SOME of the 'big questions' facing The Salvation Army will be discussed by more than 200 delegates, representing almost every Salvation Army territory, command and region, at the Global Conversation gathering in Orlando, Florida, USA. The event is by no means exclusive, however, with online blogs and forums offering Salvationists, employees and friends around the world an opportunity to be part of the conversation through the www.salvationarmy.org/globalconversation website.
The three-day event begins on Wednesday 26 March and is being held in conjunction with the 2014 USA Salvation Army Conference for Social Work and Emergency Disaster Services.
The desire is to create space for mind-stretching, agenda-setting papers, leading to rich conversations full of different perspectives. In everything, delegates and online participants will be united in a shared passion to serve suffering humanity and transform the world in the name of Jesus Christ.
General André Cox will be speaking at the Global Conversation's plenary session on Friday morning and participating in group discussions on Thursday. The General will also lead a time of prayer as part of the Worldwide Prayer Meeting (WWPM) on Thursday morning at 7.30 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). As always, the hope is that Salvationists around the world will join in this time of prayer (see sar.my/wwpm for more information).
World President of Women’s Ministries Commissioner Silvia Cox and World Secretary for Women’s Ministries Commissioner Nancy Roberts will also be participating in the discussions.
Global Conversation delegates will discuss 12 important questions facing Salvation Army ministries that seek to 'serve suffering humanity' in the 21st century, each of which will be considered at a 90-minute workshop. Papers and responses will be uploaded to the Global Conversation website as they are being presented, enabling people around the world to join in the conversation by posting questions, comments or stories to the live blog. Video footage of the sessions will be added to the website as soon as it is available.
Questions under discussion include: 'What does fullness of life (full salvation) mean in the 21st century?', 'Can we "save souls" while "serving suffering humanity"?' and 'How can we develop and sustain a Christian character in Salvation Army institutions and programmes?' Online participants can add their voices to the live feedback facility on the Global Conversation website or through Twitter, where specific hashtags have been assigned to each discussion. See the website for more details and to set up reminders for when sessions are going to start.
Workshops will be held at 11 am and 4 pm on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 March (EDT/GMT +4 hours).
The Global Conversation will close at 9 am on Friday 28 March with a plenary session led by the General. This session will include the sharing of reflections from the workshops and through online interaction.
Report by Emily Pilborough
Programme Resources Department
International Headquarters
