Unlikely pairing, common mission
Written by Susan Berkson, a social media associate for The Salvation Army Northern Division.
“You’re working for who? What! You?!?”
Without exception, everyone who knew me was surprised, perplexed, astonished to learn that I had signed on to a three-month contract with The Salvation Army Northern Division.
Not an obvious fit: Progressive, outspoken, feminist Jew working for conservative, evangelical Christian organization. How would this work?
Beautifully. Wonderfully. From my first day on the job, the kickoff of the 2013 red kettle campaign, I’ve been moved by the passion of colleagues and the volunteers who support them. These are the hardest working, most genuine group of people I’ve met, challenging everything I thought I knew about The Salvation Army.
Who knew that The Salvation Army was in every county in Minnesota and North Dakota? Who knew that The Salvation Army not only works with drunks but – ready for an exhaustive list? – houses homeless people, provides day care, serves community meals, has food shelves, offers job training, gives back-to-school supplies, places people in transitional housing, counsels people, provides adult day care, has youth programs, restores lives in recovery programs, tutors students, warms homes with energy assistance – meeting people’s basic needs without discrimination.
Really. Without discrimination. This also challenged what I thought I knew about The Salvation Army.
At its heart, The Salvation Army is a church, not an institution with which I’m familiar. At divisional headquarters, church officers (easily recognizable in their uniforms) are in a different part of the building. I see them occasionally, and while weekly departmental meeting begin with devotions and company meetings with prayer, no one makes me participate.
Nor do they sweat the small stuff. They don’t have to, because the stuff they do every day is big stuff. Every day in the Twin Cities alone, The Salvation Army serves 2,000 hot meals. Every day in the Twin Cities, The Salvation Army shelters 1,000 people. So if a press release went out with a typo or a tweet was sent without a hashtag, it’s not a big deal. Because we fed 2,000 and sheltered 1,000.
Working here has also made me revisit my perceptions of Christians. You see, The Salvation Army gives Christians a very good name, what with feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. They actually do what Jesus instructed and they do it humbly, without fanfare. They do justly, they love mercy, and they walk humbly with their God. This what I, as a Jew, have been taught is required of me.
So I’ll handle the fanfare. That, after all, is my job. It’s easy because these three months have made me a big fan of The Salvation Army and this, I realize as I sign off, is a fan letter.