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BY LISA VAN CLEEF, CAPTAIN –
Captain Kenneth Hodder delivered a fiery message in his first address as the newly installed divisional commander of the Cascade Division.
“The Salvation Army today needs people who are all on fire for Jesus Christ,” he said. “The greatest need of The Salvation Army is not money, it never has been. The need is the same today as it was 137 years ago in London. The greatest need is for people.”
Hodder quoted William Lloyd Garrison while retelling the abolitionist’s story: “I have need to be on fire for there are mountains of ice around me to melt.” “Make no mistake, there are people enslaved today,” said Hodder. “If we love the Lord, if we are The Salvation Army, we must respond.”
The message was delivered to a record crowd of over 300 people who attended the joint installation service and World Services Ingathering at the Portland Hilton.
Commissioners David and Doreen Edwards installed the new divisional leaders and their daughter, Jessica, as Major John Reed and Captain Robert Lloyd acted as flag bearers.
Captain Jolene Hodder, director of women’s services, responded to the installation by sharing her testimony.
“Officership is a wild ride better than an ‘E’ ticket ride at Disneyland. What excites me is what God has in store for the Cascade Division,” she said. “We are here for this time and this place.”
Later, Edwards accepted the division’s nearly $400,000 World Services offering.
The Cascade Division’s “Heart Connection” country for 2001 was Bangladesh. A series of presentations exhibited the work of the Army in that country. Colonels Edward and Emily Fritz showed through a dramatic presentation that there is an answer to the question, “What difference can The Salvation Army make?”
Faye Hannah, a former SAWSO employee who has been to Bangladesh and seen the Army’s work there, says the Army tries very hard to ensure that help provided is a hand-up and not a hand out.
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