SALVATIONIST
No.1772 Price 70p
For everyone linked to The Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org.uk/salvationist 5 September 2020
Horse sense in the Forest of Dean PLUS
CARING FOR THE PLANET
SEE PAGES 7 TO 9
QUOTES FROM THE MEDIA
ALEXA’S NEXT TASK WILL BE HELPING CHURCHGOERS TO KEEP THE FAITH
LOW INCOME FAMILIES FINANCIALLY WORSE OFF AFTER MONTHS OF COVID
PARISHES PLAN TO CONTINUE ZOOMING AFTER LOCKDOWN
They have already proved a godsend for consumers during the lockdown but Alexa and other smart speakers may also be the answer to our spiritual needs, a chaplain to the Queen has claimed. The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers, a former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said that faith organisations would have to embrace new technologies if they were to survive in the postCovid world. He also warned that lockdown could send numbers for Sunday morning worship tumbling in the same way that popular TV dramas hit evening attendances 50 years ago. Writing in next month’s Life And Work, the house magazine of the Church of Scotland, Dr Chalmers said that during lockdown more people had been tuning in to religion online… ‘Back in the 1960s nearly every congregation in the Church of Scotland had well-attended evening services; then from January to July 1967 the BBC screened The Forsyte Saga in 26 Sunday night episodes; 26 weeks was more than enough to change the Sunday evening habits of families across the nation. We should not be blind to the possibility that the lockdown associated with Covid-19 could do to our Sunday morning habits what The Forsyte Saga did to our Sunday evening habits.’
The coronavirus pandemic has had an adverse financial impact on low income families, new research has found. A study by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and the Church of England found that eight in ten low income families had been left worse off as a result of Covid-19. Nearly half said they were suffering from physical or mental health problems due to coronavirus, while a similar proportion (48 per cent) said they had encountered a new or worse debt problem in recent months. Close to a quarter (23 per cent) reported relationship issues at home and just under a half (46 per cent) said they had taken on extra caring responsibilities... Responding to the findings, CPAG and the Church of England have called on the government to raise child benefit by £10 a week and extend free school meals to all families receiving universal credit or working tax credit.
Over 30 per cent of parishes say they would continue to use the new engagement channels after lockdown to keep in touch and attract new members to their churches. Research carried out by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical has revealed that almost nine in ten churches used new channels to keep in touch with churchgoers during the lockdown... Of those, 78 per cent joined the Zoom boom to hold video calls with their congregations, which was the third most popular channel after telephone (82 per cent) and email (79 per cent)... Thirty per cent of churches said they have seen an increase in attendance as a result of the move to digital channels of communicating… Michael Angell, church operations director at Ecclesiastical, said… ‘It is encouraging to see that churches are open to maintaining new ways to interact with their audiences.’
Christian Today
The Church of England Newspaper
The Times
Premier
SALVATIONIST
500K GIVEN TO CASH-STRAPPED HISTORIC CHURCHES The National Churches Trust has given a total of £500,000 to 45 historic churches and chapels in the UK. The charity said the Covid-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the finances of churches, with many unable to raise money from worshippers, visitors or from the hire of buildings... BBC broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, who is the vice president of the National Churches Trust, said: ‘The UK’s historic churches and chapels are a vital part of our national heritage. During the coronavirus pandemic churches have done so much to help vulnerable local people and boost morale’… These are the second-round of grants made by the [trust] in 2020.
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Salvationist 5 September 2020
THE SALVATION ARMY FOUNDER William Booth GENERAL Brian Peddle TERRITORIAL COMMANDER Commissioner Anthony Cotterill EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND PUBLISHING SECRETARY Major Mal Davies
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CONTENTS
A HEART FOR THE PLANET TWO recent newspaper reports that made me sit up and take notice were to do with the environment. The first was about a British man who had just returned from a four-year, 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the world. He saw amazing things and experienced dangerous moments on his voyage, but one of the most memorable sights was on a little coral atoll in the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from human population, where plastic items that had drifted there on the current were piled six-feet high on the beaches. The second report said that Greenland lost a record amount of ice last year, leading to warnings that it is melting more quickly than before and will accelerate the rise in sea levels globally. As a result, scientists have added 40 million people to their previous estimate that 360 million would be affected annually by coastal flooding by the end of the century. News items like these highlight the importance of Creation Time – 1 September (Global Day of Prayer for Creation) to 4 October (Feast of St Francis of Assisi). During this period we are asked to think about God’s world and our care of it. The state of the planet needs to be taken seriously by people of faith, insists Major Christina Tyson in her article on pages 7 to 9. ‘Why don’t more people in the Church care about the environment and take action against climate change?’ she asks. According to the Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), textiles are the UK’s fastest growing form of household waste. By reusing and recycling textiles we can reduce the amount we send to landfill. SATCoL plays its part, but the coronavirus lockdown has hit their business hard. On pages 10 and 11 Trevor Caffull explains what happened and what the future holds. On pages 12 and 13 we hear about an ‘animal-assisted ministry’ in the Forest of Dean, where horses support young people’s mental health and relationship-building. It’s also an opportunity to explore ‘how to live more sustainably and how to understand and discover God through their relationship with his creation’. Major Howard Webber brings the next in our series of reflections on favourite prayers on page 14. He looks at the prayer of St Patrick, whose Celtic spirituality saw God reflected in nature and who famously used the shamrock to illustrate the Trinity. The territory’s fifth mark of mission is ‘striving to safeguard the integrity of creation’. As well as caring for people we are to care for the planet. Indeed, caring for the planet is a way of caring for people who are threatened by all that a climate crisis might hold for them. But to turn a statement like that into reality will take more than information, encouragement or even a command. It’s a matter of motivation. Perhaps when the love of God melts our hearts we will be moved to do something about the melting ice and rising seas. Rest for the ravaged earth, oceans and streams Plundered and poisoned – our future, our dreams. Lord, end our madness, carelessness, greed; Make us content with the things that we need. God of the poor, friend of the weak, Give us compassion we pray. Melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain; Come, change our love from a spark to a flame. (SASB 998)
