From the WNIN Public Media Center in Downtown Evansville.

I'm David James, and this is Two Main Street.

Well, a few years ago I interviewed Cedric Houston, ‘Ced’ as he likes to be called.

He's a retired attorney and a well known local artist.

He recalled, as a child, he was playing outside in Honolulu when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

About ten miles away, said, watch the enemy aircraft fly over until his mom ushered him inside.

And just two months later, fearing an invasion of the Hawaiian Islands, many children boarded ships for the U.S.

mainland.

Young Ced, remember, he was seven years old.

The cold voyage in the northern Pacific.

His family had no winter clothing, of course, living on a tropical island, you wouldn't have too many winter coats.

So when the ship docked in San Francisco in February of 1942, children were shivering.

And to this day, Ced remembers who was there to greet them with warm sweaters.

When they arrived in San Francisco, the men and women of the Salvation Army and Cedric Houston says that's why he always supports what's known as ‘America's Favorite Charity’.

The Salvation Army is marking its 160th anniversary.

Founded in 1865, in the slums of East London outside the Blind Beggar Pub, I love that name by a Methodist Preacher and his wife William, and Catherine Boothe.

And since that humble beginning, the Salvation Army has grown into one of the largest relief organizations in the world.

Active in some 130 countries, responding to disasters and war zones, ministering to the sick, poor, and addicted.

And as the slogan goes, “Providing soup, soap and salvation”.

Here to share the mission of the Salvation Army.

Here in our own backyard is the Executive Director and Pastor of the Evansville Salvation Army, Captain Brandon Lewis.

And later we'll be joined by local volunteer Maria Hillenbrand.

So Captain Lewis, welcome to Two Main Street.

Good to have you here.

And before we delve into the long history of the Salvation Army, let's learn more about you and your wife, Megan.

Yeah.

You came from Quincy, Illinois.

Is that right?

Quincy, Illinois.

We served at what's called a Salvation Army Kroc Center.

So over 20 years ago, Ray and Joan Kroc, infamous for founding McDonald's.

Yes, endowed the Salvation Army with, a mission and some support behind it, which is to help break intergenerational poverty and families and help boost up kids, out of poverty with educational programs, recreational activities, all sorts of things.

And so we were challenged to build and sustain what are called Kroc centers, places of recreation, of worship.

Where you can have memberships for life skills classes and for recreational classes.

There's aquatic centers.

There's even a, Kroc Center in Hawaii.

All over there's 27 all over the country.

And, we are privileged to serve on staff at, Salvation Army, Quincy, Illinois, Kroc Center.

And being part of the amazing work that was happening there, too.

How did you end up in Evansville?

So when your Salvation Army officer, you sign on the dotted line knowing that every couple of years you're given a new opportunity for service.

And so every 4 to 5, maybe even ten years, you'll get a phone call and say, hey, we want you to move to XYZ location, and, you follow where you go, you know that God is there in that place.

When we received the phone call to come to Evansville, we heard the name of the city.

We've previously served in Indianapolis, so we're familiar with generally what Evansville is and where it's at.

But we thought, okay, another opportunity to serve people, to be able to serve in the Salvation Army.

Let's see what the fun is ahead of us.

So how did you, decide to join the Salvation Army?

I like to tell people I did it kicking and screaming at some point.

I was born into the Salvation Army.

My mom actually worked for the Salvation Army as an employee.

As a civilian.

My dad, when I was born, was not really affiliated with the Army.

But I originally wanted to be a doctor.

I wanted to be a pediatric neurologist.

And throughout high school, I had applied to a pre-med program.

I was accepted in that program.

And, I knew, though, in that process that God was calling me to be a Salvation Army officer, and I didn't want it.

Like most of our human experiences, I thought that I knew better.

And so I kept walking through the educational process, and God kept giving me gentle reminders of, this is not the life that I want for you.

And he gave me an image of me serving in a Salvation Army uniform, as an officer in the Salvation Army and said, this is how I want you to serve my people.

I ran from that until about two weeks before I graduated high school.

And I thought, well, I can no longer pursue being a doctor.

Some doors had shut there, and so I'm going to run away to Canada.

And I applied to work for the Salvation Army in the East side of Vancouver, which was one of the worst neighborhoods, in North America.

And I wanted to work for the Salvation Army.

Tackling issues of-- social issues, of prostitution, of drug addiction and running a mental health clinic that was there.

And God started shutting more doors and eventually led me to the doorstep of an internship, which then translated into, becoming a Salvation Army officer.

So where was your what were you grew?

Where'd you grow up?

Omaha, Nebraska.

Okay.

Omaha, Nebraska?

Omaha, Nebraska.

Omaha to Vancouver?

That's right.

That was kind of a cultural shock I had to do.

I never made it to Vancouver.

Oh, you did?

I did, I applied through the Canadian visa office.

I send in my paperwork five times.

They lost my paperwork every single time, and I. I probably looking back, I laugh because I probably should have known by the second time that what God was doing, but, I was stubborn, like we all are sometimes.

Is there like a boot camp for Salvation Army?

Yeah, it's a good question.

