13 minute read
Quotes from the media
CHILD POVERTY INCREASING IN KEY WORKER HOUSEHOLDS, STUDY FINDS
One in five key worker households has children living in poverty, new research has found.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) study suggests the number of children growing up in poverty in key worker households has increased by 65,000 over the past two years, to nearly one million…
Key worker families in the North East have the highest rate of child poverty (41 per cent) followed by the North West and London (both 29 per cent) and the East of England (24 per cent)…
It comes as the Bank of England warned the UK is set to plunge into the longest recession since the financial crisis.
Real household incomes will drop for two years in a row due to the alarming economic conditions – the first time this has happened since records began in the 1960s.
The TUC warned another year of below-inflation pay rises for public sector workers will have a ‘devastating’ impact on frontline staff...
Sara Ogilvie, policy director at the Child Poverty Action Group, said ‘These disastrous figures show the growing grip of in-work poverty on households across Britain.’
ITV News
MEMORIAL CROSS SURVIVES FIRE THAT SWEPT THROUGH FIELD DURING HEATWAVE
When the unprecedented heatwave shattered records across England last month, a fire raged in a field in Kent but miraculously stopped when it reached the edge of a giant memorial cross etched into the earth.
The large cross was carved into the field in memory of the people of Lenham who died in World War I and is white because of the chalky earth.
The cross spans 61 metres by 21 metres and is maintained by Historic England…
Drone footage by The Independent shows a large area of scorched earth that stops right at the tip of the cross.
The footage shows how the fire breached the parameter of the memorial and burnt part of the surrounding lawn but did not burn the cross itself, which remains intact.
Christian Today
LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL BRINGS SEASIDE TO THE CITY WITH NEW SAND BEACH
Lichfield Cathedral is bringing the seaside to the city this summer by creating a sand beach in front of the cathedral.
As part of the cathedral’s summer activities Lichfield residents will be able to grab deckchairs, snacks, and drinks and relax on the city beach.
Beach toys and games will be available.
The Dean of Lichfield, [the] Very Rev Adrian Dorber said: ‘As Britain’s most landlocked cathedral, we want to bring an unfamiliar landscape to Lichfield…
‘Our invitation is to come to a sacred place but come and relax and be playful. The beach will be open daily and is absolutely free as we know the cost of living crisis is hitting many families hard,’ he added.
Premier
BLACK CHURCH LEADERS CALL ON NEXT CONSERVATIVE LEADER TO ‘RIGHT THE WRONGS’ OF WINDRUSH SCANDAL
Black church leaders have made a joint call to the next Conservative leader to overturn the ‘hostile environment’ legislation that led to the Windrush scandal.
The Tory leadership contest is down to the last two candidates, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss…
In a video by the National Church Leaders Forum, Bishop Joe Aldred [asked them:] ‘Do you promise that if you become prime minister, you will repeal the “hostile environment” legislations that were brought in from 2012 to 2016?’…
The church leaders [asked] that the next Tory leader would ‘uphold integrity and truth’ and [reminded] voting members that their vote is both a ‘privilege and a responsibility’…
The Windrush generation came to the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971 to help rebuild the country when it was suffering from a post-World War II labour shortage.
Christian Today
SALVATIONIST
salvationist.org.uk/media/magazine Issue No 1872
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.
CONTACT US
020 7367 4890 (main) / 020 7367 4901 (editor) salvationist@salvationarmy.org.uk
ADVERTISING
advertising@salvationarmy.org.uk
DISTRIBUTION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
Salvationist Publishing and Supplies (Periodicals), 66–78 Denington Road, Denington Industrial Estate, Wellingborough NN8 2QH 01933 445445 / subscriptions@satcol.org
@SalvationistOnline @SalvationistUK
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
GENERAL Brian Peddle
TERRITORIAL COMMANDER
Commissioner Anthony Cotterill
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Major Mal Davies
TERRITORIAL HEADQUARTERS
101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN 0845 634 0101
Yes, and...
COMEDY is a funny old thing – and, in the right circumstances, laughter is perhaps one of God’s greatest and most gracious gifts.
As a professional discipline, the kind that is performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each year, comedy tends to fall into one of two main categories: stand-up or improvised. Stand-up comedy, as someone smarter than me once explained it, is inherently destructive: a comedian builds a story or situation up only to undercut it with a punchline. Improvisation, on the other hand, is a constructive effort: it relies on teamwork and trust as a group builds a shared idea without undermining each other’s contributions. The fundamental principle? Every suggestion is met with the same response: ‘Yes, and...’
