17 May 2014 NZFT War Cry

FAITH IN ACTION | 17 MAY 2014 | Issue 6592 | $1.50

SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES of Synthetic High Users

THE PROCRASTINATION DIET

WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS

ARE WE REALLY A PRAYING ARMY?

BEST OF THE BLOGGERS

HEALTHY HOMES LEAD TO HEALTHY LIVES

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Kia ora Too much unfairness WAR CRY

The Salvation Army Te Ope Whakaora New Zealand, Fiji & Tonga Territory FOUNDER William Booth GENERAL André Cox TERRITORIAL COMMANDER Robert Donaldson The Salvation Army’s message is based on the Bible. Our ministry is motivated by love for God. Our mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human need in his name without discrimination.

War Cry exists to support and advance The Salvation Army’s message, ministry and mission.

EDITOR

Major Christina Tyson GRAPHIC DESIGN

Lauren Millington, Amber Wilkinson STAFF WRITERS

Ingrid Barratt, Vanessa Singh CONTRIBUTORS

Martin Barratt (film reviewer), Kris Singh (music reviewer)

PROOF READING

Major Jill Gainsford BACK COVER IMAGE

Photo: Aerial view of Tasman River looking toward Aoraki/Mount Cook; photography: Mike Haydon / www.photonewzealand.co.nz

OFFICE Territorial Headquarters, 204 Cuba Street, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 Phone (04) 384 5649 Fax (04) 382 0716 Email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org SUBSCRIPTIONS Salvationist Resources Department Phone (04) 382 0740 Email mailorder@nzf.salvationarmy.org $75 per year within NZ PRINT MANAGEMENT MakeReady | www.makeready.co.nz

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All Bible references from the Holy Bible, New International Version, unless otherwise stated.

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Every parent has had to adjudicate over the issue of ‘fairness’.

It sometimes seems like the constant preoccupation of small children desperate to ensure that some other sibling doesn’t get better treatment than they do. For this would be ‘unfair’. Yet as adults we can seem to lose sight of how essential fairness is.

A recent example of this is the kidnapping of over 200 girls from their school in northern Nigeria into slavery. The man who has claimed responsibility is promising that they will be sold as child brides. At the time of writing, 187 girls are still missing.

More and more people are pointing at how unfairly this incident has been responded to within Nigeria and by the wider global community. Dare I say it, that if these had been white European children instead of black African children, I am certain there would there have been a far swifter reaction? Are too many of us still swayed by unjust attitudes rooted in colonialist attitudes and even racism? When Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared with over 239 people on board, 26 countries worked together and spent millions of dollars to search for the missing. Yet the global community has seemed content to stand by after this crisis in Nigeria.

What are the issues of fairness here? Aside from the urgent necessity to bring these girls home because they have been taken illegally without consent, the broader issues of fairness include the low value too many people in our world place on education —especially education of women. Fairness also extends to whether we value and protect girls as much as we do boys.

I pray that these girls will be returned safely to their homes and community. And I pray that as a global community, we will wake up to ourselves and remember the basic human principle of living fairly amongst others so that we will be prepared to rescue those that are treated unfairly by rogue people and power structures in this world. As Jesus so succinctly said, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’

Christina Tyson Editor

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BIBLE VERSE Romans 1:20 New Living Translation

‘For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.’ Rōma 1:20

‘E kitea nuitia ana hoki ngā mea ōna, kāhore nei i kitea, nō te hanganga iho rā o te ao, e mōhiotia ana ki ngā mea i hangā, arā tōna kaha mau tonu, me tōna atuatanga; kia kore ai he kupu whakahoki mā rātou …’

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WISE WORDS

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

Martin Luther

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Let’s Talk | 03

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t’s no secret to those who know me that I would quite happily take up a life of wandering in the wilderness in the hopes of becoming some sort of spiritual guru. People would have to find me in a secluded cave where I would be clothed in a single loin cloth with a torso-length beard, eating roots and wild berries.

And I would raise a wolf and name him Rafiki.

In fact, the first time I saw Into the Wild, I became partially obsessed with the idea that I could perhaps be an elusive nomad who could live without depending on interaction with other human beings.

Last year I gave prolonged solitude a test drive and went on holiday alone. Seven days by myself. For a week I didn’t speak to another human being. I quickly discovered this made other people fairly uncomfortable and concerned about my mental wellbeing, because, well, it’s just not the done thing.

Susan Cain explores this idea that we’re not used to solitude in her popular talk, ‘The Power of Introverts’. She explains that in the 20th century, as we have moved from living predominantly in small agricultural communities to living in cities of big business, we no longer live among those we’ve known our whole lives, but usually around those we’ve only known for a short time.

This has led to a change in what we value in people. Where character had once been the most admired quality, more dynamic and immediate qualities like ‘magnetism’ and ‘charisma’ were given the most attention as we moved into a culture of personality. We want to know ‘how to win friends and influence people’. We want to appear engaging and to brand ourselves perfectly, but it is an exhausting default for us to live in.

Blaise Pascal famously penned the words, ‘I have often said that the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.’ I think he’s right. I think we have forgotten the transcendent power of solitude and the way it forces us to eyeball our deceptions, our grief, our passions and our core beliefs.

So, back to my loner retreat. Over the course of the week I found there was a lot I had been feeling that I had also been ignoring … and surviving through. Without the constant barrage of media, everything came into focus and I could choose to understand what was happening in my life properly, and know what to do with it all.

I had time to see that a lot of what I was angry about when it came to other people, was simply because they had been pressing certain buttons, buttons I didn’t actually have to wear at all. As I worked through my own guilt and rediscovered my own forgiveness, it became increasingly obvious that I had no right to withhold the same forgiveness from anyone else.

Henri Nouwen, whose life battled in these trenches of the soul many a time, says it better than anyone in his book, Out of Solitude: ‘Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our lives are in danger. Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.

Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our actions quickly become empty gestures. The careful balance between

silence and words, withdrawal and involvement, distance and closeness, solitude and community forms the basis of the Christian life and should therefore be the subject of our most personal attention.’

Being alone is central to doing the together part well. It’s the means to the ends of good community. True solitude isn’t escapism. SAM BURROWS Sam Burrows is part of the ‘NZ Young Writers’ programme of Christian Today Australia. Go to au.christiantoday.com

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Bookshelf New Zealand But is it Fair?

Edited by Neil Darragh This journal-style publication brings together 31 voices from faith communities in New Zealand that promote greater equality in our country. Subtitled ‘Faith Communities and Social Justice’, this volume covers both the theology of justice as well as the stories from people working for equality in housing, sexuality, schooling and more. It’s a pity that The Salvation Army, with its rich heritage of of social services, has not been included—however, Catholic, Anglican, Muslim and other voices provide a refreshing perspective. This definitely has an academic slant, so will appeal to ponderers. (Accent Publications)

Playlist

Poverty When Helping Hurts Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert A thoughtful addition to the debate around whether providing aid to poverty-stricken communities heals or harms. The authors aim is to articulate a biblicallybased framework concerning the root causes of poverty, and its alleviation, with the authors urging people to ‘walk … in humble relationships’. This richly articulate book takes us deep into the heart of Christ, and the ‘huge responsibility’ he gave to those who follow him —asking that we care for ‘the least of these.’ This edition also comes with a study guide, and it would be both useful and inspiring to tackle this profound issue in a small group. (Moody Publishers)

Autobiography Making Trouble Greg Valerio Greg Valerio has styled himself as a ‘natural troublemaker’, but his story is genuinely compelling. As a wannabe actor in London, Greg had a vision of Jesus, who appeared to him and said, ‘I want you to follow me, I have a job for you to do.’ Today, Greg is recognised as a leading figure in the Fairtrade gold movement—taking on the ludicrously wealthy jewellery industry. Or in his words, exposing its ‘dirty secrets’: pollution, child labour, criminal activity and dangerous practices. An intriguing story about a larger than life character, and the issue of Fairtrade that continues to be of global importance. (Lion Hudson)

Reel News

Pop Head or Heart Christina Perri Second records are always hard to follow, especially if the first was a huge success. This is the case for singer-songwriter Christina Perri, whose debut Lovestrong (particularly the single ‘Jar of Hearts’) made her sound well known. Head or Heart is a safe follow-up, and doesn’t deviate much from that sound. It is brimming with emotion, hearton-the-sleeve lyrics and rich instrumentation. Perri’s powerful voice drives these songs well, and there are enough melodic hooks to have you coming back for more. There are occasional weak spots like ‘Lonely Child’ and ‘Sea of Lovers’, but as a whole, the record is stylistically consistent and recommended for Perri fans.

Worship All Sons and Daughters Self-Titled Following the massive success of their three EPs and two fulllength records, All Sons and Daughters latest self-titled work has a lot of weight on its shoulders.

Fortunately, the creativity that made this duo so well-known is fully engaged and has delivered an excellent folk-acoustic worship album. Equal parts soulful, warm and inviting, this record soars with its twin vocal harmonies and velvety rich production. It challenges contemporary Christian music lyrically—it is unafraid of being complex, thematic and challenging. At the same time, there’s an intimacy that makes this record really accessible. Highly recommended.

GIVEAWAY

Historical Documentary William Booth: A Passion for the Poor John Stephenson / G Using restored film footage and specially treated archive photos, William Booth: A Passion for the Poor is an engaging, 30-minute look at the life of William Booth, and how he took God’s love to the poor. Walking the povertystricken streets of Whitechapel late one night in the summer of 1865, Booth observed neglected children, drunken women, unemployed men, and prostitutes plying their trade. That night he decided, ‘These will be our people.’

What followed is an enthralling story of courage and faith leading to the birth of The Salvation Army. Young people, often as young as 18, opened the Army’s evangelistic work in mining towns and other countries as the Army expanded globally. The Army’s social work was also born, compelled by love.

Teaming up with journalist W.T. Stead, the Army tackled the sexual trafficking business that entrapped hundreds of young girls.

Many people became Christians and were inspired by Booth’s passion for God and for those in need. Following Booth’s death, hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of London to say goodbye. Among the crowd were thieves, harlots, the lost and outcast to whom Booth had given his heart.

