April 27 – Soup, Soap, Salvation
The industrial revolution was in full swing and along with it came terrible abuse. In England the factories drew thousands of people to London. With them came poor working conditions and even worse living conditions.
It would make sense that the church should reach out to help, but then as now, they really had no idea what to do. The Church of England had already established its parishes and would require an act of Parliament (not kidding) to recreate the lines. The Methodists were no longer a church of the people but had become a church for the middle class. No one was reaching into the slums.
In 1865 William and Catherine Booth set up a tent to begin helping those in need on the East End of London. Rather than simply preach to the people, who in their terrible living conditions were engaging in the worst of society’s evils – violence in the home, alcoholism, prostitution, etc., etc. – they recognized the need for immediate assistance which would leave hearts open to hear the Word of God.
Booth had been a Methodist and employed those organizational methods to his mission. He took it a little further and began implementing military order. Because he was so strict, people began calling him ‘general’ and others had advertised a meeting as “The Hallelujah Army Fighting for God.”
He endorsed the name and the Salvation Army in 1878 existed with marching brass bands, uniforms, officers and a mission. Upper crust churches were upset with the fact that the bands were playing popular songs reset with Christian words. Booth asked, “Why should the devil have all the best tunes?”
The Salvation Army transformed England, stopping enough people from drinking that the Brewers Union went after the Salvation Army, damaging buildings and assaulting officers.
William and Catherine had many children, who continued his work, spreading it throughout the world. He traveled millions of miles and preached tens of thousands of sermons, bringing 16,000 people into service with him. He encouraged the people of Victorian England to reach out in their own land as missionaries, they didn’t need to go to foreign lands.
The industrial revolution was in full swing and along with it came terrible abuse. In England the factories drew thousands of people to London. With them came poor working conditions and even worse living conditions.
It would make sense that the church should reach out to help, but then as now, they really had no idea what to do. The Church of England had already established its parishes and would require an act of Parliament (not kidding) to recreate the lines. The Methodists were no longer a church of the people but had become a church for the middle class. No one was reaching into the slums.
In 1865 William and Catherine Booth set up a tent to begin helping those in need on the East End of London. Rather than simply preach to the people, who in their terrible living conditions were engaging in the worst of society’s evils – violence in the home, alcoholism, prostitution, etc., etc. – they recognized the need for immediate assistance which would leave hearts open to hear the Word of God.
Booth had been a Methodist and employed those organizational methods to his mission. He took it a little further and began implementing military order. Because he was so strict, people began calling him ‘general’ and others had advertised a meeting as “The Hallelujah Army Fighting for God.”
He endorsed the name and the Salvation Army in 1878 existed with marching brass bands, uniforms, officers and a mission. Upper crust churches were upset with the fact that the bands were playing popular songs reset with Christian words. Booth asked, “Why should the devil have all the best tunes?”
The Salvation Army transformed England, stopping enough people from drinking that the Brewers Union went after the Salvation Army, damaging buildings and assaulting officers.
William and Catherine had many children, who continued his work, spreading it throughout the world. He traveled millions of miles and preached tens of thousands of sermons, bringing 16,000 people into service with him. He encouraged the people of Victorian England to reach out in their own land as missionaries, they didn’t need to go to foreign lands.
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