Also at the Fringe this year is Edinburgh City Corps, which isn’t the first Salvation Army presence at the annual arts and comedy festival and hopefully won’t be the last. As an official Fringe venue, it’s living out that attitude of openness to build something new. With thousands of people walking past their hall this month, their response isn’t to leave the doors closed and the lights off but to say: ‘Yes, and what if we invited them in?’ They are not only hosting an exhibition and several concerts, but also providing a quiet space for reflection, refreshment and pastoral support.
Salvationists have also been active and present at the Commonwealth Games this summer, with the Aston 614 youth centre engaging in community sports ministry and Birmingham Citadel members volunteering at the event to help spectators, visitors and athletes alike. You can even read in our news pages about a Salvationist from the India Eastern Territory who took home a gold medal for weightlifting at the Games – but made sure that he wasn’t the one getting all the praise.
His humble spirit echoes the words of William Booth from April 1908, which we also print in this week’s Salvationist: ‘If you erect buildings or arrange meetings or plan special services, let all your plans be as near perfection as you can get them. But when you have done all, you must simply lay them as offerings at Jehovah’s feet.’
They both remind us how easy it can be to get caught up in our own efforts to spread the gospel. We can, amid the busyness of the how, where, when and what, forget that the glory behind our successes – and our failures – belongs to God. If we don’t hold on to that, it’s a solo performance, rather than a team effort with the most empowering teammate imaginable.
Chaplaincy, we read in the final entry of our series about Salvation Army chaplains, is ‘the art of improvisation’. While Major Stephen Huyton is talking about serving within a medical context, the impact of Christians being open to improvisation in their own settings is reflected in the diverse and innovative examples of engagement that are peppered across these pages – people making themselves and their talents available and praying that God works through them.
You might not be able to lift weights – I certainly can’t – but you can offer a hand to hold, share a word of welcome or tell a comforting joke. Next time an opportunity presents itself, try saying this as a prayer: ‘Yes, and...’
IVAN RADFORD
Managing Editor Salvationist
CONTENTS
Quotes from the media 2
News 4 to 6
Prayer matters 6
News feature 7
Growing in faith and fellowship
News feature 8 and 9
Sports and fellowship shared at Commonwealth Games
ICO testimonies 10 and 11
God’s way with me
Feature 12 and 13
A patient presence
by Lieut-Colonel Jonathan Roberts
Interview 14 and 15
Not sitting on the fringes
Captains David and Jennifer Gosling talk to Ivan Radford
Bible study 16 and 17
Punishment and forgiveness
by Major Gareth Heward
Through the week with Salvationist 16 and 17
by Major Jane Kimberley
A word from William 18
The object of faith
New commitments 19
From the archive 20
But will it take a double B?
by Colonel David Guy
Adverts 21 and 23
Announcements 22 and 23
Quiz 24
Great Bible escapes
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS
Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (2011), unless otherwise stated
INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH
Salvationist wins gold at Commonwealth Games
BIRMINGHAM
JEREMY Lalrinnunga, of Mizoram, India Eastern Territory, claimed India’s fifth weightlifting medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games with gold in the men’s 67kg final.
General Brian Peddle joined International Secretary for South Asia Commissioner Suresh Pawar and Captain Charles Chalrimawia in a celebratory video call with the young champion, whose home corps is the Salvation Army Government Complex Corps in Aizawl, Mizoram.
The General had these words for Jeremy: ‘I have prayed and thanked God for you. Anybody who pursues excellence does, in a very beautiful way, honour God. God is making you to be somebody who pursues excellence in your weightlifting and as a good soldier of Jesus. We are honoured to see you and greet you today and we pray God will continue to bless you.’
Jeremy, who broke two Games records, received the General’s warm congratulations with gratitude. The 19-year-old astonished viewers with his sporting success, but made it very clear to whom the glory belongs: ‘This is not my power – this is the power of Jesus Christ.’
‘In my preparation for the Commonwealth Games, I spent time with God in personal prayer, but I’m grateful to know that my family and friends have prayed for me too,’ he said. ‘The Salvation Army and my home corps have been really supportive, and I know they have lifted me in prayer. I am certain that my success is the result of this support, and for that I am thankful.
