Inner West Salvos begin new journey together
Inner West Salvos begin new journey together
30 April 2017
Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Reid installs Majors Steven and Tracy Briggs and Captains Darren and Karyn Kingston as leaders of the Inner West Hub.
Today marks a significant milestone in the life of four Salvation Army corps meeting together for the first time as Sydney Inner West Salvos.
The congregations of Dulwich Hill, Earlwood, Glebe and Petersham are holding their inaugural Sunday service this morning at The Salvation Army’s Stanmore House.
The new expression of ministry is part of the NSW and ACT Divisional “Hope Rising” strategy where corps are “reimagining” what church looks like for the future.
“The journey of reimagining corps working together as a corps mission cluster has taken a very significant step forward,” said Sydney Wide Area Officer, Major Stuart Reid. “This new strategy is not an amalgamation of corps into one site, but an integration of ministry resources to launch new revitalised corps ministries across the inner west region of Sydney.
“This is not about retreating to survive, it’s about building a strong base to launch new, vibrant expressions of The Salvation Army.”
Major Reid said local ministries at the individual corps buildings would continue, with the congregations merging and meeting at Stanmore House each Sunday to pray and receive God’s vision for what The Salvation Army will look like into the future in their region.
“The hard reality for us is that The Salvation Army is in accelerating decline and is ageing, and that the current shape of corps will not effectively reach the demographic of the residents of Sydney’s Inner West,” Major Reid said.
“The Inner West journey will be a spiritual journey where Jesus is at the centre, where God’s love for his people is experienced, and where the Holy Spirit is given the freedom to direct and shape the future.”
Majors Steve and Tracy Briggs and Captains Darren and Karyn Kingston have been installed as leaders of Inner West Salvos.
Captain Darren said the appointment had huge significance for him, due to the fact that 130 years ago his great-great-grandfather, the then-Captain George Walker, was the first officer to be appointed to Dulwich Hill Corps.
“I feel like God’s hand has been in this,” he said. “The foundations of faith that I received from Dulwich Hill as a young person and the fact that God’s blessed me with this heritage, it’s really quite amazing.”
Last week, each of the four corps held their last Sunday worship meeting at their individual buildings. The meetings honoured the past, celebrated faithful soldiers and looked to the future.
“For long-term supporters of these corps, this has been a significant disturbance of Salvation Army worship as they have experienced it to be in recent years,” Major Reid said. “All is being done to provide pastoral care and support for each other through this emotional journey with emotions ranging from grief, confusion, fear, frustration and impatience, through to energy, excitement and enthusiasm.”
Earlwood soldier Kem Pobjie is looking forward to the new expression of ministry, not just on Sundays but throughout the week.
“This is an opportunity to stop and re-look at how we do things. Like how we do church,” Kem said. “Sundays should be fun and exciting, being able to bring more people together and celebrate, but I think a lot of us are excited about the opportunities that lie outside of that.”
Glebe soldier Leigh Cleave was born in the Inner West and remembers Dulwich Hill as the first corps she attended. She said the “new thing”that’s happening honoured the rich Salvation Army heritage in the area.
“We know that God has been at work in the Inner West for so many years and so many wonderful things have happened and I think God is going to honour that in our commitment,” Leigh said.