We have when you want to pursue, you feel God's calling in your life to pursue being an officer.

You go to the college for officers training.

It's a two year seminary program.

We have four of them.

The Unites in the United States.

We would number of them throughout the world.

And ours for the Midwest is in Chicago, Illinois, about two blocks from Wrigley Field.

And you live there for two years, and you have your education.

It's an accredited degree program.

And you also have opportunities to strengthen your skill set with ministry and service.

You spend a lot of time in the local neighborhood.

Serving, those who are in need.

You spend a lot of time at Salvation Army centers across Chicagoland serving those who are in need, learning about ministry opportunities, learning about programs that exist that maybe you didn't know before, going into the college or officers training once that two year program is completed.

You are made a Salvation Army officer and given your first assignment, and two weeks later you show up at the doorstep and say, here I am.

I got to figure it out now.

Where was your first assignment?

Indianapolis.

It was, south side of Indianapolis, in the Fountain Square neighborhood.

Okay.

My wife and I served there for four years.

Okay, now, tell us about Megan.

She's also a Captain in the Salvation Army.

She is a Captain.

We've been married for ten years.

In about two weeks.

Where'd you guys meet?

We met in, Oh.

I'm blanking, and she's going to give me such a hard time.

We met, actually, in Chicago.

Okay.

The college for officers training.

Okay.

And when we met, we.

I was not interested in having a romantic relationship.

But, she wooed me, and, the more time we spent together, the more it said, okay, this is.

You're pretty great.

And she is, has the same rank as an A male.

Right.

The captain's duties are the same.

It's one of the key distinctive to the Salvation Army, something that's meaningful to her.

But also to me, is that we are, we believe in equal ordination for men and women.

I'm a licensed clergy as all Salvation Army officers are.

And my wife holds that distinction as well.

Able to officiate and perform all of the duties of, of the pastor role within the Salvation Army, distinct of in fact, she was invited here today, but she has another assignment.

She does, she has a funeral, that, some pastoral care responsibilities.

The funeral that she's attending today for one of our congregants.

Okay.

Now, tell me about the founders of the Salvation Army.

This is a great story.

William and Catherine Booth, English folks.

That's right.

That's right.

They are an interesting couple.

When you study their life story, both of them in a very tangible way, were transfixed and obsessed with the idea that the mission of the church can affect social change.

And where William and Catherine spent a lot of their time before the Salvation Army even existed, is living in the liminal space between those two worlds of figuring out and studying.

How can we?

In a small way, it may seem like to the world, affect real change in people's lives?

They looked around East London and, as William Booth would remark in, one of his memoirs, I saw, little children, urchins in the gutter.

I saw drunkards walking down the road.

I saw the streets filled with people living in darkness and despair.

And he was captivated and challenged by this idea that there has to be something more for people who are in need, beyond what exists out there in the community.

I know Catherine, she was called the Army mother.

She campaigned for a woman's right to preach the gospel.

She did?

She did.

And, a big believer on it.

And in a world that did not reflect that belief.

Even to this day, my wife and I will attend, ministerial association meetings, and my wife will be invited to speak at certain meetings with other pastors.

And there's still some tension there that we have to work through.

But it's a distinctive in our heritage that we are proud of and that me as a husband, as a man, and as my wife's partner in ministry, that I am so proud to be able to lift her up and support her.

Now, the boost philosophy was to offer both practical and spiritual support.

Yeah.

Practical, very important.

Yes it is.

That William Booth in particular, one of his obsessions was how do we affect life change in people through physical services?

This was in 1865.

Was a time in the world where you had to pay for a seat in church, and church for people was the center of their existence.

Their lives revolved around being able to attend.

Services have access to engaging in community through the church.

They had to pay for your seat.

And so for those who weren't able to pay for a spot, what would you do?

Nothing.

And we still experiences to this day there is a drop off in society with some social programs.

We are not able to cover everyone.

People fall through the cracks.

And William and Catherine were focused entirely on those who fell through the cracks and finding a physical way that also provided the spiritual service to people who were desperately in need in darkest England and the way out.

That was one of the publications.

Yeah.

One of the best books on social work that's ever been written.

In many ways that book is one of the beating hearts of our mission.

Really?

As a I've recommended it to people that if anyone wants to still holds up today, it's still holds up today.

The principles of it are still woven throughout our mission at its core.

The Salvation Army is an idea.

And I've experienced this over a decade of being a Salvation Army officer, that we are inherently an idea.

And that idea is an umbrella under which people can gather, and that umbrella can be food pantry.

It can be, pathway of Hope case management program.

It can be fundraising at the Red kettle.

It could be having a Salvation Army night at a baseball game.

But all of those things are opportunities for us to gather people together.

And when they come together, that's where we can build relationship.

And what William Booth talked about in Darkest England is if we can find a way to have the opportunity for a relationship, whether it's through service or through worship, then we can effect some real life change.

And I, the Salvation Army, of course, attacking the causes of poverty and homelessness.

Lack of food, sanitation, jobs.

You set up cooperatives, skill training, open a match factory even.

Right?

That's right.

To this day, we still explore ways for our mission to come to life and unique opportunities.

