Forging Ahead

Regional Integration Forums will help The Salvation Army work together to meet community needs.

BY COLONEL EVIE DIAZ

• Everyone is on the same page and pulling together in the same direction;

• Knowledge is captured, shared and mobilized;

• Innovative ideas are encouraged and distributed across teams;

• Best practices are highlighted and leveraged across the Army;

• Problems are being solved through collaboration.

Divisional commanders have begun to select communities in their respective divisions to begin using RIFs. These communities represent Phase 1, a test and learn period to help determine the best approach for future RIFs.

Over the last several months, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to travel across Canada and Bermuda. Since my initial introduction to the territory was primarily virtual, this has been an incredible blessing. From the east coast to the west, from Bermuda to the Northwest Territories, I have seen the best of front-line ministry.

Of course, it’s not all perfect and there are many challenges facing our work. Yet, in every centre, corps and divisional office, I have met people who love Jesus and love serving their communities, and they are making a difference in practical and spiritual ways. It has been a great encouragement to see and hear these stories of transformation. My prayer is that this helps me in my role as a territorial leader.

One of the most exciting areas of growth I’ve observed is the effort to build partnerships. The third pillar of our territorial strategy, drawn from our vision statement, is to “forge stronger partnerships,” and it has been particularly inspiring and hopeful to hear how our Salvation Army mission partners are finding ways to work together.

These partnerships are both external and internal. Paying attention to partnerships between us will help to strengthen our processes, improve our community outreach and provide encouragement to each other.

One way we are forging stronger internal partnerships is by establishing Regional Integration Forums (RIFs). The purpose of these forums is to bring together all the Salvation Army ministry units in a geographic region—corps, social services and National Recycling Operations—to collaborate to meet the needs of the community.

By building meaningful relationships between ministry units, RIFs will create supportive environments, allowing officers and employees to share knowledge, learn from one another and feel more connected to their mission. This improved understanding of one another will make it easier to support clients, recognize and assess unmet needs within their community, co-ordinate services and strengthen continuity of care through cross-referrals.

We hope and pray that these strong internal relationships will result in ministry where:

Major Neil Wilkinson, an area commander in British Columbia, took up the challenge of starting a RIF, assembling one in the Kootenays in September. This location offers a great opportunity for us to learn about the possibilities of collaboration in a more geographically spread-out community in a rural context.

Major Wilkinson dedicated his first RIF to team building and learning about one another, with the idea that building relationships and trust are at the centre of working together to create a shared strategy for ongoing collaboration and integration.

The forum was very well received by the members. One said, “I appreciated how we were invited to share and were challenged to be vulnerable pretty much right away.” Another shared, “It was a great opportunity to get to know the officers in the Kootenays and hear their stories.”

We look forward to hearing more about our Phase 1 RIFs and will share best practices when we roll out others throughout the year. Look for more news about these in the future.

By working together, praying together and serving together, we see a bright future for our Army in the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

Tentmakers

Multivocational Ministry in Western Society

REVIEW BY LT-COLONEL ANDREW MORGAN

Tentmakers: Multivocational Ministry in Western Society is a thought-provoking compilation birthed from the Canadian Multivocational Ministry Project (CMMP). The CMMP is a multi-denominational and multiagency research project examining patterns of ministry that combine paid and unpaid leadership responsibilities in Canadian churches.

This theologically grounded research examines the societal trends that negatively affect personal belief and participation in religious organizations. Pastoral leaders and church planters today find it challenging to recreate the economic model of a bygone era when the pastor’s full-time ministry costs were supported by the church they pastored. Today, more and more clergy are finding themselves to be “multivocational” pastors.

Salvationists who read this book will be both encouraged and challenged. Many will recognize co-editor Dr. James Watson, corps health and planting consultant in the corps mission resource department at territorial headquarters, and contributors such as Dr. James Pedlar, theologian and professor at Toronto’s Tyndale University, and Major (Dr.) Michael Puddicombe, corps officer, Burlington Community Church, Ont. These are individuals who have helped articulate how a paradigm of Salvation Army leadership structure has facilitated historic ministry success.

In his chapter, Major Puddicombe describes the corps officer who, rather than needing to seek supportive secular employment (i.e., multivocational or “tentmaking”), pours their energies into the other ministry roles such as director of family services, leading various social outreach programs or even managing a thrift store. While some Salvation Army officers might disparage their multi-role responsibilities, ministers in other denominations dream of an opportunity for ministry and an economic model that facilitates community engagement and transformational impact typical of The Salvation Army.

This book encourages the Salvationist reader as we grapple with the societal challenges for religious organizations today, knowing that we have a historic ministry model that continues to equip us to be a transforming influence in our communities. Also enlightening are the considerations of a pastor’s role as a ministry or a career, and the place of sabbath rest in multivocational ministry. The book’s helpful reflection questions challenge us to consider our missional approach. Tentmakers could be used as a thought-provoking text in a group study setting, and though it may seem academic in tone, the benefit of the work is well worth the reader’s investment in engagement and reflection.

Tentmakers is available to purchase on Amazon.

Lt-Colonel (Dr.) Andrew Morgan is a Canadian officer currently appointed as officer commanding of the Italy and Greece Command.

Fully Scored UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND TERRITORY

Fully Scored, hosted by Matthew Frost and produced by the music editorial department of The Salvation Army’s United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, is a podcast for Salvationists and brassband lovers. Each episode features a musical arrangement and interviews with diverse musicians such as the International Staff Band’s principal cornet, Gavin Lamplough, Canadian Staff Bandmaster John Lam and Melbourne Staff Bandmaster Ken Waterworth. Frost discusses music, the message and inspiration behind the music, and even includes Salvation Army banding trivia. The hour-long episodes are filled with creative passion, humour, interesting commentary and deep knowledge of music and The Salvation Army at an international level. Episodes include topics such as the life of a bandmaster, analysis of compositions, the experience of making music, and music as a ministry.

Fully Scored is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Play.

The Lives We Actually Have 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

BY KATE BOWLER AND JESSICA RICHIE

Authors Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie are New York Times bestselling coauthors of Good Enough , and together they host and produce the popular podcast Everything Happens. In their new book, The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days, they share faith-based lessons on God’s presence in our day to day.

Formatted like a devotional prayer book, The Lives We Actually Have reminds readers that everyday experiences are worthy of blessings. Despite our living in a society so focused on perfection and having it all, God sees us in our ordinary human moments—the good, bad, lonely, grieving, boring and happy.

As a companion to The Lives We Actually Have , Bowler and Richie have created a free 40-day devotional guide, a sermon guide and group discussion guide for Lent. Meant to help readers reflect, pray and bless their imperfect lives, these guides will use the book’s material to carry these everyday blessings through Lent.

The Lives We Actually Have is available for purchase on Amazon and Indigo. Daily devotional, sermon and group discussion guides can be downloaded at katebowler.com/blessthislent.

CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C—Ocean Crest Corps celebrates the enrolment of five CCM members. Front, from left, Betty Tiede, CCM leader; Bill Dennett, Joanne Fischer, Tami Ness, Anne Desjardin and Murray McMurdo, new members; and Cpt Violet Hopkins, CO. Back, Hazen Taylor, colour sergeant.

AURORA,

Fred Reid, CO, Northridge CC, receives the Queen’s pin and certificate in recognition of his leadership and compassion for the people of Newmarket-Aurora and his efforts to ensure the community is a welcoming and caring place to live. From left, Angela Covert, community rela-