Quotes from the media
2
Message from the Territorial Leader for Leader Development 4 News
5 and 6
Prayer matters
6
Viewpoint No laughing matter
7 to 9
by Major Christina Tyson
Interview 10 and 11 Bouncing back from the crisis with Trevor Caffull
Feature Being seen and herd
12 and 13
Major Vivienne Prescott speaks to Shanelle Manderson
Reflection Christ with me
14
by Major Howard Webber
More rear-mirror views A General honoured
15
by General John Larsson (Retired)
Bible study Peter recognises Jesus
16 and 17
by Captain Callum McKenna
Through the week with Salvationist 16 and 17 by Major Freda Benneyworth
Thinkaloud 18 The Pilgrim Fathers – 400 years on by John Coutts
Reflection God answers prayer
19
by Brian Colley
Reflection His promises stand
19
by Songster Leader Andrew Mair
New commitments
20
Review God And The Pandemic
21
reviewed by Jim Burns
Adverts
21 and 23
Announcements
22
The Salvation Army and me
24
featuring Alan Rowe
From the Editor Lieut-Colonel Jonathan Roberts
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS Scripture quotations in Salvationist are from the New International Version (2011), unless otherwise stated
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A MESSAGE FROM THE TERRITORIAL LEADER FOR LEADER DEVELOPMENT
God will make a way
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N a recent Saturday, Anthony and I decided to take a walk on the north side of the Thames. It meant crossing Tower Bridge from the south side, where we live, and as we made our way towards the bridge we saw a tall ship approaching. This was exciting because the bridge would have to open, which is a rare sight. The alarm sounded and the barriers came down, holding up the traffic, and everyone waited to see this lovely tall ship making its way through as the bridge came up in all its glory. The event happened and we’d enjoyed the moment as we were waiting to cross, but the bridge didn’t close back down. The people who had gathered were all quite patient and happily talking and snapping photographs, but nothing happened. We waited and waited, and then realised there was a problem. The bridge didn’t come back down, so we stayed on the south side and enjoyed our walk there. On our return about an hour later, we could see Tower Bridge in the distance. The bridge had moved slightly but it hadn’t closed, and we realised there would be many frustrated drivers unable to go another way because the road was too narrow to turn around in. Finding an alternative route has been part of our lives, certainly in recent days, and I was thinking about some Bible 4
Salvationist 5 September 2020
stories which outline that. In Matthew 2 the wise men visit the house of Joseph and Mary to see the child Jesus. Then verse 12 says. ‘And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.’ In my Bible, scribbled underneath that reading, are the words, ‘January 2006, Chatham Corps.’ I’d obviously heard the message of the wise men and written some questions to myself under the passage: ‘What will I do differently? Will I take a different route this year? Will my life and service be any different? Will I bear fruit? What opportunities will I take that will come my way? Or will I just keep going and want to stay the same?’ Perhaps those are questions for all of us in these days when life has changed during the time of the pandemic. Going back to our experience at Tower Bridge, Anthony began to recite the words of a chorus: ‘Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?/ Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?/ God specialises in things thought impossible,/ He does the things that no other can do.’ I then began to think of stories in Scripture where things seemed impossible or when a different route had to be found. In Acts 16 there’s the story of Paul on a missionary journey, accompanied by Silas and Timothy. ‘When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them’ (vv7–10). They planned the route and suddenly the Spirit caused them to bypass some
places and change direction, and in a vision they were called to go to Macedonia. Fresh opportunities came to them even in that change of direction. There continue to be huge challenges during the pandemic as we carefully navigate our way through. Life has changed for all of us in many different ways. Yet we need to be reminded that we are instruments of the gospel of Jesus and his purposes, and that he can use us if we’re ready to be led by the Spirit. Perhaps it will be in ways that we have never thought of before – taking hold of new opportunities, meeting the needs of people in different ways, being a blessing to our neighbours, adapting to the needs of today. That’s what being a Salvationist is all about. The words that Anthony recited at the bridge remind me that some of you will have rivers that seem uncrossable: serious illness, bereavement, concerns about unemployment, dealing with children at home and preparing for them to go back to school – and so on. These have been very testing times. But here are some words of a song with the message that God is with us, and that he is able to make a way when sometimes it seems quite impossible. God will make a way Where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see; He will make a way for me, He will be my guide, Hold me closely to his side, With love and strength for each new day. He will make a way, he will make a way. Though we’re still going through challenging days, I pray that you’ll know God is with you, and that he will make a way. GILL COTTERILL COMMISSIONER TERRITORIAL LEADER FOR LEADER DEVELOPMENT O This
message is based on a video that can be viewed at facebook.com/ SalvationistOnline or youtube.com/ user/salvationarmyvideo
NEWS
ARMY NEWS
Army calls women and girls to get creative UKI
Nottinghamshire corps provide practical help EAST MIDLANDS CORPS in Nottinghamshire have responded to people’s needs during the coronavirus pandemic in a practical way. Stapleford Corps has been working in partnership with local primary schools to identify and meet the needs of families. The corps had provided food and toy parcels at Christmas to families at two local primary schools. At the beginning of the lockdown, Captain Vicky Owen, who was the associate officer at the time, asked the schools if they required any assistance. The schools responded, saying that they believed some families were struggling to feed their children during the lockdown measures. Although these families might not usually receive free school meals, circumstances had changed, with some parents furloughed or laid off work. The corps is now packing 50 parcels a week for three schools. Captain Vicky said: ‘[The corps] is pleased to have worked so closely with local schools… to help provide a safety net for children during the long school holidays.’ Sneinton, Mansfield, Shirebrook and Newark are providing food parcels for vulnerable people, while Nottingham William Booth Memorial Halls continues to distribute hot meals in the city, as well as preparing lunches for those experiencing homelessness. Nottingham Aspley made 300 craft bags for children to help keep them occupied during the lockdown, while Nottingham Arnold is supporting a food bank in the area. – AR
ARMY NEWS
