In the UK and Ireland:
http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/heretohelp
We don’t judge or condemn, we just help.
Family breakdown, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and drug and alcohol dependency are just some of the reasons why people can lose everything they value, including their dignity.
The Salvation Army has a long history of working with people who are vulnerable and marginalised across the world and offer very practical help, unconditional assistance and support regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
Obviously I don’t know if this is actually true and how they do treat people when it actually comes down to it, but I always feel like this is worth posting about so people around the world can see that different branches of the Salvation Army operate under different policies.
Maybe it even says something like this on the US/International versions, but I can’t find it if it does.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that it’s always worth checking things in your area rather than just assuming that one rule applies for all countries.
This isn’t me trying to persuade you to donate, I know I’d feel much more comfortable donating to someone when I know they’re not going to use my money for anything I don’t agree with.
So…do whatever you want, basically!The Salvation Army states “scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex. The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life” on its main website. The positional statement now showing on a majority of the websites has been amended or removed since this incident earlier this year. They originally stated that “sexual intimacy is understood as a gift of God to be enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage” and homosexuality was “unacceptable” to God and that it should be “restrained” with will-power… There is no scriptural support for same-sex unions as equal to, or as an alternative to, heterosexual marriage.”
Other Salvation Army facts:
- In the United Kingdom, the Salvation Army actively pushed passage of an amendment to the Local Government Act. The amendment stated that local authorities “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” The law has since been repealed, but it led many schools and colleges to close LGBT student organizations out of fear they’d lose their government funding.
- When New Zealand considered passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, the Salvation Army collected signatures in an attempt to get the legislation killed. The act decriminalized consensual sex between gay men. The measure passed over the charity’s objections.
- In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close all their soup kitchens in New York City to protest the city’s decision to require all vendors and charities doing business with the city to adhere to all civil rights laws. The organization balked at having to treat gay employees equal to straight employees
- In June this year Major Andrew Craibe, a senior official in the Australian Salvation Army, repeatedly told a radio station’s hosts that that sexually active LGBT people should be put to death.
- In 2001, they actively lobbied [note: donations pay towards lobbying] to change how the Bush administration would distribute over $24 billion in grants and tax deductions by urging the White House deny funding to any cities or states that included LGBT non-discrimination laws. Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary, issued a statement saying the administration was denying a “regulation sought by the church to protect the right of taxpayer-funded religious organizations to discriminate against homosexuals.”
- The indirect death of transwoman Jennifer Gale
- Fired staff for refusing to sign Christianity principle forms due to objections in regards to their religion or sexuality.
- Refusal to shelter homeless homosexual couple unless they split and renounced.
- In the United Kingdom in September of this yearrefused to provide shelter to a 17 year old rape victim or at the very least contact the police.
So, yes, while the actions in non-secular countries may not be as extreme as it is in places such as America- they are still not ideal. And to donate to the Salvation Army is, in a manner of speaking, supporting them and what they represent as a whole. But there are many charities that provide the same services- but without the hatred.
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In regards to the ever-reblogged post on The Salvation Army:
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