Fraternity-Testvériség, 1963 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1963-03-01 / 3. szám
6 FRATERNITY WHAT IS THE SALVATION ARMY? Some say The Salvation Army is a group that plays music and preaches on street corners. Others say it is a place to get a free meal when you’re hungry and broke. Still others say it is a collector of old clothes and furniture. The Salvation Army is all this — and much more. An international religious and charitable movement organized and operated on a military pattern, The Salvation Army is a branch of the Christian Church. It was founded when impoverished converts were refused membership in established churches. William Booth, an English minister, withdrew from the Methodist New Connexion Church in 1861 to conduct an independent full-time evangelistic ministry, and in 1865 he was preaching on the street corners of London’s worst slums. His first plan was to make his work supplementary to that of the churches, but when his converts were not welcome in the churches because of their poor appearance, Booth established Christian Mission centers for them. By the end of the first year, Booth had 300 workers — converts who joined his cause of saving others. Four years later the Christian Mission numbered 3,000 — and the militant spirit of the converts became military. They hailed their leader as “General”, a shortening of his title of General Superintendent. They called themselves “The Hallelujah Army”. At a conference in 1878, “General” Booth was looking at printers’ proofs of an annual report. Its title was, “The Christian Mission — A Volunteer Army”. With sudden inspiration, Booth crossed out “A Volunteer Army” and penned in “The Salvation Army”, and in August of that year the Christian Mission formally became “The Salvation Army”. And the semi-military structure, the military ranks and uniforms, evolved in those formative years, have become traditional with these “soldiers without swords”. The work of The Salvation Army spread quickly, despite ridicule and persecution, as the militant Christians “invaded” new areas and “opened fire”. The “invasion” of the United States was heralded by the historic landing of Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven lassies at Battery Park, New York City, on March 10, 1880. Immediately, these Salvationists held an open air meeting on American soil, much to the astonishment of New Yorkers. In its founding, The Salvation Army was a complete departure from accepted forms of worship, for here was a religious group with uniforms, a distinctive flag, brass and timbrel bands, unhymnlike music and converts’ testimonies. It met in the open air, in tents, in theaters and dance halls, used during the week for one purpose and on Sundays for the Army’s religious meetings. This new movement, however, was not a preaching mission only,
