Chris and I worked at a Salvation Army summer camp for underprivileged children after college. I was the maintenance guy, and she cooked the food. What a way to start a marriage!
Salvation Army people love brass bands. We can personally attest to it. Music has been central to its mission since its inception in 1865. Choirs in those early days often took to the streets singing, “We are bound for the land of the pure and holy,” to call attention to their meetings. When Charlie Fry and his three sons brought their brass instruments to assist in singing at an open-air gathering in 1879, it was met with unbridled enthusiasm. By 1883, four hundred brass bands had sprung up all over England.
William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army with his wife Catherine, urged song leaders to write simple hymns with “soul-winning words.” He was not averse to repurposing old barroom tunes to accompany gospel lyrics. Speaking at a Salvation Army rally, he said, “I don’t care much if you call it secular or sacred. I rather enjoy robbing the devil of his choicest tunes. It’s like taking the enemy’s guns and turning them against him.”
In the early days of the Salvation Army, one of Wiliam’s eight children, Herbert Booth (1862-1926), became its most influential songwriter and band leader. In an 1890 Salvation Army hymnbook, eighty-six songs were attributed to Herbert. He wrote one of his hymns, “Promoted to Glory,” while preparing for his mother’s funeral. It is still sung at funerals for Salvation Army members who have been promoted to glory. The lyrics of his hymn “Blessed Jesus, in Thee is Refuge,” lead us in prayer: