00:00And we're so grateful for whatever you can give.
00:07And let me assure you that we will be good stewards of that gift.
00:11And we'll multiply that gift in many ways. For that gift of yours will not only transform lives,
00:19but in some instances it will save lives. The Red Shield Bill launch events are our premier
00:25events right across the country. So we're holding these in every major city and some of the smaller
00:31cities as well across Australia. And it really is just to highlight the work of the Salvation Army
00:35on the cusp of our Red Shield appeal, which we have every year at the end of May. So here
00:41we are
00:41launching it in the answer today. And we'll be meeting in Sydney and Perth and Adelaide and all
00:47over the place during the month of May, just raising the profile, not so much of the Salvation Army's
00:53work, but the way that we support local communities. When someone donates a dollar to the Salvation Army,
00:59it's not really for the Salvation Army, it's to those people in need. And I met a guy just out
01:04the front here today who's been down on his luck. Centrelink payments have been cancelled three days
01:09in a row or something, and I was able to just share a little bit with him and encourage him
01:13along the way.
01:14And Lord, today, as we join in a meal together, I pray firstly that you...
01:19Tim, great to be here with you as well as the Organising Committee and the Salvation Army for the
01:25launch of the Red Shield appeal in the Hunter, a really important part of not just civic life
01:32in the Hunter region, but right across New South Wales and Australia. There's a proud tradition of the
01:37Salvation Army in the mining fields in this community, and that's extending right through to the current day.
01:43I want to make it clear, Tim and I know that many families are doing it harder today than they've
01:49ever done. With interest rates rising, with inflation peaking, with the cost of petrol
01:54being higher than ever before, it's clearly the case that some people who would have never
01:59reached out to a charity are doing so today because they need to.
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