Product Description
Its History and Essence
- BY R.G. Moyles
- 231 pages.
- Published 1997, The Salvation Army
Excerpt from the Introduction
It is Sunday. In cities and towns across Canada, from Greenspond to Victoria, people in navy blue uniforms with an "S" on each lapel, make their way to "citadels," "temples" and (a few) to "barracks" to worship God. They sing lively songs accompanied by brass bands; they testify to a "born-again" religious experience; they sometimes shout "Amen!" and "Hallelujah!" (though not as often as they used to); and they generally subscribe to the basic tenants of evangelical Christianity.
Before they congregated, some had taken part in open-air meetings, sharing their music and message with the people "out there"; others had visited senior citizens' lodges, brightening the day for many shut-ins; while most had attended (or taught) Sunday school classes and Bible-study groups. During the week just ended, and nearly every week, some of these uniformed people ﾡﾪ nearly all lay-people with full-time jobs and household duties ﾡﾪ had fulfilled various religious commitments: visiting hospitals and lodges as members of a League of Mercy; polishing their musical skills, perhaps performing at charitable functions; occasionally helping to collect used clothing, distributing Christmas hampers, standing by Christmas kettles ﾡﾪ attempting, by various means, to engage in a practical Christian ministry.
These Canadians are "soldiers" ﾡﾪ soldiers in The Salvation Army.
This first part of this book about The Salvation Army in Newfoundland contains an exploration of this history of the religion on the island, while the second part contains a collection of stories of Newfoundland and Salvationists chosen for how well they define the essence of The Salvation Army in Newfoundland.
