Street Drama

This week we have been involved in a series of street dramas to raise awareness of human trafficking.

The joint initiative, organised by The Salvation Army’s Scotland Office and the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group, took place during the Edinburgh Festival's Just Festival – and sees market stalls in different locations around the city selling ‘people’ as commodities – based on real life stories of human trafficking victims.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Roberts, The Salvation Army’s Assistant to the Secretary for Scotland, said: "Human trafficking is taking place all around us; in our local communities and perhaps around the corner from where we live. We want people to know they can play a role in stamping it out.

"The Salvation Army has a long history of supporting victims of human trafficking and pressing for their legal protection. In England and Wales we have provided support services to more than 2000 adult victims of human trafficking in the past four years.”

The street drama is the idea of Keith Turton, The Salvation Army’s drama co-ordinator. Keith said: "We think of slavery as people being chained up and in ropes. That may have been the case hundreds of years ago but nowadays it’s much less obvious to the casual observer.

"And so the idea is to have a market stall where we will pretend to sell human beings. We will have a rail of clothing that depicts the work that people do. You can dress these people up to show how they are seen as just commodities.

“It’s a dramatic way of highlighting the issue of trafficking and it’s a way of saying: ‘people shouldn’t be bought or sold.’”

Hazel Watson, Convener of the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group, added: “All human beings have intrinsic value and have the right to live with dignity in freedom. This drama, shocking as it is itself, is a way of highlighting the reality of human trafficking that is far more shocking. We can all play our part in efforts to combat this horrendous crime.”

The Salvation Army, along with the Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group, has contributed to the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill, which is currently going through the Scottish Parliament. The Bill will create a specific offence of human trafficking for the first time as well as increase the maximum penalty for offenders to life imprisonment.

Lt-Col Roberts added: “The Salvation Army welcomes this new legislation being introduced by the Scottish Government because it aims to keep victims central, both by tackling offenders and supporting victims.”

The Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group will also be using the UN Gift Box initiative to raise awareness of human trafficking. The initiative is created by Stop The Traffik and the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN GIFT). Two large, walk-in boxes have been created to symbolise trafficking and will be dotted around Edinburgh to provide information and first-hand accounts and pictures from victims inside. Each box highlights a specific aspect of human trafficking – be it forced labour or sexual exploitation.

Seeking Justice where you are

Two new publications by Salvationist authors highlight the importance of seeking justice in local situations through community organising.

Marching Towards Justice: Community Organising and The Salvation Army

This is a good introduction to community organising by Majors Kerry & Nick Coke and Lieutenants John & Naomi Clifton. It is based on their own experiences in Stepney and Ilford. It is a 48-page booklet divided into three sections:

1. History. Examples of TSA's justice-seeking activities in the past.
2. Methodology. An outline of the four steps for community organising: visitation, power analysis, training & development, and public action.
3. Stories. Examples of community organising by TSA in Ilford, Stepney and Camberwell.

The document can be downloaded free here: http://www.theology-centre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Marching-Final.pdf
There is also a blog associated with it: http://matchfactory.org/

Just Mission: Practical Politics for Local Churches

This is written by Dr Helen Cameron, Head of Public Affairs at THQ. It goes deeper and wider than Marching Towards Justice and is a helpful handbook for anyone wishing to address social justice issues in their community. It emphasises that justice-seeking goes alongside evangelism and social action in the mission of God. It outlines eight steps in the process of justice-seeking and includes helpful case studies.

1. What is the burning issue?
2. Building the team
3. Building the case for change
4. Engaging with the Christian tradition
5. Identifying who you need to speak to and what you will ask
6. Making contact
7. Amplifying your voice
8. Evaluating your impact

It is not free - it costs £19.99 - but is a good investment! http://www.scmpress.co.uk/books/9780334052296/just-mission

Edinburgh Prison Visitors Centre

The Edinburgh Reporter blog shared the story of how we’re working with the Scottish Prison Service and Police Scotland to ensure HMP Edinburgh is a welcoming environment for visiting children.

The initiative has been developed as part of HMP Edinburgh’s community engagement strategy, whereby The Salvation Army delivers daily services to focus on building a rapport between children and police staff through interactive activities such as arts and crafts.

