About halfway through lunch with Miriam Gluyas, the new head of the Salvation Army in Australia, I ask if she received a pay rise for being promoted from Lt Colonel to Territorial Commander and chair of the local board of directors.
We are having lunch at the Streetlevel Mission in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Surry Hills. It’s a far cry from the four and five-star restaurants where Lunch with the AFR normally takes place. We collect our plates and move to one of the half a dozen tables in a room lined with lockers for the homeless, which for many are the only private spaces they have.We sit on plastic chairs near some other diners and Mitch, the Salvos officer in charge of the Mission, brings us water in paper cups.
“There she was with people who were giving her gifts and who cared about her and I think that changed my life. I thought I never ever wanted anyone to be alone or have to live like that again. So, I’m very strong on community, and loving and being loved, knowing and being known, serving and being served, celebrating and being celebrated.
The Salvos top-level governance is split between Gluyas’ role as the Australian commissioner, responsible for the governance of the board and the Salvos spiritual life, and a chief secretary, Winsome Merrett, who is, in effect, the chief operating officer.