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Testimonies

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Experiences of people living openly in The Salvation Army, & those seeking be the bridge between The Salvation Army & gender / sexuality diverse people.


To view video testimonies you can either view this page from a computer, or head on over to our YouTube channel:

Welcomed and Accepted
I am thankful for who I am, who I can be and how I can contribute in life.
Why that gratitude? To be honest it's quite funny, I know that I am contributing but the answer to my own question is still a question for myself. Or is it the journey in life?

Bouke Hartman
Presented at INCLUDED 2020

Making Sense of Scripture and the Salvation Army as a Gay Person Called to Officership
Some of my first memories of prayer are from a time I barely knew God. In fact, I may not have known Him at all. I remember the scene vividly. In my pre and early teens I would kneel at my bed and pray the same prayer: “God, if you’re out there, please make me normal... just for one day”. Tears would roll down my face as I begged God to take from me whatever it was that made me different, that made me think the way I did, talk the way I did, walk the way I did and most importantly, whatever it was that made the other boys so viciously and mercilessly abuse me each day. Why did God make me this way, why wouldn’t He take from me what people kept telling me was so bad – at school, in the street, on the TV – why wouldn’t He stop me having the filth, the abomination, the whatever it was that made me a faggot, a poofter, a gay. I went a long time thinking that God either didn’t exist or couldn’t answer my prayer.

Captain Kris Halliday
Prepared for the Thought Matters Conference 29-31 August 2014