Officer recognised for emergency response work NORTH LONDON FIRE crews in Hackney presented Pan London Emergency Response Co-ordinator Major Karl Gray (Clapton) with a firefighter’s axe to thank him for his years of service, and to welcome him back after he spent eight weeks in hospital recovering from the coronavirus. Over the past 15 years, Karl has attended more than 440 incidents, providing refreshments and a friendly face to firefighters on the ground. He has been part of The Salvation Army’s response at major incidents, including the Grenfell Tower fire, Croydon tram crash and terrorist incidents. Historically, every firefighter was given an axe at the start of their career and on retirement took it home. Nowadays the axe is ceremonial and it is a great honour for someone outside the fire service to receive one. ‘The presentation was made on behalf of all the crews throughout Hackney in recognition of Karl’s continued support,’ said London Fire Brigade’s Hackney Borough Commander Lee Sandy. ‘Karl is a huge part of the team at Shoreditch fire station and is known by firefighters across London. It’s always such a boost seeing his cheerful face offering you a hot drink and a sandwich when you’ve been working hard at an incident.’ Divisional Commander Lieut-Colonel David Shakespeare added: ‘Karl is deeply committed to supporting the people of London, and his investment in relationships with the London Fire Brigade is significant. People recognise his integrity and faith perspective.’ – AR
CORPS REDRUTH The first socially distanced meeting opened with Matthew 18:20: ‘For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’ Esther Green made masks modelled on the Army flag for the occasion. – PG
THE Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission (ISJC) is calling all young women and girls aged 6 to 25 who are connected to the Army to take part in this year’s celebration of the United Nations International Day of the Girl on 11 October. Women and girls are encouraged to create a video of spoken word, song, dance, poetry, drama, TikTok or a music item (individual or group) reflecting this year’s UN theme: Be Bold: From Equality To Equity for Girls. Submissions will be shared with the United Nations and shown in an online virtual event hosted by the ISJC. – AR O To enter, upload submissions to
YouTube by 11 September, email the YouTube URL to ihq-isjc@ salvationarmy.org for the attention of Major Victoria Edmonds and copy in the Youth and Children’s Ministries Unit at youthchildren@ salvationarmy.org.uk O Please include a completed copy
of the release form: tinyurl.com/ TSAconsentform
LURGAN With playing instruments outdoors permitted in Northern Ireland, band members continued their ministry, playing in three areas of Waringstown. Many passers-by stopped to listen. The band members are pictured welcoming corps officers Majors Ann and Russell Tucker outside their home. – JP Salvationist 5 September 2020
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NEWS
Prayer
THE BIG COLLECTION FOCUS
by Christine Thomas (Territorial Appeals Officer, THQ)
House-to-house collecting for this year’s Big Collection will not be possible and many local authorities have cancelled street collections and standing days. However, as Christine said in a recent article (Salvationist 22 August), most corps are permitted to sell Army papers on the streets and proceeds may go towards the Big Collection. Many corps have also set up JustGiving pages to raise money through local donations and virtual events. SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER ‘There will always be poor people in the land. So I’m commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them’ (Deuteronomy 15:11 New International Reader’s Version). Although the Big Collection has changed this year, we pray that we will continue to remember those in our land who need the help of The Salvation Army. SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER ‘In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”’ (Acts 20:35). Lord, we ask you to bless us and those who give to us, as we raise money for those who are in need. Amen.
MUSIC BIRMINGHAM CITADEL The singing company members have written a song together during their weekly Zoom meetings, with the help of Singing Company Leader Steph Lamplough and Bandmaster Gavin Lamplough. The young people split into small virtual groups and worked on lyrics with a rhyming pattern based on Psalm 54. Gavin helped them compose a melody and produce a backing track. Each singing company member recorded their part at home and a video of their lockdown song was produced. Oscar, aged 8, said, ‘I enjoyed working in a small group with my friends to come up with ideas for the lyrics.’ Sophie, aged 16, added, ‘I really enjoyed being able to create our own song as it was a different and exciting way to connect with my friends when we couldn’t be together at the Army.’ The video can be viewed at the Birmingham Citadel YouTube channel. – SL
MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER ‘Love your neighbour as yourself ’ (Mark 12:31). Lord, help us to see our neighbours as you do and show love to all. Amen. TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER ‘Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart’ (1 Peter 1:22). Lord, it never fails to amaze me, that you love someone like me. Teach us to love others, Lord, as you have loved us. Amen. WEDNESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER ‘Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased’ (Hebrews 13:16). Lord, I know that if I give, it will be given to me. So I pray that I will give freely. I pray that I may show this same regard when I do good to others. Amen. THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER ‘Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Corinthians 9:6 and 7). Let that be so, Lord! Amen.
O A PDF of the Prayer Matters booklet is also available to download from salvationarmy.org.uk/resources
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Salvationist 22 August 2020 Salvationist Salvationist Date 18 Month July 2020 Year
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COMMUNITY BRIGHTON CONGRESS HALL The corps has received food donations from several supermarkets including Morrisons and Lidl. As Debenhams has closed its restaurants, much of their produce and equipment have also been donated. The donations have been arranged for ease of distribution by Corps Administrator Lyn Back. Lyn and corps officers Majors Elizabeth and Michael Lloyd, along with other corps volunteers, have delivered food parcels to those in need along with copies of Kids Alive! for children. The recipients showed great appreciation for the work of the Army. – BW THQ The IT Department has switched more than 2,500 user accounts in the UKI Territory to Microsoft Outlook and Windows 10 as part of an international drive to transition to Office 365 in all parts of the Salvation Army world. This phased roll-out will expand to corps users from September, then care homes and retired officers from November. – AR
VIEW POINT
Major Christina Tyson questions whether Christians care enough about the planet
No laughing matter A
CHRISTIAN, a Jew and a Muslim walk into a Salvation Army church. No, that’s not the start of a bad joke. It happened when Wellington City Corps in New Zealand hosted a public meeting of three faith perspectives on the topic The Care Of Our Earth. There certainly wasn’t a packed house, and looking around the room I remember noticing it was a fairly elderly crowd. Without meaning to be ageist – I’m not that young myself! – I felt like a spring chicken in comparison to many in the audience. Perhaps this was testament to how most religious people approach the issue of environmentalism in general, sadly. It’s something tangential that only a few in the Church care about (hippies, old people, greenies...) – a side issue, not a central concern. In this, I count myself complicit in apathy. It took me months to work through my thoughts, before I returned to that evening presentation with a heavy heart but a convicted spirit.
