Always about people finding freedom
From its earliest days when The Salvation Army would march down Inverell’s main street, to today when salvationists can be found teaching budgeting skills or having a yarn in the local pub, The Salvation Army in Inverell has always been about people finding freedom. In those early days a chap called Bill Lawrence found freedom from the bottom of a bottle. An Inverell Salvation Army historical document records that on the night he was converted he was too drunk to walk from his seat to the penitent form and the officers prayed with him where he knelt at the place he was sitting. Bill Lawrence rose from his knees a sober man and, by the Grace of god, never again touched drink. In more recent times many people have found freedom at The Salvation Army Family Store – a focal point for the Army’s services in town. Opened in 1967 as the Red Shield Community Centre, it provided recreational activities for young people, areas for mothers and children, toilets, showers and amenities for anyone sleeping rough and a low-cost canteen. Today, the Family Store remains a hub of Salvation Army services, welfare support and of course, low cost clothing and household goods.