The 2012 film is narrated by TV presenter Sue Radford and includes comments from Majors Anne Read and Mark Sawyer. But the stars of the show are the restored film footage (including a couple of clips which will be new to most people) and the amazing 3D treatment given to old photographs. This brings an already compelling story even more dramatically to life.

To win a copy of Making Trouble, tell us your favourite fairly traded product.

War Cry Giveaway, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wgtn 6141 or email warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org. Entries close 2 June.

You’ll Get Through This winner is H. Robertson.

Some review material brought to you by Manna, go to manna.co.nz Go to

salvationarmy.org.nz/saresources

Feature | 05

Justice is ‘bringing the chapel to the street’, says Russell Rook, CEO of Chapel St in the UK. He left a ‘wonderful and comfortable’ job within The Salvation Army, UK and Ireland Territory, to step out onto his street. As the keynote speaker for the Just Action Conference in August, Russell speaks to Ingrid Barratt about living out ‘God’s biggest joke’.

06 | WarCry«17 May 2014

he Salvation Army seems to be one of God’s biggest jokes,’ laughs Russell Rook, CEO of Chapel St, ‘and you can’t really explain a joke.’

Russell can get away with being provocative because he is family, having spent almost two decades heading up the youth ministry of The Salvation Army, UK and Ireland Territory. ‘I grew up in The Salvation Army and when I left school I took a year out to work for the Army. I said to God, “I’ll give you this year if you give me the rest of my life back to do what I want to do.” I was pretty sure God had signed off on this deal, but my year out turned into 18 years,’ he jokes. Russell dreamed of studying music, but instead got a PhD on how Jesus makes himself present in the culture of the church.

Explaining the joke But back to the joke. Russell is reflecting upon the mission of The Salvation Army, and recalls the best explanation he has heard —from his good friend and author Phil Needham: ‘The genuis of William Booth was that he moved the chapel onto the street’. ‘True Salvationism happens when we realise that the gospel is a public truth that makes a difference in the real world,’ adds Russell.

But it was one night, when Russell found himself in the back of the UK Minister for School’s chauffeur-driven car, that this idea began morphing into action. ‘A conversation came out about the need for new types of school,’ he recalls. Russell realised that this was an opportunity to do something new, right in the heart of the community.

The idea so gripped Russell that he felt he had to make a radical change in his own life. ‘I came to a tipping point. I realised that I am not ultimately responsible for The Salvation Army, as an institution, but I am responsible for my own Salvationism. So the part of The Salvation Army that is me had to be willing to step out.’

Stepping out So Russell left his ‘very wonderful and very comfortable’ position within The Salvation Army, and with some fellow travellers began a new project, aptly called ‘Chapel St’. Today, 70 per cent of Chapel St’s business is in running schools. But it is also involved in a broad array of projects including parenting, employment and health. The aim is to be involved in projects that form the heart of community, and as Russell explains, ‘at some stage in their lives, everyone needs schools and healthcare.’

Every project is united by a deep calling to be Christ on the streets. ‘Community is what we were created for. We believe the world was created by community—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit —they are utterly one, and utterly community. And God created us in his image in that we are utterly unique, but we were made to share this planet and be connected in relationship. That’s why life makes sense in community.’

Russell firmly believes that community is a justice issue because, as he explains, ‘the greatest deprivation in deprived areas is the deprivation of community itself’.

But Russell adds that this gives churches a profound opportunity: ‘The church is community and welcomes all people from all colours and

creeds. That’s a beautiful image of what the Kingdom of God is, where we’re all sitting down together sharing a wonderful feast with the King of Kings.’ God’s heart is on the streets, within the community.

Building a chapel on the street But Russell is honest that building this Kingdom community has not been an easy road. Initially, Chapel St was set up in partnership with the Minister of Schools, who was then made ‘Minister of Transport’ in a cabinet reshuffle. Less than a month after Russell left his Salvation Army job, the discussion seemed to be over. ‘We didn’t feel called to reform transport,’ he jokes. Then the global financial crisis hit, meaning much less money for public service.

And so, within its first two years, Chapel St was ‘staring into the face of a fairly colossal failure’, recalls Russell. ‘I always said, ‘It doesn’t really matter if it doesn’t work, I’ve got to give it a go.” And that was lovely rhetoric, but when it looked like a reality, I faced some dark nights of the soul.’

We see our schools as the feast that everyone is allowed to partake of and contribute to.

But the Chapel St team was determined to turn over every stone before giving up. ‘We didn’t know if anything could be done, so we tried everything and anything.’ And out of the rubble, the mission of Chapel St began to take shape. First, they started a family centre, then they won a bid to deliver a health centre. Then, came an opportunity to work with unemployed youth, because ‘there are over one million young people out of work in the UK’.

And then came the turning point. Chapel St was contacted by a former Salvation Army officer, now working as a school chaplain, asking for help. The local high school was going to be closed, meaning students would have to take two buses to get to the nearest school.

But, perhaps more significantly, taking away the school would take away the heart of the community.

Chapel St gathered the community together to find a new way of doing school that would meet their needs. They worked with businesses, church leaders, community leaders and others to launch a school based on the ‘Christian ethos of grace, love and fellowship’, funded by central government.

Chapel St continues working with government to transform schools that are struggling. It now runs schools in Manchester, Oxford and London, and has another two schools opening in September this year. By September 2015, Chapel St aims to have grown to 10 schools.

A Christian Ethos In developing a Christian ethos for education, Russell observed that communities are often isolated from their local school, explaining, ‘It’s become a place for professionals and policy makers, but if you’re the local church or even a parent, you don’t necessarily feel that you should be involved.’

Instead, Chapel St schools welcome the community to become

Feature | 07

part of the school. Each school is developed in consultation with its community, and reflects differing community needs. The schools are typically smaller, and every child and family has a ‘coach’ that works with them to develop academic and personal goals. ‘A Christian ethos school shares hospitality and learning with people of all and no faiths and allows the whole community to come together and work towards a common good. We see our schools as the “feast” that everyone is allowed to partake of and contribute to.’

This impacts the everyday workings of the school: teachers sit with students during lunch so they can interact with them on a personal level. Students take part in community projects as part of their learning. And teachers regularly visit students in their home, so they can get to know the parents.

This has opened up remarkable opportunities for community connection. Russell gives a stunning example: ‘If you speak to any teacher, they’ll tell you that a huge amount of things that affect a child’s education is outside the school. For example, a mum of one of our students was having some terrible challenges that led to a period of difficult depression. Our teachers did a home visit and noticed that she was having difficulty managing the home.

‘So our church partners were able to rally people together and within one week totally refurbished the house, top to bottom, with new floors, bathroom, kitchen, and furniture, and turned it into something quite wonderful. This had a huge impact on the child’s education, but was totally outside the scope of what a teacher can do.’

Myths and miracles The concept of Chapel St’s ‘Christian ethos’ schools is almost a contradiction to what is commonly thought of as a ‘Christian school’: their schools are open to everyone and they don’t have a traditionally ‘evangelical’ agenda in their curriculum.

‘Any expression of Christianity that is coercive is inauthentic,’ explains Russell. ‘God has made us free and if he’s not going to take that freedom away from us, than neither should we. So we’re not trying to manipulate children into being Christians.’

Instead, they model true Christianity through a Christian ethos of ‘grace, love and fellowship’, which informs everything from student interactions to teacher assessments. ‘It’s not so much about what we teach, as how we teach it,’ sums up Russell.

Their schools use the traditional ‘Prayer of the Grace’: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.

This reflects the communal nature of God, and as a prayer opens up the faith discussion, explains Russell. It is also a blessing, ‘and we hope that people will experience the blessing of grace, love and fellowship in their lives.’

And like all miracles, the results speak for themselves. Within just two terms of taking over a failing school, academic results are measuring at ‘above expectations’—a dramatic turn around.

Creating community This model of school is a radical departure from the Western-world educational goal of creating ‘independent, autonomous adults’. As part

of his role, Russell works at the UK Houses of Parliament once a week, where he has observed that society’s wealthiest and most powerful have the best networks of interdependence. ‘The success of the people I see around me has nothing to do with their autonomy,’ he points out. ‘If you go down through the social demography you’ll find that the most independent people are actually the most disadvantaged. They don’t have networks that can offer them jobs—the most deprived communities are also the most deprived of community.’

So, in its connections between education, health and family, Chapel St aims to readdress this deprivation of community.

Sometimes the solutions are in the simplest of connections.

In one community where Chapel St has a health centre, there is a high prevalence of teenage pregnancies. On the other hand, at the local church there were mums who had given up their careers but felt they had something more to give. Chapel St approached the church, and the vicar’s wife came up with a beautifully simple solution, now called ‘Mum+Mum’.

‘This trains up mums and matches them with other mums as mentors. We get referrals from midwifery services, and there is often a magical meeting of mums, where suddenly they’ve got someone to take them to local playgroups,’ explains Russell. ‘It’s been exciting to see how something with very little resource—just people, really—can make a massive difference in people’s lives.’

This is a brilliantly simple example of why Chapel St exists: to build community and in doing so, welcoming everyone to the feast that is the Christian life.

JUST ACTION 2014

in Our Backyard Russell Rook will be the keynote speaker Just Action 2014, to be held in four main centres in August.

Run by the Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit, assistant director Sue Hay explains why they asked Russell to speak: ‘We are looking at just actions in our own neighbourhoods. Russell brings a biblical perspective to this, alongside his grasp of macro or global influences that impact the delivery of justice. In addition, he has demonstrated his ability to deliver practical solutions in local communities.’

DUNEDIN @ 575 Princes St Thursday 21 August CHRISTCHURCH @ 250 Colombo St Saturday 23 August WELLINGTON @ 92 Vivian St Tuesday 26 August AUCKLAND @ 18 Allright Place, Mt Wgtn Thursday 28 August REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN at salvationarmy.org.nz/justaction

08 | WarCry«17 May 2014

HEALTH

LIFESTYLE

Exercise in real life

The Procrastination Diet

There’s growing evidence that a generally active lifestyle has more benefits than a hard out gym session. Here are some ways to make activity part of your life: The key is to get up out of your seat more often. Whether it’s a 30-minute walk, or three 10-minute sessions, anything that gets you moving more will provide you with the benefits of exercise, like decreasing the risk of heart disease and improving mental wellbeing.

