And is that something you are going to continue developing over 2007?
That will be a continued emphasis.
What other issues are you going to be looking at in terms of the Church's development?
One of the main convictions I have is to stir up within The Salvation Army, a deepening awareness and confidence in God's ability to accomplish His purposes in us, for us and through us.
How are you going to be putting that into action?
We need to emphasise our responsibility, to have a prophetic voice and speak into the issues of our nation. We need to continue to speak up on issues relating to social justice and actively advocate on behalf of the marginalised. One is very weary of getting into sound bites so our words need to be backed with action.
Over this last year we have had a continued focus on anti-trafficking and since my return we have invested in creating a desk to co-ordinate that work. We have an important voice there. Our international network helps us and in this country we are seeking to raise people's awareness about the issue of human trafficking and we are working with women affected. There is much work to be done and that is a strong commitment we have.
Equally in the last few months since my return we have engaged in a partnership that will look at employment services, which resonates again with the roots, the raison d'etre, of The Salvation Army. And with those who have more experience in the field, the specialists, the single issues people, The Salvation Army will develop its work in relation to returning people to work, creating opportunities for some of those who have been unemployed for long, long periods of time.
Anti-trafficking has been a major issue for The Salvation Army. What is it about anti-trafficking that has struck so keenly at the heart of The Salvation Army?
Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and it is recognised that, 200 years on from the abolition, slavery still exists. We call it by another name in terms of trafficking but to a large extent it is still slavery. And what deeply affects me personally and The Salvation Army in terms of its mission is that this involves so many people, the statistics are horrendous. But it also involves a lot of children in exploitation, whether that be slave labour or sexual exploitation and that's horrendous.
There is no country in the world that escapes this, whether it is a country of origin, whether it is a country of transit or whether it is a country receiving people. So this is a major issue internationally.
Engagement in it can be dangerous because there are vested interests and there is big money involved, but for us it resonates because it is about human dignity, recognising the value of every individual, understanding that Christians have to be active in relation to serving the present age and this is a current contemporary evil.
This must be something The Salvation Army is very well-positioned to play a role in given your international network. How are you going to partner with The Salvation Army in other countries to fight against trafficking?