One of those that I've personally experienced who is 18 years old, graduated high school.

The day after my graduation ceremony, I hopped on a plane to South America and spent three months with the Salvation Army on a mission trip in Argentina and Uruguay and Paraguay.

And one of the first activities that we did was delivering Aids, HIV Aids medications to a local villa where women were being trafficked by a drug cartel.

Oh, my.

And we think in America, we think of poverty.

And we may have a picture of what that looks like.

But poverty in third world countries is completely different.

We're talking about roads made out of mud.

People who haven't eaten in days.

There's to say that there's chanty houses is being too generous.

That changed my whole perception of what the Salvation Army can be, that if we can go and we can be in places like that, then certainly we can be doing, more in our local area here in America, and across the world, in first world countries, to being meeting human need without discrimination specific ways.

In 1878, the East in London Christian Mission changed his name to the Salvation Army.

Why the army structure?

It was an easy way to organize resources.

William Booth, particularly William.

And then later, his son Bramwell would look at that hierarchy of the military and think, well, we are we have this mission that we need to march forward.

That we needed to burst out into the world and to change lives.

So we need a way to organize it.

The military was an easy idea to take in, to adopt, to organize it.

It also gave it momentum.

It gave the Salvation Army, some speed that it wanted to stand out from the crowd.

The Salvation Army is not a stationary, fixed concept.

We don't build buildings and then stay there.

We are designed inherently to burst out into communities, to go where the need is most, and that we are an army of love.

As Catherine would remark later in her life.

Close to the time of her passing.

We are an army of love that marches into the places where darkness covers the neighborhoods the most.

And I think it was known as, He was William Booth was the general of God's army.

I think that's where the-- That's what he said, right?

That's right.

Yeah.

They were clear, and every general we've had since every leader that we've had since, has said we are God's army.

We belong to him.

And where he goes, we will follow.

Who designed the uniform?

That is a great question.

It's changed over the years.

Yes.

I mean, at one point we had stand up collars and much to my wife's chagrin, now she's too young to be able to experience this.

But my grandparents, who are retired Salvation Army officers, grew up in the days of the bonnet.

At one point, women wore bonnets and stand up collar uniforms.

Now, right around the late 20th century, we changed to the format that we have now where we look a little like airline pilots.

This is what most people think, right?

So the Salvation Army marches into other countries.

Yeah.

In 1880, Australia, Ireland and the US starting in Philadelphia.

That's right.

Started in Philadelphia by a 16 year old girl who came over with her family, immigrated from, from Europe.

They landed in Philadelphia.

And this young girl, Elizabeth, said, I want to do more for my community, but I need to figure out how.

And I know I want to do it through the Salvation Army at 1616.

So what she did, there's a true story.

She wrote a letter back to William Booth and said, I want to do something with the Salvation Army.

I don't know what that looks like.

Can you help me out?

And William Booth, if you ever read that, that communication is almost a little hesitant.

This is a 16 year old girl.

He's a little hesitant.

And what he says is, I want to see what you can do.

So, William Booth's chief lieutenant was a guy named George Scott.

Railton trained her and seven other young women who were all under the age of 16.

And he said, I'm going to train you in ministry and leadership, and then we're going to see where God's going to go.

So from there, in three years, from Philadelphia, in three years from there, the Salvation Army made its way to Indiana and Illinois.

And because of a 16 year old and her seven friends.

That's a great story.

Now, one of the first notable converts, a poor soul named Ash Barrel.

Jimmy.

So many convictions for drunkenness.

The judge sentenced him to attend the Salvation Army.

Yeah.

Ash Barrel and, his rehab led to the founding of the corps in New York City.

That's another great story.

That's right.

And rehabilitation services.

The ones we have now.

Adult rehabilitation centers or harbor light treatment programs, all can be traced back to that one moment, because we still have ash barrel gyms.

We still have here in Evansville.

We still have men and women that would still be called Ashville Jimmies, but we keep fighting for them.

They're worth it.

My guest is Captain Brandon Lewis, a pastor and executive director of the Evansville Salvation Army.

The army is celebrating its 160th anniversary.

We've been talking about the history.

Do you know when the Salvation Army set up shop in Evansville?

We can't find an exact date.

And I've looked, we've been digging and digging and have been able to find an exact date.

But what we see is that eventually the Salvation Army moved into the area and just wanted to start serving.

And so in about 3 or 4 years after the Salvation Army landed in Philly, we started moving to the Midwest.

And it still amazes me that it only took 3 or 4 years for all of the Salvation Army to move further into the continental United States.

And eventually there was someone or a group of people who said, let's start serving here.

There's need.

What do you think that the Salvation Army was able to do that, reliance on God's power.

And nothing we do can be done without, the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I always tell our staff, I tell our volunteers, and I tell our church we are the Salvation Army.

We are not the other.

Insert other thing, Army.

We are the Salvation Army.

Everything we do, it has to be by and for the Lord.

Every decision that we make is by and for the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Without him, I don't believe the Salvation Army would have been able to grow.

I also think that there's a a fascination with the Salvation Army that we still experience today.

