Simon Says

Here's a quote from an article by Lord Glasman on "Labour as Radical Tradition".  I wonder if anyone knows anymore about this? And I wonder what challenges it might bring to our understanding of the adjective "radical" when talking about the Salvation Army? "The London Dock strike of 1899 is a classic expression of the Labour Movement in action, built on the assumption that only organised people could resist exploitation, and the forging of an alliance between Catholic Irish and local workers, brokered by the Catholic and Methodist churches. The local Labour Representation Committees were the new institutions within which the previously unrelated forces met and within which leaders were elected, strategy discussed and actions planned. It is here that the third grandparent of the labour movement, the ‘labour aristocracy’ of skilled workers who had lost their status and small holders who had lost their land make their appearance drawing upon customary pract...

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;   surely I have a delightful inheritance (Psalm 16:6 NIV) I was blessed before I was born. Through God's grace I was born into a godly family with a godly heritage on both sides of my lineage.  My paternal grandmother knew and served the Lord, growing up within the Salvation Army. There she met and married my paternal grandfather who hailed from a non-Christian background but had a life transforming encounter with the Risen Christ, serving his Saviour within the ranks of the Salvation Army until the day he died. My maternal grandparents both came from Salvation Army stock. Both served as Salvation Army officers (a story, perhaps for another time). My family (including my parents) are my inspiration. Today has been a bit of a pottering day and involved working through boxes stored in the garage as we prepare to move in July to our new appointment. I came across these photographs. Two are of my mum's dad - J...

I spent time last week dipping into the book "Other Voices - Exploring the contemplative in Salvationist spirituality" and came across this quote from the Army's second general, Bramwell Booth - "The great hope of The Salvation Army is the people outside The Salvation Army, in short the disinherited, the deceived, the idolaters, the adulterers, the drunkards, the extortioners, the whole mass of ungoldy self-seekers. For these we must live. Love of souls is our very life blood." I was reminded of the words of a past Archbishop of Canterbury (who was also a Christian socialist), William Temple, who said - "The church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members" If we allow this reality to take deep root in our thinking, our worshipping, our praying, our preaching, our planning, our living, our budgeting, our being, our  very presence , how might (or how should) our priorities, our support structures, our programmes loo...