Advert Description
Oxfam Bookshop St Albans
The Ljungholms shared the appointment to re-open The Salvation Army in Moscow in 1992. Armed with Russian Bibles and small selection of humanitarian aid they rolled down Gorky street in search of the borrowed, unseen apartment. The Ljungholm's came into their roles in mid-life. Sven had been Executive VP of a tour operator, president of an airline and hotel GM. Kathie owned her own bookkeeping service. Their first task was to revive a unit on Manhattan's east 52nd Street, a stone's throw from Sven's earlier corporate headquarters on Madison Avenue. Their entrepreneurship brought immediate results. The Sunday congregation grew evolving as an eclectic unit - a score of inactive Salvationists recommitted their God-given talent, East side yuppies wishing to participate in the 'feeding of street people,'and Salvation Army officers joining from other area units wishing to involve themselves in an authentic reliving of the early Army ethos. The corps'concern for its neighbors evidenced itself in a dramatic fashion. While earning a Master's degree in Ed Admin and with Kathie's oversight. the corps' was certified by the New York Board of Ed as ged high school with Ljungholm named its Principal. The cutting-edge model was made famous when the first of its graduates 'walked' and received their diplomas, robed in black gowns and wearing traditional mortar boards, in the cavernous Grand Central Station many students' former home. National TV networks, the BBC, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Toronto Globe and the Christian Science Monitor and many others featured the Army's unique initiative. Ljungholm, a Rotarian, was a regular guest speaker at Rotary clubs in many USA states, the UK, Scandinavia, and Russia. He was the principal speaker at the annual Church of Sweden meeting in Östersund. While stationed in Russia he returned as principal speaker at the annual Rotary convention in southern Sweden. He was the first 'Westerner'to address the Russian Parliament on the election of Boris Yeltsin as its President. Ljungholm was a regular lecturer at Russia's Military Officer Academy, and the Moscow Humanities University. He was presented with Russia's Order of the 4th degree class medal for his actions aimed at restoring international peace and security.
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