The Salvation Army Heritage Museum

Today we celebrate America's newest holiday, offically called Juneteenth National Independence Day. In the 1880s, Commissioner Frank Smith, National Commander of the fledgling Salvation Army in the United States made a special effort to hold Army services in African American communities. After one such service in Washington D.C., where Smith met many formerly enslaved persons amongst the congregation, he observed the following about the evils of slavery: "There was one calam...ity, which penetrated furtively into the world, and, which was at first scarcely distinguishable amidst the ordinary abuses of power. It was wafted like some accrused germ upon a portion of the soil, afterwards, matured itself, and grew without effort, and spread naturally with the society it belonged to. That calamity was slavery!" [from 'Soldier of Uncommon Valor', by Warren Maye.] We pray that on this day of celebration and reflection, that the work of reconciliation and justice will continue in our nation and in our communities.

Artifact(s) of the Week: 'Tropical Medical Manual' for Salvation Army officers on missionary service from 1942, and a Salvation Army song book in the Sinhala language. They belonged to Captain Edna Hammans, a British Salvation Army officer appointed to missionary service in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Captain Hammans later relocated to the US and was active in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania region. If you served as a missionary officer or salvationist, let us know where you served in the comments below.

We would like to wish our colleague from 'Down Under', Museum Manager Lindsay Cox, the heartiest of congratulations for being awarded the Order of Australia for 'Services to Community History'. Well done Lindsay. Thank you for your work in bringing such prominence and attention to our beloved Salvation Army history.

Enjoy these pictures of various commissioning program covers and other images from over the years from USA East. God bless the Messengers of Grace!

Congratulations to the Messengers of Grace Session on the weekend of your commissioning. 50 years ago (1971) your colleagues in the Victorious Session were preparing for their commissioning weekend, and 100 years ago (1921) the Semper Paratus Session were walking across the platform ready to receive their first appointment. You are taking part in an historic occasion - an annual commissioning of officers, unbroken and continuous since the earliest days of The Salvation Army. ...Your colleagues in the Victorious Session are all retired. Your colleagues in the Semper Paratus Session have all gone to Glory. Life is so short. Make every moment of your officership count! And remember to have fun as you serve the Lord! :) God bless you this weekend and in the days that lie ahead. We are excited for you! You are in our prayers. #MessengersOfGrace #SAConnects #Commissioning2021 #HeritageMuseum

Thank you to SAconnects for promoting our new website!

Fun Fact Friday! "Mr. Jermy, Amen!" #BlackHistoryMonth #salvationarmy

February is Black History Month and we are excited to highlight the many contributions of African American Salvationists to the life of our territory and beyond! Below is a picture of a delegation of Salvationists called Black Ministries at the Centennial Congress, an event that took place in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1980, led by General Arnold Brown.

Fun Fact Friday! It must be nice, it must be nice...to have Edison on your side.

January 27 is #InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay. This is the day for everyone to remember the millions of victims and survivors of the Holocaust. January 27... marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. "The history of the Holocaust is full of countless stories that will remain anonymous. But we can learn from these stories that sometimes small actions can lead to profound outcomes and that a series of small decisions by an individual person could contribute to a much larger story of survival," Dr. Rebecca Carter-Chand writes in Peer (January 2020). #weremember. https://bit.ly/2EE59bR Illustration: Rohan Eason

Artifact of the Week: Some photos (undated) of a young Daisy "Cecil" Brown, pioneering Salvation Army Officer of the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. The photos originally belonged to Colonel Edmund Hoffman, Chief Secretary of the USA Southern Territory in the 1940s. Check out the article by Major Frank Duracher on Cecil Brown, who since wrote an amazing book on her life called "Smoky Mountain High: The Consuming Passion of Cecil Brown".