First time here

[Child of JC]

I just crused in here for the first time today. I did not know anything about the salvation army, (well, I knew it was christian). So I read all about it using the links in the one siticky. Sounds like my beliefs match exacly.

How are the services? I did read about them. Sounds like everyone is pretty laid back. What are the worship times like? Do you sing alot of songs in a row, or just one here and there. Is it all hymns, or do you sing some newer stuff?

I'm also curious about your strong stand on things. I admire this boldness within a church when the force behind it is love. Do you think the majority are lovers, or legalists? In my opening statement I said that I knew nothing about the SA, this is true, and yet I still thought of you as very humble, is this true?

My curiosity is peaked because my grandmother attended The Salvation Army before she was married.

 

[Warren Peace]

I just crused in here for the first time today.

Welcome!!!

I did not know anything about the salvation army, (well, I knew it was christian). So I read all about it using the links in the one siticky. Sounds like my beliefs match exacly.

I grew up going to a synagogue across the street from a Salvation Army corps in Montreal, and still I knew nothing about the Sally Ann until I met my wife in 1996.

How are the services? I did read about them. Sounds like everyone is pretty laid back.

Services vary in many respects in each corps. Some are modern, some are traditional, some are a mix... you really have to visit a few to understand, and you don't need to travel far. Some areas have three or four corps within a few kilometers of each other that are very different (i.e. Toronto and area).

What are the worship times like? Do you sing alot of songs in a row, or just one here and there. Is it all hymns, or do you sing some newer stuff?

There are hymnal tunes, songbook choruses and songs, some sound like marching band music, some corps sing more modern music... again it all depends on the corps, the corps officers, and the band master.

If you go to http://www.salvationist.org, at the bottom there is a link called Songbook to PowerPoint Creator. If you create a login name and password, you can see the over 1,000 songs and choruses in the two versions of the songbook: US and UK. I have never looked through the UK version since we Canadians use the US version.

I'm also curious about your strong stand on things. I admire this boldness within a church when the force behind it is love. Do you think the majority are lovers, or legalists? In my opening statement I said that I knew nothing about the SA, this is true, and yet I still thought of you as very humble, is this true?

There are many different Salvation Army websites: salvationist.com, salvationist.org, salvationarmy.com, salvationarmy.ca, etc. I saw recently one site with a page dedicated to telling the world how the Salvation Army stands on certain issues (i.e. same-sex marriage, abortion, etc.). There is also a lot of information about the core values and mission statements on almost all of the sites.

My curiosity is peaked because my grandmother attended The Salvation Army before she was married.

Good to hear!!!

There are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful people on this sub-forum. I'm sure you will get a lot of answers on this thread from a few people and from different countries.

God bless you in your quest for knowledge!

 

[InTheFlame]

Hi ChildofJC,

You sound like me when I discovered the SA. It seemed such a great fit... the focus on action and the lack of focus on fine points of doctrine (while I love a good debate, I don't think one's salvation rests on having the 'right' understanding of minor details).

Your questions are a bit difficult to answer generically, because SA corps vary widely. But I've found that in general, SA churches are much like any other in their percentage of lovers vs legalists. Some people are more attached to the forms (eg. brass band, songsters, timbrel brigades, uniforms) than the works of God, and some are perhaps overly revolutionary in their desire to rid the SA of all things 'old-fashioned'. Frankly, I tend more toward being overly revolutionary. It's a tendency I try to keep firmly in check, only to be used when God's demanding revolution in ME. Hmmm. I don't know how well I succeed.

Umm... I'm thinking I'll try to answer some of your questions from the perspective of my current corps (btw, thanks for checking out the sticky first! ). We're a small plant of about 30 people (hard to keep track of numbers).

Services - VERY laid back. We have a corps baby ( ) who wanders around to various people during most services

Worship via song - depends who's organising the worship, and what they feel God is wanting them to do/say/achieve. Typical format is probably 3 songs, short prayer, announcements, song, sermon, prayer time, song. Mixture of new, old, and old hymns to new tunes (partly because we only have guitar and maybe another string instrument for most services, so some of the old tunes sound weird).

Other activities - we have 3 bible study groups, who each meet once a week. Almost everyone is involved in a group. That might be splitting into 4 soon, actually. We have a 'friends event' once every 2 months (eg. picnic/bbq), a 'community of kindness event' on the month where we don't have a friends event (eg. visiting an aged care home). Prayer breakfasts once a fortnight. My hubby is currently doing informal soldiership classes with our leader (who ISN'T an officer - bit of a weird case, but it works for us), which is sort of like confirmation in lutheran and anglican churches, but a bit more advanced I guess... lots of information on the SA, practices, beliefs, expectations of a soldier. He's not intending to become a soldier just yet, but wanted to get a good grounding in what the SA believe and practice - and expect from their members.

I've got to say, I love the SA. I love being a member. Sometimes I lose sight of the joy I felt when I first discovered this denomination (every denom, every church has its problems, the SA is no exception), but over all... I wouldn't be anywhere else. Hope that gives you an idea

 

[InTheFlame]

OH - visit ArmyBarmy for a look at the more... 'hopping' side of the SA!

 

[Child of JC]

Thanx for your answers.

I currently attend a Pentecostal church. We live in a small town with only 4 to chose from:

1. Catholic
2. Anglican
3. United
4. Pentecostal

My chruch feels like home. The people who attend are the greatest! But if we ever moved, I dont know which denom. I would attend.

Take care,
Beverly.

 

[Warren Peace]

Where in Canada do you live?

 

[Child of JC]

Where in Canada do you live?

I live in Northern Ontario in a railway town called Hornepayne. It is aprox. 400 kms from Sault St. Marie, and maybe 5 or 600 from Thunderbay. 2 1/2 hour drive from Kapuskasing.