A Spiritual Feast for the Stratford community

Spiritual gifts are the source of Pastor David Douglas's seminars at the Salvation Army until October 21.
Originally from California and now living in Texas, Pastor Douglas is on his third trip to New Zealand and is in Stratford to share his theological insights in five seminars: gifts, leadership, men's night out, women's night out and prayer.
Pastor Douglas said he believed that when people discover or are born again, the Holy Spirit is given to them.
But aren't we spirits having a human experience? Pastor Douglas agreed that we are part spirit, and said it was through his teachings that people came to understand their spiritual gifts.
"Some people may have one, some people may have three or four spiritual gifts."
Those gifts could be through service or knowledge and it was being able to interpret what they were in a spiritual sense, he said.
"A doctor has secular knowledge, but a spiritual gift was sovereign to the body to minister to the body."
A Pastor for 31 years in America, he has retired from his congregation and now conducts training seminars and speaking tours.
In 1980-82 he accepted the call to the Ministry and went to Theological College in the San Francisco Bay in America.
The philosophy of the Salvation Army founder William Booth in the 1800s was that you couldn't talk to people about spiritual things if their belly was rumbling.
"That is why we minister to the whole person. The Salvation Army has social services and counselling but the difference is that we focus on the spiritual, first.
"I think churches are more keenly aware that there must be a healing of the whole person."
Pastor Douglas said if the spiritual part of the person was whole, there was a much easier outlook on the rest of it (person).
"The spiritual affects the humanistic part."
Major Maureen Ashton and husband Major Gary Ashton of Central Taranaki Corps Stratford were a fantastic couple who were everything that was good about the Christian faith, he said.
Major Maureen discussed with Pastor Douglas his trip down under, and organised his seminars.
"New Zealand is God's special creation, it is absolutely beautiful."
But people become complacent about where they live, he lamented.
Not everyone does, I protested, to which he agreed and insisted that I report his reply: "Good for you."
The Spiritual Feast seminars are open to everyone. For more information contact Major Maureen Ashton at 765 7969 or at the Salvation Army on the Fenton and Juliet Streets corner.