‘The Salvation Army has been part of my family for many generations on my mother’s side, and my father joined after he married my mother, so I was born into a Christian home. My childhood was occupied with many Salvation Army activities such as corps cadets.’
Upon returning to India, Jeremy will commence training at the Neeraj Chopra Institute of Sports for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Jeremy humbly concluded the interview: ‘I ask for prayers that I will never surpass the need for God in my life.’ – LW
EVENT
SUNDERLAND MONKWEARMOUTH Representatives from South Shields, Horden and Sunderland Millfield Corps supported the annual strawberry fayre, which was organised by the songsters. The YP brass ensemble, joined by young people from Horden and Sunderland Millfield, provided music to enhance the evening. It raised more than £300 for Sunderland Royal Hospital’s neonatal ward. – JC WILLENHALL Cradley Heath Band and friends joined to host an afternoon picnic as part of the annual praise in the park event. The corps has played in the park every summer since it opened in 1923. This year’s event was opened by Willenhall South councillor Connor Horton and included singing, timbrels, dancing, crafts, games and even glitter tattoos. Passers-by wrote prayers for the community and tied them to the railings. More than 200 invitations were given out inviting people to the summer holiday club and upcoming community drop-in. – LH-N
BOURNE The corps held an outside service at Wellhead Park. Corps officer Lieutenant Sarah O’Grady conducted the signing choir for those with hearing difficulties and visitors joined in congregational singing. Afterwards, the congregation enjoyed a picnic and fellowship together. – CG
MEETING
COMMUNITY
A new garden area at Hove, created by green-fingered members and volunteers, provides an outdoor extension of the corps welcome
PRESENTATION
CAMBRIDGE HEATH The corps celebrated Muriel’s 25 years of service as she retired as cook. Family and friends from across the UK joined in the celebrations, and previous officers and the divisional commander sent letters of appreciation and congratulations for all that Muriel has done and achieved while in the role. One previous corps officer wrote: ‘What I remember Muriel for is her deep, genuine love for people – her role was never just a job, it was a real ministry.’ – GD
MUSIC BIRTHDAY
WOOD GREEN Adherent Peggy Bramley celebrated her 100th birthday with more than 100 people. A lifelong Christian, she spends her days telling people about Jesus, praying and singing old hymns and choruses to anyone who will listen. She is particularly encouraging to the young people at the corps. – PK
COMMUNITY
CLOWNE Former band members and invited friends took part in an open band practice. The event, titled Brass Berries, included a strawberry tea and raised money for the Parents Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia, which works with Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The hospital has been treating four-year-old Oscar, a member of the corps Winners Club. Twenty-eight musicians and fifty-four supporters attended the event, raising £570 for the charity. – GH
MUSIC
Cirencester Band visit a care home in Stratton as part of an open day to support the town church
HEDNESFORD The corps has started an Employment Plus service, with an employment specialist available to offer advice and help people with searching for work, preparing for job interviews and creating a CV. – AR
CAMBRIDGE HEATH Corps folk worked alongside Hackney council to welcome people arriving from Ukraine at a Homes for Ukraine event. Supported by the mayor and councillors, the event provided an opportunity for new neighbours to access essential services, advice and support while forging friendships. In partnership with the council, the corps is launching a fortnightly Ukraine hub to help families access support, build community and take part in music and art sessions. – GD
STAPLE HILL Guest soloist Joshua Dickens (euphonium) and Dr Rachel Milestone (vocal) joined the band for a Jubilee proms concert. Rachel is director of music at Leweston School and musical director of the Leweston Choral Society and Josh left the corps to study music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The evening included ‘Britannia’ and ‘Joy on the Hill’, a piece written especially for the band by Sam Shelley (Cannock), with Josh presenting ‘Czardas’ and Rachel presenting ‘Love Divine’. Brian Usher was also recognised for his 18 years of running the band league, before ‘Star Lake’ rounded off a great community evening. – VW EVENT
KIRKCALDY A holiday at home cruise, chaplained by Major Mary McDonald and supported by a team of volunteers, treated 36 guests to games, crafts, food, songs and thought-provoking epilogues. Passengers included corps folk and people from the wider community who could not take a holiday due to finance, health or ongoing concerns around Covid-19. – AM