THREE FAITH PERSPECTIVES Those attending were invited to hear what the Abrahamic faith traditions have to say about our responsibility as human beings to care for the Earth that the Creator has given us to live in. The speakers were Dr Paul Blaschke, a Jewish ecologist from Otago University, Catherine Gibbs of the Catholic Institute and Tahir Nawaz, President of the International Muslim Association of New Zealand. Dr Blaschke asked whether God’s instruction for humankind to ‘have dominion [or rule] over… the Earth’ (Genesis 1:26 New King James Version) had become a root cause of the current environmental crisis. He said that Jewish law prohibited wastefulness and excessive consumption that damages creation, and introduced the Hebrew concept of tikkun olam, which literally means ‘repair (or healing) of the world’. This concept was a reminder that Jews are not only responsible for their own
welfare, but that they are also to act responsibly and ethically towards the welfare of society and the interests of the wider environment. It was also important, he said, to remember that in Genesis 2, God tells humankind to ‘tend and keep’ creation (v15 NKJV). That instruction comes with the clear implication that we are meant to be the Earth’s caretaker or gardener. The MƗori (first people of New Zealand) understanding of kaitiakitanga (guardianship and conservation) has a lot to teach us in this regard. God clearly calls us to be stewards, not selfish consumers who plunder the planet’s supply. Reading further on in Genesis, the story of Noah and the flood reminds us that sinful human actions do affect the world, said Dr Blaschke. Although God had promised to never again send a flood to destroy the Earth, this was no guarantee humans might not cause their own destructive flood, he added. Salvationist 5 September 2020
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strongly in the Judeo-Christian tradition, where environmentalism seemed to be regarded as an interest quite separate from one’s faith. A lasting takeaway for me from this presentation was the realisation that if our faith is to have an impact in the world, it must not be caged and compartmentalised. We are not meant to shut our faith away in our churches, synagogues, temples or mosques. Faith is meant to overflow from those spaces and be evident in the way we care for other people and for our environment.
Catherine Gibbs picked up on the idea that everything in creation is connected, and emphasised that love is the central force for a truly Christian understanding of creation. She stated, when it came to God’s instruction to ‘have dominion’, it was important to realise this was not about domination, but subduing ourselves to God. She noted that Pope Francis had spoken strongly against consumer lifestyles that suffocate the Earth and rob the poor. Her challenge to faith communities was to experience ‘an ecological conversion’, a change of heart and mind that accepts we have a moral duty to our neighbour and to the Earth. Gibbs emphasised that a central Christian concern is the justice question of ‘what will protect and enhance human life?’
Tahir Nawaz emphasised that in Islam, exploitation is prohibited. Sustainability is promoted, with an understanding that caring for the environment and planting for food and other purposes is regarded as providing charity for others. Because all shared the right to share the world’s resources, it was important for people of faith to see themselves as cultivators not destroyers. He gave the example of an Islamic leader who said: ‘I was sent to teach you about the Prophet and to clean your streets for you.’ A Jewish woman in the audience said that while living as part of a largely Islamic community, she’d seen evidence of an integrated faith expression in the way people cared for the environment. This was not something she had seen so
WHY DON’T WE CARE? And so I return to the question: why don’t more people in the Church care about the environment and take action against climate change? A couple of years ago The Salvation Army’s Moral and Social Issues Council of the New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory invited Jonathan Boston, Professor of Policy Studies at Victoria University’s School of Government, to talk to the council on the topic of climate change. Jonathan is a long-time environmental activist – since he was a teenager – yet confessed to having a heavy heart that Christians are not taking more of a lead on climate change. Even more concerning, he said, was that an overwhelming number of Christians either didn’t seem to care or were sceptics. He’d even been told that ‘creation care is not part of the gospel’. Professor Boston suggested that some of the theological roots of such a disheartening reality are the Church’s views on eschatology, the part of theology concerned with death, judgment
Christian Climate Action members in an Ash Wednesday vigil outside Westminster Cathedral
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God clearly calls us to be stewards, not selfish consumers who plunder the planet’s supply
and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. Because Christians have the view that everything ends up OK in the end – God wins and we get to escape this dying world to live in ‘a new Heaven and a new Earth’ (see Revelation 21:1) – we may believe it doesn’t matter what we do in terms of caring for the environment, because the end game isn’t saving this Earth or its animals anyway; it’s living in the new Earth to come. Theological views related to God’s sovereignty are another influence on the Church’s apathy, he said. Because Christians rightly see God as the ruler of the universe, and because we see that God is just and loves his people, this can cause us to believe that God won’t let anything really bad happen to us. Or, if bad things do happen, it’s not for us to question what’s going on; we should simply accept this as God’s will. This flies in the face of human history and everyday reality. Christians have suffered and are suffering, and it is clear that many are not afforded God’s supernatural protection. Suffering also has much to do with human cause and effect. It’s not correct to imply everything that happens must be permitted through God’s sovereign will when humans must take responsibility for their action – and inaction. Boston challenged The Salvation Army to allow its preaching, prayer and Bible studies to be impacted by concerns for the planet.
