After 120
years of service in Houston, The Salvation Army is still going
strong
Before Idaho and Wyoming were
admitted as U.S. states; before the Daughters of the American
Revolution were founded; before Van Gogh took his last breath; in
1889, The Salvation Army was making history here in Houston
The Salvation Army
March 16, 2009
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Since 1889, The Salvation Army
has held a strong presence in the Greater Houston region. Today,
the nonprofit organization serves Harris, Fort Bend and
Montgomery counties through various programs.
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The year was 1889. North
Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington were admitted by President Grover Cleveland. The first juke box had just gone into
operation at the Palais Rolaye Saloon in San Francisco. Vincent
Van Gogh’s Starry Night was still freshly-painted, and
in France the city of Paris was celebrating the
inauguration of its new Eiffel Tower.
Here in Houston, history was
also being made. A single female officer by the name of Captain
French had taken on the task of introducing a new form of
service in faith to the local region. Through the basic
principle of meeting human needs without discrimination The
Salvation Army Greater Houston Area Command was born in 1889.
Since then, that basic
principle has overseen the introduction and expansion of various
Salvation Army programs and services to not only the Houston
area, but to all of Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.
Last year, over 5 million southeast Texas residents were served
by The Salvation Army Greater Houston Area Command.
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However, were it not for the friendship
that had been ignited between native
Houstonian and Salvationist, John Ephraim Thomas Milsaps and the
city’s first official librarian,
Julia Ideson, much of the
now 120-year-old organization’s local history might
have been lost. Born in 1852 and a Salvationist since 1883, Milsaps kept a fervently detailed record of The Salvation Army’s
work both here in Houston and throughout the United States.
Before passing away in 1932
he entrusted much of his personal collection to Ideson for
preservation. Ideson in turn used the Houston Public Library’s
historical vault to conserve the contents of this impressive
collection, which today encompasses row after row of books,
posters, scrapbooks, pictures, pamphlets and magazines at the
Julia Ideson Building of the Houston Public Library in downtown
Houston.
“We are very fortunate to
have such an extensive collection of Salvation Army history here
in Houston,” says Area Commander Major Marshall Gesner. “So
much time and effort goes into carrying out the mission of The
Salvation Army that sometimes we forget the importance of
keeping a living history of the work we do.”
This year, however, in honor
of The Salvation Army's 120th anniversary in
Houston, the nonprofit is planning a major celebration. Plans are
underway for a citywide art contest for school-age children
grades K-12 in the local region. The Houston Public Library
in partnership with
The Salvation Army will be putting together a historical exhibit
of Milsaps’ collection at the Ideson Building in downtown
Houston. Many other celebratory events are also in the
works.
This has been an especially challenging
year for The Salvation Army as it has seen
a dramatic decrease in donations
since last year. Overall, monetary contributions
to The Salvation Army are down by 17 percent, in comparison to the same
timeframe the previous year. At the same time, more people than
ever are
requesting assistance from The Salvation Army.
Gerald
Eckert who oversees The Salvation Army's social services operation says
many people that were previously able to support
themselves are now requiring
assistance.
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Original pieces such as this historical advertisement are housed
within the Julia Ideson Building of the Houston Public Library
in downtown Houston. These pieces will also be on display during
May 2009 in honor of The Salvation Army's 120th Anniversary. |
It's no longer Self Denial Week,
but rather National Salvation Army Week, and this year, here in
Houston, it will focus on the local Salvation Army's 120 years
of service - Doing The Most Good. |
“Some of these people are the same folks who were making
donations to help us
fund our programs not too long ago,” he
notes. “The hurricane and the economy
have really hit a lot of
families very hard…and they are struggling.”
The
Salvation Army has a long history of pulling through and helping others even in
the most difficult times. During World War I and
the Great Depression of the 1930s,
for example, Salvationists
handed out food and other supplies to communities across
the
United States and abroad in an effort to alleviate their most
basic needs.
In fact the Home
Service Fund, which was used to supply tired and hungry soldiers
with doughnuts and coffee during the Great War, was one of The
Salvation Army’s
most memorable programs. Other popular
initiatives used by the Army still in
existence today are
the red kettle donation program and its ministry services. The
Salvation Army is after all a faith-based Christian organization
founded on the
teachings of William Booth.
Booth, a one-time
Methodist minister, and his wife Catherine founded the
international movement of The Salvation Army in London in 1865
on the simple
premise that in order to bring people to salvation
they first had to meet their most
basic needs by providing them food, shelter and rehabilitation. Immediately
individuals with
drug and alcohol problems and many others who had been shun
away
from society found a helping hand in the Army.
They regained control
of their lives and continued to spread the word of The
Salvation
Army. As they traveled and moved from one place to another
their faith
touched the lives of others and spread from nation
to nation. Today, over 115
countries throughout the world enjoy
the presence of The Salvation Army.
“Miraculously, every
time, God takes our two fish and five loaves and turns them into
something amazing,” says Mrs. Major Carolyn Gesner, Coordinator
of Women's
Ministries for The Salvation Army Houston Area
Command.
“It is our faith that allows
us to continue doing the work of
the Lord even in the most difficult of times.”
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And much like in
1889, many of the organization’s clients today are those who
have been shoved aside and forgotten by society. Lonely seniors
find a sense of community at the Army’s six community centers
and two low-income apartment complexes; at-risk children focus
on the positive and stay off the streets through the
organization’s Boys & Girls clubs; and hundreds of homeless men,
women and families find shelter and rehabilitation each night in
one of the local region’s five area Salvation Army shelters.
Norma Salinas was one of
those who had been cast aside and who had all but given up on
herself until she found The Salvation Army. Her husband had
gone to jail, she was alone with five children and one on the
way, and had nowhere to live. Originally from Mexico, the
permanent resident had no family to turn to and little money to
make the rent, so she walked into The Salvation Army’s Family
Residence and asked for a room.
Salinas was received with
open arms and provided a room for her family to stay.
Unfortunately, as her depression worsened, she
turned to illegal narcotics for consolation. As a result,
Salinas lost custody of all her six children and was asked to
leave Family Residence.
“It really was the wake-up
call I needed,” she reminisces. “The feeling of having my
children taken away from me is so indescribable and painful…I
don’t wish it on anyone else. And even then, The Salvation Army
never stopped helping me.”
Instead, Captain Edward
Alonzo of the Pasadena Corps Community Center invited Salinas to
his Sunday worship service and encouraged her to find strength
in faith. Together they attended each of her six children’s
custody hearings and worked to accomplish each of the court’s
requirements for Salinas to regain custody of her children.
Today, all but her infant
daughter have been reunited with Salinas. Her next custody
hearing is scheduled for the summer.
“First and foremost, The
Salvation Army introduced me to God and allowed me to find my
strength in faith,” Salinas says. “When no one else would help
me…and others would have given me their backs, The Salvation
Army never gave up on me. They made me believe in me.”
Captain Alonzo, though, shies
away from any credit.
“That’s what we do…that is
what it means when we say ‘doing the most good’…there is nothing
else to it. That is what The Salvation Army is all about."
Copyright © 2009 -
The Salvation Army |