Have a walking meeting: If you need to have a meeting with a colleague (probably best if they are also a friend), why not suggest that you go for a walk and talk? Wouldn’t life at the office be so much better if we could work outdoors more often?

Turn all those odd jobs you’ve been putting off into a fun game.

Popular blogger Elaine Collier came up with the idea to ‘diet’ from procastinating. She made a list of 30 jobs she had been putting off doing, and pledged to do one every day for the next month. Her plan was elaborate. She got a friend to email her a job on her list every day to keep her accountable. But others have taken up the challenge simply by writing each job on a small piece of paper and putting them in a jar, then pulling one piece of paper out each day.

Use the stairs: You’ve heard it before, but now there is hard evidence: one study had people walk a 15-metre stairway five times a day, and they burned an average of 302 calories per week. Surprisingly, more calories were burned by people taking one step at a time, rather than bounding up the stairs.

Get out of your chair: Get up every hour and do something like getting a drink of water, or walk to use the loo on another floor.

If that sounds like something better put off till tomorrow, Psychology Today editor Hara Estroff Marano has this advice: ‘Procrastinators are made not born.’ She explains that it is learnt behaviour, and is essentially a lack of ‘self-regulation’ or self control. Procrastinators lie to themselves about why they’ve put something off, but it is essentially self-sabotage. There are three basic types of procrastinators, according to Dr. Joseph Ferrari:

Walk, don’t wait: At times when you have wait periods, such as when you’re at the airport or at the doctor’s office, find out how long the delay will be and take the opportunity to go for a walk and explore.

Shop till you drop: A two-hour shopping trip uses almost 300 calories, and if you’re pushing a shopping trolley around, you use even more.

• Arousal types, or thrill-seekers, who wait to the last minute for the euphoric rush.

Be a clean machine: Everyday household tasks are great calorie burners. Vacuuming can burn about 75 calories a half hour. Washing the car, gardening, and cleaning are also great workouts.

• Avoiders, who may be avoiding fear of failure or even fear of success, but in either case are very concerned with what others think of them; they would rather have others think they lack effort than ability.

• Decisional procrastinators, who can’t make a decision. This absolves procrastinators of responsibility for the outcome of events.

Dance every day: Start the day by getting into the groove and having a dance session. You won’t leave home in a bad mood after that!

The best way to change your habits is to change the way you think. Be honest with yourself about why you procrastinate and whether that has worked for you. Once you’ve given yourself a good honest talking to, kickstart the new you with the ‘procrastination diet’.

Do it with a friend: When you’re getting together with a friend, do something active, like going for a walk, shopping, or trying out the winter ice skating ring. Embarrassment is much more fun with a friend.

Procrastination makes easy things hard, and hard things harder. Mason Cooley

Apple Pie Everyone loves apple pie, so it’s worth learning how to make this old fav | Makes a 20–23cm round pie 2 sheets of pre-rolled flaky pastry ½ cup sugar 2 Tbsp flour 4–6 apples 25g butter, melted 6 whole cloves, or ¼ tsp ground cloves lightly beaten egg, to glaze

Preheat oven to 220°C, with rack just below the middle. Roll out pastry on lightly floured board to form two rounds a little bigger than 20–23 cm pie plate. Put one piece in plate, with edges overhanging, stretching it as little as possible.

Put sugar and flour in bowl. Coarsely shred or slice peeled or unpeeled apples, and toss them in the sugar and flour. Pour melted butter over the apple, add the cloves if you like, and toss to mix.

Put prepared apple into pastry-lined pan, dampen surface of the remaining pastry round. Press the two layers of pastry together. Trim about 1 cm beyond the edge of the pie plate, then fold the overhanging pastry under, pinching the layers together. Flute edges or press with a fork. Make one central hole or several holes for steam to escape. Brush top with lightly beaten egg if you want a glazed surface.

Bake at 220°C until golden brown and apple is tender when tested with a skewer. Lower heat to 180°C if pastry browns before apple is cooked.

From The Ultimate Vegetarian Collection by Simon & Alison Holst. www.holst.co.nz

Lifestyle | 09

Q&A How can I be fair?

As Fairtrade Fortnight ends, how can we keep Fairtrade on our grocery list for the rest of the year?

Fairtrade is one of those exciting movements, where you can see real change happening just by making a few simple choices. Did you know that the biggest selling chocolate bars for both Whittakers and Cadbury, are their Fairtrade Certified dairy milk blocks? With consumer power like that, it is in the producers’ interests to continue supplying Fairtrade products. And that’s how Fairtrade works—the more of it we buy, the more producers will make, and the fairer our global trade community will become.

Fairtrade can be recognised by its guarantee logo on products. ‘In addition to providing a fair and stable price for their products, Fairtrade is helping farmers, workers and their communities build better roads, access health care and send their kids to school,’ states Fairtrade New Zealand.

There are also many products committed to trading fairly that don’t carry the Fairtrade certified logo.

Supporting these products will help to normalise fairly traded goods as an expected part of our consumer culture. Here are some creative ways to buy more fairly: Buy local: In New Zealand we have legislation that sets a minimum wage and requires fair working conditions, so comparatively, our products should be produced fairly.

Buy together: You can cut your costs by getting together with friends and buying products in bulk—the Fairtrade website has a list of suppliers.

Look out for specials: Fairly traded products cost more, but look out for specials and you’ll be able to fit it into your budget.

Do a little research: An ethically produced product is a great selling point, so it’s not hard to research. If a company is deathly silent on the subject, it’s probably not good news.

Get crafty: In New Zealand, you can buy plain Fairtrade cotton tee-shirts and get them screenprinted with your own design—or even get crafty and stencil your own tee.

Source: www.fairtrade.org.nz

Testify!

Mark Brinsdon comes from a long heritage of helping people recover from addictions.

Grandma was born on Rotoroa Island, where The Salvation Army ran its addiction programme and where my great-grandparents were Salvation Army officers. My parents were also officers and I spent the first four years of my life on the Island. They never hid from us why people were there, but there was never any judgement.

My sisters and I learnt from our parents about caring for others, helping them find God, and that ‘but for the grace of God, go I’.

When I left school I worked for ANZ Bank, working my way up from ledger clerk to business banking. But I wanted to do more than make money for the bank.

I prayed, ‘Lord, open or close the door’. In my devotions I read that when we pray for God to open a door, we have to take a step towards the door, so I applied for redundancy and happily received it.

I saw a job advertised as a trust accounts officer at The Salvation Army’s Addictions Services (formerly the Bridge Programme).

Applications had already closed, but I thought, ‘I’ll send in my CV anyway and see if God opens the door.’ That was 16 years ago, and I’ve worked here ever since.

I am now the business administrator. I oversee budgets, financial management, liaise with IT and report to funders, including the Ministry of Health. If I do my job properly, I’m helping people in their recovery from addiction by ensuring finance and funding is in

order. It’s the same for everyone who works here, from the clinical staff to the administrator to the cleaner—we’re all doing our bit to help people recover.

When I started here, a guy was going through the programme who had been on Rotoroa Island when I was under a year old. I thought, ‘Good on him, he’s still on his journey of sobriety.’ A lot of past clients remember my parents and my sisters and I as children, and there’s almost always a spiritual connection. Many have told me the biggest difference in their longterm sobriety was finding God. In the Christian faith we find hope.

There’s hope in the birth of Christ, the death of Christ and in the resurrection of Christ.

Just after finishing at the ANZ Bank, I met my wife, Tala. We have a daughter, Iulieta who is now 17 and has just become a mum

Are you struggling with alcohol, other drugs or gambling? … Or do you know someone who is?

Get tools to change your life: a personal recovery plan tools to identify your triggers skills to deal with trigger situations community and/or residential options available Call 0800 53 00 00 or visit salvationarmy.org.nz/addictions

herself. And we have also have two sons: Jonathan (14) and Levi (11).

I accepted Christ as my Saviour at a very young age. Like many others, I’ve been through difficult times, including when my father died of cancer in 1995, but God has always been there for me. I often ask God ‘why?’ or ‘how?’, but throughout my inner turmoil I never doubt that God loves me. His plan for me is always better than mine, even if I don’t understand it.

I liken it to a bush climb up a steep hill. It’s a hard slog when you can’t see past the next tree, and you’re deciding which paths to take. Then, when you finally get above the bush line, you look back and see the path you’ve taken, and how God has directed those decisions. There’s still a lot of hard slog to go, to get to the top of the hill, but you can finally see where God is leading you.

Let’s Talk I would like: to explore what it means to follow Jesus information about Salvation Army worship and activities prayer for the following needs:

NAME: ADDRESS:

Please post to: War Cry, PO Box 6015, Marion Square, Wgtn 6141 or email: warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org

10 | WarCry«17 May 2014

GOSPEL MANIFESTO

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‘Me, too’ Apportions Beneficial Easily frightened Wheeler dealer Flightless birds Have confidence in On tenterhooks An additional comment Priced at Provoking horror Pulverise Fishing spot

Let’s get quizzical …

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In a yacht, what are ‘halyards’?

What is the lowest female singing voice?

Do snakes have eyelids?

What farming innovation was developed by Waikato farmer Bill Gallagher in the 1930s?

5 What New Testament woman was married to a priest named Zacharias?

Inspirational history The Salvation Army brought to New Zealand a powerful message that the most enslaved drunkard could be set free.

This 165-page book includes a thorough history of the Rotoroa Island treatment centre and the evolution of The Salvation Army’s addictions work.

flagPUBLICAT ONS Order from Salvationist Resources p: (04) 382 0768, e: mailorder@nzf.salvationarmy.org

Ahead of the New Zealand General Election on 20 September, War Cry is publishing material from a Christchurch-based group of Christians suggesting a ‘Gospel Manifesto’. Experts will focus Christian voters on the teaching of Jesus and the local and global situation in which we live.

Priority 2: Healthy Homes Lead to Healthy Lives Home is where the heart is, so the saying goes but the question is, ‘Is it a healthy heart?’

Health starts in our families, in our schools and workplaces, in our playgrounds and parks, and in the air we breathe and the water we drink. No wonder then that studying the relationship between housing and health is an ongoing activity worldwide.

