in Christ to explore Salvation Army church life.
The Salvation Army, Canada & Bermuda, October 2002
Alright, so we have a biblically-based belief that is part of our church doctrine. But this shouldn’t effect the clients who use our services. LGBT people have access to the full range of services that the Salvation Army provides. I know, "shouldn’t effect" and "doesn’t effect" are two entirely different things. I am quite sure that there are some die hard dyed-in-the-wool Salvationists that will go out of their way to make things difficult for the gays (or the Muslims, Jews, blacks, etc). Sadly, the Salvation Army is made up of human beings.
This particular human being thinks a little differently then blindly following doctrines. If someone asks what works for me, I will tell them, but I don’t normally making a point of proselytizing. In fact I try my best to avoid it.
Love is love. If you are in love, and that love fulfils you, then that is all that matters. It doesn’t matter if you are gay, straight, bi, transgendered, or whatever. Your love is the love that works for you.
Religion is religion. If you have religion or faith, and it fulfils you, then that is all that matters. It doesn’t matter if you are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, or whatever. Your religion is the religion that works for you.
What matters the most is living the life that you believe in. Finding fulfilment in the things that you do, and the people that you call your friends. I am blessed to have friends from many different religions, and of varying sexual orientations.
That all being said, what the Salvation Army believes mostly works for me. It might not work for you. It’s your choice. More important that what the Salvation Army believes is what it does. That’s what really attracts me to it. The Salvation Army walks its talk. I walk the talk. Heart to God, Hand to Man.
The Salvation Army is the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in North America. In Canada (where I live) the Army serves in 400 communities across the country. The Salvation Army provides services in the following categories:
Emergency Disaster Services
Community and Family Services
Family Tracing Services
Camps
Street Youth Services
Homeless Services (one quarter of all shelter beds in Canada)
Addictions Services
Safe Houses
Palliative Care
Services for the Mentally and Physically Challenged
Corrections and Justice
Young Parent Resource Centres
I personally serve as a volunteer in my church in the audio/video ministry. I serve as a volunteer in my community with our church’s Emergency Disaster Services unit as a Rapid Response Unit team leader and incident commander.
We are not perfect, far from it, but we are out there trying to "Do the most Good." 100% of the money collected in our Christmas Kettle campaign goes back out into the community (some kettle workers are paid, their pay comes out of kettle donations). It is not used to fund churches or operation of Salvation Army offices. Not giving to a kettle doesn’t impact the Salvation Army, it only impacts what we are able to do for the community.
If you have some change, drop it in the kettle! It will help. It will especially help this year, as donations are down in many places due to the economy.
However, if you are bound and determined to not support the Salvation Army, I still have a challenge for you:
Do something!
Give your money or volunteer your time to any group that is working to do good works in your community. Walk your own talk, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Merry Christmas!
Image by United Way of London & Middlesex
Addiction Services of Thames Valley