By Mary Lackie

Capt. Judy Moore stands in front of a large department store in downtown Atlanta from Thanksgiving to Christmas. She rings a bell and plays a repetitious, tape-recorded message “Drop some money in the kettle for the little lady.”

She gets tired, but she doesn’t mind it.

“People are rushing by, so busy—involved in giving and receiving presents that they seem to forget what Christmas is all about—showing our love for God,” she said.

Recently a well-dressed woman stopped with a donation and said, “I used to be a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army.” She was accompanied by her teenaged daughter dressed in a mod outfit who said, “Mother, you never told me about that.”

Passersby often greet the bell-ringers with “Merry Christmas” as they offer a donation. Capt. Moore said that sometimes they will add a request for prayers, or ask where they can sign up for a gift basket or find a night’s lodgings.

“Most people are lovely to us—I guess they have a respect of the uniform,” she said. “Sometimes we are bothered by hecklers, but we are protected. Strangers will say to us, ‘Don’t’ be afraid, we’re watching over you.’”

“It always gives us so much satisfaction and joy to carry the Christmas baskets to people,” Capt. Moore said. “But in a city the size of Atlanta, the bell-ringers who raise the money for the toys, baskets, parties and shoes do not distribute the gifts.”

Corps members were sorting and wrapping gifts and groceries at the center recently when a young member of the corps asked Capt. Moore for some wrapping paper. There was none to spare, so he was given the wrapping from a fruit basket. The next day he returned with a small box for her wrapped in the paper she had given him. “It was a little charm bracelet, and I felt so surprised and touched by his kindness,” she said.

The Christmas campaign for funds involves all members of the Corps-officers, soldiers, and students in the two-year training program. The students work up to Dec. 27 when they are given a 10 day furlough and can spend Christmas with their families.

Corps members in the band seem to work hardest at Christmastime and probably enjoy it the most, she said. Quarters play for about an hour in one area, and then take a rest. “When they are tired, they may hit a sour note now and then, but the laugh, and people on the street join in the laughter, she said.

“There are so many people who think of the Salvation Army as tambourines, bell-ringing and bands,” Capt. Moore said. “But so few people are ever approached with anything spiritual. They are willing to listen and talk about this life and what is to come. They are hungry to learn about God, but they have never spoken to anyone about it.”

Capt. Moore, a native of Arkansas and five-year veteran with the Corps, attended the Salvation Army Sunday school as a child. She became active in youth activities, the Girl Guards, and participated in the six-year Bible course.

“Of course, every little girl thinks of becoming a nurse—I thought of that—or of becoming an artist and creating things. During one of the youth meetings, there was a challenge given us; “Who wants to give himself to God and the Army?’” she said.

“I felt this desire, not a voice, but an urgent desire to follow God in this way,” she said. “Everyone is welcome to join the Salvation Army, but to become an officer, you must have completed high school and take the two-year training program.” Atlanta is the training center for the South territory.

“I enjoy my off-duty hours,” Capt. Moore said. “As an officer I could stay in the officers’ quarters, but I prefer living in the girls’ dormitory with the students and visit with them in the evenings.”

Recently, a student came in from a day’s work and said, “Oh, captain, I am so thrilled. I prayed that the Lord would help me to speak to someone today about Jesus. A man started a conversation with me, and it led to a spiritual discussion. We prayed together, and he thanked God for my help.”

Recalling an experience during a six-month assignment, in New Orleans, Capt. Moore said, “We were holding an open-air street meeting, and the band was playing. A drunk heard the music and followed the band to the prayer service. His doctor had warned him that if he did not give up liquor, he would have six month’s to live. The man joined the Army, and became a welcome sergeant who gave out books at the door., Everyone loved him for his cheerful disposition. He was with the Army about 10 years—until he died.”

“This is not the type of work you go into if you want to make money,” Capt. Moore said. “Every time you get a promotion, the raise is the same—fifty cents a week. People seem to think of our work as a sacrifice—I don’t look at it that way. I get much more out of life than I can ever give in return.”

In a talk with a teenage boy, she said, “I gave him just a story of Christ’s life—not in a preachified way, and when I finished, he looked at me with tears in his eyes. He said he had heard about Jesus in Sunday school, but he had never thought of it in this way before.”

When people ask Capt. Moore about her religion, she answers, “I am a Salvationist. When God led me into work, I suddenly realized that this is just what I would have been doing in my spare time—it brings so much joy.”