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Retired Salvation Army officers bring companionship and emotional and spiritual support to Silvercrest residents.
In October 2025, retired Salvation Army officer Major Bob Lloyd joined the North Las Vegas Silvercrest as a part-time chaplain in a pilot program placing retired officers in the Army’s senior housing communities.
For resident Paul Slusarski, the move has made an impact.
“Chaplain Bob has made himself useful in any number of ways,” he said.
At the Silvercrest, Lloyd organizes transportation outings—like shopping trips to Walmart—and food distributions, and participates in community activities, including strategy games like Splendor, Slusarski said. Since Lloyd’s arrival, he added, more residents are coming out of their rooms and connecting with one another.
Silvercrest residences are independent apartment communities for low-income older adults, often located near Salvation Army corps to provide access to local programs, worship services and community support.
Silvercrest leaders said the pilot program for chaplains like Lloyd, which launched in October 2025, grew out of a need for more consistent pastoral presence in the senior housing communities.
“Adjacent Salvation Army corps may offer some pastoral care, but they do not always have the time or personnel to regularly serve nearby senior housing,” said Susan Lawrence, executive director for Silvercrests in the Western Territory.
Lawrence said the idea for the program developed after Lloyd expressed interest in serving at the North Las Vegas Silvercrest following his retirement, leading to broader discussions at Territorial Headquarters about expanding the model across the Western Territory.
“This has given me the chance to keep loving people, meet their needs and come alongside them—to be part of their lives, and for them to be part of mine. They enrich my life and pray for me, and I can do that for them too.”
Major Joyce Takeuchi
Along with the North Las Vegas location, the program also placed retired officers as chaplains at Silvercrest residences in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Puyallup, Washington.
The initiative is supported through Salvation Army post-retirement service agreements, which fund three chaplains working 16 to 24 hours a week across the three sites. They organiz activities and engaged with residents in everyday community life in addition to providing spiritual support when needed.
At the Albuquerque Silvercrest, Major Joyce Takeuchi said some of the most meaningful moments as chaplain come unexpectedly during everyday interactions.
One afternoon, two longtime residents, the Montoyas, began singing hymns in Spanish in the community room. As they sang, other residents gradually gathered. Takeuchi even joined in, singing the English lyrics alongside them.
“The Montoyas aren’t able to get out much due to age, but we worshipped together, praising the Lord and feeling his presence among the joy and the tears,” Takeuchi said.
That kind of ministry is often strengthened by the chaplains’ shared life experience—as older adults—with the people they serve.
“I’ve gone through a lot of end-of-life issues with my husband and others, and I’m able to really relate,” Takeuchi said. “I can empathize, and I can pray with them and encourage them in the best way I can, which I probably couldn’t have done 20 years ago.”
Her calling to serve others did not end with retirement, she said.
“This has given me the chance to keep loving people, meet their needs and come alongside them—to be part of their lives, and for them to be part of mine,” she said. “They enrich my life and pray for me, and I can do that for them too.”
At the Puyallup Silvercrest, Major Raymond Dihle has also found much of the ministry in chaplaincy happens in everyday interactions—talking through concerns with residents and being a consistent presence.
“It’s really about figuring out what will entice and draw people out,” he said.
Property manager Kristina Roth said Dihle’s presence has had a noticeable impact on community engagement, including increased participation at the Puyallup Corps, where some residents were recently enrolled as Salvation Army soldiers.
“He has revitalized The Salvation Army spirit with my residents,” Roth said.
Dihle said those connections reflect the heart of his work.
“My hope is that those who still have misgivings about having this ‘religious guy’ in their facility will come to understand that I am here for them and to be a positive influence in their lives,” he said.
Back at the North Las Vegas Silvercrest, Slusarski said Lloyd’s ministry of presence is making a difference.
“He just goes out of his way to do something for an individual that will help them out,” he said. “He finds ways to discover what that might be and just makes himself available.”
An added bonus? A chess opponent.
“It started out with me teaching him chess,” Slusarski said. “I am a very experienced chess player, and realistically, he’s overmatched, but he just keeps coming back.”
Slusarski is aware Lloyd’s original commitment was for a year of service at the Silvercrest. Still, he’s hoping for more.
“I have nothing but high praise for Bob,” Slusarski said. “He’s both very likable and he’s been very useful…I know that when that year is up, if he, in fact, leaves, he’s going to be sorely missed. He’s had that much impact.”
Do Good:
- By addressing the spiritual dimension of well-being, The Salvation Army aims to help individuals find healing, hope and purpose. See more here.
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