About thirty Rotarians and guests had the privilege of hearing retired Major Ian Kilgour talk of his early connections and later responsibilities with the Salvation Army.
If the SA can be called a Christian gang, this young prospect was challenged with living on the streets of Sydney, unaided, for a three month exposure to the world of the ‘down and outs'. After many harrowing experiences he found three weeks was enough but the lessons learned were to shape his interests and actions for the remainder of his working life – which is on-going.
Hearing of the work of the SA in today’s troubled society was very uplifting as is their goal to restore needy people to dignity and self-respect. This is achieved through their many programmes which include combatting addictions, providing budgetary advice, and building new village complexes such as that in Flat Bush.
Ian has had huge input into the Salvation Army’s annual reports on NZ’s social condition – a kind of non-partisan pulse of the nation statement – the contents of which can be both approving and condemnatory of government’s action or inaction in matters of social policy. He has been very much at the cutting edge of the mountain of need, the likes of which most of us would never encounter.
In the current political climate it was telling to have the principles of restoration and revival given priority and the rejection of retribution as a way of dealing with society’s ills.