Scripture:
Proverbs 31:8-9
Reflection:
During the 19th century, conditions for the poor in society were dreadful, and very little was done for them by the churches. Numerous philanthropic agencies worked in London’s East End, but poverty and misery only increased. It was the beginning of the Salvation Army which brought the gospel to the poor, and stirred the social conscience of the church.
Catherine and William Booth met at a chapel in South London, and were married in 1855. Catherine was already a gifted public speaker and preacher. William was an evangelist in the Methodist church, and both exercised their gifts as they lived in Brighouse and then Gateshead, where the church had posted William. However, due to a sharp disagreement, the Booths left the Methodist church, and in 1865 they moved to London. Here William began a tent mission, evangelising in the worst areas of the East End, and especially outside the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel Road. He is mentioned in the history of the pub on their website.
William learned early on that preaching as if he were in a chapel would not work. He changed his style of dress, and became more ‘theatrical’ in his delivery. He also found that his converts could not settle in churches, so he and Catherine set up ‘stations’ where they could meet and be nurtured in their own cultural environment. The Army was never supposed to be a church, however, and they never practiced communion, partly due to the use of wine. The Army was opposed to alcohol.
William found that people would not respond to the gospel if their stomachs were empty, so on Christmas morning 1869, Catherine and another helper cooked 300 dinners to distribute to the poor and shortly afterwards they opened a 24 hour ‘soup-kitchen’ serving hot drinks. Catherine would often be found preaching in the wealthy West End, raising financial support for their work.
The Christian Mission (as their work was now called) grew rapidly, the members were well-disciplined, they used military-style terms such as ‘fighting for God’, and William became known as their General. William described them as a ‘Volunteer army’, and they adopted the ‘Salvation Army’ as their name. By 1879 there were thousands of converts, 81 stations, and 127 full time evangelists. The work had also spread outside of London, even as far as Edinburgh.
The responsibility for the work was shared between them, with Catherine also caring for their 8 children. It is said that they were devoted to one another, and their children happily took part in the Army activities. Both suffered long periods of illness at different times, and the other stepped in to cover their responsibilities. They also instilled a culture of caring in the Army, which included the Booth’s caring for the officers.
Disruption was anticipated an open-air meeting in Salisbury in about 1878, so some brought instruments to accompany the singing. At first, William was not in favour of the idea of a band, but he then declared, ‘Why should the Devil have all the good tunes?’ He was keen, however, to distinguish the music of the Salvation Army from other church music, so they began to set familiar Victorian songs and music hall tunes to words with a clear ‘soul-saving’ message. This became an effective way of spreading the gospel. At about the same time, the uniform and flag were also developed.
The Salvation Army faced considerably opposition in the early days, not least because of their stance against alcohol. Army staff and buildings were attacked, and in 1889 Susannah Beaty, a young and newly-married Salvationist, died when she was attacked because of her religious beliefs.
Catherine also achieved much in her life to promote the role of women within the Army, to the point where they trained alongside men, regularly preached, and as we have seen above, also suffered persecution.
Catherine died in 1890 of breast cancer. William was devastated, but continued with his work. He toured the world visiting the Army at work. He died in 1912, the army announcing that he had ‘laid down his sword’.
William Wilberforce (see reflection for 19th April) had shortly preceded the Booths, and George Muller (see reflection for 29th April) was contemporary to them. These, and others, did much to alleviate the suffering of the poor and oppressed, and were spurred on to do so by their Christian faith.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we pray for the poorest and most vulnerable. Let us not just speak of justice, but let us act in just ways. May the oppressed and needy feel justice and equality and experience a world without hunger and poverty. AMEN [1]
Songs:
Beauty for brokenness – Graham Kendrick
I, the Lord of sea and sky - Dan Schutte
Food for Thought:
The circumstances today are different to those in the 19th century, but there is much poverty, oppression, inequality and suffering of different kinds in our world still.
What part are you playing in speaking up?
[1] Taken from https://socialjusticeresourcecenter.org/prayers/justice/