 The Church Army works on the margins of society | |
| Founded | 1882 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Wilson Carlile |
| Type | Non-profit, Christian |
| Location |
|
| Fields | Evangelism, outreach, social action, poverty relief |
Chief executive | Peter Rouch |
| Website | churcharmy |
The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation and mission community founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England and now operating internationally in many parts of the Anglican Communion. [1]
The Church Army was founded in England in 1882 by the Revd. Wilson Carlile (afterwards prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral), who brought together soldiers, officers and a few working men and women whom he and others trained to act as Church of England evangelists among the poor and outcasts of the Westminster slums. [2] As a curate in the parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, Carlile had experimented with unorthodox forms of Christian meetings and witness, going to where coachmen, valets and others would take their evening stroll and holding open air services, persuading onlookers to say the Scripture readings, and training working people to preach. Carlile wanted to share the Gospel with people who would not dream of setting foot inside a church and training people of the same class—ordinary lay people—as evangelists. [3]
At the same time, similar groups were appearing; the Revd. Evan Hopkins was organising a "Church Gospel Army" and other clergy had established a "Church Salvation Army" at Oxford and a "Church Mission Army" at Bristol. [4] Carlile suggested a combined "Church Army".
As the work grew, a training institution for evangelists was started in Oxford with F. S. Webster as principal, but soon moved (1886) to London, where, in Bryanston Street near Marble Arch, the headquarters of the army was established. Working men were trained as evangelists, and working women as mission sisters, and were supplied to the clergy. The male evangelists had to pass an examination by the Archdeacon of Middlesex, and were then (from 1896) admitted by the bishop of London as "lay evangelists in the Church". The mission sisters likewise passed an examination by the diocesan inspector of schools. Church Army workers were entirely under the control of the incumbent of the parish to which they were sent, and were paid a small sum for their services either by the vicar or by voluntary local contributions. Church Army vehicles circulated throughout the country parishes, if desired, with itinerant evangelists, who held simple missions, without charge, and distributed literature. [5]
Marie Louise Carlile (1861-1951), Wilson Carlile's sister, was a frail woman who left a life of elegance for the tough and austere life of training women in 1888, followed by the first "Rescue Shelter" for women in 1891. She continued in the mission for fifty years as leader of the Church Army Sisters.
William Booth had already seen the extreme poverty and need for unorthodox evangelism work, and since 1865 had been developing a similar mission (in 1878 given the name "The Salvation Army"), using similar "Christian soldier" metaphors, also in London slums. Church of England bishops approached Booth about the time Church Army was founded to join in their work in the slums, but he declined. [6] Both the Church Army and the Salvation Army continued to work in the slums; both had some difficulty with their parent churches (Church of England and Methodist) being able to cope with those coming out of the slums as a result of the mission work, and realised the need for alcohol-free refuges.
In 1888, the Church Army established labour homes in London and elsewhere, with the object of giving a "fresh start in life" to the outcast and destitute. The inmates earned their board and lodging by piece work, for which they were paid at the current trade rates, and were encouraged to seek other positions for themselves. The Church Army had lodging homes, employment bureaus, cheap food depots, old clothes department, a dispensary and a number of other social works. There was also an extensive emigration system, under which many hundreds (3,000 in 1906) of men and families were placed in permanent employment in Canada through the agency of the local clergy. [7]
During the First World War, Church Army was very active among the troops in France, [8] and ran around 2000 social clubs across France. [9]
In 1965, a new chapel, the Church Army Chapel, Blackheath and college designed by E. T. Spashett in Vanbrugh Park, Blackheath, London SE3 was opened by Princess Alexandra and consecrated by Michael Ramsey. [10] The Headquarters were in Marylebone Road, London NW. In 1978, Church Army purchased Winchester House, a former missionary school (see Eltham College) in Blackheath, south-east London, to be refurbished as its new headquarters. It was officially opened by the Queen Mother on 12 June 1980. [11] In 1992, the Church Army vacated the Vanbrugh Park college buildings and the college was relocated to Sheffield; the buildings were taken over by Blackheath High School.
In 2010, the national office of Church Army relocated from Sidcup in London to the Wilson Carlile Centre in Sheffield (formerly the training college), bringing together the national staff with the training and research staff. Training became non-residential and the building was converted to provide national offices and modern conferencing facilities together with en-suite accommodation.