I am sure there are Christians joining in some of the climate change activism… but I don’t think there are enough of us rallying to this cause
PACIFIC PROBLEMS If we want to be obedient to Christ’s teaching to love God and love our neighbour, then in my own part of the world we must recognise that our neighbours are facing some heavy duty climate-related issues. A report by the Catholic aid agency Caritas, Hungry For Justice, Thirsty For Change, stated that 2016 saw Fiji face the strongest recorded cyclone in the southern hemisphere and that Pacific communities are losing ground to coastal erosion and flooding, disrupting food gardens, cemeteries and homes. ‘As the sea continues to rise... Caritas continues to hear more stories of whole communities moving because of these rising seas and stronger king tides,’ said the report. Island nations like Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga are especially vulnerable, particularly as they experience the ‘accumulated impacts of multiple extreme events such as cyclones, drought and intense rainfall’. This is leading to malnutrition that will have long-term impacts on health and education. The Caritas report noted that even though the Paris Agreement, with its unprecedented commitment to address climate change, gave much hope in December 2015, this still needed to be backed up with concrete action. SAVE THE PLANET Last September the world listened to teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg’s impassioned plea to the United Nations General Assembly to save the planet. She opened by saying: ‘My message is that we’ll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!’ After her speech, negative reaction was swift and merciless, with Thunberg attacked for her forthright views. But the 16-year-old activist fired back: ‘I honestly don’t understand why adults would choose to spend their time mocking and threatening teenagers and children for promoting science, when they could do something good instead. I guess they
must simply feel so threatened by us. But don’t waste your time giving them any more attention. The world is waking up. Change is coming whether they like it or not.’ I am sure there are Christians joining in some of the climate change activism that Thunberg and others are promoting, but I don’t think there are enough of us rallying to this cause. An old Star Trek-inspired cartoon comes to mind. It’s a picture of our Earth with a speech bubble coming from it that reads: ‘Beam me up, Scotty, there’s no intelligent life here!’ This is meant as commentary on the lack of intelligent reason evident across the planet on any of a range of issues and probably at any time in our history. But perhaps it also typifies the way in which many Christians contribute to the challenge of caring for the Earth: we think God’s going to beam us up out of here anyway. Not our problem! I hope fewer of us believe that’s how God sees things, and that instead we realise our responsibility as stewards and caretakers of this beautiful world. The challenges facing the world and its people require more than a simplistic or escapist application of our faith. We must not be content to walk on by while those on the other side of the road – or on some other island – retreat from the peril of rising waters. t 5IJT BSUJDMF GJSTU BQQFBSFE JO The Officer magazine
MAJOR TYSON IS CORPS OFFICER, WELLINGTON SOUTH, IN THE NEW ZEALAND, FIJI, TONGA AND SAMOA TERRITORY Salvationist 5 September 2020
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INTERVIEW
Bouncing back from the crisis Salvationist asks Trevor Caffull, Managing Director of The Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), about the company’ss recent experiences and future prospects company prospect HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFF AFFECTED SATCOL’S OPERATIONS? Like many businesses and organis organisations, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was sudden and largely all-consuming. Sales in our charity shops had started to falter, but in the t week immediately prior to the government’s announcement of lockdown, lo matters became significantly worse. We agreed to allow shop closure c decisions to be made locally, but by the end of that week, as public panic started to spread, it was clear we They were instructed to close on had no option but to close all the shops. s the morning of Monday 23 March. The government’s lockdown evening, which forced pretty well the entire announcement was made that eve shops, clothing collection and SP&S – into SATCoL business – charity shops immediate hibernation. For almost three months, 97 per cent of our staff were furloughed. Only 32 employees employe worked throughout lockdown. The only service that continued in those early weeks was the packing Salvationist, War Cry and Kids and dispatch of the weekly periodicals: periodi service’ by the territory, so we kept a Alive! This was deemed a ‘necessary ‘necess skeleton staff in place to ensure it continued. I will be forever indebted to those staff members who carried on o providing that service in spite of fear for their own safety and that of their the loved ones. ARE YOU ABLE TO ASSESS TH THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE LOCKDOWN? Initially we estimated that the busi business would be closed entirely for three months, which turned out to be pretty pre accurate, and that trading levels on resumption would be extrem extremely suppressed. Our estimate was that we would lose abo about 50 per cent of our gross income for the equates to an income loss of £35 million. year, which equ These were scary days! s Through a combination of government support, maximising furlough income, suspension of planned projects, rent r holidays on leasehold properties, holding back b payment of the previous year’s covenanted giving to the territory, selling and covena leasing back our entire vehicle fleet – plus other initiativ initiatives – we raised or preserved about £22.5 millio million. This provided an immediate lifeline throu through the subsequent few months. In terms of the knock-on effect on the terr territory’s income, other than delayed payment of the previous year’s profits, it is pay still too early to predict the full impact. stil Cl Clearly profits will be significantly affected, but the business resumption is not yet b ssufficiently established so it is not possible tto make predictions to the end of the ffinancial year in March. 10
Salvationist 5 September 2020
WHAT IS THE POSITION OF SALVATIONIST PUBLISHING AND SUPPLIES? One of the saddest decisions we have had to make is to close the SP&S shop in Tiverton Street, on the THQ site. Trading had been difficult there for some time, with reduced numbers of visitors, and we had already decided that it would not move to Denmark Hill with the planned relocation of THQ. However, the THQ building will not be fully ‘repopulated’ for some time yet, and travelling into London, particularly by public transport, is something we anticipate people will avoid wherever possible, so we knew that visitor numbers to the SP&S shop would be further and critically impacted. As a result, and with great reluctance, the decision was taken not to reopen the London SP&S shop. It is 20 years since the shop transferred from Judd Street to the current site, so it is a very sad day for all connected to that work. Our staff team at Tiverton Street have been magnificent, and have worked with us to bring a very orderly end to the life of this shop. We owe them a debt of gratitude, not just for this, but for the loyal and long service they have contributed to the life of The Salvation Army in this territory. We will continue to seek all possible and creative ways for SP&S to resource the territory. This includes the shop on the Wellingborough Support Centre site, which opened again for business on 10 August. It is a much smaller space than Tiverton Street but will continue to provide an invaluable personal service. We remain optimistic about our ability to restart the Roadshow programme, taking our ‘mobile shop’ around the territory, although no date has yet been set for that. Our SP&S Customer Service team are back at work and our online and telephone mail order service is fully functional. WILL ALL SATCOL’S CHARITY SHOPS BE ABLE TO REOPEN? We have, sadly, already had to make decisions regarding the closure of some
