Ragamuffin: women

some of my best men are women

S

omeone has said there are only three kinds of people - those who watch what is happening; those who make things happen; those who scratch their heads and ask “Hey what happened?”

In The Salvation Army women went above and beyond the call of duty in times of war. Many veterans sing the praises of The Salvation Army women who served during wartime.

It was during WWI that The Salvation Army was involved with war. Evangeline Booth, then the USA National Commander (a woman) was awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal in WWI. At the time, she borrowed $25,000 to finance the beginning of The Salvation Army’s war work. Later, she borrowed another $100,000 from The Salvation Army International Headquarters in London to keep the work going. Some of these women in war fried up to 9,000 doughnuts daily. The troops loved the doughnuts and soon these ladies were referred to as Doughnut Girls. Frying doughnuts was only one of the services rendered to the soldiers. The women sewed on buttons, wrote letters home, held their hands during surgery and prayed with them before they went into battle. They were often spiritual counselors to the soldiers.

Some 20 years later when WWII started, The Salvation Army women once again took an active role in the war effort. They ran USO centers overseas and here in America. These were places where the service men and women could come and eat, rest, relax, talk and try to forget about the war, even if only for a short time.

The Founder of The Salvation Army said “Some of my best men are women” (William Booth). God has and does often use women to build the church and advance the kingdom of God.

Ragamuffin appears every Monday on theRubicon. Find past Ragamuffin posts and a bio of Capt. Jay Davis here.

8 Comments to Ragamuffin: women

1. I didn’t know women had such a prominent role in the army’s war service. Thanks for the information.

   Over the years I’ve met quite a few ordained women serving as pastors in various denominations while their husbands pursue unrelated careers. Is it an issue at all the army closes itself off from this second-income talent pool?
Catherine W. on April 14th, 2008

2. The idea of a spouse working another job is generally foreign to The Salvation Army. Although recently the topic has arisen. I used to be a pastor with my wife working a good job. It worked well for us. As a Corps Officer I NEED her skills and abilities in the corps. She is a life saver for me. There are benefits and problems which ever way it works out. Right now we love working together. The challenge is to live on our limited income with simplicity. Where God calls he equips. For the future - I do not know which way The Salvation Army will lean. In the USA we get one check. In other areas of the world the couple receives two checks. The Salvation Army is like a “work in progress”. and sometimes a work in regress.
Jay Davis on April 14th, 2008

3. I get confused. We talk about how militant language within The Salvation Army is bad, but we honour those who actually participated (and participate) in “the war effort”, which actually killed (and kills) millions of actual people.

   So, should we get rid of the violent language and metaphors, but have no problem blessing the bullets that still kill men women and children today (most of whom are poor)?

   I just get riled up when we reflect on how great TSA was in “the war effort”. There is a much more important “war effort” out there, one in which women and men are fighting valiantly against sin and poverty and death. And I don’t really think we should be supporting the propagation of war that kills people and destroys societies. It seems to be counter to our organisational aims.

   On to the original topic of the post:

   It is good and right to honour the women who have serve and serve now in The Salvation Army. Unfortunately we are still a very paternalistic organisation, one that does not do a great job of recognising women (particularly married women) in leadership. Will we ever see a married female General? But at least we have grasped the notion that women can and should be in leadership.

   Grace,

   Aaron
aaron on April 15th, 2008

4. Catherine, when General John Gowans published the review of officership a few years back territories were given the right to allow what in the UK we call single-spouse officers. This meant that either the husband or the wife were allowed to be an officer when their spouse wasn’t.

   This has seen a not insignificant number of married people go through training, as well as the return of some very good officers who had fallen in love with non-officers and had had to resign. As always there have been both positive and negative experiences as the UK Territory works through all the implications of this.

   Jay, I think one of the most encouraging things amongst the emerging church movement has been the willingness to re-evaluate the position of women within leadership.

   I would also agree with your thoughts about needing your spouse in the corps. I have now run a corps for 7 months on my own and we will now start to train as cadets in September. My wife complements my giftings and we will be a much better unit together than I would be on my own. I need my wife to work alongside me and she needs me to as well!
Graeme Smith on April 15th, 2008

5. Thanks for responding. I guess there’s good and bad either way as far as single-spouse officers. I know a lot of homeschool families, as a sort of next step, are looking to start a home-based business (bring Dad home too) and it seems the army model of a family commitment to the mission is really aligned with that. On the other hand, the several women I have known running churches (and not just emergent ones; these are major denominations) wouldn’t necessarily have wanted to have to wait for their husband to agree– or be called along too– to get going.
Catherine W. on April 17th, 2008

6. I wonder why the discussions about service and leadership turn again to officership…Were donuts always delivered by officers? (that’s rhetorical, think not!) I’m really starting to appreciate Eleanor B-J’s insights here on Soldier training and development and Phil Wall’s admonition that soldiers should keep their day jobs.

   As for the woman’s role in officership….Having been part of other churches, I’ve noticed what happens in church couples. Typically, if they lived in the church’s clergy residence, they were expected to be something of a team for hospitality, social events etc. and certainly the non-clergy spouse ALWAYS attended worship. Today, the non-clergy spouse usually has another career. They beg off hospitality work (let alone service in the community) and the clergy residence is essentially a private family residence, save for one open house per year. In more than one case I have been told that the non-clergy spouses attends other churches because the demands of parishioners detract from their personal worship experience. And don’t think this happens only in “liberal” , “feminist” leaning denonminations … these examples range across the denominational spectrum.

   So I’ll not wade in on whether there should be single-officer appointments except to say that families where one of the spouses is in paid full-time ministry need some discernment around the role of the other spouse.In poor communities they can start to look like birds in guilded cages.
Andrea614Regent on April 18th, 2008

7. Well, heck! When did they start this hospitality work? Growing up in the army, I was never invited to our corps officer’s home but to babysit.

   Oh, well — it sounds like the army has more to lose than gain with single-spouse appointments. But it’s very nice to hear how much you all appreciate your wives. Seems to me the army couple has a very sweet life.
Catherine W. on April 19th, 2008

8. Catherine W.

   Please note that I was commenting on the kinds of roles for pastor’s spouses that I’d seen outside outside the SA. And I was certainly not implying that hospitality needed to happen in the clergy residence.

   But hospitality is critical to any sustained outreach effort, especially with people who’ve experienced isolation and loneliness. It’s all in the attitude. I’ve seen people made to feel at home under spartan circumstances because someone was willing to be attentive and encouraging.

   All I was saying was that it used to be assumed in other denominations that the clergy wife would make a contribution to this ministry and that it’s not something that one can take for granted anymore.

   Andrea
Andrea614Regent on April 21st, 2008

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