People see my wife and I or any of our other uniform wearing church members, and we'll go to a restaurant, and if they don't know the Salvation Army, I get one of two questions one.

Are you an airline pilot?

And two, if you're not an airline pilot, what in the world do you do?

People still have that fascination.

And what they discover is with the uniform, with all of the the, unique parts of the Salvation Army culture, comes a mission to love other people that whenever you come in through our doors, we're going to get to know your name.

We're going to get to know who everyone else who lives in your house, because we love you, and we want to be able to help you.

If you're having a problem or, if you're encountering an obstacle, we're going to work our hardest to be able to knock that down for you, because we believe that everyone's made in the image of God.

We're here to love you, to cherish you, and to be able to help you overcome any obstacle that you're facing.

I think people are fascinated by that.

I think the Salvation Army also has a reputation of using dollars wisely.

We do very frugal.

We do our best.

We like to maximize every gift that is given.

There's a saying that during the Christmas season, if you go in front of a store, you'll see a red kettle, and some bell ringing.

Once you hear that enough, it never really gets out of your head.

But every dollar that's put in, $0.97 goes back to the services of the Salvation Army.

$0.97.

That's amazing.

We work our hardest to be able to maximize every gift that's given.

What is your service area?

Vanderburg work in Posey County.

Okay.

For the Salvation Army in Evansville.

In addition to that, my wife and I have the privilege of serving as Southwest Indiana area coordinators.

So we help, support and steward the work of the Salvation Army and an additional four counties, apart from Vanderburgh work and Posey counties.

And, of course, you have a staff, employees.

But volunteers make it all happen, don't they?

They're the heroes.

Megan and I, there's a day that we will leave Evansville, and we're aware of that.

We keep it at the front of our mind because our volunteers and our staff and the people we serve there.

The heartbeat in the blood of the Salvation Army.

Without them, we.

Our mission would be at a standstill.

They deserve the praise and the credit.

They deserve all the things.

I'm to say that I'm grateful for the work that our volunteers put in every single week.

Is an understatement.

They're the heroes in our eyes.

And next to one of those volunteers is going to join the conversation.

And I used to work with her a Fayetteville and later, more Salvation Army history, including the bell ringers, the Donut Lassies, and how you can get involved.

I'm David James, this is Two Main Street.

We'll be right back.

Welcome back to Two Main Street.

I'm David James.

This is the 160th anniversary of the Salvation Army.

Founded as the East End.

London Mission by William and Catherine Booth.

The name change came in 1878, as William became known as the General and Catherine as the army mother, a love that the Salvation Army is now in some 130 countries, providing food, shelter and guidance in a world that seems to always be in need.

Captain Brandon Lewis is the local Salvation Army pastor and commander, and there's an army of volunteers in the ranks and joining Captain Lewis is one of those volunteers and a former coworker of mine at WFIE, Maria Hillenbrand.

So, Maria, how did you get involved with the Salvation Army?

Well, years ago, my position with the station, we would partner with different, nonprofits.

And that introduced me to the Salvation Army through Toy Town.

That's right.

Toy town was a big deal at channel 14.

That was the first one, as far as I can remember, that we did.

And so that introduced me to their Christmas program.

So what did you how did you get that going?

Toy town.

Well, like I said, I assisted the marketing department.

So it was a lot about promotions and getting the community aware of the need.

Through that, I was educated that the process that parents have to go through to qualify for Christmas assistance and basically just having the community donate money and toys for the days of shopping of that first toy town go.

From what I remember, it was just awesome because I ended up volunteering the day of the parents shopping.

And so it was humbling for me because these were parents coming in, choosing presents for their children.

That was their way of providing a Christmas for their children.

What a great memory, Yeah.

Okay, so how important are volunteers, Captain Lewis?

They're obviously very important.

It's the lifeblood of the Salvation Army.

Tracing back all the way to our roots in 1865.

Volunteers joining our movement have been the people to propel the Salvation Army forward.

Without Maria, without other volunteers, we'd be at a standstill.

So, you had exposure to the Salvation Army while you were channel 14.

Then after you left channel 14, how did you get involved?

Well, I think that while I was still at the station, I then started, serving as a board member.

Okay.

So that educated me.

The different programs that the Salvation Army provided that I had no idea.

And then I found out more about the food programs.

And then War on Hunger.

The very first one was when I was at 14 two.

And that helps out after the Red kettle campaign.

The Salvation Army still needs funds for their food pantry and their soup kitchen that they do every day.

So, after my husband and I retired, we started volunteering in the in the food pantry one day a week.

And that just, I have a passion for the hungry in our community, and I just really enjoy, my time there when I'm there once a week, at least.

What about the food pantry in the kitchen?

Well, the soup kitchen is every day and every day.

And, the the food pantry, is Mondays is when they started a few years ago, self shopping.

And basically anybody can come in every 30 days and on Mondays they can choose what their family likes and what they need.

They literally can come in and shop shopping, cart, the whole nine yards.

And then on Wednesdays, they are given what they more or less have in the food pantry.

So it's, it's families that come in for and individuals for various reasons.

A whole lot of reasons.

Where does this food come from?

