Making Salvos mission festive
Making Salvos mission festive
21 December 2016
Guest speaks engaged with what it means to be an active participant in God's mission during the recent Festival of Mission, which celebrates a diversity of Salvation Army missional activities. Photo:Lachlan Scallion
The Festival of Mission, an event which celebrates the various streams of Salvation Army mission, was held in North Melbourne on 11 December.
The festival, staged at the historic Meat Market, is purposely held following the commissioning of Salvation Army cadets in the Southern Territory to showcase the missional side of the Salvos with a variety of exhibits, guest speakers, artistic performances, plus food and coffee.
Territorial youth secretary Captain Craig Farrell said the festival was “a collaborative effort by Catherine Booth College, the department of youth, emerging faith communities, and the social justice department.”
He added: “It was set up for people who don't engage with the traditional environment of Commissioning [to] explore what it means to be an active participant in mission in The Salvation Army. We hope to have greater engagement with young adults and youth generally; there has been positive engagement, but it would be great to have more,” he said.
More than 150 people took the time to hear from a variety of guest speakers in a forum setting, including Commissioner Floyd Tidd, Reverend Tim Costello, John Cleary, Dr Wilma Gallet, Dr Mick Pope, Major David Eldridge, Major Gregory Morgan, Brooke Prentis and Vince Ross.
Describing the festival as “amazing and somewhat frightening”, Commissioner Tidd praised God for people’s energy and said the dialogue was “challenging for the heart and the head”.
“It’s not our mission,” the Salvation Army’s national commander stated. “It’s God’s mission, that God had invited us to participate in; it was Jesus Christ’s mission to love the world for God.”
Calling for a praying Army – and noting he’d been asked, “Do Salvationists pray as much as they ‘post’?” – the commissioner asked for some “only God” moments that would bring glory to God. “When the Spirit comes, people’s lives change,” he said. “God has placed his mission into the hands of his followers.”
Following the Acknowledgement of Country ceremony, Salvation Army indigenous workers Uncle Vince Ross and Brooke Prentis spoke of the many obstacles on the path to reconciliation, but thanked God for the signs of hope. “We need to find the right language to communicate,” Uncle Vince said, and asked, “What are the practical things we can do to break down the barriers and create community?”
Rev Costello, noting that “Brand Church seems pretty trashed, institutions are not trusted and churches have failed to heed the words of Jesus”, reminded all present that “in the cross we find forgiveness, love, and inclusion for ‘the least’ – we can’t let the world shut us up ... we can’t be shut up, shut out or shut in, because the reign of God has begun.”
Speaking on the challenges of interacting with government, walking the tightrope between service provision and advocacy, Dr Gallet said, “We need to continue to see faith-based organisations (FBOs) and welfare agencies, but my concern is that government contracts result in a tendency for the identity and culture of FBOs to be compromised through commercialised environments. It comes back to understanding our theology of mission; it’s not about organisational survival of growth.”
“People feel disempowered when the focus is ‘survival’,” added Major Eldridge. “There is a real challenge before us in breaking tribal barriers, through listening, compassion and love in action.”
Catherine Booth College’s assistant training principal Captain Richard Parker (now heading up the Army’s work in the Northern Territory) summed up the festival by saying he hoped people would “understand more of what happens in and out of The Salvation Army in relation to mission; I would hope it exposes people to new missional activities and thinking”.
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