No items from last night's triv for today's post but some items that will hopefully be of interest . . .
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The Smith Family website states that The Smith Family is a children's charity helping disadvantaged Australian children to get the most out of their education, so they can create better futures for themselves. The charity is independent and non-profit.
Most people in Australia will have heard of it and know of it.
According to the Smith Family website, on Christmas Eve 1922, five businessmen returning from a trip to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales decided to bring some Christmas cheer to children in a Sydney orphanage. After having delivered toys and sweets they walked out inspired by a single goal: to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in Australia.
When asked who the children could thank, one of the men, preferring to remain anonymous, said “Smith”. “What about the others?” the matron asked. “They’re Smiths too”, replied the man. “We’re all Smiths. We’re The Smith Family.” And so, The Smith Family was born.
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The Salvation Army, often referred to as “The Salvo’s” in Australia, originated in London in 1865. Methodist Minister and former pawnbroker William Booth recognised that the Christian Revival Society he had founded was having trouble bringing lost souls to God when people were suffering, hungry and cold. One of his sayings was that "Nobody ever got saved while they had a toothache." By 1867, by then known as the Christian Mission, it provided basic schooling, reading rooms, penny banks, soup kitchens, and relief aid to the destitute.
William Booth
Under the control of Booth, assisted by his wife Catherine, the Mission spread to other places outside of London. From the earliest, ahead of her time, Catherine Booth was a staunch advocate for female equality, establishing women as ordained ministers of the gospel and to hold leadership positions within the Mission.
Catherine Booth
In 1878 came another name change. William Booth was perusing a printer's proof which referred to the Christian Mission as a ' volunteer army'. Booth swept his pen through the word ' volunteer' and changed it to read Salvation Army. The name was adopted. Elijah Cadman, an enthusiastic believer, excitedly proclaimed in a meeting soon after, "God bless the Captains of The Salvation Army! I should like to wear a suit of clothes that would let everybody know I meant war to the teeth and salvation to the world".
Elijah Cadman, aka "Fiery" Elijah
A simple form of uniform was gradually adopted by its members. This, in 1880, was developed into a regulated uniform system. The full-time ordained minsters of the organisation were known as Officers and adopted military rank titles according to seniority. The part-time ordinary members were called Soldiers. Instead of General-Superintendent, William Booth became The Salvation Army's General; this remains the title given to the international leader of The Salvation Army. The Mission-Stations (Churches) were henceforth entitled Corps.
Albert Einstein with Salvation Army band, Los Angeles, 1931.
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