By MICHELLE GLADDEN
From hosting family movie nights to ESL classes, a summer dance camp, and a kids club, the Asbury Park Salvation Army in Asbury Park continues to, as the motto says, Do the Most Good.
“Over the years, as Asbury Park was going through its turmoil, the Salvation Army was there picking up the pieces,” said Hunt Parry, a 40-year board member. “There’s no question that there was a need.”
And, while that need may not be as visible as it once was, it continues. And, behind that motto to do the most good, there is a commitment to making a positive impact on the lives and communities they serve, says Captain Nathan Deming, the new man at the helm in Asbury Park.
“We are pastors and administrators,” the Massachusetts native explained in a telephone interview. “You do have to have that calling on your heart.”
That calling came at a young age, he said.
“I grew up in the church since the time I was born,” he said. “My parents were officers and pastors and I grew to love what the Salvation Army is about and our mission.”
So after high school, Deming went to work for the Salvation Army Corps in Walton, Mass. A year later, he was enrolled in the seminary program.
“I spent two years working on ministerial skills and learning the administrative side,” he said of the Suffern, New York, officer training college.
After college, Deming served three years in Columbus, Ohio, before being transferred to Newark and Atlantic City, where he respectively spent two years.
In Asbury Park, Deming hopes to grow community outreach, programming and essential services.
“I’m hoping to get the community in the door to learn more about our programs and services,” he said. “I’d like to create more community partnerships, and we are looking for advisory board members.”
To that end, Deming and his team are inviting members of the Greater Asbury Park community to a 10 a.m. to noon Open House Sat., April 12 at their 605 Asbury Avenue flagship.
