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A conference on “The Salvation Army and the Poor” will take place in Bangladesh November 12-18, 2001.
General John Gowans will bring the keynote address.
“The Salvation Army began as a movement of the poor for the poor,” said Gowans. “In many places it still is, but where it is not, the poor have much to teach us. I believe this landmark conference will, by the grace of God, help the Army rediscover and reaffirm the things that should stand first in our life together and in the life of each individual Salvationist; it will help us remember that we are followers of the man anointed to bring good news to the poor. How best for us to do this in our own time and place is what I eagerly hope we will learn from this significant event.”
The conference will enable the Army to confirm its mission in solidarity with the poor. It will, through dialogue and respectful listening, identify ‘ways out of poverty’ that are constructive, dignifying and hopeful. The conference will give the opportunity for people with a significant experience of poverty to share “What made the difference?” for them.
Set in the context of Bangladesh, a country whose people know what poverty means, the conference will evaluate the way the Army has used its resources, will discover ways of being even more effective and will affirm that the Army truly is a global family.
The conference will be held at the BRAC Centre for Development Management. Delegates, representatives of the Army’s global family, will come from all corners of the world.
The Salvation Army’s worldwide web homepage will open a section on poverty soon, where papers from before, during and after the conference will be posted. There will be opportunity to engage in dialogue before the conference. The exchange of ideas will form part of the permanent record; it will provide opportunity for everyone to be one of the voices of the Army’s global family.
–IHQ international news release
