Q&A: Major Beverly Howell-Brushett is the corps officer and director of spiritual care at The Salvation Army’s Yellowknife Corps and Resource Centre, N.W.T. 

What was your experience of Christianity growing up? 

My mother died of cancer when I was 14, and that closed off my heart to faith because I knew people were praying for her. My feeling was, I guess that didn’t work, did it? It seemed like if there were a God, then he either didn’t care about my family, or he didn’t have the power to change things. And my experience with a lot of Christians was negative. I was a caring person who loved stargazing and nature, but I was an atheist. 

How did you come to faith? 

When my son was three, he started asking questions about where my parents were. What could I say? I told him they were in heaven, and he asked if we could go to heaven, too. He showed a lot of curiosity about God, so we bought him a cassette tape of Sunday school songs, and he played it over and over. We started taking him to The Salvation Army for Sunday school, dropping him off and then going to Tim Hortons. 

But we started getting to know the people at church. The corps officer, Major Lorne Pritchett, came to our house and we made him a deal—we said we’d attend six Sunday services, and if we didn’t come after that, to leave us alone. We kept going back. The more we heard the message, the more I sensed that God was calling me. 

My husband, Tony, and I went forward and knelt at the altar on April 16, 2000. I remember thinking, What am I doing? because I still didn’t believe—but I wanted to. Major Barb Pritchett prayed, and I felt peace and love just wash over me. When I stood up, I had a big smile on my face, and the whole congregation was around us at the mercy seat. From then, I felt an extraordinary closeness with God. It led me straight into ministry. 

What happened next? 

We became senior soldiers a year later and started the process of applying for training college. It was a little overwhelming since I didn’t grow up in the church. I didn’t know anything, except that God was calling. I soaked everything up like a sponge, trying to learn. 

Tony gave me a Bible. When I first opened it, my eyes fell on Ephesians 5:8: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” This verse speaks to me of God’s grace and love. I remember reading my Bible while on night shift as a nursing assistant, flicking through the pages as fast as I could, while everybody else was talking or passing the time. They wondered what had happened to me. 

But I’m grateful for the life experience that brought us to this point because I believe that God uses everything. Our experience in health care and business certainly carried through into our ministry. And from the beginning, I had a heart for those who don’t know God or who have been hurt. There’s been a lot of pain in my life, so I can relate and connect with people. 

What does this look like in your ministry? 

At first it was challenging for me to listen to people who have struggled with trauma and abuse because it was triggering. I realized that I needed to deal with my own childhood trauma. I sought counselling, and God brought a lot of healing and reassurance into my life. 

When I meet people who have been very hurt in life, who feel like outcasts, I love listening to them. So many people are bearing heavy burdens and put up walls between them and others. I love to beat through those walls, to bring them into the light and say, “You are worthy, you are loved and we’re here for you.” I want them to know that meaning can come out of their pain. 

That is my favourite thing in the world: bringing emotional and spiritual healing into people’s lives. It livens me up like you wouldn’t believe because it’s part of my own journey of feeling outside and not good enough. My ministry is to redeem that pain and use it to help others. We’re wounded healers. 

Photo: Alex Brushett

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