The Salvation Army, Parramatta (often abbreviated to ''PSA'') is a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Corps located in the suburb of

Parramatta, New South Wales Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is the 75th oldest active Salvation Army Corps in Australia. Situated in the western suburbs of Sydney, it has survived two arson attacks , been led by some of the most prominent Australian Salvation Army officers of the modern era, and has actively ministered to the people of Parramatta and the surrounding regions since 1884.

History

The Salvation Army's ministry in Parramatta started in September 1884, at the corner of Church and Argyle Streets. In 1919, the first permanent church building was opened in George Street, opposite the Roxy Theatre. In 1969, after compulsory land acquisition by Parramatta City Council, Parramatta Salvation Army moved to a new site at 34 Smith Street, Parramatta. Over the years, this site housed the main citadel, an auxiliary hall, church office space, Divisional Headquarters, Christian bookstore, and community welfare services. In 1973, the Corps was subject to two arson attacks. The first, in January, caused approximately $30,000 damage and saw the Corps unable to use their buildings fully until May of that year. The second, in September, caused a further $16,000 damage. On 14 January 2018, Granville Corps officially merged with Parramatta Corps. In March 2018, The Salvation Army vacated their Smith Street citadel, beginning the move to 426 Church Street, North Parramatta. While the new facility is being renovated, the majority of ministry activities are being held at 60 Good Street, Granville (former home of Granville Corps), with the exception of the Corps social welfare programs, which are run from the ground level of the new Church Street site. The construction of the new Corps building is expected to begin in the middle of 2019, with the opening currently scheduled for February 2020.

Music Sections

The Salvation Army - Parramatta has a number of music sections, including Brass Band, Contemporary Worship Ensemble, Songsters, and junior groups. These serve the primary purpose of supporting corporate

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

Brass Band

Parramatta Citadel Band (''PCB''), part of Parramatta Salvation Army, is a typical

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

with a membership of approximately 30-35 people. It has existed uninterrupted for close to a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

. The bands purpose is to minister the word of God to the people of Parramatta and its surrounding area's through the use of music found in the ''Salvation Army Brass Band Tune Books''. They also commonly use arranged music of both

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

and Christian origin for open-airs and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s. The motto of the Band is derived from

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

150: "Praise Him with Melody."

Songsters

The ‘

Songster A "songster" is a wandering musician, usually but not always African-American, of the type which first appeared in the late 19th century in the southern United States. Songsters in American culture The songster tradition both pre-dated and co-exi ...

s' have been a long-standing fixture of the Parramatta Corps. Songsters are a four-part

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

group that aim to bring the message of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

to those that don't know him and also bless the

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

each Sunday through song. The songsters are supported by a small ensemble of musicians on instruments including

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. As well as local ministry, the group has toured in areas such as Asia (June 2001),

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

(2006), and other New South Wales regional centres such as Tamworth and

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

. The group also sings within the community at Christmas time, sharing carols and Christmas songs in shopping centres and carol services. The following individuals have held the role of 'Songster Leader' since 1969: * Errol Grice * Ross Duncan * Jim Muir * Margaret Poore * Murray Mayday * Matthew Pethybridge * Nicola Poore * Tannie Kwong

YP Band

The Parramatta YP (Young Peoples) Band is a brass band and was formed in 1944, its main objective is to provide a medium in which young people can worship God (through the playing of

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

s) and also partake in fellowship with other like-minded young men and women. The band is made up of young people ranging from ages 7 to 23. The Parramatta YP Band has toured all around New South Wales, this usually consists of a Saturday night concert, followed by a worship service at the local Salvation Army Corps on the Sunday morning.

Children's Ministry

The Children’s Ministry at the Parramatta Corps is co-ordinated by a "Young People’s Sergeant Major", commonly abbreviated to "YPSM". This person is responsible for organising and leading the various ministries the corps runs for youth and children. As of present, the role is unfilled, with the departure of the previous YPSM Carissa Ainsworth in the first half of 2019 to take up the role of Ministry Co-Ordinator for the Greater Penrith and Mt Druitt Region. Parramatta Corps provides groups for both children and

adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

. These groups are often led by members of the Corps and include: *''Mini God Squad'' is held on Sundays prior to the morning meeting and is often involves games, activities, music and

Bible stories The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

for children from 2 years of age until they complete year 2 at school. It is a basic introduction to Christianity. *''God Squad'' is held prior to the meeting on Sunday. It aims to teach the

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of dif ...

of the Christian faith and often involves games and live music for children of primary school age. The live music is of a

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

nature and features songs from current Christian groups. It is sung by the children with an accompaniment of drums, bass guitar and electric guitar.

Junior Soldiers

Junior Soldiers is an age-specific program run by some

Corps for children aged 7–13 years. Designed to increase Bible knowledge, as well as knowledge on the doctrine and history of The Salvation Army, the junior soldier program encourages children to model their lives in a Christ-like manner from a young age, through the provision of age-appropriate lessons. The program consists of a weekly teaching time and an award scheme. The award work allows the Junior Soldiers to complete tasks that help them to understand how they can daily live out their Christian faith. Every Corps that utilises the Junior Soldiers program is compelled to have someone to oversee this program. Within the Corps, this person is known as the "Junior Soldier Sergeant". The role of "Junior Soldier Sergeant" at Parramatta Salvation Army is currently unfilled.

Parramatta Salvation Army Football Club

Parramatta Corps was home of the Parramatta Salvation Army Football Club, the ''Generals'', a member club of the New South Wales Churches Football Association. They were a Senior team that played in the NSWCFA's Raahauge Cup 1. Little is known about the history of the club other than that it has existed in several stints over the past 30 years. The records that are available indicate that Parramatta Salvation Army, as they were known then, tasted success in 1992, as All-Age Division 4 Runners-up and in 1994, as All-Age Division 3 Premiers. On both these occasions the teams were under the coaching of Arthur Hodge. The football club was revived in 2006 and took on the moniker ''The Generals'',Generals Executive's
/ref> however this revival was relatively short lived, and the club is currently defunct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvation Army, Parramatta Churches in Sydney Parramatta Salvationism in Australia