There are ‘confounding’ factors in conducting such research, though. For instance, people in poor housing suffer so many deprivations that assessment of any one risk factor is almost impossible and the direction of cause and effect therefore often unclear. People who already suffer from ill health may tend to live in substandard housing by virtue of low income. Additionally, indices for measuring health and quality of housing are often insensitive and (linked to all the above) result in methodological problems when designing and conducting appropriate research.

However, the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) report on home heating and air quality does not appear to be at all confounded: The CDHB acknowledges that the direct effects of cold homes on health include excess mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory disease amongst the elderly, increased respiratory problems in children, increased illnesses such as colds, influenza and mental health problems, and the exacerbation of existing conditions such as arthritis. The CDHB recognises that home heating (temperature, humidity and ventilation), energy costs and fuel poverty are key housing issues with implications for health outcomes.

In my own experience of ministering in a low-socioeconomic area, people living in ‘unhealthy’ housing do seem to suffer more aches and pains,

nerves, diarrhoea and headaches than those who live in modern warm homes. Anyone who works with children living in homes with visible mould will confirm higher symptom rates, vomiting and sore throats afflicting children.

Whomever you decide to vote for in September, I invite you to canvas your prospective MPs opinions on the following: • If health begins where we live, learn, work and play, why are some Kiwis' homes hazardous to their health?

• Too many Kiwis don’t have the same opportunities to be as healthy as others, so how will your party’s policies address this?

• All Kiwis should have the opportunity to make choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their income, education, or ethnic background. Does your party have a plan to address this issue?

Humankind is social by nature, and when the ties that bind begin to unravel, so does our health. Health begins at home in our families, with loving relationships, where kids can expect to be safe, nurtured and protected. Health begins with healthy communities, safe streets, freedom from violence, and parks where kids can play.

No one institution can restore a healthy Aotearoa New Zealand that nurtures families and communities.

That will require leadership, and a partnership of business, government, and civic and religious institutions. We can’t eradicate illness, but we can foster good health. And health begins with healthy relationships in healthy communities that protect us from the stress of everyday life.

That’s one prescription I’d be prepared to pay for—gladly.

The Rev. Sheena Dickson is the convenor of the Church and Society Group at the Christchurch Presbytery

Close Up | 11

Are We a Praying Army?

Lineni Ulamoleka and Betty Akoteu during staff devotions at The Salvaiton Army Regional Headquarters in Tonga

Do we in The Salvation Army believe in prayer more than we actually practice it?

BY HEATHER RODWELL A few weeks ago I was involved in a conversation about prayer that began by sharing about our own formation in prayer and praying.

The conversation turned from personal prayer to corporate (group) prayer, and our attention then became focused on our shared prayer life in our Salvation Army corps (church) settings. A statement dropped like a bombshell into the midst of this conversation: ‘I think Salvationists believe in prayer more than they actually practice it’.

Our discussion then revolved around dissatisfaction about the current corporate prayer experienced in some corps and centre settings, and a deep desire to explore ways in which this could change. Bill Hybels writes about the concept of ‘holy discontent’, and this is what characterised our conversation as we explored how to see the type of active, powerful and dynamic prayer many more of us want to be part of. We agreed that there was no question that Salvationists (ourselves included) were generally not faithful in prayer as a devotional exercise. We acknowledged too our ready response in interceding prayer for known needs, especially those of our family, friends and neighbours. But clearly the Spirit of God was drawing us towards something more.

I share this discussion with you because I’m interested in knowing what you think. How do you feel when opportunities for corporate prayer open up? What might you say about your confidence in praying with others?

Participation doesn’t only mean praying aloud, of course, because being in agreement in the spoken prayer of others is still a powerful thing. And our prayers can take many forms, including the declaration of Scripture, singing in worship, or creating an art form.

What makes prayer meetings something not to be missed where you are? Or are they something you usually wouldn’t prioritise? What’s the current reality of prayer where you are? What excites you or concerns you? You see, the statistics The Salvation Army collects about prayer meeting attendances don’t tell anything close to the full story. They cannot capture the life or the absence of life that is happening when we gather for prayer.

Some corps maintain regular prayer gatherings such as quarterly half nights of prayer. Others have active prayer rooms. There are weekly prayer meetings, perhaps as part of the General’s Worldwide

Prayer Meeting. Sunday morning ‘kneedrill’ continues for a faithful few. And purposeful prayer in some youth gatherings encourages me to believe there’s a change happening in the next generation.

My overriding question to you is: to what measure are we a praying Army? Is it true that we profess belief in prayer more than we actually practice it? Is our current practice of prayer responsive to the world in which we live, and indicative of the urgency of the times we’re living in? What examples of prayer and praying are there for others to follow and learn by, and be involved in?

Internationally, The Salvation Army is preparing for a year of focused prayer under the banner ‘The Whole World Praying’. Our territory of New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga has been assigned the week of 5 to 11 July during which we will participate in non-stop 24/7 prayer. Sunday 6 July has been set aside as a Territorial Day of Prayer, with all our corps and centres asked to involve themselves in activities that demonstrate that we are indeed a praying Army. Of course, these efforts are intended only as a helpful springboard that leads to something far more sustained within our spiritual life together.

As Jesus prepared to leave this earth and ascend into Heaven, Luke records that this disciples were told to remain in the city and wait for the Holy Spirit to come and fill them with power (see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4). We can only assume that in this waiting time they may have prayed, but we do know for certain that it was in the waiting together that the Spirit came, after which their lives were forever changed from that time onwards. Out of this, a new community was formed. Acts 2:42 tells is this was a community devoted to teaching, fellowship, sharing meals and to prayer. Let us as Salvationists be a people devoted to these same Spirit-led priorities.

Major Heather Rodwell is Territorial Secretary for Spiritual Life Development for the New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory

I want to

he@r from you!

What do you think about the questions raised?

Email heather_rodwell@nzf.salvationarmy.org.

Ten respondents will receive a copy of The Army on Its Knees by Janet Munn and Stephen Court.

12 | WarCry 17 May 2014

Carla Lindsey looks at the laments of Micah, uttered in the face of judgement from an unexpected source.

Do the words ‘lament’ and ‘church’ go together? Should ‘lament’ and ‘church’ go together? Does our faith have room for lament?

To lament is to express grief or sorrow. It’s something that happens a lot through the Bible. The whole book of Lamentations is a lament on Israel’s destruction. The writer pours out his heart as he reflects on the people’s suffering. The Bible is full of laments. But is Christianity today?

I’m not good at lamenting. I don’t like to pour my heart out.

If I get upset in front of people I feel embarrassed. I feel I need to apologise and pull myself together. Suck it up and put on a smile.

That’s the culture I’m part of, but not all cultures are like that.

Micah’s certainly wasn’t!

In the prophet Micah’s culture, grief was expressed outwardly.

When someone was upset, everyone knew about it. When someone died, their family members would rip their clothes, cut their hair, or even shave their heads. The mourners would weep and wail loudly.

If you couldn’t see the mourners, you would have heard them.

Their wailing created a lot of noise, and the commotion drew a crowd that would then comfort the grieving. In Micah’s day, grieving wasn’t done alone.

Reason to lament Micah had plenty of things to lament. So he did. He put his feelings into words, and we can read his lament in Micah 1:8–16. At the time that Micah penned his lament the Assyrian Empire had taken over the 10 Northern tribes of Israel and removed most of her people. The Assyrian armies had plundered the countryside of Judah where he lived. Lives had been lost and property destroyed or taken. As well, the Assyrian Empire had placed burdensome taxes on those in Judah.

Many were left poor and/or displaced.

At the very moment that Micah wrote, the Assyrian army was trying to break though the walls of Jerusalem, to capture the capital city. No wonder he was upset! So Micah expressed how he felt. He said: … I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked.

I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. (Micah 1:8) Why does Micah mourn? Because, as he says: Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah.

It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself. (Micah 1:9) Micah sees the destruction that has taken the north, with her capital Samaria. And he sees that this destruction is heading south.

Micah goes on to lament the fall of 11 towns in Judah, which had already been plundered by the Assyrians as they approached Jerusalem (Micah 1:10–15). The towns he mentions include his own, Moresheth Gath, as well as several other towns very near to where

Micah lived. No doubt he’d been to many of these places. He may well have had family and friends that lived in them. These were places he knew. It was personal. No wonder he mourned.

Micah employs his skill as a poet as he describes the destruction of these towns, but unfortunately this gets lost in translation. As Micah lists the towns, their doom is described with a word that sounds like the name of the town. So, for example, he says, ‘In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust’ (Micah 1:10). Beth Ophrah means’ house of dust’. The wordplay emphasises Micah’s point. These places would be destroyed and exile would follow: Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile. (Micah 1:16) It’s not a pretty picture. A lament was appropriate.

Judgement from God Micah understood that the disaster that loomed was sent from God (Micah 1:12). It was God’s judgment on his disobedient people. But we must be very careful about making such judgements today. There can be many reasons why disasters happen, and in many cases we may not discover the reason behind them. But in Micah’s case he did know.

Micah’s message of judgement and destruction didn’t go down well.

God had given Micah a vision (Micah 1:1). The vision was of a scene familiar to Micah’s audience. It was a vision of courtroom, and began with a summons for all the peoples of the earth to come that the Lord might witness against them (Micah 1:2). Micah saw God arriving as both judge and plaintiff. And this was a terrifying picture!

Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. (Micah 1:3–4) Biblical scholar Leslie Allen depicts God’s supernatural power melting mountains ‘at the intense heat of his wrath, and his heavy tread shatter into yawning chasms the valleys’. The picture Micah paints is of the immense power of God. Nothing can resist it.

In Israelite thinking, if God was coming to judge, it would be to judge their enemies, not them. The Old Testament is filled with stories where the Israelites were in trouble from surrounding people, and God always came and rescued them. From their escape from Egypt, through Joshua, Judges and up to King David, God gave the Israelites military success. God kept them on top. He judged the pagan nations that would oppress his people and they came off second best.

But not this time. This time God was judging his own people. This was even more terrifying.

