%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250627175611+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250627175611+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2014 >> stream xXMsW1$ERa;wwf׮!DB"$@5/b_-٘J*)˔C{H4M^|G2\TE2/t凂e݆/6͌$ ]+Vt+?~w_.H4?[f|gIj ^@zuVU|3=5ίR;~r}%ɗ'KjAUd  ?~Hw3ϩ(Wx Vs03;=UkJcU"USnzP-cPAk׏Wt(VIL%e`@К> Qː*ϓ2HFHF ?XIKVұ"Y.Hȑߝ1Ms22 &|.g\,eߧTr%y^D*~`I(FxCLESVUR.HVZ΂ǽ[ՋCoJYf*O#1yGXc7L(iy:_$ylT=id'k/P6bA*ǬCA7(lAZy(#HrU HPruhגP jņX^lhg$v;V,a0s2 =b@ЙeC's FVC({Mu'#ZٍM;rY|\zW[MP*|_cTz 8. ,zա*cVZ[NI{w9}zb5h`.AC9-dv2xLckR؏%,԰QӮ|VOL~3 zw p30"֝qmarg5s!I0g7;N%u'-DbY K!Ͼ! ɣy5r!X4u$:Ot&zptתrsjF4p6)'/;nHJ4$}UީG'`jfrf?:,7ǩ>ff)v~:O`5&}~)Oa>JfW/d~sCG"j9f;]pA-–Wub!*:O7ݶbOo4ނF9 AP>AN9DǿЩ wusN3i=Y彤mPNk~t pfj$%9rvNtc@ro0x$> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1065 >> stream xVn6+YY%-f,XED[)!)؋uRbF9{C^YM#~?NicZ5TYN5_?.Hzn4zǙVèf0Bm'7{#m[K{-ǁ[b+=G[^`iu֔M IZZn!=11KibV8e HAtV;^jjTVuz'CIb`c(:]*7_Ցэ#]Wٴ,<өZ1I <1s ~WRXthCZsA5\vxC=oid-J4d' 0>a\B A{g#oNKzMLCΣl jo癈jءkm #;U )oA' |^?&rN셍CJ&S*"e!1y92bM;ڗ}ou) p*nuc+gg(Ub5 {3g G7?>]M2YӬ{vCE?OE͋zRCDwngLZfk`E`BliqXTV1Jz`X@?fl1oG['M`_8v>NPK% endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000002837 00000 n 0000002944 00000 n 0000003052 00000 n 0000003162 00000 n 0000003275 00000 n 0000003391 00000 n 0000003420 00000 n 0000003530 00000 n 0000009105 00000 n 0000010236 00000 n 0000010295 00000 n 0000010354 00000 n 0000010459 00000 n 0000011598 00000 n 0000011655 00000 n 0000011712 00000 n 0000017287 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 18418 %%EOF God, Europe and The Salvation Army | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

God, Europe and The Salvation Army

May 31, 2006
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

by Sue Schumann Warner – 

Why a feature on The Salvation Army in Europe?

After spending 14 days in Poland, France, and England—talking with scores of Salvationists ranging from soldiers to officers to a newly-elected General, and observing the Army at work—I discovered there is much to be said about God, Europe, and the Army.

Most of it is encouraging. Some of it is of concern.

This is what I found:

Europe today is not the Europe of the Reformation; it is not the Europe of William and Catherine Booth. In most countries, God and faith are in question—and for many, both tilt toward irrelevancy. Most of Europe has reasonable, functioning welfare systems–leading to the thought that if the government takes care of things, why does one need to trust in God? In this environment, Salvationists are learning the importance of lifestyle evangelism, of living their faith in a tangible way within their neighborhoods—providing compelling reasons for friends and neighbors to ask of the hope that is within them. In former Eastern European countries, where communism created a spiritual vacuum for generations, the hunger for God is more apparent. Here, as elsewhere, the Army is opening doors in creative ways: classes are held to teach English to Muslim immigrants; child care and parenting classes attract young families with no religious backgrounds; youth are drawn to music, drama, and sports activities.

Struggles in Europe are similar to those in other places. Attendance is down, corps are closing, and finances are tight. These comments are heard in the Western Territory as well. And yet, the European communities have additional challenges with changing demographics, significant immigration problems, and myriad ethnic and cultural differences. Growth in many corps in France, for instance, comes from immigrants from Africa, not from new converts.

Salvationists are generous with their time, resources, and opinions. From interviews with General Shaw Clifton, Commissioners Paul du Plessis and Thorleif Gulliksen, Colonels Dick and Vibeke Krommenhoek, Lt. Colonel Alain Duchêne, Major Kelly Pontsler, and many others, I got a sense of the Army’s struggles, successes, and its state of being in Europe today. All were open and direct in their comments; all are committed to The Salvation Army’s growth and to its increased relevancy within European communities. Their willingness to be interviewed speaks volumes about their concern for our Army.

The Army is truly a worldwide body, with countries and people intimately connected. At the 2005 International Literary and Publishing Conference, held at USA National Headquarters, we met and developed friendships with editors of Salvation Army publications around the world—including those in the Europe Zone. When asked to provide articles for this special issue, all were quick to reply with meaningful reports on the Army’s work in their location. Without their contributions, this issue would not be possible—I am thankful for their kindness and generosity.

William Booth’s Army will continue to march across Europe—and around the world—as long as each soldier puts his or her foot forward. The life—the reality—of The Salvation Army doesn’t reside in its structure, its ranks, or its organization. It resides in the lives of its soldiers—whether they are a widow in a small corps in Berlin, a teen in France, a colonel at a divisional headquarters—or the General at International Headquarters. Each holds a place in the body of Christ unique to them and their talents. William Booth’s Army will march on as long as each is faithful to God and their calling.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like