A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E S A LVAT I O N A R M Y S O U T H ER N T ER R I TO R Y
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ISSUE 1
MAJOR ANNE WESTMORELAND Following the Lord’s Leading
BY MA JOR FR ANK DUR ACHER
Major Anne Westmoreland serves as USA Southern Territorial ministries to women secretary.
Photo Credit: Jon Avery
The USA Southern Territory has become home for Major Anne Westmoreland —as much a home even as her native Denmark & Greenland Territory. A fourth-generation Salvationist, her parents remain faithful soldiers of the Copenhagen Temple Corps, and her grandparents and great-grandparents spent their lives in service to the Lord as Salvation Army officers. But America and Denmark are not the only countries where this godly woman has left her indelible mark on His children. Beginning in Bangladesh, where she gave two years of ministry as a single young adult, Major Anne has since served as an officer in four countries (USA, Denmark, Republic of Georgia, and Ukraine), picking up a few languages along the way in which she is now either fluent (as in her native Danish and in the English she learned in grade school) or semi-fluent. Her college years were spent attending N. Zahles Seminarium (now a part of University College Capital) in Copenhagen, where she earned the equivalent of a Bachelor of Education degree, with a double focus on mathematics and music. She then put that knowledge into practice teaching school for grades one through ten. While in Bangladesh, one of her many duties was to come alongside teachers at the school for girls and blind boys at the Army’s Children’s
Home, as well as teaching English Second Language classes for female Salvation Army officers. She was also heavily involved in the Sally Ann Project, which is today known as “Others.” “Lt. Colonels Bo and Birgitte Brekke began Sally Ann in the mid-1990s while they were Bangladesh Command leaders,” Major Anne explains. “The program teaches women to make hand-crafted items, creating trade experience among women in poverty and commercial sexual exploitation. This also provides jobs to support a family. The Salvation Army there helps women learn a trade and guarantees that the artisans are paid for the products that they made.” The Colonels Brekke saw in young Anne, then still a soldier and volunteer, the potential for an ideal Salvation Army officer. But Anne had already placed restrictions on this idea, among them her desire to be married someday while in that officership scenario. “I knew my life would be spent for Jesus, but I just didn’t know how,” she says. Then a spiritual milepost was passed while attending the 1997 International Youth Congress in South Africa. The theme scripture was drawn from Revelation 3:8: "I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.” That verse left a powerful impression upon “Westmoreland...” continued on page 11
Calling All Soldiers! ‘Uniformed for Service’ Campaign Day January 23, 2025 BY BR AD ROWL AND Within the book “Called to be a Soldier: Exploring the Soldier's Covenant” published in 2020 through International Headquarters, it is noted that "Salvation Army uniform and Salvation Army-branded clothing are important reminders of our own promises, a sign of our identity, and a witness to the presence of Christ in our lives.” The text also refers to the concept of the uniform bringing visibility in the community, including “the opportunity to witness to people who are not yet Christian by explaining who we are and why we wear the uniform.” On January 23, the USA Southern Territory will take up that opportunity of witness as part of the “Uniformed for Service” campaign. Inspired by a similar initiative implemented in the Florida Division in September 2024, the Territorial Mission, Evangelism, and Cultural Ministries Department is challenging soldiers to wear their Salvation Army uniforms throughout the day and be ready to share the Army’s mission when prompted. “I believe in what The Salvation Army uniform stands for,” says Major Chris Thornhill, territorial mission, evangelism, and cultural ministries secretary. “It also gets us in the door in
places that we would not normally be able to get into, no matter whether we are in red epaulets like the ones I wear or blue epaulets that a soldier would wear.” While The Salvation Army is well-known in various communities, the campaign can also bring additional awareness to the organization’s mission and what its officers and soldiers stand for. “Soldiers and attendees of the Army stretch across so many socioeconomic classes and communities, from the richest to the poorest and from so many backgrounds. But we have a common thread in the uniform,” Major Thornhill says. “It’s part of why I love the Army. You don’t know who’s wealthy. We’re all in uniform.” The decision to wear one’s uniform on January 23, or any day, should also be accompanied by spiritual preparation. Knowing that others may inquire about the choice in a public setting, Major Thornhill encourages young soldiers to “talk to their corps officers and tell them you’ve seen this uniform campaign and want to be a part of this, showing everyone who we are.” The Salvation Army uniform is also referred to as an outward sign of an inward experience, “Calling All Soldiers!...” continued on page 2
Photo Credit: Joseph Chang