But why must God come as judge? Micah tells us it is: ‘… because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem?’ (Micah 1:5)

Soul Food | 13

Sin is the reason God is coming to judge. His charges are particularly against Samaria and Jerusalem, the capital cities of the north and the south. They were the heart of the regions. From there, decisions were made. There the leaders lived. The cities were places of power and influence, and they were not using that power and influence well! They had sinned and there would be consequences.

The sin of injustice In chapter one, the specific sins of Samaria and Jerusalem aren’t spelled out. They are left fairly general. But in chapter two, Micah begins to get to heart of the sin of Jerusalem: Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds!

At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.

They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them.

They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance.’ (Micah 2:1–2) God was angry about injustice. He was angry that his people were deliberately scheming to do evil. They didn’t even wait till dark to carry out their wicked plans so they couldn’t be seen; they brazenly carry it out in the light of day. Perhaps this suggests that no one would stop them. Maybe they were so powerful that no one could stop them.

These people apparently saw land and wanted it. They did whatever was necessary to get what they wanted. They took land they weren’t entitled to and robbed people of a lot more than their homes.

In Israelite culture, the land itself is sacred. It was understood as God’s precious gift to them. The land had been divided up and each family had their allotment, which would be passed on to future generations. The land was their inheritance. It was bad enough that people had their homes and perhaps livelihoods taken from them by their own people. But these thieves took so much more. They took a sacred gift. They took people’s rights—with many rights based on land ownership. They took people’s futures. This was just not fair.

The poor got poorer, and the rich got richer! And the poor had no power to do anything about it.

But God did have the power to act, and he spoke up for them.

The Lord says: ‘I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: “We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.”

Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord to divide the land by lot.’

In other words, those evildoers would be brought down a peg or two. They would lose the precious possessions they coveted. They would be overcome by disaster, and when the land was redistributed, they wouldn’t even be there.

Unsurprisingly, Micah’s message of judgement and destruction

didn’t go down terribly well. Other prophets told Micah to be quiet: ‘Do not prophesy,’ their prophets say.’ Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.’ (Micah 2:6) No one wanted to listen to Micah’s message. After all, it wasn’t a ‘nice’ message. They wanted to be told that everything would be okay. That God wouldn’t let anything happen to his people. That they would all be quite safe and that all would be well.

But it wouldn’t be. At least not immediately.

Glimmers of hope In the near future they were headed for disaster, and only in the long term, would all be well. The book of Micah is filled with bad news, but that bad news is always interspersed with little glimmers of good news.

The first section of Micah, which covers Micah 1–2, ends on a note of hope. Yes, bad things were going to happen, but that wasn’t the end. God said: I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.

I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.

The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out.

Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head. (Micah 2:12–13) Again, Micah used a familiar image—that of the shepherd.

Leaders were thought of as the shepherds of the people. They were meant to guide the people, protect them and care for their welfare.

But it seems they hadn’t been doing a great job!

Psalm 23 declares that ‘the Lord is my shepherd’. God is the perfect shepherd, who will truly guide, protect and care for his people.

Micah speaks of God gathering his scattered people and that, instead of having the enemy camped outside the gate, God would now lead his people as they leave the city through the gate in freedom.

These two concluding verses create such a contrasting picture to the ones before them. In the end, oppression would be turned into freedom. Judgement to restoration. Lament would be turned into rejoicing.

Ponder This 1. Has the church lost its ability to lament? Come to think of it, has the church ever had the ability to lament? And should the church lament? If so, how and what might the church lament?

2. Do we, like Micah’s audience, prefer to listen to ‘nice’ messages and ignore those we don’t like?

3. Where might we see similar injustices today to those that Micah saw? How can we speak up for those with no rights?

14 WarCry«17 May 2014

Regional Celebration of Recovery and Sobriety

Moko tries the trombone watched by Jake Plummer

Jacqui gives the call: ‘Leeeeet’s Rumble!’

Over the weekend of 22 and 23 March, people from Salvation Army Recovery Churches in Hamilton, Waihi and Tauranga gathered in Tauranga for a regional celebration of recovery and sobriety. Their special guest was Commissioner Robert Donaldson, Territorial Commander.

On Saturday, the groups met for a ‘get to know you’ afternoon tea followed by a meeting entitled ‘Tell the Commissioner’ in which each group gave a report to the Territorial Commander about the progress and changed lives being seen at each Recovery Church. A delicious dinner was shared, giving further opportunity to mix and mingle.

After dinner, a celebration meeting featured boisterous singing, testimonies, vocal items and a Bible message from Commissioner Donaldson about ‘Scars Are a Sign of Healing’.

Sharing times are an important feature of Recovery Church meetings, and Jacqui from Tauranga led the sharing time with an introduction reminiscent of a wrestling commentator with the loud call, ‘Leeeeet’s Rumble!’ After the laughter, many people leapt to their feet to tell their story of how Recovery Church had supported them and helped them come to an understanding of how God could empower them to overcome various addictions.

Matt shared his story about a childhood growing up amongst alcohol, drugs and violence, trying unsuccessfully to make his life work, until he had an encounter with Jesus that changed his life and gave him the power to ‘come clean’. After sharing his testimony, Matt presented a vocal solo, accompanying himself on the guitar.

After supper and more time to get to know one another other, the various groups departed for home, with all saying they wanted to meet again like this next year.

On Sunday morning, Tauranga Corps’ meeting took the form of a Recovery Church. There was a children’s talk about how we can choose to live either in harmony or in discord. Children, Recovery Church regulars and the rest of the congregation were challenged to try to blow a brass instrument—much to everyone’s amusement.

The brass band then demonstrated ‘discord to harmony’ by playing a piece from the musical Glory, with the music starting horribly out of tune, but slowly coming together to finish with a chorus played in perfect harmony.

Commissioner Robert spoke powerfully on the subject ‘You Always Reap What You Plant’. Nine people responded by kneeling at the mercy seat at the conclusion of the meeting.

The weekend was such a success that plans are already being made to make this an annual event.

Major John Fitness (Corps Officer, Tauranga Corps)

Fijian Leaders Focus on Safety The Fiji Division was pleased to welcome Fay Clarke from the Personnel Section at Territorial Headquarters for her second visit as a training facilitator. The aim of Fay’s time in Fiji was to ‘empower and enhance officers and lay people in their leadership roles’ through learning how to keep themselves and others safe.

Last year’s Divisional Review had highlighted the need for greater familiarity with The Salvation Army’s policies around sexual misconduct, which are in place to ensure safety at the wide range of activities run by The Salvation Army in Fiji. These policies, which Fay helped develop for The Salvation Army in New Zealand, became the focus of two training workshops, one in the west region and another in the east.

At Lautoka Corps on 24 March, Fay spoke about the importance of ‘knowing oneself as a person and one’s role in ministry’, and of the essential requirement that Salvation Army leaders maintain a healthy and growing spiritual life. She spoke about officers’ accountability to divisional headquarters and to the corps leadership for the health and safety of people involved in Salvation Army corps and other programmes, but reminded people they would also receive valuable support from these same people. Fay asked people to appreciate that ‘when all three—DHQ, officers, corps leadership —are linked, the space for abuse is significantly reduced. If one is not working, the potential space for abuse is increased’.

The information Fay shared was very helpful, as was time given over to group discussion. Fay’s easily understood and humorous

presenting style kept everyone paying attention. She concluded the day with these words: ‘People in ministry need CAC: Coaching, Accountability and Clear Boundaries.’

On 26 March, Fay was in Suva to take six officers and Fiji’s divisional leaders, Majors Iliesa and Litiana Cola, through materials related to the Officers Development and Review Programme.

Captains Litiana and Tevita Lewetuitovo, Captain Tauan and Major Arone Cheer, and Majors Brenda and Mark Ennever are now trained officer reviewers for the Fiji Division.

Booth College of Mission’s Fiji campus of the School for Officer Training and Divisional Headquarters was the scene for training, worship and meals on 27 March, attended by 32 officers and cadets from the east region. The day provided an excellent overview of the challenges and responsibilities of leaders in ministry. Again, the importance of sexual ethics was emphasised as Fay talked about the importance of being familiar with The Salvation Army’s ‘Sexual Misconduct Manual’ and following its policies and practices. In concluding her presentation, Fay hoped that all those that had taken part would have a better understanding of keeping themselves safe and of making sure that those they worked with were also safe.

The Fiji Division acknowledges the collaboration and support of the Personnel Section at Territorial Headquarters and expresses its gratitude to Fay for her excellent teaching and resourcing.

Major Litiana Cola (Divisional Director of Women’s Ministries)

Our Community | 15

Strong Support for Red Shield Appeal from Wellington Businesses

Over 170 people attended the Red Shield Appeal business breakfast at the InterContinental Wellington on Tuesday 29 April. This was an opportunity to thank businesses that already work alongside The Salvation Army and to encourage them, alongside prospective corporate partners, to give to this year’s Red Shield Appeal. All are doing their part to stand side by side with Kiwis in need as The Salvation Army continues to help more than 120,000 people a year.

Simon Marsh opened the proceedings as MC and welcomed guests including The Salvation Army’s leaders Commissioners Robert and Janine Donaldson, keynote speaker Mr Peter Hughes, Secretary for Education and Chief Executive for the Ministry of Education, Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and others. He also thanked the event’s key sponsors, Vodafone New Zealand and JB Were, along with other sponsors Fuji Xerox, Grant Thornton, Marsh Ltd, Arrow International, Eftpos, InterContinental and Videoplus.

Mr Marsh set a light-hearted challenge to those attending the Auckland breakfast later in the week, saying he expected Wellington donations would outstrip Auckland since those in Auckland had ‘gorse pockets’. He emphasised that the gathering should not be seen as a ‘free breakfast’ but a chance for businesses to help people who are born into poverty in New Zealand. While guests were going to enjoy a great breakfast, it was important to remember that some Kiwi kids regularly went to school without breakfast, he added.

Lieut-Colonel Ian Hutson (Divisional Commander, Central Division) prayed a grace over the breakfast. He prayed, ‘We live in a blessed country, but help us to remember those who do not have so much.’

Keynote speaker Peter Hughes addressed the breakfast gathering.

(back, l-r) Cadets Ruci and Seru Kobiti, Vonipate Bacaivalu; (front) Fay Clarke, Cadets Tavaita Torocake, Merani Bacaivalu and Visa Kaurasi

He asked that his comments not be reported as they were intended just for those who had chosen to attend the fundraising event.