The Church Army has over 300 commissioned evangelists who have been commissioned and admitted in the Church of England after 2–4 years of training. [12] Church Army Evangelists will not necessarily work directly for the Church Army but may instead work in Anglican churches, projects and teams in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There are similarities to the Salvation Army, and the two sometimes work together (such as in the Fresh expressions initiative), but the Church Army is not a separate church denomination.
The Church Army's funded work focuses on centres of mission and key projects and tend to operate in areas of deprivation. [13]
The first centre of mission was established in 2008 and many more have been launched across the UK and Ireland since. A centre of mission is formed in partnership with a Church of England diocese in order to support the Christian outreach in an area. A centre of mission's purpose is to support and connect with communities, normally with high levels of poverty, outside of the church. This work does not operate from a physical building but sees partnerships with local initiatives and organisations and setting up new groups and activities for a community. [14] The work is contextual and varied depending on the needs of an area. Some examples of the work that centres of mission do includes setting up youth groups, running foodbanks and food provision services, launching fresh expressions of Church to help people engage with God outside of a traditional church service setting, and supporting the homeless, lonely, those struggling with poverty, sex workers, and other isolated or marginalised groups. [15]
Church Army key projects include: [16]
The current president of the Church Army is Rowan Williams, previous Archbishop of Canterbury and before him Desmond Tutu, emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was the president. [17]
Every September, the Church Army celebrates Church Army Sunday; this is the Sunday nearest 26 September (the anniversary of Carlile's death in 1942), the day on which Carlile and the Church Army are celebrated in the revised Anglican Lectionary. [18]
Des Scott was appointed interim CEO in June 2019 after Mark Russell's resignation, and was the Church Army's CEO, leading the organisation in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Scott has been part of the Church Army for over 30 years in various roles including as a London youth worker, overseeing the Church Army's operational team, and held the post of deputy CEO from 2012 until being appointed as interim CEO. [19]
Church Army International, established in 2006, is an association of eight independent Church Army societies around the world (Africa, Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Ireland, and the United States) working in over 15 countries. The purpose is to facilitate communication, co-operation, fellowship and shared vision between Church Army societies and to promote the growth of the Church Army's ministry worldwide.
The leader of each society is a member of the Church Army International Leaders' Forum chaired by the international secretary. The forum has four telephone conferences each year[ citation needed ] and the leaders together with those responsible for training and board representatives meet together for a residential conference approximately every three years.[ citation needed ]
In 2009 the Church Army in Canada was renamed Threshold Ministries. [20]
The Church Army trains individuals in evangelism vocation. A selection process by the Church Army ascertains whether a vocation in evangelism is suited to an individual before beginning a 2-4 year training course. Church Army training aims to develop understanding of pioneering evangelism. All training is part-time alongside other work or personal commitments to allow learning to be practiced in context. Training includes opportunities for practical mission, weekend training residentials with interactive teaching sessions, and sessions with a Reflector with whom to discuss growth and personal development. [12]
In the past, the Church Army training was full-time residential. Between 1965 and 1991 the Wilson Carlile Training College was at 27 Vanburgh Park, Blackheath, where the premises included the Church Army Chapel. The last training college was at the Wilson Carlile Centre in Sheffield. The buildings previously used for residential evangelists is now a conferencing centre and accommodation. [21]
Each additional Church Army Society internationally is responsible for the training of its evangelists. In some situations, students are paired with evangelists currently serving in the field; others attend residential schooling.
General secretary
Chief secretary
Chief executive
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organization headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7 million, consisting of soldiers, officers, and adherents who are collectively known as Salvationists. Its founders sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute, and hungry by meeting both their "physical and spiritual needs". It is present in 133 countries, running charity shops, operating shelters for the homeless, and disaster relief and humanitarian aid to developing countries.
In Christianity, evangelism or witnessing is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
William Booth was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first General (1878–1912). The Christian movement with a quasi-military structure and government founded in 1865 has spread from London to many parts of the world through British Imperialism and colonisation, it is known for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid.
Catherine Booth was co-founder of The Salvation Army, along with her husband William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Mother of The Salvation Army'.
Evangeline Cory Booth, OF was a British evangelist and the 4th General of The Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was the first woman to hold the post.
Wilson Carlile, CH was a Christian, an English priest and evangelist who founded the Church Army. He was also a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral, London. Known as "The Chief", Carlile inspired generations of evangelists.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The seminary has been an innovator in theological education, establishing one of the first Ph.D. programs in religion in the year 1892. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to a newly built campus in downtown Louisville and moved to its current location in 1926 in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. In 1953, Southern became one of the few seminaries to offer a full, accredited degree course in church music. For more than fifty years Southern has been one of the world's largest theological seminaries, with an FTE enrollment of over 3,300 students in 2015.
