7 minute read
Quotes from the media
CHURCHES IN CHINA ‘FACING TOUGHEST PERSECUTION SINCE CULTURAL REVOLUTION’ SAYS CHRISTIAN CHARITY
The charity Release International is warning of a renewed crackdown against churches in China.
The charity says Chinese authorities have been arresting pastors and shutting down congregations as part of a crackdown on religion ordered by President Xi Jinping in December 2021…
Partners of Release International have also compiled disturbing video evidence of raids on Sunshine Reformed Church in Jilin Province. On August 21, local police raided the Sunday service of the church in Changchun. They burst in and hauled away the pastor, his wife and seven elders…
The crackdown comes as the United Nations has accused China of possible crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs, with ‘credible evidence’ of torture.
Release says that although China’s Uyghurs are mainly Muslim, they include Christians such as Pastor Alimujiang Yimiti. Pastor Yimiti was jailed for 15 years after telling a colleague on the phone that citizens were being monitored by state security…
Premier
GUISBOROUGH BAKERY INVITES PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO PAY FUEL BILLS TO USE WARM ROOM
A bakery is inviting people struggling to keep out the cold to use a warm room above its kitchen for free.
Staff at Brickyard Bakery and Academy cookery school, in Westgate, Guisborough, are opening up a sitting room above the shop every weekday where people can spend a few hours.
Owner Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt said heat from the bakery’s huge oven was being wasted heating an empty room…
‘A lot of my customers are elderly and on basic pensions and don’t have very much cash.
‘I was worried about them during the pandemic and I’m worried about them now. I’ve got all this extra heat which is just disappearing up through the floorboards.
BBC News
PAKISTAN FLOODS HAVE CAUSED ‘HUMANITARIAN DISASTER OF EPIC PROPORTIONS’
Humanitarian aid agencies are scrambling to reach the 33 million people affected by deadly flooding in Pakistan, which has reportedly submerged one third of the country under water, devastating infrastructure and livelihoods…
The Pakistani government has declared a national emergency. Its minister for climate change, Senator Sherry Rehman, this week described the situation as a ‘climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions’…
More than 100 bridges and 3,000 kilometres of roads have been damaged or destroyed, the UN reports. About 800,000 farm animals have perished and 2 million acres of crops and orchards have been devastated…
The Barnabas Fund has launched an appeal to support flood victims.
Church Times
CHURCH OF SCOTLAND GIVES BACKING TO I AM JESUS VIDEO GAME
The Church of Scotland has given its backing to a new video game which allows players to role-play as Jesus.
The virtual reality game – called I Am Jesus … allows players to heal the sick, fight demons and carry out many of the acts described in the New Testament.
The game, which is being released … in time for Christmas, has been designed to help people learn more about Jesus and his work and to make them more familiar with the Bible.
In a statement to the Telegraph, the Church of Scotland said… ‘Anything which helps people to think about [Jesus] and discuss his life, mission, ministry, death and resurrection in new ways can only be a positive thing.’
Premier
SALVATIONIST
salvationist.org.uk/media/magazine Issue No 1876
EDITOR Major Mal Davies
MANAGING EDITOR Ivan Radford
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Simon Hope, George Tanton, Lyn Woods, Major Margaret Bovey
ART DIRECTOR Hannah Holden
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Mark Knight, Louise Phillips
PROOFREADER Chris Horne
Published weekly by The Salvation Army and printed on paper from sustainable sources by CKN Print, Northampton. © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory. ISSN 2516-5909.
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020 7367 4890 (main) / 020 7367 4901 (editor) salvationist@salvationarmy.org.uk
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The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. FOUNDER William Booth
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TERRITORIAL COMMANDER
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Major Mal Davies
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Life’s one constant: change CONTENTS
Quotes from the media 2
EVERY now and then, life gives us a moment of crystal-clear context – an event or incident that puts other things in a different light or setting.
I’m a huge Beatles fan and I can remember exactly where I was in 1980 when I first heard John Lennon had died. Life seemed to slow down immediately and the world changed. How could a musician, a man who promoted peace, a man who had given so much to the world, a man who was no threat to anybody, be shot in the street? It didn’t make sense.
A similar moment came on the evening of Thursday 8 September when it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away peacefully at Balmoral. It just didn’t make sense. ‘The Queen? Dead? But she’s always been here. She can’t die. Don’t be silly.’
While we continue about our daily business, something has changed. The world is not the same. Because it’s always (well, seemingly always) been a world with Queen Elizabeth II reigning. To misquote Robert Browning, ‘the Queen’s on the throne, all’s right with the world’.
And so while this is an important issue of Salvationist – because it contains news of proposed changes for The Salvation Army in this territory – it now sits in the context of a world that has changed in the past fortnight. When the territorial proposals were developed, the UK had a Queen. Now, it has a King.
In the centre of the magazine you’ll find a four-page pull-out section that outlines the proposed changes to the divisions as well as some changes to DHQ roles. These changes have been formulated by the Structure Co-ordination and Design Group, which has led a rigorous process over the past 20 months.
This process allowed all Salvationists in the territory to make comment on how the territory might better transform, integrate and streamline its missional work for greater Kingdom success.
Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant, who chaired the group, says: ‘We’ve prayed hard and we’ve listened hard… The SCDG, with the leadership of the territory, have reflected deeply on the mission of our Army in the 21st century and we’re now ready to make proposals.’
For me, the most significant phrase there is ‘the mission of our Army in the 21st century’. We have always been an adaptive Army. We evolve with the times and we make whatever changes are necessary to keep our mission paramount.
William Booth said: ‘There should be continuity of principle, but adaption of method.’ And Catherine Booth said, in a well-known quote: ‘The great fundamental principle of The Salvation Army is the law of adaption.’
As we strive to obtain ‘fullness of life for all with Jesus’, the constant challenge is: how can we do it better? And that means change. It means we serve in the 21st century as a 21st-century Army addressing 21st-century needs.
For those who struggle with change, these are challenging days. The UK already has a new monarch, many of us have a new prime minister, and now we all have a revised Salvation Army, at least structurally. As Greek philosopher Heraclitus said: ‘The only constant in life is change.’
Pray for the royal family as they mourn, pray for the Commonwealth as it serves King Charles III, pray for politicians as they address the cost of living crisis, and pray for our Salvation Army as we adapt to meet the challenges that face us and seek to serve God faithfully.
Message from the territorial commander 4
A tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
From the archive 5
War Cry Coronation issue
Feature 6 and 7
A life of service
Feature 8 and 9
The Queen’s faith
Reflection 10 When did you last pray for a politician?
by Major Mal Davies
Territorial proposals 11 to 14
Strengthening our future
by Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant
News 15 to 17
Prayer matters 17
Bible study 18 and 19
God so loved the world!
by Major Howard Webber
Through the week with Salvationist 18 and 19
by Major Lynda Levis
New commitments 20 and 21
Announcements 22
Adverts 23
MAJOR MAL DAVIES
Editor Salvationist
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS
Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (2011), unless otherwise stated