Guests were able to watch a brief video promoting The Salvation Army’s work that featured Stan Walker’s song ‘Freedom’, written specifically for The Salvation Army and reflecting his admiration of the Army’s work.

Mr Marsh reminded guests that the Red Shield Appeal slogan was about ‘standing side by side with Kiwis in need’. This was about businesses partnering with The Salvation Army to give the Sallies the tools to keep doing what they are doing, he said.

He introduced Susan, the actress who plays ‘Jenny’ in this year’s Red Shield Appeal advertising. Susan read an account of real-life Jenny’s experiences. After a long period of suffering violence, Jenny then found emotional support and practical care including addiction treatment, food parcels and budgeting advice from The Salvation Army that slowly transformed her life and that of her family. Jenny came back from rock bottom and is allowing her story to be told to encourage others to give so that the Army can do even more.

Commissioner Robert Donaldson then stood alongside Susan (‘Jenny’) and talked about how people take strength from The Salvation Army when they feel lost and alone. The Salvation Army was motivated by the example of Jesus’ strong compassion, he said. ‘We have been here for 131 years and we are committed to Aotearoa New Zealand. Thank you to the many partners and supporters who help us.

Is there still need? Yes, there is!’

Red Shield Appeal Chairman Phillip Meyer talked about his longterm commitment to The Salvation Army. ‘The Sallies do the work, and I help them,’ he said. In urging guests to pledge monetary gifts to support The Salvation Army’s work, he said, ‘Please stand side by side with the Sallies to help children trapped in material deprivation.’

He urged people to look at their pledge cards to see if the amount they had written down was ‘right’ or ‘if it needs another zero on the end’. Mr Meyer then passed a donation from him and his wife to Commissioned Donaldson before expressing his thanks to those who had sponsored the fundraising event.

In recognising the event’s ‘Platinum Sponsor’, Vodafone New Zealand, Mr Marsh praised the company for its commitment to building better communities and for their technology services that helped reduce bullying through TXT ‘black lists’ as well as the Vodafone Guardian, which helps parents keep children safe from unwanted calls, TXTs and inappropriate use of the Internet while using Smartphones. Vodafone was represented by Jim Burke (Regional Manager, Enterprise and Government).

Gold sponsor JB Were, an investment and brokerage service, were also thanked for their strong commitment to The Salvation Army. CEO Tom Alexy talked about his company’s commitment to meeting The Salvation Army’s investment goals so they could continue to serve and meet the needs of many thousands in New Zealand. It was great to be part of the Salvation Army family, he said.

The breakfast closed with a blessing from Lieut-Colonel Lynette Hutson (Secretary for Business Administration). ‘God, help us to stand side by side with the most vulnerable,’ she prayed. ‘May we know what it means to love and give to others.’

A similar breakfast was held at the Crown Plaza in Auckland on Thursday 1 May, with over 150 people attending. The keynote speaker at this event was Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse.

16 WarCry«17 May 2014

Delving into God’s Plans From 4–6 April, around 50 people converged on the Totara Springs Christian Centre near Matamata for Delve 2014. Delve is a weekend set aside to help people explore leadership within The Salvation Army with a specific focus on officership. It helps people delve deeper in their understanding of what officership is all about. And, indeed, what the concept of ‘calling’ in general is all about.

The weekend was a relaxed time where a number of officers gave testimonies and were available to talk with delegates about their own experiences. Time was also set aside for quiet, personal reflection before God. There were some fun social times as well—including a hot pool, go-karting, hot-water slide and, of course, great food and fellowship.

Of the 50 that attended, 31 people were ‘delvers’. Feedback received at the end of the weekend showed that they were highly satisfied with their experiences at Delve, with many saying it had far exceeded their expectations.

Beany S.W. Cho from Wellington City Cops said, ‘I came to Delve with some questions about my visions and God’s plan for me, and He did not let me down. Yes! He gave me very clear and specific answers through Delve. Praise the Lord.’

Caleb and Moira-Ann Peke of Tokoroa Corps said, ‘Delve was tino tino rawe! We were searching for answers from God, praying the whole time for him to reveal how he wants to use us. Waiting and waiting until we realised that God was answering our prayers

through the testimonies shared, the fellowship and the worship. The whole weekend was the answer to our prayers! The Holy Spirit was definitely working in and around everything that happened at Delve.

He tino harikoa taku ngakau.’

Mike Bryan travelled to Delve from Kaitaia (Far North) Corps.

He said Delve had provided an opportunity to recharge his spiritual batteries by getting away from the busyness of a normal weekend and to seek the Lord earnestly. ‘I have been able to re-commit to the calling I hear that God has put on my life,’ said Mike. ‘I was particularly moved to hear the personal testimonies of many serving officers in our Army. I go forward excited to see how God will lead me through the next few years.’

Lauren Eilering from Whangarei Corps said, ‘Delve was an awesome opportunity to take some time away from ordinary life to intentionally seek God and his calling. I loved that space was made to seek God both alone and in fellowship with others.’

With one of our Territorial Strategic Mission Plan Goals being focused on developing leaders, it is exciting that Delve weekends continue to provide an excellent opportunity for Salvationists to explore God’s calling on their lives as officer leaders. Those who don’t feel that officership is God’s call on their lives, testify that Delve has increased their commitment to lay leadership opportunities within The Salvation Army.

Lieut Pauleen Richards (Territorial Candidates Secretary)

The General Reopens ‘Transformed’ Sunbury Court

General André Cox reopened The Salvation Army’s historic Sunbury Court with a reminder that the ‘beautiful and magnificent venue’, to the west of London, was only a tool for God to use. The real significance came about through the lives that would be dedicated to God at what is now home to the International College for Officers (ICO) and Centre for Spiritual Life Development (CSLD).

Sunbury Court was bought by General Bramwell Booth in 1925 and has been at the heart of many Salvation Army programmes, most notably as host to the High Council, which meets to elect a new General. Only three High Councils have not been held at the venue.

At the heart of the grounds is a large Georgian mansion. This has been joined in recent years by the conference centre at which High Council meetings take place and, in the past year, by a newly built accommodation suite. The mansion house itself has been thoroughly refurbished to allow it to become a usable home to the ICO and CSLD. The addition of simple but good-quality accommodation means that Sunbury Court will also be able to take bookings as a venue for conferences and retreats.

The reopening day included a welcome meeting for the first ICO session to be held at Sunbury Court. Previous sessions were held at ‘The Cedars’ in south-east London. Before he cut the ribbon to officially open the new accommodation block, which will also be known as The Cedars, the General paid tribute to ICO and CSLD staff for the ‘mountains’ they had climbed to move the whole administration from The Cedars to Sunbury Court. He also paid

tribute to the architects and the International Headquarters (IHQ) property team.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony included a prayer poem, read by the Chief of the Staff (Commissioner William Roberts) and written by General Albert Orsborn for the opening and dedication to God of The Cedars in 1950. General Cox added his own words of prayer: ‘As we dedicate this building we dedicate ourselves anew to you.’

Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, everyone moved to the flagpole in the centre of the grounds for the flag-breaking ceremony.

Three ICO delegates received the Salvation Army flag from the General before it was hoisted up the pole to the strains of ‘We’ll Lift Up the Banner on High’.

The day concluded in the conference centre with the official welcome to delegates of ICO Session 221, including New Zealand officer Major Milton Collins, corps officer at Wellington City Corps. Commissioner Silvia Cox prayed that the delegates would be ‘strengthened by God’s power’.

In his Bible message, the General spoke about the importance of realising—even while in an iconic venue—that God was not confined to any place. ‘God is everywhere,’ he said. ‘We can meet with God everywhere.’ He acknowledged that ICO delegates were being given an opportunity to step away from their day-to-day ministry to spend time with God, but laid down a challenge for when they return home: ‘We need to find ways to connect with God in the busyness of everyday life.’ He concluded, ‘I pray you will know that God is truly with you wherever you go from this place.’

GAZETTE REC Mission Team Closure The REC Mission Team met for the last time on 22 December 2013. We give thanks to God for the enormous contribution that ‘REC’ has made to both the life of the communities it has interacted with and The Salvation Army. Since 2003, the REC Mission Team has been at the cutting edge of community development and mission, creating programmes, changing lives and empowering people through transformative relationships. REC leaves a long and fruitful legacy that will continue to be felt throughout the Territory. Learnings gained through REC’s ministry will be an important component in a new phase of mission engagement from The Salvation Army’s Royal Oak site. New lay leadership have been appointed to explore the next chapter of mission and ministry and in the spirit of REC will continue to seek new and creative ways to be Christ in and to the local community.

Royal Oak Community Ministries Auckland Community Ministries (based at 691A Mt Albert Road, Royal Oak) has officially changed its name to Royal Oak Community Ministries.

Noticeboard | 17

CALENDAR

PRAYER FOCUS

MAY 3–18: Fair Trade Fortnight 16–18: Canterbury Kids Camp / Southern Division 16–18: Family Weekend / Blue Mountain Adventure Centre 17: Moral and Social Issues Council / Territorial Headquarters 17: Safe to Serve Training / Central Division 17: Women’s Brunch / Northern Division 18: Father’s Day / Tonga Region 19–23: Five-Year Officer Review / Booth College of Mission 22: Marriage Seminar (Nuku’alofa) / Tonga Region 22–23: Positive Lifestyle Programme Training / Northern Division 23: Jeff Farm Half-yearly AGM / Southern Division 23: Youth Kneedrill Event / Northern Division 24: Bay of Plenty Regional Event / Midland Division 24: Workout with the Word / Northern Division 24–25: Otago Regional Weekend / Southern Division 28: Spiritual Day / Booth College of Mission 29: Marriage Seminar (Kolovai) / Tonga Region

Please pray for: Masterton, Matamata, Miramar, Mosgiel, Mount Maunganui Corps, Salvation Army Child Sponsorship, The Salvation Army Mozambique Territory.

Celebrate 120 Years with Wellington South Band 24–27 October

Over Labour Day Weekend, the Wellington South Corps Band is celebrating 120 years of ministry and service. Guest leaders are Majors Steve and Chris Black, former corps officers from Melbourne, Australia. Musical guests for the weekend are David Fiu of the NZ Army Band and Matthew Stein of the NZ Navy Band.