Well, the Tri-State food Bank, I know that there is a, avenue that the Salvation Army gets, food to them.

War on hunger.

I mean, the different canned goods that people donate and the money.

And then captain can educate us more on that.

I know that a lot of businesses in the tri state are kind enough to donate to a lot of businesses.

We'll hold food drives for their workplaces.

What we often see is when people recognize that there's a need, something that's tangible, like feeding the hungry.

It awakens a passion in them.

They want to connect with it.

And so we have a tremendous amount of private donations that come in that help bolster our feeding program and our food pantry.

This idea of feeding the poor that go all the way back to 1865, all the way back.

General William Booth's motto was soup, soap and salvation.

And his youth ethos.

His theory was that if we filled someone's belly, they would be maybe a little bit more.

Interested in learning about the Bible.

But if someone's hungry and if they're cold and you start preaching to them, or they're probably not going to be very interested, but, everyone loves food.

And, people who are hungry, let's feed them.

Let's care for them and love them in that tangible way and through our actions and through our words.

Hopefully they can see Jesus in us.

Now, you told me earlier that back in the 1860s and, well, the 19th century in England, the poor weren't allowed to go to church.

They didn't have the money to go to church.

Right?

Yeah.

Most churches you to pay for your seat.

Nowadays you can walk into any church building and you can sit in a pure chair wherever you want.

But back in the late 19th century and before you had to be able to afford your place.

And so people fell through the cracks and people who were experiencing back breaking intergenerational poverty, they had no tools, no ability, no capacity to rescue themselves.

They needed help.

And William and Catherine saw this need in front of them and thought, well, we're going to build something to do it.

We're going to do our best to meet that need.

And I know the church not only, salvation oriented these people, but, they established hospitals and, skills training for people to get them out of poverty.

That's right.

Some of that we do here in Evansville.

We have a program called pathway of Hope.

It is a case management program, designed to break intergenerational poverty.

Local families can volunteer to be a part of.

It's not required at all.

They can volunteer to be a part of it.

And our caseworkers will walk with them through, barrier busting.

They act as cheerleaders and coaches and families set goals for themselves.

The family wants to be able to afford a new house, or we're going to make a strategic plan with them to be able to reach that goal.

It could even be something as simple as, I want to enroll my child in private education, or I want to get a car, or I want to afford a new bed.

We break down the problems that come from, living in that kind of poverty.

And help families achieve it themselves.

We have over 90% success rate.

That at first families are intimidated.

They look at their life and they can't see themselves through the lens of other people.

They just.

They see the mountain in front of them.

And our caseworkers and our staff are volunteers as well.

They're they're Sherpas to be able to cross that mountain and achieve their goals.

Now, Maria, of course, you've met a lot of these people through your volunteering at the Salvation Army.

Any stories you want to share?

People that you've met.

Some of the problems that they've faced and how they've overcome them.

Every I don't know, it's it's that's hard to pinpoint.

Because through Toy Town, when you help parents shop, you hear a lot of stories.

One woman in particular, when a volunteer, which I would encourage anybody that if they want to fulfill something with to increase their Christmas spirit, more or less volunteer for the toy town shopping days.

I had a woman come in and you're handed a sheet and you're, you know, on that sheet is is the name of the family and the ages of the children.

And so it also has a spouse that they have one.

And her husband had recently passed away like the month before that.

And so she was very, upset.

You know, this was her first Christmas without her husband, without her.

The father of her children.

And so, I almost wanted even, you know, touches me right now talking about it because she had a lot on her shoulders.

But the Salvation Army was there for her to come and get toys and Christmas.

And then when she checked out, she got a meal that she could fix, prepare for her kids.

So, and then month, the daily, times that I'm there are weekly, I should say, for the food pantry.

There's a variety of folks that come through.

You have a lot of homeless.

You have, people that come and that, you know, they have an alcohol or drug addiction.

Single parents and I have a lot of respect for someone that, it takes a lot for them to come in and ask for help a lot of times.

And so they're there.

We thank them for coming.

We let them know we're here.

We're happy that you're here.

This is why this is here.

For you to come.

You don't have to be hungry, you know.

Please come have a meal tomorrow.

So, so you welcome them no matter what their circumstance.

You cannot be judgmental because at any day, it could be us.

It could be us.

It doesn't have a job anymore.

It could be us that falls very ill.

And we have mounting medical bills.

And so people are coming in because they don't have enough money to get groceries.

So there's a there's so many reasons that people come to a soup kitchen and a food pantry.

Right now.

One of the another visible campaign to the Salvation Army, of course, the bell ringing at the holidays.

So how did that get started?

Captain Lewis started out in San Francisco.

Salvation Army wanted to have a way to bring, some recognition to our fundraising efforts.

The legend goes that a young man grabbed a bucket, painted it red because it would stand out and started ringing a bell to collect some money.

Since then, it has become a staple of our fundraising.

Throughout the Christmas season, you'll hear it as we drive into the parking lot and get out of your car.

You can try and avoid our bell ringers, but you'll never be able to avoid the sound of the bell that's ringing.

And every dollar that's put into those pockets goes directly back here locally.

