Annual award shows seniors are ready to serve
Annual award shows seniors are ready to serve
19 March 2018
Isabel Gale Memorial Award recipient Graeme Jacobs encouraged seniors to keep building their relationship with their Heavenly Father, and keep serving.
Graeme Jacobs, the 2018 recipient of the Isabel Gale Memorial Award presented at this month’s Victoria Seniors Rally, has this advice for older Aussies—“refuse to be sidelined”.
“The Bible never sees age as a barrier to effective service,” he said. “As the psalmist says, ‘Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green (Psalm 92:14)’.”
The award is given each year to a senior who contributes “above and beyond” to seniors’ ministries or to The Salvation Army generally or to someone younger than 50 who works to advance the life and ministry of seniors within the Army.
Graeme, who grew up in Warrnambool Corps (Vic), has been an active part of Maryborough Corps in country Victoria with his wife Aileen since 1972 when he took up a teaching position at the local technical college.
“On arriving in Maryborough we were quickly involved in band, songsters, Sunday school and youth group leadership. For several years I was corps cadet guardian, then in 1978 appointed CSM (Corps Sergeant Major), a role I filled for 26 years,” he said.
“I was also the coordinator of the pastoral-care scheme. Brass banding has been a part of my life since age 11, and today I’m the bandmaster of our small band at Maryborough.”
In 2003, after 31 years of teaching, Graeme retired – and life is busy.
His citation in part read: “He has served The Salvation Army at corps, division and territorial level with creativity, humility and distinction ... he visits folk at home and in hospital, bringing words of comfort, cheer and hope during sickness, tragedy and loss. He has done more behind the scenes with people than we will ever know.”
As well as heading up the Army’s Historical Society of the then-Northern Victoria Division, he has coordinated the corps’ Friday Fellowship for 50 and overs for the past seven years. Graeme says his involvement with this group has highlighted to him how much seniors have to contribute to their corps and communities.
“So many of our seniors have been faithfully serving through good times and tough times for many years,” he said. “Their experience, wisdom and loyalty needs to be recognised and tapped into to build intergenerational churches and to effectively connect with the fastest-growing demographic of Australian society – seniors.”
While Graeme says he has noticed some ageist attitudes, he encourages seniors to continue serving. “Keep building your relationship with our wonderful Heavenly Father. As Paul says, ‘All of you together are the one body of Christ and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it’.”
The award honours Brigadier Isabel Gale, who reached out to help one lonely person and left a legacy of friendship and ministry to the over 50s that continues today.
It started with a letter published in a popular column of Melbourne’s The Sun daily newspaper on June 24, 1961, from a middle-aged woman, under the pen name “Impossible”. She wrote of her disappointment at being unable to get more than a polite greeting at her church, saying it was “impossible” to make friends.
The then-Major Gale’s response was printed three days later under the moniker of “Friendly Christian”, inviting “Impossible” and anyone else who wanted to “enjoy the friendship that really can be found among Christians” to phone her.
Her phone number was printed and over the next three weeks she received 300 phone calls. A weekly club began at the Melbourne City Temple, attracting more than 100 people at its first meeting, and spread out to other corps.
Red Shield Friendship Clubs (later called Companion Clubs) became a vital part of Salvation Army seniors’ ministries.
Comments
No comments yet - be the first.