For a registration form and info, e: wsbonetwenty@gmail.com, or p: (04) 389 3530. www.facebook.com/WSB120

To advertise your event, email: warcry@nzf.salvationarmy.org

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS Commissioners Robert (Territorial Commander) and Janine Donaldson (Territorial President of Women’s Ministries) 17–19 May: Northern Division Review 20 May: Addiction Services Review Colonels Graeme (Chief Secretary) and Wynne Reddish (Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries) 23 May: Jeff Farm Review 23–25 May: Southern Division Review 26 May: Spiritual Day / Booth College of Mission Crossword Answers: Across: 8 Dishes, 9 Happened, 10 Terrific, 11 Rugged, 12 Dissolve, 13 Third, 14 Seasons, 17 Trusted, 20 Sunset, 22 Opposite, 25 Eldest, 26 Towering, 27 Teaspoon, 28 Erases. Down: 1 Likewise, 2 Shares, 3 Useful, 4 Chicken, 5 Operator, 6 Penguins, 7 Depend, 15 Suspense, 16 Notation, 18 Extended, 19 Costing, 21 Uglier, 23 Powder, 24 Stream. Quiz Answers: 1 Ropes, 2 Contralto, 3 No, 4 The electric fence, 5 Elizabeth (Luke 1:5).

18–30 YEAR

EL RANCHO, WAIKANAE | $140 FOR MORE INFO GO TO FIREZONE.CO.NZ

18 WarCry«17 May 2014

LEADERSHIP LINKS

When we say ‘I want to be like Jesus’, what does that mean?

I have never really been what you might call a reflective type of person, but maybe because retirement is looming, over recent weeks I have been pondering some questions around meanings.

When we say ‘I want to be like Jesus’, what does that mean?

What does it look like? When we say we want to promote justice, be fair, what does that mean? What does it look like to me?

As I watch mailers come through our letterbox leading up to any special event or long weekend, I become aware again of what a privileged nation I live in. What variety, what choice!

All anybody could need or want—and much that is just totally unnecessary, often at ridiculously low prices. But at what cost?

Do we have access to goods at low prices at the cost of those that spend hours making them, often including children who are paid so little they cannot afford adequate food and housing, let alone the goods they produce?

Is that fair or just? And what do those words mean?

Definitions include: ‘Fair: free from bias, dishonesty, injustice; legitimately sought, pursued, done, given, proper under the rules; treating people equally without favouritism or discrimination.’

‘Just: guided by truth, reason, justice.’ ‘Fairness: done or made according to principle, equitable.’ ‘Lawful: in keeping with truth or fact.’ ‘Correct: given or awarded rightly, deserved.’

What does that mean in my life and yours? Jesus said, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’ He stood up for the poor and marginalised.

Could it be that we should consume less, leaving more for others, be prepared to pay a little more so that others might get a fair day’s pay? Are we prepared to deny ourselves and our wants to be more just as we follow the example of Jesus? We need to be prepared to look first to our own habits that perpetuate unjust and unfair situations and see how we could live differently.

Where do my rights mean the rights of others are denied?

The prophet Amos was harsh on the people of Israel who oppressed the poor while living lives of ease. His words in Amos 5:24 are iconic and are as much for us today as for Israel all those centuries ago. I like the poetic cadence of the New International Version: ‘But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ The Message puts it like this: Do you know what I want?

I want justice—oceans of it.

I want fairness—rivers of it.

That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

I’m still working out what this means for me, and no doubt I will continue to reflect upon these questions. My aim is to take steps so that I make a difference by the way I live. In doing so, my prayer is that I would be more like Jesus.

Colonel Wynne Reddish Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries

Help for Synthetic High Users The Government has responded to public pressure, but still has a major public health issue on its hands.

BY CHRISTINA TYSON People power, particularly of provincial communities, has surely come to the fore as the Government responded to public pressure—amplified through the media—to immediately ban all psychoactive substances such as synthetic cannabis.

When the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 passed into law in July last year, it meant ‘legal high’ products would be required to go through clinical testing before being approved for sale— making manufacturers responsible for the safety of what they were supplying. As an interim measure, the law change reduced the number of products from around 300 to 41, with those products remaining on shop shelves regarded as ‘not problematic’ according to Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne. It also greatly reduced the number of places where synthetic drugs could be purchased, taking them out of the likes of corner dairies and leaving just 150 outlets around New Zealand.

But with no testing regime in place and evidence that the remaining products were causing harm, the Government responded to public pressure. On 27 April, Mr Dunne unexpectedly announced all synthetic drugs would be removed from sale within two weeks until they could be proven low-risk.

The Government’s decision was a surprise for Helen Archer, Programme Coordinator at The Salvation Army’s Christchurch Addiction Services. Along with other members of staff and representatives of the wider Salvation Army in the city, Helen had joined one of many rallies against ‘legal highs’ held around the country on 5 April.

After the rallies, Helen decided to launch a support group for families of synthetic cannabis users. This came after talking with parents experiencing hopelessness because they could see their children in trouble but couldn’t persuade them to get help.

She says the new whānau support group will provide education, with visiting expert speakers, but will also be a space

Mission Matters 19

for people to share their stories and receive support from others who understand what they’re going through. ‘We want to upskill people so they can provide support for their family members. We want to help reduce the risk of their children becoming homeless, because they’ve burned all their bridges. We want to reduce the likelihood of children needing emergency psychiatric services, and we want to reduce the risk of suicides.’ Despite the ban, the group will still go ahead. ‘For as long as there’s a need, we’ll run it,’ says Helen.

With news of the ban, Christchurch Addiction Services also prepared contingency plans in case of increased demand for treatment services. They have been working with Community and Alcohol Drug Services (CADS) on a response to support GPs who, along with Police and Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments, are most likely to see the first impact of people in acute withdrawal.

We want to upskill people so they can provide support for family members.

The attraction of legal highs has been that while they have been relatively easy to purchase, they are hard to drug test for, meaning people felt they could use without putting their jobs or training at risk. But these drugs can also be far more potent than cannabis.

Users don’t consume to chill out, but in some cases to totally escape reality. Salvation Army Addiction Services staff have observed that in many cases, coming off synthetic drugs is difficult, and not dissimilar to coming off other substances such as methamphetamine (‘P’).

Those in detox experience hot and cold sweats, agitation, anxiety, paranoia, racing thoughts, sleep deprivation and loss of appetite.

One client was still in acute withdrawal three weeks after he last used, says Helen.

When people are coming off alcohol, it often requires a medical detox intervention, but in most cases Addiction Services offers what is known as ‘a social detox’ to those coming off synthetic cannabis —a similar regime used by those coming off methamphetamines and other substances. This includes providing a safe, low-stimulus environment, rest, exercise, fluids, small frequent meals and regular monitoring. In some cases, medication may also be needed.

Major Mike Douglas is director of The Salvation Army’s Auckland Addiction Services, serving Auckland City, Manukau and Waitakere.

In the 12 months from March 2013, 267 clients attended its day and residential programme for an average of eight weeks or more.

Of these, 13 had synthetic cannabis as their primary substance of use. A further 155 had a primary dependency on alcohol, and 56 on methamphetamine. Forty-one per cent were poly-drug users, with

Shawnee Burford leads a protest from Sundial Square to Queen St, Richmond. Photography: Fairfax NZ/Nelson Mail many of these using synthetics alongside other drugs, but not as their primary substance.

‘Three groups of people are likely to be affected by the removal of synthetic drugs from shop shelves,’ says Mike. ‘Recreational users may shift to cannabis or alcohol; those with a primary dependency on synthetics may turn to the black market, which has no controls; and a smaller group may approach treatment providers for help.’

He says it’s a misnomer that the media is reporting what has happened as ‘a ban’. ‘It’s not a ban; it’s about revoking the licences of those products that have had interim approval. These products will now need to be scientifically proven to be a low risk of harm to people using them.’

Mike has mixed feelings about the Government’s decision, describing it as ‘social policy by media’ at a time when New Zealand was attempting to regulate the environment. Around the world, and with large sales online, there is a growing need for a workable global response to psychoactive substances. With so much money to be made by manufacturers, importers and outlets, safe policing of such a lucrative industry will be no easy task. All governments need to give urgent attention to this dilemma.

While Mike would dearly love to see no market at all for such products, he is realistic about their existence. ‘As a Salvationist, of course I don’t want it, but we do operate in the real world in Addiction Services. We know that prohibition doesn’t work, so we work toward harm minimisation where people can have a quality of life and function safely in society.’

Mike has the greatest sympathy for those fighting personal battles against synthetic cannabis, and urges people to seek help from The Salvation Army. But he has also has a message for the New Zealand Government: ‘The legal high of preference in this country is still alcohol,’ he says, ‘and that causes far more carnage: road deaths, hospital admissions, domestic violence. My guess would be that this carnage outstrips synthetic cannabis by hundreds to one. But the Government doesn’t seem to want to address that.’

To access The Salvation Army’s help (for those 18 years and over), go to salvationarmy.org.nz/addictions or phone 0800 530 000. Addiction Services can also provide contact details for specialised youth treatment providers in your area.

GOD & FAITH

The first Firezone Blog round of 2014 has come to an end! Ten awesome bloggers from around the country shared their wit and wisdom every fortnight for three months. And man, were they good!

To celebrate the end of the first round and the start of the second, check out the best bits …

Phil Cope (Mt Albert)

Stephen Ward (Queenstown)

People often refer to 1 Corinthians 7:1–8 as an encouragement to those who maintain this single ‘disease’ … What I would like to highlight instead is a specific verse further on in the passage, 1 Corinthians 7:17a: ‘Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.’

The power behind peer pressure is incredible and it can be tough to stand against it.

Sometimes you feel like a boulder standing against the sea. You know you’re big and strong, but the sea is, well, immense (like the never-ending pressure from your ‘friends’), and over time it wears you down.

If you are married. Live as Christ exemplified.

If you are divorced. Live as Christ exemplified.

If you are single. Live as Christ exemplified.

Whether your status is ‘In a relationship’, ‘Single’ or ‘It’s complicated’. Live as Christ exemplified.