And it's, a staple of the Salvation Army.

It's in our blood and something we're proud to be doing.

And you always have these kind of these, mystery anonymous donors that drop in gold coins or and surprise, donations.

We do.

Two seasons ago through Christmas, seasons ago, I was walking into a Walmart store.

True story.

Walking into a Walmart, and, a man in a coat stopped me, pulled me aside, and I'm thinking, okay, what is this conversation going to be?

Is a little strange.

And he handed me a small envelope and said, when I was at my worst, the Salvation Army was the only one who was there for me.

He said, take this as a token of my thanks.

I could never repay you for everything you've done for me and my family, but I think this gives us a head start.

Then he walked away.

I tried, I ran after him to ask his name.

He said, no, I need to go.

And I opened it up and in it was a gold coin.

Krugerrand a solid gold coin.

Estimated value of about $10,000.

That a man saw me in my uniform walking in Walmart.

I think I was there to buy potatoes.

And he stopped me and he said, you know, I, I need to thank the Salvation Army.

We don't do it for thanks.

We do it out of love for others.

But he was so moved that 40 or 50 years ago, the Salvation Army was in his corner fighting for him.

Wow.

Well, that's a little goosebump isn't it?

Yeah.

The bell ringing is fun.

It's so much fun.

So, So how many bells have you run over the years.

I don't know.

I don't know, I try to do 1 or 2 days every season and then when 14 has their Walmart day for Toy Town.

I try to get those doors coverage to make sure that people are they're ringing bells and you get a chance to interact with people too.

And like I said, it's fun.

Oh it is.

It is.

And you, when you're doing something good, you're doing something really good.

So, Captain Lewis, how can someone get involved as a volunteer?

Go to our website SA evansville.org.

All of our volunteer opportunities are listed on our homepage.

If you're interested.

Like Maria said of giving back.

If fulfilling that Christmas spirit, volunteer for Toy Town.

You click on the link.

Our volunteer process is very easy.

And if you're interested in maybe a food pantry or helping serve on our feeding program line, if you're interested in volunteering your time with our youth programing, whatever it is that that is, is touching your heart that is pulling at your heartstrings.

We can find an opportunity to be able to connect you, to make sure your passion is realized with the Salvation Army.

Go to our website SA evansville.org.

Maria, how is volunteering affecting your life?

Enriched your life?

It has enriched my life.

That's a good way to put it.

I feel that I have been blessed with so much in my life that it's the least I can do.

You know, I just feel like that we're put here on this earth to help others.

And so I have found that through the Salvation Army, I can fulfill that.

And you feel better?

I guess every time you do something like that I do the I hope.

I hope that you know in some way that I've made a difference, you know that day.

Well my thanks to Marilyn Brand for sharing her experiences as a volunteer.

And still to come, a more Salvation Army history as the Army marks its 160th anniversary.

The donut ladies supporting those with addiction, caring for the elderly and social justice as well.

I'm David James, this is Two Main Street.

We'll be right back.

Welcome back to Two Main Street.

I'm David James, if you are just joining us, my guest is Salvation Army captain Brandon Lewis.

He's been sharing the history of the organization now 160 years and counting.

Now, we talked about the booths, William and Catherine, who started their mission in the slums of London in 1865, and now the army of God has spread to the spread to the U.S.

and other countries.

Over the years, disaster relief has been a major role for the Salvation Army, starting with the devastating Galveston hurricane in 1900, then the 1908 San Francisco earthquake.

So, the Salvation Army is there in times of need, right?

That's right.

And particularly in emergent events like a hurricane or tornado, those are close to my heart.

I grew up in Tornado Alley.

Grew up with friends and family whose lives were devastated by natural disasters.

And over the years, I've had the privilege to be able to serve in those responses to the local, regional and also national weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes and the like.

It was the Salvation Army had like, special mobile units ready to respond.

We do, we have mobile feeding kitchens, which are called canteens.

In those canteens, we can prepare and deploy food services.

There are mobile kitchens where we can serve hot and cold meals.

We have rapid response vehicles.

If the terrain, has been devastated by a local event, then we can deploy those smaller vehicles to serve, beverages and snacks and a part of our emergency disaster services as well is being able to support the first responders.

Will often serve, police funerals.

Or other funerals or events for law enforcement, other first responders.

And it's a humbling privilege, in particular, to be invited into those moments.

They look at the Salvation Army and, we serve food.

We serve drinks.

We're also a calming presence.

People, our volunteers are trained in chaplaincy.

So we're able to be a calming presence of emotional and spiritual care, for people whose lives were just devastated by something completely out of their control.

I know the Salvation Army was one of the first agencies on the scene after nine over 11 in New York City after the attack, providing support to the first responders.

There.

We were, one of the few agencies invited to Ground Zero, to be able to look at the devastation of Ground Zero.

Same with Hurricane Katrina.

My mom, who's a Salvation Army officer, was in the first wave of personnel sent to New Orleans.

And she rode around in a helicopter with the National Guard, rescuing people from rooftops, as their homes were completely flooded and they looked at her and said, can you come with us?

Because these families are going to have emotional and mental crises, and we're not prepared to deal with that.

