Monday after continued (read the other one first)

Monday after WOW Celebration continued. Here is the dialog from the script. It contains the lovely solo performed by Lt. Colonel Diane O’Brien.

Catherine Booth: “Good morning ladies, I am Catherine Booth and it is a pleasure to be with you all today.”

“This gathering is an example of God working in The Salvation Army. Many years ago I had a dream, that I know was from God. I dreamed of a movement where women could take their place in proclaiming the gospel, when Satan would no longer be able to keep the vibrant witness of women shut up in the nursery, school room and scullery. I dreamed that women would become a great force for God that would make a difference in this world. Today, as you celebrate the different aspects of this vital ministry of women, as well as ministry to women, you celebrate a fulfillment of this dream.”

“It is hard to believe that 100 years ago, my daughter-in-law, Florence, conceived an idea and gave birth to a program that she named the Home League. In the beginning this women’s program served to reach women caught in the evil grips of the city life. In the middle of the 1800s many women made their way to the big city where they thought the streets were paved with gold what they found instead were over crowded, filthy slums. Some of them found jobs in factories working long hours in dangerous conditions. There were no labor laws and health could soon deteriorate. They were the lucky ones. Others had not other way of making enough money to buy food, except to sell their bodies. The water supply was so foul that it was safer to drink gin, which some thought had a useful side effect of blotting out the present. I have seen women standing inside a gin house handing out cups of gin to their children who were waiting on the steps for them. Broken women were handing down hopelessness to their children!”

“How can these chains of sin be broken? Some of our Salvation Army Lassies went into the slums, cellars, garrets, and gutters to tell them about the Hope of the World. This is what they did.”

Solo – It’s Jesus We Proclaim

John Gowans and John Larsson

It’s not ourselves that we proclaim,

We have no strength, no grace is ours,

But we announce the Savior’s name,

A Savior’s love, a Savior’s powers.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

No claim for ourselves we make.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

Your servants for Jesus sake.

The pow’r is His, the glory too,

Transforming glory, making new

The heart of man, of me and you.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

Your servants for Jesus sake.

That light has come, the night has gone,

We’ve proved His love, received His grace,

For in our hearts God’s light has shone,

His glory shines in Jesus’ face.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

No claim for ourselves we make.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

Your servants for Jesus sake.

The pow’r is His, the glory too,

Transforming glory, making new

The heart of man, of me and you.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

Your servants for Jesus sake.

The pow’r is His, how could we boast,

Or proudly our commission hold?

The humble heart He uses most,

And only grace has made us bold.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

No claim for ourselves we make.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

Your servants for Jesus sake.

The pow’r is His, the glory too,

Transforming glory, making new

The heart of man, of me and you.

It’s Jesus, Jesus, Jesus we proclaim,

Your servants for Jesus sake.

“These poor women living in dark and over-crowded cities were hungry for light and salvation. When their hearts were clean, they saw with fresh eyes how dirty were their hands and homes. Some could not read, or only just, and did not know how to make ends meet. They wanted to live a different kind of life – to be clean and wholesome. The Home League meetings became not only a place to share about salvation and fellowship, a sanctuary for weary souls, Home League meetings became the place of education as we taught those women to read and write. We taught them how to cook and budget and sew – the basic skills of home making which would help women to raise healthy and whole children. The Home League was a school where we taught the Word of God and ways to help make their world a better place to live.”

“The goal of The Salvation Army was develop the Home League into a group that would minister to the whole person. We started with the soul, which is the place where all real change starts. That leads to a longing for a change in what we do with our body, God’s temple, how we use our mind and in how we treat other people. I think you know this as the four fold purpose of the Home League: Worship, Education, Fellowship and Service. Our Home League meetings were designed to be a place where transformation begins.”

“What about today? What are Salvation Army women doing today? Who can give me an answer?”