[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19869-19870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SALVATION ARMY OF 
                      ROCK ISLAND COUNTY, ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHERI BUSTOS

                              of illinois

                  in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 14, 2017

  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Salvation 
Army on its 125th anniversary in Rock Island County, Illinois.
  The Salvation Army opened in Moline in 1892, 27 years after it was 
founded in London.

[[Page 19870]]

The Moline Salvation Army was started after immigrants from Europe and 
Sweden came to the area in the 1890s in order to find work at John 
Deere. After arriving in the region, a group of Swedish men wrote back 
to their home country to ask that officers be sent to start a church. 
The Salvation Army's first services were held in a rented space above a 
saloon in the Browning Block Building on the southwest corner of 15th 
Street and 5th Avenue in Moline in 1892. A Rock Island Salvation Army 
opened just one year later. In 1993, the two merged to become the 
Moline Salvation Army, which has been in its current location since 
2000.
  The Salvation Army has given women the same leadership opportunities 
as men. Women serve as pastors, Bible teachers and social service 
workers; they also lead ministries and carry the same rank as male 
counterparts.
  The Salvation Army's original mission has evolved over the years. It 
was first founded with the basic social services principles of taking 
care of the physical and emotional needs of the hungry and homeless, 
but has grown to take on disaster relief services, child care centers, 
summer camps, holiday assistance, services for the aging, veterans 
programs, shelters for women and children, family and career 
counseling, vocational training, correctional services, and substance 
abuse rehabilitation.
  Mr. Speaker, I again want to congratulate The Salvation Army on its 
125th anniversary in Rock Island County and wish it another successful 
125 years.

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