We need the Salvation Army to be there.

And the response was absolutely.

So you have a family legacy, something I'm proud of.

We have three generations of Salvation Army officers.

Generation number four.

I have aunts and uncles who are retired and active Salvation Army officers.

My wife's lineage goes all the way back to London, England.

Her great great grandfather, so many times removed, was sent by the Booth family to begin the work of the Salvation Army in Canada.

And her family on her father's side can be traced all the way back to that genetic.

I guess it's genetic, I guess.

I guess God looks at us and says, you know what?

I want you to be a Salvation Army officer.

We're seeing more and more in America and across the world.

I'm sure of more.

First generation Salvation Army officers.

Thank God he's moving in such a way to call everyone into service.

And so if someone's listening to this and you are interested in learning more, you will find my contact information on our website and reach out.

Love to have a conversation, because we need more people who are joining God's army to be able to serve on the front lines.

Well, let's talk about God's army.

You're a captain.

Yeah, well, you eventually you become a major.

A how does that go?

As you take a sip of water?

Sorry about that.

That's all right.

I will eventually become a major.

We have a rank system in our hierarchy.

You are commissioned to the Salvation Army officer with the rank of lieutenant.

And you spend the first five years, as a lieutenant, you're five.

There's some benchmarks you have to hit along the way.

Some educational requirements you need to have, a year five, you are promoted to captain, and then ten years from there.

So it's 15 years is a Salvation Army officer.

You are promoted to the rank of major.

There's three additional ranks above that which are given by the type of, opportunity for service you have.

So doing typically a large administrative role, you are promoted to a lieutenant colonel and then a full colonel above that.

Then there's a commissioner, and then finally we have the general.

But there's only ever one general.

Now you have two stars.

I have two stars on my shoulders.

And underneath my my tunic.

I have epaulet loops that also have two stars.

And the insignia for a major is you replace those two stars with the Salvation Army crest.

Okay.

And then above that, you add more, items to your uniform as the ranks progress in World War One, the Salvation Army started serving donuts.

And there were also red shield signs in war zones.

So the Salvation Army, responds to, well, all kinds of crises, I guess that's right.

Infamous for, the donut lassies making donuts for troops, in the European front on World War one, that carried over to World War two, being able to go into cities that had been destroyed by bombing runs, and didn't matter who you were, didn't matter what country you're in, if there's a need that we're going to be there and that's still present today across the world, wherever there's a need.

Area particularly that's affected by any war, or military strife.

The Salvation Army is going to do our best to be there, dangerous assignments, dangerous assignments.

My grandparents, were sent over.

I was born in 1993, and a couple of years prior to my birth, my grandparents were asked by the general to go to what was then the Soviet Union, which was about to collapse in 1994.

And later on.

And they were asked by the general to start the work of the Salvation Army in what would become Russia, the Republic of Georgia and Ukraine.

Although at the time it was the Soviet Union.

And that was their job.

And I remember growing up, my grandpa would tell me stories about how their first office building, the top of it was destroyed, because of a bombing run.

And so they had some typewriters and they managed to get together some internet.

But that's how the work of the Salvation Army, 70 odd years later, we look at it now and say, Salvation Army's all across Russia and Georgia and Ukraine and spreading throughout Europe.

And it goes back to a little office building, that my grandparents and their staff worked out of the Salvation Army course, has many services, social issues, family counseling, deal with addictions.

And the list goes on and on, and, pastoral duties as well.

Absolutely.

There's two sides to our mission.

And we hold both intention constantly, that we are to meet human need without discrimination and also preach the gospel.

My wife and I are ordained clergy through the Salvation Army.

We are a church movement as well as a social services movement.

So there's a worshiping congregation that we shepherd.

There's congregational life, life groups throughout the week, Bible studies, Salvation Army 101 courses.

People are welcome to take to learn more about the Army.

All of that is through, the church side of our mission, in addition to all of the, services that we're able to provide through, the agency part of the Salvation Army.

Are you do you learn something every day?

Every day?

I've been in Evansville for about two and a half years, and every single day I learn something new.

Right?

When you think you found out everything about the human experience, you are always surprised.

I think that's how it should be.

It's what keeps our mission vibrant.

It's what keeps us alive is we're able to learn more about others.

We're able to every day put ourselves in their shoes and hopefully, in a real way, serve them as best as we can.

I think that's the key.

Put yourself in their shoes when they're going through, trying to to see what they're feeling, you know.

So what are some of the greatest needs in this community?

We have a, large homelessness, barrier that often people are confronted with.

Housing is a massive issue.

And, it's something that there's more resources that are being developed to help.

But solving the underlying, issues with someone being homeless is not as easy as getting them housing.

What we see is there's also mental health issues as well.

There's barriers of hunger, there's barriers of, life skills that we need to be able to approach.

We do our best.

The Salvation Army to hit as most many of those as possible.

But we would love more help in being able to tackle the underlying issues below the block, below the poverty line.

They contribute to intergenerational poverty as we can.

Success stories you'd like to share.

There's there's a lot.

There's a young man named Joshua.

He's one of my favorites.

