During her school years, Lori Barry witnessed close friends who were not well treated because of their socio-economic status, who were not pushed to their full potential because of who they were.

“That always bothered me,” she says now. “No one should feel that way. Every student should feel valued because of who they are. That was my driving force in becoming a teacher. I wanted to make a difference.”

Two Callings, One Choice

Lori grew up in Grand Falls-Windsor, a town in Newfoundland and Labrador. Both parents were very active Salvation Army members.

“We weren’t rich, but what we didn’t have in money, we made up for in love,” she says.

Lori had thought of becoming a Salvation Army pastor but, at the age of 16, Lori met Mike (“It’s always a boy, right?” Lori smiles.), who was not a member of The Salvation Army.

“We started going out and became involved. We’re still together with two sons some 38 years later, but at that point, the whole pastor thing seemed unattainable to us, as Mike was not a member of The Salvation Army.”

However, the other career Lori had always thought about was teaching. So, she completed her education degree the year before she married and then went back to university for a special education degree, after teaching in a regular classroom for 2½ years.

“I’d always gravitated toward children with special needs, children who are extremely vulnerable,” she explains. “These children need so much attention, but they often fall between the cracks.”

The Place to Be

Even then, when she started her first job as a special education teacher, Lori was still unsure if that was where she was meant to be. Then she encountered Justin.

The 19-year-old had limited speech, a low cognitive level and was constantly running away from class.

This is going to be a challenge, thought Lori.

However, on her first day, Justin’s mother shared with Lori, “There’s something interesting you need to know about Justin.”

While he had never been inside a church, Justin was captivated by church music.

So, whenever he became especially agitated, Lori would sing to him all the songs in her Army repertoire, and she even purchased a VHS tape of Salvation Army songs for his birthday.

One afternoon when Justin was being particularly difficult, Lori sat him down and played the tape.

“I was singing and he was watching,” Lori recalls. “Then he looked at me and started to sing.”

“It’s me, O Lord, standin’ in the need of prayer.”

“It was the first sentence I had ever heard him say, and it was from a Salvation Army hymn!” Lori says. “I started to cry.”

Justin gently wiped the tears from her face as he kept on singing.

“Lord,” Lori prayed, “I get it. This is where you want me to be.”

Milestones

Lori has been teaching now for 30 years, most of that time in special education.

“I’ve spent a career teaching the children that no one else wanted to teach, that no one wanted to commit to—and they’ve changed my life.

“Every one of them owns a piece of my heart.”

Some of these children are now in their 30s and 40s, and Lori still has relationships with them and their parents.

“They’re able to function in society in a way that they couldn’t before,” Lori says. “Those are the milestones I see in my students.”

Children of God

Lori’s faith background and religious grounding have helped her focus on her career.

“Teaching’s a job where it is easy to get frustrated,” she explains. “There are times when I’m physically and mentally exhausted, and being able to look at people with compassion and see them for who they are is so important. Having a faith has been my saving grace.”

One colleague told Lori that she had more patience than anyone she knew.

“You have to meet the children where they are and understand who they are and where they come from,” Lori goes on to say. “And in my eyes, every one of these children is a child of God, and I am not going to treat them or their parents any differently than I would treat anyone else.”

From Teaching to Preaching

The call to become a Salvation Army pastor has never left Lori. She is eligible to retire as a teacher in November 2026, and her plan then is to give The Salvation Army the next few years of her life. That meets with the wholehearted support of her husband, who is now an official member of the Army himself.

“Lori’s preached, participates in worship services, leads Bible study, teaches Sunday school, plays in the brass band, sings in the choir and participates in women’s ministries,” says Major Fred Pond, pastor at The Salvation Army’s Grand Falls Citadel, where Lori attends. “She’s a deeply committed Salvationist who understands the mission of the Army in her church as well as her community.”

“I used to think I’d be too old to be a pastor by the time I retire,” Lori says. “But there are different pathways to ministry, and growing up in the Army, having an English degree and an education background, was my own pathway.

“I believe with all my heart that this is where God called me to be. It’s just that God’s plan was for me to teach and then preach.”

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