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Filed under:Good Grief,Religion — posted by Anwyn on December 5, 2008 @ 4:44 pm

That five bucks in the bucket outside the grocery store today was my last donation to the Salvation Army until they loosen up this junk:

Capt. Johnny Harsh, who has led the Oshkosh Salvation Army for more than three years, has been suspended for disobeying orders and could soon be terminated from the agency.

Harsh, whose wife, Capt. Yalanda “Yoley” Harsh, died unexpectedly in June, said he violated a Salvation Army rule that an officer in the agency may only marry another officer of the organization. Harsh is engaged to a woman who is not affiliated with the Salvation Army. He said they plan to marry in June.

Read on for the other ways in which the organization gets into their officers’ business–no overnight stays in the guest room for this lady because the Salvation Army pays for some of their officer’s housing expenses. I’m of mixed mind about that–the solution seems to be don’t accept funds earmarked for housing from your employer if you don’t want to give them a say in who gets to stay there.

Oh well, the Bean’ll be just as happy if we never poke any bills into the kettle again. He doesn’t yet quite understand how we can give money away and still have some left for ourselves, and though he enjoys the actual act of folding the bill to the appropriate size and turning and twisting it until it slides into the slot, he still decidedly disapproves of the concept. Lighten Up, S.A. I’m now frankly surprised this outfit is still going as strong as it is.

Via Allah, who brings the C-word.

10 comments »

  1. When my dad was affiliated with a small missionary group (which shall remain nameless at this point), it was understood that my mom would also be a member of the organization. The two of them were a team in the mission’s eyes. The Salvation Army’s policy may seem strict and you’re certainly entitled to object by withholding your contributions, but the rule is not without precedent. From another point of view, consider how your church’s congregation would react if your pastor was widowed and then married a Catholic woman.

    That said… I try to avoid the bell ringers. I give all my donations to the Salvation Air Force.

    Comment by Allen — December 5, 2008 @ 5:42 pm

  2. The majority of my congregation wouldn’t have much to say about that, actually.

    I understand that the guy signed on for this, and I’m not disapproving based on the fact that they’re going to kick him out, but based on the rule itself. I think it’s silly. Their first concern should be that he marry a *Christian*, not an officer in their denomination. It would be like my congregation firing our pastor because he married a woman who was not a pastor, not because he married somebody from a different denomination.

    Comment by Anwyn — December 5, 2008 @ 5:45 pm

  3. And right, your parents, your mom was a member, but was she in leadership? This here is a bit narrower than that, looks like.

    Comment by Anwyn — December 5, 2008 @ 5:46 pm

  4. You have to know a bit of the history of the Salvation Army. It was founded by a husband and wife team — William and Catherine Booth. By all accounts, Catherine was the better preacher. Salvation Army officers are clergy. This rule has always been the standard, because they as an organization believe that for a married Salvation Army officer to be effective at the kind of ministry they do, it has to be a partnership.

    Comment by Fr. John Whiteford — December 5, 2008 @ 6:21 pm

  5. Hmmm. I may have jerked my knee a bit in that reaction, but I’m not ready to retract. My position is that if a wife, of any or no denomination, is ready to marry a clergyman in the S.A., she must know what she is getting into and if she can’t be depended upon to support his mission, he shouldn’t marry her or else should give up the mission, AND the S.A. should trust its clergy to marry helpmates or remove ineffective clergy who are ineffective for any reason. I do not believe the wife must be a fellow clergy to help him be effective.

    Comment by Anwyn — December 5, 2008 @ 7:01 pm

  6. Seems to me it’s like a cost-saving rule–they believe if clergy marry non-clergy they will become ineffective and either leave or be removed from the ministry, thus wasting the S.A.’s training and salary dollars.

    Comment by Anwyn — December 5, 2008 @ 7:02 pm

  7. Good instincts there Bean.

    Sure, they have the right to do that. Fine. But yuck.

    Comment by Mike Wilson — December 6, 2008 @ 1:01 pm

  8. Why do you care about this rule? Are you in the Salvation Army? Seems to me that the salvation army is a pretty good way to spend a buck. Would you rather they run their organization like G.M. or Ford or Fannie Mae? At least they are honest and integrous, and that seems pretty rare these days. They are probably the best organization out there that helps care for the poor in our country. Who cares about their internal rules, as long as they are doing what they say they would and they are not blowing our donations on other things. I seem to remember a big scandal about the United Way and the Red Cross and their leaders making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. The salvation army doesn’t do that. Salvation Army ministers almost take a vow of poverty or something like it. And because of that, they are provided a house for them to use. Its like the parsonage for my minister. This is a more cost effective way of doing things and because it is cheaper, it allows them to spend the donated money they get more effectively to help the poor. I think that it is silly to withhold giving to the salvation army for this reason. If the salvation army does not raise its money, I wonder if they could send the poor to your house to get some help.

    Comment by Todd — December 7, 2008 @ 12:45 pm

  9. Angry much, Todd? As a private individual donating charitibly to an organization it is well within your rights to understand their internal policies and if you don’t agree with them, the simplest way to make a statement is to withhold your donation.

    Life is hard enough without your employer telling you who you can or can’t marry. Maybe we can send the single Salvation Army ministers to your house for matchmaking.

    Comment by thelmajoy — December 7, 2008 @ 1:01 pm

  10. 1) Why do you care about this rule? Are you in the Salvation Army?

    No. But I give money to it, so if I disapprove of their practices it is smart for me to cease donating. And this issue highlights the fact that the Salvation Army is not a “charitable organization” like Goodwill, but indeed a *church* with its own theology and protocols to which it holds its officers. In the same way that I am not a member (and thus not supporting financially) various churches out there, I no longer wish to give money to a church of which a) I am not a member and b) of whose strictures I disapprove.

    2) Seems to me that the salvation army is a pretty good way to spend a buck.

    Go for it. You don’t see me getting ticked about that in the same way that you are getting ticked about where I choose *not* to spend *my* money.

    3) Who cares about their internal rules, as long as they are doing what they say they would and they are not blowing our donations on other things

    Again, if you don’t care about their internal rules, that’s your privilege. I disapprove to the extent that I choose to withold my donations, and that’s my privilege. There are numerous churches I have decided not to join or support based on their internal rules or beliefs. S.A. has the distinction of being one of the few that solicits the public at large for its funds rather than just their internal members. It has now become another of those churches that I not only won’t join, but also won’t support financially.

    4) I think that it is silly to withhold giving to the salvation army for this reason.

    Yes, you’ve done a good job letting us all know your opinion clearly. Well done! We disagree.

    5) If the salvation army does not raise its money, I wonder if they could send the poor to your house to get some help.

    Plenty of poor already *do* get help at my “house”–at my own church. I.E. I already support at least one networked organization that helps the poor. It troubles my conscience not one whit to choose to withold my donations to a *second* church and up my donations to the first, which also helps the poor.

    thelmajoy–Maybe we can send the single Salvation Army ministers to your house for matchmaking. Hahahah.

    Comment by Anwyn — December 7, 2008 @ 2:29 pm

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