IN BRIEF: Snapshots from around the territory
IN BRIEF: Snapshots from around the territory
8 July 2022
From left: Tania Kelsey (Wesley Mission Queensland), Uncle Eric Ellis, Peter Carlo, Marlon Riley, Jonnine Ford (YOS), and Cr Sarah Hutton (Brisbane City Council).
NAIDOC celebrations return to Ellen Grove
“We brought NAIDOC celebrations back to Ellen Grove for the first time in about 10 years,” said Jonnine Ford, youth case manager for Salvos Youth Outreach Service (YOS) in Ellen Grove, Brisbane. “The day was chocker-block full of action, and we had a magnificent turnout.”
Aboriginal dance, boomerang painting, face painting, a jumping castle, making deadly earrings and games filled the day with lots of action and enjoyment despite inclement weather.
YOS and Wesley Mission Queensland combined to organise the event on 5 July at Wesley’s Elorac Place Community Centre. YOS moved into the area at the end of last year and wanted to establish connections with the community through this NAIDOC celebration.
Indigenous culture was celebrated through a Smoking Ceremony, dance troupe and Indigenous Storyteller. “This event is important as it brings the community together and builds connections between people. It is also a celebration of Indigenous culture and an opportunity to share this culture with the whole community,” said Jonnine.
A very special connection occurred as a result of the event. One mother specifically travelled quite a distance on public transport to “track down” Jonnine. The mother had been supported by Jonnine about 10 years ago in another area, heard she would be at this event, and brought her 14-year-old son to meet Jonnine. He has now agreed to be a client of YOS.
“I am getting messages from so many people who attended the NAIDOC celebration saying how proud they are of what was accomplished,” Jonnine said.
Salvation Army History Symposium held
The Brisbane Chapter of The Salvation Army Historical Society, The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History (Garth R. Hentzschel), and the Ipswich Corps (Qld) (Lieutenant Ashley Biermann) recently hosted the fourth Salvation Army History Symposium. Almost 200 people attended in person, and about 60 people connected to various events via Facebook live stream. Online delegates represented New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Delegates to the symposium attending the dinner mark the 10th anniversary of the Brisbane Chapter with a cake.
The event commenced on Friday when Dr Ian Townsend, an award-winning journalist and author, delivered the keynote address. His paper was on the 2/22nd military band of World War Two, made up of Salvationists. Saturday papers were presented, with topics including individual Salvationists from Australia and New Zealand, a training home for men, the history of the Brisbane Chapter, the Army’s relation to the Anglican church, and ‘what is history?’. A heritage walk through Ipswich attracted members of the public.
During Saturday’s Symposium Dinner, several celebrations occurred. These included the anniversary of AJSAHistory, 150 years since the commencement of the mission in Brisbane that became The Salvation Army, 10 years of the Brisbane Chapter of the Historical Society, and presentations of awards. Members of the Brisbane Chapter received 10, 15 or 25 years long service awards. In addition, Dr David Malcolm Bennett, Garth R. Hentzschel, Major Kingsley Sampson (NZ) and Major David Woodbury all received the title ‘Fellow of The Salvation Army Historical Society’. This award was in recognition of research, publications, and promotion of Salvation Army history.
The papers can be viewed online, and the proceedings will be published in the next issue of AJSAHistory. Email AJSAHistory@gmail.com for a copy.
School students excel at completing bucket list
Getting cold for a good cause at Concordia College.A freezing cold day, rain tumbling down. Not much to cheer about, you would think.
Well, you would be wrong if you were at Concordia College, Adelaide, on 29 June. Most of the senior school students assembled to cheer enthusiastically every time a teacher was led out to sit on a chair and have an ice-cold bucket of water tipped over them by a student.
The students initiated this heart-warming event to raise funds for Unley Corps Red Shield Appeal and were enthusiastically supported by the 12 brave teachers who agreed to the ice-bucket challenge if the students raised $6000.
“As you can imagine, the students definitely had a great incentive to achieve their target,” according to Judy Shaw, Unley Corps Officer. In fact, the ice-bucket challenge raised over $9000 through a digital doorknock and student sleepout. “It was a great spirit shown by the school community.”
One teacher heavily involved in the fundraising project commented to Judy how wonderful it was to do something that brought the school together after several years of disruption. Not only was it fun, but also for a good cause and a good way for the community to re-engage.
Following the euphoria of the ice-bucket challenge, some students expressed a desire to become involved in the work of the Unley Corps later in the year.
Burgers and Bibles at Barmera
Burger queen Helen Adamczyk cooking up a storm at Riverlands Corps.
Every Wednesday night, the Riverland Corps (SA) outreach team load up the burgers and Bibles and head off to the nearby township of Barmera to flip burgers for the locals and discuss the gospel.
“It has taken a year to build trust with those who have been hurt by the church experience or never been to church,” said Helen Adamczyk, Riverland Corps leader. “But now, they come to us asking questions about the Bible message.”
The outreach involves flipping burgers for the 10-20 participants, a two-minute gospel message, and lots of time for discussion.
“It’s nerve-wracking in a way because they come from every type of background, so the questions are unpredictable,” Helen said. “But Wednesday night is my most important work, and I get so pumped when I talk about it.”
Celebrating volunteers at Camberwell
Camberwell Community Engagement Coordinator Norman Gale with Casper Graham, Rosetta Isma and Paula Stocker on the platform at the Sunday service.
Camberwell Corps (Vic.) held a service last month to celebrate volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the two years of COVID-19 to meet the needs of their community.
The corps, which has a strong tradition of responding to local needs, provided more than 80 hot meals each week to people struggling to cope and distributed non-perishable food and material assistance to those who were isolated, suffering loss of income or generally experiencing difficult personal situations.
At the Sunday meeting, special recognition was given to the many corps and community volunteers who served take-away hot meals, provided Doorways Emergency Relief services, and supported the case worker and Moneycare financial counsellor attached to the corps.
Volunteers and staff of the five Salvos Stores and the Salvo Thrift Shop in the area were also recognised. Congregation members were invited to bring pre-loved clothing and goods that were then distributed to the Salvo Stores and Thrift Shop.
Morning tea after the service allowed people to meet the volunteers, express their gratitude, and learn more about the many avenues of service being provided by the corps.
Salvos Stores chaplain Nigel MacDonald led the service with Community Engagement Co-ordinator Norman Gale.
Philip Street Project wins major award
Gladstone Corps is integral to the Queensland city’s Philip Street Project.
The Philip Street Project, where the local Gladstone Salvos play a key role, has won the Regional Achievement Award Central Queensland at the Queensland Landscape Architecture Awards.
Community members wanted Philip Street to be a place of wellbeing, a place to meet, celebrate community, learn together and access a range of supports in one place – including The Salvation Army.
The Salvos and other local partners have brought the community’s vision to life. Captain Chris Ford and the local Salvos team meet daily with community members and staff from partner services – including the Gladstone Regional Council’s Community and Neighbourhood Centre, along with The Salvation Army Gladstone and GAPDL Communities for Children.
The built and landscaped environment has been designed to facilitate the project. Native grass trees and other local species that were removed during the building process were kept, nurtured and replanted throughout the precinct. First Nations artwork is featured throughout. Community spaces like the park, amphitheatre, food garden and meeting areas in and around the buildings provide an opportunity for connection.
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