of our charity shops. At the time the lockdown was announced SATCoL had approximately 240 shops trading around the country, and 22 of those will not reopen. Some of these had been planned around lease breaks or expiries, but others were definitely as a result of the trading damage that lockdown has brought. In some cases our smallest shops were simply not large enough to allow any form of social distancing and these were judged to be unsustainable. WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION REGARDING STAFFING AND OPERATIONS ACROSS THE COMPANY? The introduction of flexible furlough, allowing part-time work and part-time furlough, has enabled us to bring more colleagues back to the workplace quicker than would otherwise have been possible. Today, about 80 per cent of our workforce are re-engaged in their roles, with about 65 per cent of the total workforce hours being utilised. Staff in some roles, particularly in support functions, are likely to remain furloughed, at least in part, until the scheme finishes at the end of October. Today, we have more than 200 shops trading, and our Clothing Collection Division, with more than 7,500 clothing banks around the country, is fully operational. SP&S is offering a full service through its Customer Service team, but our World of Sound recording team are still hibernated because no music groups are able to meet or record. We really are looking forward to the return of live music – the Army needs to sing again! Unfortunately, as a result of shop closures, including at Tiverton Street, we are likely to witness around 60 redundancies. Our staff have been incredibly positive and understanding in the way they have responded to this, and of course we have sought to engage with care and compassion. We are looking to enable redeployment within the business wherever that is possible, and about 30 per cent of those ‘at risk’ have been found alternative work in the company. WHAT HAS BEEN THE PUBLIC’S RESPONSE TO THE REOPENING OF YOUR CHARITY SHOPS? It seems that one of the national pastimes during lockdown was sorting out cupboards and wardrobes. So as soon as charity shops and clothing banks
were opened we were besieged by donations. This created significant operational challenges in shops and at clothing banks, where donation levels were about four times the normal amount. There are signs of this beginning to settle down, but we are still almost at double the normal levels in our shops. While this is challenging, and made more difficult because donated goods have to be quarantined for 48 to 72 hours before they are sorted, in broader terms it is very good news.
Customer support has been extremely strong since reopening. While footfall is down on last year by between 10 and 15 per cent, the average amount that each customer spends has increased considerably. This means that, so far, our like-for-like sales have increased by about 5 per cent on last year. This is off the scale compared with our worst-case prediction, which was that sales could fall by up to 50 per cent. But we are very far from complacent. Local lockdowns and the threat of a second wave are still talked about daily, and the prospect of another national lockdown is one that hardly bears thinking about. HOW OPTIMISTIC ARE YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF SATCOL? I am hugely optimistic about SATCoL making a full recovery over the next couple of years. I have been saying for some time that 2020 will be about survival, 2021 will be about recovery and 2022 will be about normalisation. SATCoL was an extremely strong business prior to Covid-19, with annual profits latterly running at more than £10 million per year and having generated £100 million of funding for the territory over the past 15 years. If we were ever able to talk about certainty, this is most definitely not the time to do so. But I’m very confident that SATCoL’s pre-Covid strategy, updated and shaped accordingly, will still ensure a vibrant business, successfully living out its calling of ‘providing The Salvation Army with resources to enhance its mission’. Salvationist 5 September 2020
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FEATURE I Gleaam
Being seen and herd Major Vivienne Prescott (Forest of Dean) tells Shanelle Manderson how animal-assisted ministry is helping young people find their voice*
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UMANS and animals seem to have always shared a significant bond. To have a friend in an animal is a true blessing. Horses in particular can be great assets in therapy. Being herd animals, they rely on an acute stream of sensory data to sense safety or danger. When people are introduced to the herd environment for therapy, the horses’ behaviour responds within the same spectrum of physical and emotional responses, giving therapists an insight into a person’s thoughts and feelings. For six years Major Vivienne Prescott, who was a qualified riding instructor before she became an officer, has been supporting young people through equine therapy. Gleaam (Growth and learning equine and animal-assisted ministry) works with young people who struggle to communicate effectively, have experienced difficulties in their relationships with parents or those in authority, have suffered some kind of trauma or have crushed confidence. A relationship developed with a horse can help children overcome fears, build up trust, respect and compassion, develop communication skills, problem solving and coping techniques, and improve self-confidence and selfesteem. These skills are transferable to many other areas of ordinary, day-today life. ‘Children often have difficulty finding emotional language, and as horses act as emotional mirrors to humans, we’ll ask the children to describe how the horse they’ve chosen is feeling or what they’re doing. They’ll usually find this easier,’ Vivienne explains. ‘Then we
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might ask, “Have you ever felt like that?” Working with horses gives them the tools to find emotional language really quickly. When children are able to explain what’s going on there are more opportunities for them to have their emotional needs met.’ Gleaam was set up as a result of what the corps refers to as ‘the Croc’ – the current response to the community. This concept is used instead of referring to the ‘programme’, which encourages the corps to review and change its response in ministry as required. Vivienne identified a need to support young people in the Forest of Dean
through her work with families, so she conducted some research into the use of animals in therapy and relationshipbuilding and realised that there was an opportunity. She put together a programme, gained accreditation from Leap (Leading Equine Assisted Practitioners) and approached the nearby school, which the corps works with closely, to find out if it would be interested in referring children to an animal-assisted ministry course. After a positive response, Gleaam was launched. The six-session initiative focuses on groundwork rather than riding or horsemanship. It comprises
