Christian Message Boards: The Salvation Army

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Posted by HisGrace (Member # 3438) on :

Red Kettle History

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.

Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

© 2003 The Salvation Army - Greater Dallas Metroplex.

Posted by HisGrace (Member # 3438) on :

quote:
Originally posted by wparr:
But it's soo soo sad that the salvation army is departing from it's Christian roots and becoming more and more secular.

How giving and giving and giving be considered secular? [Confused]

Accountability -
The Salvation Army is one of Canada's leading charitable institutions, and one of the largest social service agencies in the world, outside of government or the United Nations. From the beginning, The Salvation Army has handled its financial and business operations with care and probity, thereby earning the trust of governments and the confidence of millions of individual donors around the world.

Groups of local business people and community members form Salvation Army advisory boards around the country, and are a vital link to the community. Many programs and activities also have their own boards of advisors. As well as holding us accountable to the community at large, they contribute the benefit of their experience in the management of our temporal affairs. Politicians of all parties, several of whom (like John Turner and Brian Mulroney) went on to high office, have been advisors to The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. You can read its Donor Bill of Rights at www.afptoronto.org.

Internally, The Salvation Army exercises controls in more areas than finance. It is one of the few organizations to have its own abuse advisor -- a former social worker and member of the police -- who establishes guidelines throughout the organization. The Salvation Army also performs accreditation on all its programs and services, including those overseas, and its Ethics Centre, located in Winnipeg, advises The Salvation Army and other clients on ethical responses to today's issues.

Posted by helpforhomeschoolers (Member # 15) on :

It was a woman from the Salvation Army that first preached the Gospel to me when I was but a child and I was saved. [clap2]

Praise God!

Posted by TEXASGRANDMA (Member # 847) on :

Salvation Army believes in Christmas. [Wink]

betty

Posted by helpforhomeschoolers (Member # 15) on :

I dont know about that Betty... I hope that it is in Christ that they believe and not Christmas. I believe that is why you see those people standing outside the store in the blustering cold endless hours collecting pennies for the poor from those who would hardly remember the less fortunate if not for their sacrifice.

Frankly, I was one of those who needed to be reminded. In the days when I did the "Christmas" Shop till you drop routine, I was terribly convicted of the error of my ways when I would come out of a store with a basket full of goodies and didnt have a 20.00 bill to throw in that pot.

I was never able in those days to put more in the pot than I hauled off from the store.

Posted by TEXASGRANDMA (Member # 847) on :

Christ----------------mas
I rest my case.
betty