OK, what possible good could come outside some place known as the Blind Beggar Pub? I mean, c’mon, it’s a pub! And the location is East London. So, this just keeps getting worse. Yeah, what good could possibly start there?
Well, how about a birth?
But I’m not talking about a bouncing baby boy or girl. No, this was the place for the birth of a brand new army. And the timeframe was about 156 years ago this month, June of 1865. And the new army was called…you guessed it. The Christian Mission.
Ha! You thought I was gonna say something else didn’t you. Well, you were on the right track after all. Because about 13 years later, that new Christian organization changed its name to the Salvation Army. And they called it that because the organizers believed their members were soldiers fighting against the sufferings of mankind. They even wore uniforms that resembled those in the military.
So, they started outside the Blind Beggar Pub and expanded ’round the world.
And their first expansion outside of Britain was, as you might imagine, right here in America. A man named, Amos Shirley, came to America with his family and started the Salvation Army in Philadelphia. The next growth spurts were in Australia and then France.
Then, the organization grew to include Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Now, the Salvation Army claims about 1.5 million members. And they say they’re still dedicated to the salvation of the poor and hungry by helping to meet their physical AND spiritual needs. They’ve opened or helped to open hospitals, schools, health projects, and sanitation work all around the world.
You can find ’em in 130 countries. And they have thousands of volunteers (I’m sure you’ve seen the bell ringers around Christmas time) who help every year.
So, why do I bring up the Salvation Army today? No big reason. Just thought it was interesting, yet again, how Christian benevolence arises out of the most basic human needs. And how it can get started even at a place called the Blind Beggar Pub. A place where, about 100 years after they started, a gangster shot and killed a rival gangster.
Now so many years have gone
And we love with blinders on.
How we tolerate is a form of hate.
Where’s the Rock He stood upon?
For the Truth is absolute and it’s foolish to dispute.
It confounds the wise but it opens eyes,
And it saves the destitute.
(lyrics from my song, The Way)
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