How the Salvation Army became part of our Christmas tradition

Tinseled trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, Santa suits and Salvation Army uniforms also telegraph Christmastime.

The Army is among America’s top-grossing charities. In 2015, its 25,000 bell-ringers helped raise an all-time high of $149.6 million. That was part of the year’s almost $3 billion revenue from bequests, grants, sales, in-kind donations and investments as well as direct contributions.

William Booth, an English evangelist, founded the Salvation Army in 1878 as a religious outreach to London’s poor. How a British evangelical church became an American icon is an ongoing interest of mine.

Booth, who called himself “The General,” fashioned his Army on Britain’s military. From the start, his “soldiers” wore uniforms and they described their mission in martial terms. Salvationists marched through the streets of London’s East End, a neighborhood of poor immigrants, with brass bands and female preachers. Booth and his followers also pursued “sinners” and frequently preached in bars, brothels and theaters.

Booth’s plan was to send his army worldwide. One of his early recruits had migrated to Philadelphia, and wrote to Booth about the residents’ need for salvation. In 1880, a small party of British Salvationists debarked at Castle Garden, New York’s first immigration center. The group immediately started singing hymns set to popular melodies and marching through lower Manhattan.

Their boisterousness was criticized by New York’s clergy and ridiculed in newspapers and magazines. That the Army featured female preachers at a time when most Protestant groups did not ordain women only added to its notoriety.

But the Army did not surrender. Pressing their “invasion” beyond New York City, the soldiers traveled first to Philadelphia and later nationwide. Young people liked the notion of a military crusade for religious purposes, and women joined because the Army offered them positions of leadership and authority.

Salvationists saw their mission as twofold: converting sinners and assisting the needy. In the Army’s perspective, the two went hand in hand, which is why members opened shelters for addicts, alcoholics and prostitutes. Yet they also sought to aid “down and outers,” their name for the needy.

By 1891, Salvationists had outposts nationwide. In San Francisco, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was eager to serve a Christmas feast for a thousand of the city’s poorest residents. Grabbing a crab pot from the local wharf, he hung it from a tripod at a busy intersection. Above the pot was a sign: “Fill the Pot for the Poor – Free Dinner on Christmas Day.” Word spread and the kettles soon provided Christmas dinners for thousands nationwide.

The kettle also helped rehabilitate the Army’s image. Instead of seeing Salvationists as an unruly pack of religious rebels, many Americans recognized their work with the poor.

Today, many contributors do not realize the Army is a church. And, much like other churches, its growth has stalled. Since 2000, it only has approximately 90,000 members. Nonetheless, it continues to deliver social services nationwide. In 2017, according to its own records, the Army served over 50 million meals, operated 141 rehabilitation centers and provided shelter for almost 10 million people. It also provided adult and child day care, job assistance, disaster relief, medical care and community centers.

But like any other long-established institution, the Army has its challenges. Most recently, LGBT groups alleged discrimination in service provision and in hiring. The Army has responded with its own statements of how it is “open and inclusive to all people.”

It also faces new problems ranging from a shortage of bell ringers in some cities to fewer kettle contributions as people carry less cash.

Yet the Army remains a familiar symbol for religious and philanthropic outreach. Each year, when high school and college actors perform “Guys and Dolls,” the Army graces American stages. And this holiday season, Grammy-award winning singer Meghan Trainer kicked off the 2018 Red Kettle Campaign during the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game halftime show.

Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee’s legacy lives on — providing inspiration to millions of Americans, whether they care about religion or not.