The Japan Evangelistic Band (JEB), or 'Kyodan Nihon Dendo Tai' (日本伝道隊) in Japanese, is an evangelical Christian group founded in England in 1903 with the original aim to "initiate and sustain evangelistic work among Japanese wherever they are found". Within thirty years the organisation grew to 180 workers from many countries, but most of them from Japan. The JEB's primary field was the Kansai region of South West Japan and the island of Shikoku but missionaries worked among Japanese living on the West Coast of Canada and the USA, and in the UK. In 1999 the organisation in the UK adopted the name Japan Christian Link for their operations in the UK, while work in Japan continue under the name of JEB.
The Message Trust is a Christian charity working to improve the lives of people in the UK and beyond through work in schools, prisons and communities.
George Scott Railton was a Scottish-born Christian missioner who was the first Commissioner of The Salvation Army.
The Church Army Chapel at Vanbrugh Park, Blackheath, Greater London, designed by project architect E.T. Spashett for Austin Vernon & Partners, opened in 1965 by Princess Alexandra and consecrated by Michael Ramsey, is a locally listed building of outstanding architectural significance, and is notable for originally having had the tallest sectional aluminium spire of its time, and for being one of the earliest 20th-century chapels of modern design to have been conceived with a central altar. It is now part of Blackheath High School.
Commissioner Elijah Cadman was an evangelist, an early member of The Salvation Army and the originator of the idea that Salvationists should wear uniforms. Just five feet tall, he became known as "the Converted Sweep" and "Fiery Elijah" because of his zeal for preaching.
The Centre for Missional Leadership(CML) was a theological centre specialising in applied theology. It was based in Watford, 20 miles northwest of central London, England.
Frank Arthur "Bones" Jenner was an Australian evangelist. His signature approach to evangelism was to ask people on George Street, Sydney, "If you died within 24 hours, where would you be in eternity? Heaven or hell?" Born and raised in England, he contracted African trypanosomiasis at the age of twelve and suffered from narcolepsy for the rest of his life. After some time, he joined the Royal Navy, but deserted in New York and joined the United States Navy. When he was 24, he deserted again while in Australia. He subsequently worked for the Royal Australian Navy until he bought his way out in 1937.
St John's Blackheath is an all age Anglican church in the Vanbrugh Park area of Blackheath, part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London, England. Built in the 1850s to the design of architect Arthur Ashpitel, it provided "an important visual and spiritual focus" to a rapidly growing high-class residential area. The church has an Evangelical character. There are two services on a Sunday. St John's Blackheath has thriving children's groups and youth groups. Their vision is to be A church for all ages, committed to growing in outreach, discipleship and the next generation.
David Patrick Thomson was a minister of the Church of Scotland who followed a vocation in Christian evangelism as a student, a parish minister, a director of Residential Centres, and as a Christian author and publisher.
The Tell Scotland Movement (1953-1966) was the most extensive and ambitious attempt at outreach by the Protestant Churches in Scotland in the twentieth century. At the time, together with its associated All-Scotland Crusade, led by Dr Billy Graham, it generated considerable energies, publicity and controversy. In 1964 Tell Scotland became a founding part of the Scottish Churches Council, within the ecumenical movement. Commentators since have had varied views about the extents to which Tell Scotland succeeded or failed.
Stephen John Hance is a British Anglican priest. Since 2019, he has been National Lead for Evangelism and Witness for the Church of England. He was previously the Dean of Derby, and before that the Canon Missioner of Southwark Cathedral and Director of Mission and Evangelism for the Diocese of Southwark from 2013 to 2017.
A commissioned Evangelist in the Anglican Communion is a lay person who has received professional training in Christian outreach ministry, and been commissioned by episcopal authority. In practice, almost all those formally admitted to the office of Evangelist are members of the Anglican mission and outreach agency, the Church Army. Evangelist is one of the commonly acknowledged lay ministries of the Anglican Communion internationally, along with the ministries of Lay reader, and Deaconess.
Church Army USA is an evangelistic organization and mission community associated with Anglican churches. Its roots are in Church Army, founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England, and it is one of many Church Army branches operating internationally in the Anglican Communion. While it was historically associated with the Episcopal Church, Church Army USA is a formal ministry partner of the Anglican Church in North America.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help){{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help){{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
