Anne makes sure no one gets left behind
Anne makes sure no one gets left behind
25 October 2020
Anne became a member of Delacombe Corps in Ballarat nearly 50 years ago after moving to Australia from England.
It’s no small feat to move halfway across the world with a young family. Just ask Anne Stables. Fifty years ago, she took the leap with her husband and emigrated from England to Australia.
Today, Anne is a beloved member of Delacombe Corps in Ballarat, Victoria. As head of the Seniors Group, she makes sure no one gets left behind or forgotten. And it all comes from the fact that she found a place to belong in The Salvation Army when she first moved to Ballarat.
“I had been a member of The Salvation Army in England until my teens, and when we came to Australia I wanted my children to go to Sunday School. As The Salvation Army was on the end of the street where we lived it seemed to be the obvious choice!” she said.
With her four-year-old and two-year-old in tow, Anne entered the corps and was soon invited to the women’s group, which was run by her sister-in-law.
“As I didn’t know many people, I went along and found the friendship very warm and friendly. During this time, I had two more children, and I gradually started attending the Sunday services with my four children.”
Everything came together when Anne attended a Sunday School anniversary service at the corps. She heard God speak to her and knew this was her home. “I heard God say, ‘This is where I want you to be’, and I made a commitment to him that very day,” recalls Anne.
If there’s one thing you should know about Anne Stables, it’s that she never does things by halves, and since she became a soldier in 1976 she has filled nearly every position possible for the good of her community. She has been a songster, Sunday school leader, in admin support, head of seniors’ ministries for 20 years, and a member of the corps leadership team.
When the pandemic hit and kept us all from going to church, she stayed at home to care for her husband during isolation. Yet, she still supported her corps officers, Major Craig and Captain Ellen Farrell, by cutting, folding and stapling Kidzone magazines at home and keeping the giving records.
“We have a lot of lonely and single people in the Seniors Group and during COVID I’ve organised between my team that at least every fortnight they get a telephone call or card and always a card on their birthday to remind them that they are still part of our family,” said Anne.
If there’s a need, Anne will fill it because that is what God did for her when she moved to Australia. “If there’s been a need and it needs to be fulfilled and I’ve had the ability, I’ve just done it. All we do is for God, to encourage other people into a relationship with him,” she said.
And that’s the beauty of family, especially the church family at Delacombe. Because whether you have been attending the Salvos your whole life, or you’ve stepped in off the street, there is a seat at God’s table for you.
And along with the team at Delacombe Salvation Army, Anne makes sure no one gets left behind. As she says, “Everything we do is as part of the team at Delacombe, and that’s what it’s about.”
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