West Scotland shares community spirit during General's visit
West Scotland shares community spirit during General's visit
26 January 2017
The General and Commissioner Cox with manager Sandra Seddon (far right) and residents of the Eva Burrows Centre in Port Glasgow.
A recent visit to West Scotland by General André Cox and Commissioner Silvia Cox drew significant media attention throughout the country.
The world leaders spent a weekend in the town of Port Glasgow, visiting many social and community services, including the Rodney Street Lifehouse (accommodation for homeless people), William Hunter House (homeless addiction centre), the Eva Burrows Centre (dementia care), and Greenock Corps’ Floating Support Service (housing support).
The General and Commissioner Cox were deeply impacted by the inspirational life stories they heard.
Ahead of the visit, divisional leaders Majors Raelton and Lynn Gibbs worked closely with the public relations and communications office to create a high-profile media campaign, including an exclusive interview with the Sunday Herald. There was also positive media coverage in the Evening Times, Greenock Telegraph, Rutherglen Reformer and Paisley Daily Express – the total reach of which was around 200,000 people throughout Scotland.
The General told the Sunday Herald that The Salvation Army was marching into the 21st century with a new Mobilising website to boost frontline work. “Our roots are Victorian,” he said, “but we live in the realities of today’s world.”
The leaders were in West Scotland Division to participate in a divisional rally, held in Port Glasgow Town Hall. At a pre-rally reception they met Maurice Golden (Member of the Scottish Parliament and adherent at Govan Corps), local councillors, church ministers and other distinguished guests. They were later joined by the Lord-Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, Guy Clark.
During the rally, two moving and challenging testimonies were given, first from Charlie Gorman (Easterhouse), who spoke of his deliverance from gambling and alcoholism, and how a chat with his corps leader in a burger bar eventually led to him coming to faith. Then Kirsty McClean (Cumbernauld) described her faith journey as challenging and “almost scary at times”.
On the Sunday morning, the General and Commissioner Cox led worship at Port Glasgow Corps, the home of the General’s private secretary, Captain David Williamson. A message of encouragement from Commissioner Cox, interview testimonies with Captain Williamson’s mother, Ruth Williamson, and Alison Wallace, along with contributions from the band and songsters added to the impact of the meeting.
On the Monday morning, the General was afforded a reception by the chief executive officer of Glasgow Airport, Amanda McMillan OBE, with other invited employees. Introduced by Commissioner Keith Banks, Glasgow Airport Chaplain, the General expressed his appreciation for the reception and his thanks to airport staff for the time and effort given to collecting donations of items to support the Army’s community outreach programs in local corps.
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