setting up activities involving the horses that require the young person or group to apply certain skills. ‘We have referrals from primary and secondary schools, social services and probation officers, and we also work with families,’ says Vivienne. ‘Children come to us with varying circumstances. The 90-minute sessions are paid for on pupil premium or by social services, so it’s a project that self-funds, which is great.’ Gleaam is home to one horse and three ponies. They’re all rescue animals and each has its own story: Marley was rescued because he was badly beaten, and had no confidence; Custard has laminitis, which causes inflammation in an area of the foot, which means she has to be cared for carefully; Chesney was going to be put down for the same condition; and Charlie was rescued from the floods in Wales four years ago. ‘The horses’ stories help the children to connect as they often discover that their story is shared,’ explains Vivienne. Custard is strong and a great confidence-giver, Chesney never had any purpose until he came to Gleaam so he recognises children who have been overlooked, and Charlie, whose mother drowned, gets very attached. ‘This year we also rescued chickens from battery hens and got two goats, and Judith Billingham, another therapist who has come on board with me, has dogs,’ adds Vivienne. ‘So we’re moving towards helping children build good relationships with various animals and learn about their care.’ The animals are kept in a rented field. It contains a tipi, a sacred teaching space for the children, where they are encouraged to work through and challenge their issues using the horse as their ally and friend. ‘We talk about who we are, what it means to be human and about the Creator God. ‘You can’t talk to a child about how precious and unique they are without talking about the Creator!’ enthuses Vivienne. As an eco-church that is animal-kind and thrives on a holistic way of working, Gleaam fits in well with the corps mission. Vivienne is always looking for ways to teach young people about where their food comes from, how to value, honour and care for animals, how to live more sustainably and how to understand and discover God through
their relationship with his creation. ‘Nothing is seen as separate,’ Vivienne elaborates. ‘If a child is referred to Gleaam we talk very openly about other things going on. We will build relationships and connect them to Loft, our youth work. As well as our team of volunteers, we also have young people who have been through Gleaam and are now young leaders. We’re always looking for new opportunities to continue that relationship-building.’ Nine-year-old Alfie took part in Gleaam last year. He struggled with separation anxiety and controlling his temper, so was referred to the initiative and began working with Marley. ‘His whole attitude changed,’ enthuses Kelly Davis, Alfie’s mum. ‘He was respectful and calm and felt comfortable leaving me to go and take part in the sessions. He loves responsibility, so was a leader during the sessions.’ Kelly hoped Alfie could take part this year, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented sessions taking place. It has
also caused a financial strain as the project has costs associated with its livestock. Vivienne is working on a way to make it possible to continue animal-assisted work through one-on-ones as lockdown restrictions ease. ‘We’ve had requests from social services and parents who know about us. There are children who aren’t coping with the pandemic, some who are self-harming,’ says Vivienne. ‘We can’t do our group sessions, we realise that, but we will find ways to work with children who just need some space and attention.’ In the future there are hopes for the project to expand further. ‘We feel that God is leading us into working with people in the community who are recovering from addiction, so we’re looking into that,’ says Vivienne. ‘The options are endless!’
*Photos and activities described date from before social distancing was required
Salvationist 5 September 2020
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CHRIST WITH ME Major Howard Webber continues the series in which people reflect on a favourite prayer
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VERY time I sing the lovely words, ‘Jesus, thou art everything to me,’ (SASB 502), and ‘Christ is all, yes, all in all/ My Christ is all in all,’ (SASB 1008), I’m deeply stirred and challenged. It’s as if the Holy Spirit is asking me, ‘How true is that Howard? Is Christ your all, your everything?’ Although his father and grandfather were both churchmen, Maewyn Succat lacked any real faith when, at around 16 years of age, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and taken from Britain to become a slave in Ireland. During the six years that followed, without a friend, deprived of comfort and with no knowledge of Gaelic, ‘I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God,’ he wrote in Confessio – his account of his spiritual journey. As a result, his experience of and love and devotion to God grew. Inspired in a dream to escape, he was eventually reunited with his loving family, who were later horrified when he announced that he had been called by God to return to the pagan land where he had been so badly treated, to tell the people about Jesus. St Patrick, as we know him, despite becoming God’s means of spreading the good news of Jesus throughout Ireland, never lost his lowly view of himself, ‘I am a sinner, a simple country person and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many.’ His focus, as his prayer (shown here in italics) suggests, was entirely on Christ Jesus.
Christ with me To know Christ’s companionship is better than having a multitude of human friends. Christ before me If we let him, he will lead us along his specially chosen path for us which, even if it appears the roughest and toughest and least attractive, will turn out to have been the best. Christ behind me He is a wonderful vindicator and will protect our back when others might seek to do us harm. Christ in me Not only do we experience him entering our hearts when we accept him as Saviour, but we can experience him filling our hearts and living his life through us, if we surrender completely and allow his Spirit to fill us and keep filling us. Christ beneath me He holds us up and prevents us from sinking when we would otherwise be weighed down with the troubles of this life and the doubts Satan flings our way. Christ above me He is looking over us and would have us look upward to him and not downward at our feet of clay. Christ on my right, Christ on my left ‘Narrow [is] the road that leads to life,’ Jesus said (Matthew 7:14). There are always two sides to that narrow road the Lord sets before us. If Satan can’t push us off one side he’ll endeavour to push us off the other. Unable to quench our love for the Lord and willingness to labour for him, Satan will present a plethora of needs he says we ought to be responding to, and have us overworking to the neglect of spending time at Jesus’ feet listening to his voice. Jesus knew when to say no, and how not to respond to every need, and he will
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guard us from the same danger if we will only trust him and not do what we think best or what others expect. Christ when I lie down When we come to rest at night we can leave all the day’s failures and successes, together with tomorrow’s demands, in his hands as he stands guard over his sleeping child. Christ when I sit down When we relax we are at our most vulnerable and are most likely to let our guard down and be tempted. Christ must be central even in our leisure. Christ when I arise Unlike those who do not know him, our opening thoughts on waking are of him as we dedicate the day to him – that all we say and do might please him. Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me O that everyone who thought of me would automatically think of him. Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me O that in speaking of me they would quite naturally speak of him and associate me with him. Christ in every eye that sees me O that in seeing me they might, far more importantly, catch a glimpse of him. Christ in every ear that hears me O that in every conversation I have, be it about him or any other subject, they may hear him – his attitude, his Spirit, his generosity, his honesty, his purity, his graciousness, his selflessness, his comfort, his courage, his love.
