The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 22, 2007 - 3 LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER LEADING THE CONGREGATION: Husband and wife Stan and Deborah Higdon are the new pastors at Oakville's Salvation Army Church. Couple's commitment for a lifetime By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF As Christmas nears, Stan and Deborah Higdon are busy, busy, busy. That's to be expected when you work for the Salvation Army -- though the Higdons don't just work for the local church, they run it. The husband-and-wife team are the new pastors at Oakville's Salvation Army Church on Rebecca Street in the town's west end. Stan, 54, and Deborah, 52, are both natives of Newfoundland and both pastors with the Salvation Army. They've been in Oakville long enough to settle into a north Oakville home and to discover -- surprisingly, they admit -- as much, if not more, need for the Salvation Army's charitable works in Oakville, than back home in Newfoundland. The Higdons explain that the Salvation Army is recognized -- and established -- more as a church in Newfoundland, while the church itself has only 50 members or so in Oakville, but is very well known here for its local charitable work. With the Christmas season in full swing, so too are those charitable works. The annual toy depot is final- "I felt the Lord called me into the ministry." Deborah Higdon, pastor Oakville Salvation Army ly in operation after a rough start thanks to trouble finding a place to operate this year. The food drive is on and a Christmas dinner is in the works. Volunteers have been hard at work with the annual Salvation Army Kettle Drive (Nov. 16-Dec. 24) -- you've seen and heard them jingling bells by the Salvation Army Kettles at local malls and stores. Busy, busy, busy. It's good that Stan and Deborah took time out last fall for a vacation down south to celebrate their 30th anniversary. It's not the first time the couple has put the church on hold for their relationship -- though their commitment to the church is obvious. Born and raised in Newfoundland, Deborah grew up in a Salvation Army household. At age 14 or 15 she was already training by working at a senior citizens' home while her older sister was becoming a Salvation Army minister. "I felt the Lord called me into the ministry," said Deborah who came from a family of eight. Her father, James Thompson, was known as Mechanic Jim in their hometown of Point Leamington, where he and her mother, Marie Thompson, made their home. Three of Deborah's sisters were in the Salvation Army clergy. Upon becoming a minister herself at age 20, Deborah was appointed to work in a variety of communities in Newfoundland and it was when she was appointed to Cornerbrook that See Couple page 4 · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Authorized Vinylbilt Dealer www.shuttersetc.ca Shop at Home Service FREE