Heritage Park Temple catches Olympic Spirit!

Catching the wave of Olympic spirit, Heritage Park Temple decided to host its own celebratory event in honor of the Olympic flame passing through the city. With some creative thinking on the part of the event coordinator, Paul Deacon Jr., it didn’t take long to transform the corps parking lot into a local street hockey rink. Although it was initially feared that frigid Manitoba temperatures would impact the event, the Lord had other plans, giving us a balmy plus 4 degrees for this outreach event. Some of the players even put on their summer shorts for the occasion!

At the end of the day, there was evidence of new contacts made from within the neighborhood and plans quickly afoot for another invitational event to take place over the upcoming spring break. The weekend culminated with a worship service on Sunday morning which focused toward the opportunities and blessings of sports ministries in The Salvation Army. Captain Les Marshall (Divisional Secretary for Public Relations and Development) spoke about how sports ministries had become the means through which he was nurtured in his faith and ultimately became aware of his call to officership. Members of the Generals Hockey Team were also present for this service giving their support and awards were presented for the community tournament. Major Keith Pike offered a devotional challenge highlighting the importance for everyone on God’s team to “put on his full armor.” (Ephesians 6: 10)

One young gal from the HPT Kids Klub ministries was fortunate enough to be selected as the model for this occasion and proved it takes a special person to be able to wear Major Pike’s hockey gear! Overall, this weekend gave all who were involved a reminder of the value of sports ministries in The Salvation Army and the incredible opportunity we are have to use sports as a means of reaching into our communities. Heritage Park Temple remains committed and determined to keep building on this foundation