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by Nancy Curnow, Major –
It was an exciting weekend at Lytton ARC where 93 beneficiaries and many graduates joined for a sobriety celebration—the final event in the year-long centennial celebration of the Army’s work on the Lytton property.
Majors Jim and Brenda Lane, retired officers from the Southern Territory, were special guests. The Lanes’ last appointment was an ARC satellite center in Sarasota, Florida that paved the way for developing a full ARC there. According to Lane, who has spoken with many beneficiaries, “the ones from Lytton were responsive and really wanted to change their lives.”
On Saturday the Bible study focused on the book of James. An afternoon of games, including a pumpkin-carving contest, followed lunch. At the evening’s sobriety recognition reception those present celebrated a total of three hundred eight years and ninety-one days of sobriety. There, Lane recounted his own story of twenty-seven years of sobriety.
A moving chapel service conducted by the Lanes concluded the weekend. Many beneficiaries expressed their joy at becoming clean and sober through the program at The Salvation Army.
Starting as a children’s home in 1904, the facility now helps men begin their lives anew. Lytton ARC Administrator Major Clyde Curnow stated, “I can’t dream of a better place to watch the excitement in the men’s eyes as they begin their journey to sobriety with Jesus Christ as their higher power.”