And I don't tell him I said that, but he's one of my favorites.

He started out two and a half years ago.

And our first week here, he came into my office and he said, are you the new officer?

Said, yeah, yes, I am.

And he goes, great, I hate the Salvation Army.

And I want you to know that this is the first week.

Boy, what a great way to start off our relationship.

I think, and two and a half years of intentional work, I've he comes into our soup kitchen every day, and every day I went over and I had lunch with him.

It got a tray, and I sat on a lunch with them.

And I made it my mission that by the time I leave Evansville, you're going to be my best friend.

You.

I'm, You don't start off, a relationship that way without there being some kind of something that we have.

No, you had a goal.

I had a goal.

I still do.

And two and a half years of work later, we're friends.

We have a strong, mentoring relationship.

He is enrolled in our pathway of Hope program.

His son is in our summer day camp.

And one of the greatest privileges I've had.

Then the middle of Christmas season.

Actually, in January of 2024, he asked me for a Bible, and he said to me, I see you reading it so often, and you quote it to me all the time, so I might as well learn more about it.

I gave him a copy, and two weeks later he gave his life to Jesus in our parking lot and said, I want my life to be different.

The Salvation Army can help me that do that.

Exactly.

And he's been with us ever since.

He drives me nuts sometimes, and he'll tell you that.

But I love him to death.

So what's on your wish list for the local salvation Army?

We would love more.

Volunteer.

Help during the Christmas season.

Our the need for families and toys during the Christmas season is immense.

We serve 1300 families every single year.

And we expect anticipate that number to increase every single year.

Two years ago, we had 1200 families.

The year before, we had 1100 families.

So we see the need rising more and more as costs go up in the community.

And as, funding is being more restricted for some workplaces, we see that, families and parents aren't able to keep up with household costs.

So they come to the Salvation Army having donors who are willing to step up and say, I want to be a part of that life change.

I want to be a part of effecting change in someone's life, to completely shift the direction of their life.

That's what we need.

And so if you look at our website, I say Evansville, dawg, look at the success stories, look at our programs.

And hopefully if you're hearing this conversation today and you're inspired to be a part of it, consider donating, donating your time, donating your talent, your expertise, maybe also your treasure as well.

I think that there's tremendous opportunity for us to be able to affect life change.

We need the community's help to do it.

I know the Salvation Army is known for its frugality in using in its stewardship, right?

We do our best to maximize every dollar.

It's something I'm particularly proud of.

$0.97 of every dollar goes directly back to the services here locally.

That's amazing.

$0.97.

And we work hard internally to make sure that we're upholding that statistic.

So whenever someone gives money not it could be a dollar during the Christmas season, it could be towards an endowment.

It could be a check that sent off in the mail.

Be reassured, that we work hard to keep that money exactly where you want it to go.

And we can work together to make them multiply and maximize those dollars to affect more need than maybe even you thought.

Now, before we go, tell me about the role of music in the Salvation Army.

Going out on a high note here.

Yeah, it goes way back to, East London.

William and Catherine Booth.

They were known for having some crazy ideas.

And the Salvation Army were pretty good at having some crazy ideas.

And they had an idea of having an open air church services there inside.

And it's not easy to build a building, even back in the late 19th century.

And so the idea is, let's put up a tent and a park and we'll start playing these brass instruments, and maybe people will be attracted by the sound.

And so they put together some bands.

People were playing trombones and euphonium and cornets and trumpets and, one of the volunteers from way back then would remark in their memoir that they were attracted by, how hideous the sound was and wanted to find out what it was.

So they came.

And what attracted them was the Salvation Army Band.

They looked around and said, who are all these goofy people in uniforms?

But they saw that they're serving a meal, and that all of the people who had fallen through the cracks of society were there.

There were, people who were drunk.

There were, people who were prostituting themselves.

There were addicts, there were families with children, but they were all there.

And they were so inspired by that sight and thought, well, I could learn a song, I could learn a music instrument and join the Salvation Army band.

At 160 years later, it is still in our lifeblood that we are, a movement that is propelled often by music.

Did you have to learn to play an instrument?

Oh no, I tried, I tried, I made it through one music lesson and I couldn't do it.

I, I will freely admit it's a deficiency on my end.

My wife is the more musical one.

She grew up in a musical family.

For me, I think when God was making me, he forgot that part of my brain I can read, sheet music.

I do my best, and I do bang a Tamara tambourine.

I think I could do that.

Okay.

Yeah, I think if if someone helped me count, I could probably hit a bass drum.

Maybe.

Or hit a, tambourine of some kind.

Okay.

My guest has been Captain Brandon Lewis, executive director and pastor at the Evansville Salvation Army.

The army, of course, celebrating 160 years of transforming lives.

That's right.

When we do our best to make that the focal point of what we do, if we can go home at the end of the day and know that in someone's life, whether it be one person or a dozen people or hundreds of people, but in one person's life, if we can go home knowing that we help them move forward and overcome a barrier, then we know that we've done our job well.

Thanks, Captain Branton, for being my guest on Two Main Street.

Thanks for having me.

It's a privilege.

You're welcome.