Editor: This is probably the hardest letter I have ever had to write. I have been a member of the Langley Salvation Army since 1991, but I have had to resign my membership as an adherent. I feel compelled to give up this membership because it has become clear to me that The Salvation Army has become as cruel a corporate entity as any in the secular world.

Before Gary Johnson came to the Langley Corps, it seemed that The Salvation Army was losing sight of the people it professed to help. As an employee and a member of the congregation, I saw this situation first hand.

When homeless people came, all I could give them was some day-old Starbucks pastries. When the homeless women came to the office I gave them a cup of coffee, some toiletries, and my prayers. I knew that some of them would either sleep outside or with whoever would offer them shelter in exchange for ‘services rendered.’

In 2005, Langley saw its homeless population mushroom, but Langley wasn’t ready for this because our community was still at the talking stage. All the stakeholders and those people who are employed as social workers had been talking for at least five years.

Provincial money was used on studies and all everyone did was talk, talk, talk. We talked about homelessness, we cried about homelessness, but we didn’t do anything about it.

All this changed when Envoy Gary Johnson was sent to Langley. A self-described ‘mover and shaker,’ he walked in and asked if I wanted to work full-time. I thought he was joking.

Every morning Gary arrived, accompanied by hiswife Linda, who transformed a dark and quiet office into a beehive of activity. Soon bread was arriving daily, and so were the homeless and the drug addicted.

I knew that I didn’t have the skill set necessary to deal with the new Salvation Army in Langley and that Gary and Linda’s arrival was the best thing that happened. They, and their staff was 1,000 per cent more qualified to help the disadvantaged in Langley.

Gary is indeed a mover and a shaker and he found those in this community of the same ilk. He transformed the face of the Salvation Army in this community. He, like the Salvation Army’s founder William Booth, has a heart for the marginalized and disadvantaged people.

Not only did he have the heart to bring the dream of a Gateway of Hope to Langley, he had the necessary skills and the drive to make that dream a reality.

This is a real a loss to our community. This is worse than simply transferring someone out of town. The Army has allowed the ‘motor’ of this project to get away. It has treated him just like another ‘cog’ in the corporate wheel. And it is for this reason that after almost 20 years, I am tendering my resignation.

We Christians mus be pointed in the right direction. I ask the Salvation Army to reconsider its corporate decision, and do everything it can to bring this man and his wife back to our community.

Lilianne Fuller,

Langley