God has the power to work through whatever situation you are in, just hold up your end of the deal. He’ll hold up his.

This is part of the reason that I’m so pleased to have Jesus to hang out with. You see it’s not just me, alone against the sea; it’s me and the creator of the sea—the one who calms the waves and walked on top of it. Then when it gets really tough he says, ‘Dude, let me take over. You’re doing great but this bit of the fight isn’t yours, it’s mine. You’re not supposed to win this, I AM.’

of his miracles, of his amazing triumph. God didn’t only perform miraculous acts in the Bible, but does so every day. Whether it was something seemingly small or impossibly massive, it can count to someone, to everyone. Don’t doubt the power in your own story, or in your ability to share it. God wants you to talk about him, and will assist you in doing so.

Share your story. Be honest, be open.

Testimonies are powerful, and so is God. Share his love in your own words.

Danielle Christopher (Auckland City)

Terise Broodryk (Palmerston North)

Rather than complain, why not pray? When I struggle, I pray. When I don’t struggle, I pray. When I’m happy, sad, anxious, excited, nervous, or most importantly … feeling the Holy Spirit. I pray. In all situations I pray.

The Bible is our written word, but I believe it continues to be written every day by the stories circulated of God’s work in our lives,

I’ve had many failures—almost as many as my successes. But I never got so disappointed that I gave up. My goal is to always be

17 MAY 2014 | 21

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others today.

Karl Millington (Hutt City)

So what about you? How’s your attitude to having the most important mission on earth?

Are you running?

I ran my first 5 km in a long time and it hurt! I went again and it still hurt, but I knew I could make it because I had done it before. Weeks later I find it doesn’t hurt as much and I’ve increased my distance. Best of all, I can get into that zone where it’s just me and God and I realise God has it all in hand.

moving forward. It doesn’t mean I know the destination. I may stall, get sidetracked or totally stuck. That’s life. I’ll pick myself up and keep going. One day I’ll understand why all that heartbreak happened: in life, in love and in work. Coming from a place of ‘yes’ doesn’t always mean being in a good mood.

It’s realising every experience makes you stronger!

Ralph Hargest (Divisional Youth Secretary, Northern)

Anna Osborne (Napier)

I was at a youth study group and the person leading the study shared about their battle with anxiety and depression.

When we are young we only put on a few masks, ones to hide that bullies are affecting us, and ones to fit in at school. As we get older it seems like we are asked to put on more and more masks, and many different masks throughout the day. So we give up taking one mask off to put another mask on and we end up wearing several masks at once, making it harder to show others what we really look like and what’s really going on.

We get to the point where we become so used to wearing masks that we forget what our real face looks like.

God wants to remove the masks we have placed on ourselves so we can be vulnerable and open with him.

I watched the look on the young people’s faces … Some of them may have been able to relate already, others may have it ahead of them. Whatever the case, it was a good reminder to know that our internal wellbeing doesn’t have to be reliant on the circumstances around us. Real joy, real peace comes from within and can be strengthened through regular contact and communication with good friends and a good God … Isolation from God and others tends to be the enemy of the soul. And no matter how hard we try to fix it on our own, we seem to be hardwired in a way that requires the input of others.

Jen Turner (Sydenham) Sophie Medland (Miramar) … The bit that stuck out for me from this passage, however, was Mary’s attitude. Her uncontrollable enthusiasm, excitement, and pure joy. Matthew tells us that ‘the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples’ (28:8).

Mary didn’t walk. She didn’t go and hide in the bushes. She didn’t stop and ask the angel a million questions. She hurried! In fact, the Bible tells us that she ran! She had somewhere she needed to be and something to tell. Something that made her incredibly afraid but unbelievably joyful. Something that had to be shared with others.

Something that still needs to be shared with

I have always been that person in church that listens to the message and wishes they had an amazing vision or encounter with God. I always listen and think ‘their story trumps mine’. But it doesn’t have to be like that, a competition to see who has had the most movie-worthy moment with God. It’s important to remember that your relationship with God is extremely personal and totally between you and God. If you think about it, I don’t compare my relationship with my dad with all of my friends’ relationships with their dads. I don’t stress out when someone tells me their dad took them for lunch or that they had a really good chat, I don’t think any less of the relationship Dad and I had. We have our own things.

Some spiritual lessons I’ve learnt from this running business: 1. You’ll never be fully prepared, step into God’s will and trust him.

2. When you start out on God’s journey for your life it can hurt.

3. The good news is that you’ll grow in faith and character, making those struggles easier next time.

4. Eventually, you’ll get to that place with God where it all makes sense. I like to call this ‘Divine Clarity’.

Cameron Millar (Napier) I have been a student for the last four years and now only have a part-time job, so I know what it is like to count my pennies. So today when I felt God prompting me to think about giving more I hesitated!

I want God to have my heart and to hold nothing back, but today I think the pizza —that extra $5 for myself—nearly won out!

I am definitely not saying, ‘Give everything you have to God’, unless like the rich young ruler he asks you to do that (see Matthew 19:16-26), but be obedient in what God calls you to give him. Even starting at the smallest amount, God will honour that and not let you down, and what he has given us we can never repay!

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EVENTS | 22

BY SHANE HEALEY

Taupo is famous for many things: a big lake, big waterfall, big trout and, as far as The Salvation Army is concerned, a big sports tournament — the Taupo Sevens.

see players of all skill levels giving it a go and battling it out for top spot, with prizes going to the following teams:

Each year on ANZAC Day, teams from corps right across the North Island battle it out on the sports field playing touch rugby, volley ball, soccer, and netball. They come representing their corps and centres to compete in mostly fun rivalry against each other. Each team hopes to win the major prize of being named Taupo Sevens champions.

Recreational: God’s Minions (Tokoroa Corps)

ALBUM REVIEW

Best Supporters: Tawa Corps Best Costume: God’s Minions (Tokoroa Corps) Wooden Spoon: Upper Hutt Class 2 (Upper Hutt Corps) Thank you to all those who helped make this day a success. From people packing down or setting up, refereeing and helping as medic, to being a runner or entering the scores (thank you Sarah Healey!), without your help the day would not have been such a success.

It is people like you who make this event a highlight to many and a huge help to corps that use it as a cool way to connect with the young people they work with. God bless you each and see you all next year!

FORCEFIELD

Indie Rock

Tokyo Police Club

After a nearly four-year break from their previous record Champ, Tokyo Police Club are back with their fourth full length Forcefield. Though it’s fairly short (with nine tracks total), it’s a slickly produced album that deviates from the band’s established indie rock sound. This is most obvious in the opening track ‘Argentina I, II, III’, which is a sprawling showcase of catchy melodies and jarring, cutting riffs. In contrast to their other efforts, Forcefield’s tracks aren’t as densely packed with ideas, opting instead for conventional song structures. This isn’t all that bad because with the excellent production and catchy melodies, it’s a great quick fix.

MUSIC

LYRICS

GOD CONTENT

CRIMSON CORD

Photography: Lauren Millington

The weather held off, injuries were few and we all had an awesome day. It was great to

Social: Mpowered Monsters (Tawa Corps)

ALBUM REVIEW

Teams play in a round-robin style competition in their chosen grade: social, recreational or competitive, while having a go at four sports: volleyball, netball, touch rugby and soccer.

Teams progress to the semi-finals based on their points throughout the day. After some fierce but fun semi-finals, the top teams then face off in the final.

Competitive: Grandview Corps

Christian Rap

Propaganda

Christian rapper Propaganda is known for mixing deep prose with hip hop beats, and his profession of faith through rap. Crimson Cord is his attempt to follow up his 2012 release Excellent. Though Crimson Cord doesn’t break as much new ground, it’s still an excellent record. Opening with a spoken word piece, Propaganda sets up a very personable tone to this record. Lyrically, he wears his heart on his sleeve, evident in tracks like ‘Tell Me’ and title track ‘Crimson Cord’. ‘Daywalkers’ features Christian rap giant Lecrae, and the lyrical trade-offs are impressive. Highly recommended for Christian rap fans.

MUSIC

LYRICS

GOD CONTENT

PICTURE HUNT

Fun4Kids | 23

FIND A MATCHING PAIR

Where in this magazine do these pictures come from?

Cate and her friends have made a list of what it means to shine their light for Jesus. Can you think of some other things to add to their list?

2

love others be kind

1

use our talents to help people

3

share stuff with your brother and sister say thanks to Mum and Dad do things without being asked

4 5

NIGHT-TIME MAZE

6 Light travels slower through glass than water and air.

Light takes 1.255 seconds to get from the Earth to the Moon.

Other animals can see parts of the light spectrum we can’t. A lot of insects can see ultraviolet (UV) light.

Sunlight can reach a depth of around 80 metres in the ocean.

Light travels very, very fast.

The speed of lig ht is around 300,00 0 kilometres per second.

Answers: Picture Hunt: 1=p.7, 2=p.15, 3=p.24, 4=p.8, 5=p.22, 6=p.3; Matching pair: 3 & 7.

LET’S TALK

Cate

At her Junior Soldiers class, Cate and the other junior soldiers have been talking about what it means to shine their light for Jesus in the world. Their teacher told them the way she first learnt about Jesus was that someone who loved Jesus came to her house and helped when her mum was sick. When her mum was well again, she took her kids along to church so they could learn about this amazing Jesus who helped people to be kind and loving.

The teacher asked all the class to think about something they could do to show the love of Jesus to others. Cate decided she would go to visit an elderly couple who live near her house and ask if they needed any help.

Since then, Cate has been visiting them often and helping with a bit of tidying and some weeding in the vege garden.

Last week, the woman asked Cate why she was helping and Cate told her that it was because Jesus wants her to make a difference in the world. The woman said she didn’t know much about Jesus and that maybe Cate could tell her more. Cate is so excited to see how Jesus is using her to share his love!

READ IT

You are the light of the world … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

1 Peter 3:9

LET’S PRAY Dear Jesus, help me to look out for people who need help and kindness. I want to live well for you so that people see your light shining in my life. Amen.

Prayer is like water —something you can’t imagine has the strength or power to do any good, and yet give it time and it can change the lay of the land.

Jodi Picoult Sing You Home