As part of our work, we aim to encourage and facilitate dialogue between those who are visiting HMP Edinburgh and police officers, and raise awareness of the rights and responsibilities of both communities.

The children were given opportunities to dress-up, learn about police cars, and meet representatives from other emergency services such as fire and ambulance. Prison dogs Buck and Ollie, who work with their owner at HMP Edinburgh, proved particularly popular!

Our Edinburgh Visitors’ Centre Co-ordinator, Kerry Watson, said: “We set out to break down the barriers and that has worked really well, we are confident that the children and their families have experienced a really positive fun day with community police and our friends in the Fire Service.”

She added: “This important educational initiative, identified through our parenting project at the centre, has gone a long way to reverse some of the negative comments we heard about the emergency services, our aim will be to continue to invest in this work and have similar days every six weeks.”

What kind of reward?

The newspaper headlines recently have been filled with the news of alleged cheating in the world of premier athletics. Although most of the allegations are historic, it does still have a resonance for the present day, where the human challenges of sports endeavour push the limits of the legal and moral boundaries. This following on from allegations made against the senior leadership of FIFA, more detail being made available almost daily.

Through our televisions we can share the success of athletes pushing their body to the limit where success and failure are measured in milliseconds. The power of the audiences watching any sport, including football, can alter thinking and behaviour where the dollar is the driving force. Headlines such as those we hear and see just reinforce that human nature is very fragile and succumbs to the power of both fame and wealth.

What we do not hear about so often are the acts of kindness that many people undertake each day that do not reach the headlines. Families around us often have to sacrifice their own time and often money to support less able family members. These occasions are often life events; some are predictable and some are less so, but each mean that we can be called to be the extra support for friends, family, corps members, and often some unexpected contacts we have never met before.

When we give of our time and give of ourselves to help those who are less fortunate than we are, we realise that it costs very little in pounds and it is not done for the power or for position, it is undertaken in love for each other. Power, position and wealth are often transitory in nature.

The commitment to each other, that we show for those around us and the peace that we bring in our daily lives will last and our reward will be much more precious than fame or fortune.

Taken from the West Scotland Division Circular

Praise for The Salvation Army's work in Scotland

 

The transformational ministry of The Salvation Army in Scotland was the focus of BBC Radio Scotland in an extended feature. The high profile Sunday morning programme, hosted by Sally Magnusson, provided listeners with a historical context of William Booth's Christian and social mission from Assistant Scotland Office Secretary, Lt Col Jonathan Roberts.

Lt Col Carol Bailey, Scotland Secretary, unpacks the relevance of the Army's mission to save souls and grow saints in society today. During an inspiring interview, Gorgie Corps bandmaster, Keith Johnston explains that bands are more than just playing music, they communicate the Gospel and enhance the worship.

Joining forces to drive mission through practical professional support from the Scotland Drug and Alcohol strategy, Stirling Corps and Homelessness Services Unit, is also a focus through 'Sandy', who honestly expresses how God has saved his life from addiction.

The full interview is available on BBC iPlayer. It last for 13 minutes and starts at 1:31:40.

The Poem of Your Life

Do you have a favourite song or artist that you would like to see featured on the blog - let us know in the comments.

Quiz Answers

As promised here are the quiz answers from last weeks post - quiz

THE SALVATION ARMY QUIZ

Heart & Soul 2015

HISTORY

1. Who started The Salvation Army (TSA)?

                      William Booth                  

2. In which year did the TSA begin?

          1865                     

3. Where did the SA begin?

          London                              

4. What was it called before it became The SA?

           The Christian Mission

5. In which year did The Salvation Army come to Scotland?

           1879                     

TODAY

6. In how many countries is the TSA at work?

             126

7. Which of these countries does the TSA not work in?

          Cameroon                

8. Who is the international leader (the General) of the TSA?

          André Cox              

9. What is the name of the TSA's weekly newspaper?

          The War Cry

10. What does the TSA call its hostels for homeless people?

            Lifehouses             

11. What does the TSA call its churches?

           Corps

12. How many churches does the TSA have in Scotland?

            76                          

3. How many primary schools does the TSA run worldwide?

            1,241 

14. How many maternity hospitals does the TSA run worldwide?

          26                          

15. Where is the TSA's International Social Justice Commission based?

           New York     

                                    

How well did you do?