It has been 110 years since The Salvation Army came on ships (that were coming from England to the colonies) and started reaching out to the Bermudian community. Followers of William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, who were travelling to the colonies, would hold meetings and rallies while their ships stopped at the Royal Navy Dockyard for supplies.
The first congregation was formed in 1895 with three British sailors. Now there are 847 members attending various Salvation Army churches across the island.
Apart from worship and The Salvation Army band, the church’s community services is legendary, ranging from soup runs and homeless shelters to treatment for addiction.
Rosemary Phillips, Bermuda divisional editorial rep, describes highlights of this year’s congress celebration.
This year’s congress, October 27 to 29, will go down in history as one that was historical and ‘out of the box’ as it straddled the Army of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
It was vibrant and meditative. The moving of God’s Holy Spirit was evident from the beginning of the weekend to the end. Over 56 people knelt at the Mercy Seat.
The Celebration of 110 years of worship and service in Bermuda was beautifully staged in the Harbourview Ballroom of the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel.
The congress started with a march of witness through the streets of Hamilton as it had been done back in 1896 and the welcome meeting on Friday night saw all the corps looking back at their beginnings and telling their story through drama, dance and visual presentations. This was both entertaining and informative, with a surprise visitor in the audience in the person of Major Kay Bell, who with her husband was an intricate part of The Salvation Army in Bermuda, serving in both corps and social services.
Following the welcome meeting the youth had a birthday party with games, pizza and a cake. The party last exactly 110 minutes - each minute representing a year!
Saturday started with a “New Beginnings†breakfast where men who are struggling with drug addiction were encouraged. Mr. Anthony Webb testified on life as an addict - one who has been clean for 10 years!
Also on Saturday a women’s rally was lead by Major Suzanne Fisher and many women were blessed by personal prayer with Commissioner Christine McMillan, and the men’s rally focused on being a team player with guests, Mr. Richard Scott, present of Somerset Cricket Club and Educator, Dr. Glen Bascome. The Commissioner paid a visit as well to this rally and had opportunity to speak to the men.
We experienced an awesome evening with the young people on Saturday night as we were invited to a ‘Celebration of Talents’, led by our new Divisional Youth Secretary, Vanessa Guishard (our first lay person to resume this role in Bermuda). We heard from the divisional youth band and praise team, vocal and instrumental solos, and enjoyed drama and dance presentations. We were taken from the beginning of dance in the Army into the future. The evening ended with a moving scene of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection where the choreography combined the traditional timbrel brigade with liturgical, mime and hip-hop, illustrating that each art form has a place in the Army of today.
On Sunday, we sang the old ‘holiness hymns’ and were blessed by the congress chorus, which represented all the corps. The praise meeting in the afternoon continued with joyous singing as people freely praised and worshipped God.
Throughout the weekend there were pre-recorded interviews of soldiers that helped to tell their Salvation story. They included Envoy Lydia Furbert, Quinton Bean, Geraldine Lambert and David Knight.
In the Holiness meeting on Sunday we were reminded that God is calling us to be a holy people and that Jesus is looking for participants in ministry.
In the Sunday afternoon praise meeting the territorial commander introduced the story of the sower by telling us that Jesus, a very entertaining storyteller, told stories that were not intended to be bedtime stories but stories to make you think. Seed is falling on all kinds of potential circumstances in life. Jesus is the One that scatters the seed and than ploughs. Jesus says that His seed has the potential for everything!
For 110 years the Salvation Army in Bermuda has been scattering seed with power and potential; God wants us to continue to sow the precious seed.
We are indebted to the DHQ staff led by our new Divisional Commander Major Doug Lewis with his wife Major Betty Ann and our Program Council Chairperson Geraldine Lambert - co-chairpersons of the congress committee.
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