MAJOR WEBBER LIVES IN RETIREMENT IN BOURNEMOUTH
MORE REAR-M MIR RRO OR
A GENERAL HONOURED General John Larsson (Retired) shares fascinating glimpses of the early Army
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F The Salvation Army were wiped out of London, five thousand extra policemen could not fill its place in the repression of crime and disorder,’ declared the celebrated Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon. As William Booth moved into his seventies he not only received such words of eulogy about himself and his Army, but began to be showered with honours at home and abroad. After the many years of being ignored and then vilified before he was accepted, the change was welcome. The Salvationists rejoiced with him and shared in the reflected glory. On 24 June 1904 William Booth was received by King Edward the Seventh at Buckingham Palace – a first for the General. It was two days before the launch of the Army’s third international congress, and William Booth began the day by inspecting the temporary building seating 5,000 constructed in the Strand for the event. He then famously washed his hands in a bucket of water before setting out for the palace. The King instantly put him at his ease by extending his hand with a smile and saying, ‘I am so glad to meet you. You are doing a great work, General Booth.’
Receiving the Freedom of the City of London
‘Tell me, General,’ the King asked at one point in their extensive conversation. ‘How do you get on now with the Churches? What is their attitude to you?’ ‘Sir, they imitate me,’ replied William Booth, at which the King chuckled. When His Majesty invited his guest to write in his autograph book, William Booth wrote:
Law. When William Booth, dressed in his robes, processed with the other recipients along Oxford’s High Street, the War Cry reporter was struck by what a ‘noble figure he was, tall and spare, his flowing white beard, the eyes ever restless, glancing right and left like an eagle’s watching from the skies’.
‘Your Majesty, Some men’s ambition is art, Some men’s ambition is fame, Some men’s ambition is gold, My ambition is the souls of men.’ Historian St John Ervine reckons that ‘this interview, more than any human influence outside the Army, established Booth in popular esteem’. On 26 October 1905 William Booth received the Freedom of the City of London. Declining the offered carriage, he walked bareheaded, accompanied by Bramwell Booth and 1,000 of his officers, through the crowded streets from International Headquarters to the Guildhall for the ceremony. The man who 40 years previously had found his destiny in the slums of east London was about to be honoured by the highest and mightiest of the capital. When they neared the destination, Bramwell Booth motioned to the officers to fall back so that the aged General would head the procession alone. As the autumn breeze ruffled the General’s fine white hair, a hansom cabby perched on his box wept openly at the sight, as did scores of others. On 26 June 1907 the University of Oxford conferred upon William Booth the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil
Doctor of Civil Law Addressing William Booth in Latin, Lord Curzon, the university chancellor, said: ‘O man, most venerable, compassionate patron of the lowest of the people, and commander of the Army for the winning of souls, I admit you as a Doctor of Civil Law to this ancient university.’ When Lord Curzon shook him warmly by the hand a great cheer erupted. William Booth valued the publicity these honours gave to the work of the Army, but not for a moment did they prompt him to rest on his laurels. Salvationist 5 September 2020
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BIBLE STUDY
Peter recognises Jesus Captain Callum McKenna reminds us that when we encounter God’s grace, past failures no longer matter plans have come to pass and which haven’t?
JOHN 21:1–14
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NE Sunday meeting at the start of annual appeal fundraising, a retired officer was retelling stories of back-in-the-day bravery as she, and her committed band of soldiers, undertook door-to-door collecting in horrendous, winter weather. Although I was a child, I vividly recall her closing charge that was intended to inspire our efforts for that year: ‘And nothing would stop us!’ This year will go down in the annals of history as a lot of things. I’m sure one of those things will be ‘the year of disrupted plans’. From the trivial to the severe, the best-laid plans have gone awry. Not even door-to-door collecting has escaped. QUESTION how your 16-year-old self imagined your life would turn out. Which
O Recall
Through the week with Salvationist – a devotional thought for each day by Major Freda Benneyworth
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As we turn to what is sometimes called the epilogue of John’s Gospel, there are reminders of frustrated plans painted everywhere. Peter and some other disciples have gone back to Galilee, their adventure of following the itinerant, revolutionary rabbi seemingly over. They have laid aside their plans for fishing for people and, having picked up their old nets again, are fishing in the dead of night. As the sun rises on this beach scene, John tells us that a fire has been lit (see v9). This surely isn’t accidental. The Greek word John uses to describe the charcoal is anthrakia. The only other place in the whole of the New Testament where anthrakia appears is John 18:18, where it describes the fire in the courtyard where Peter denied Jesus. That was the day Jesus was crucified.
QUESTIONS O How does what happened in our past affect the way we live in the present? O Can, or should, things that happened in the past ever be forgotten? In John 21, memories of past failures and failed plans are in the minds of these characters. The so-called fishermen have laboured all night but caught nothing. This must have added insult to injury, as they now seem unable even to do the craft they’d trained for. This litany of failed plans forms the backdrop for what comes next. A man stands in the shadows on the shore and calls out to them. In the haze of the dawn, he asks: ‘Not caught anything, fellas?’ If their empty nets didn’t speak for themselves, the disciples, perhaps through gritted teeth, reply no. The mysterious character calls back: ‘Try casting your nets on the other side of the boat’. It must have seemed a daft
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Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus,/ To reach out and touch him and say that we love him./ Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen./ Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. (SASB 386)
On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (Mark 8:27–29)
Thou art the way, none other dare I follow;/ Thou art the truth, and thou hast made me free;/ Thou art the life, the hope of my tomorrow;/ Thou art the Christ who died for me./ This is my creed that, ’mid Earth’s sin and sorrow,/ My life may guide men unto thee. (SASB 628)
instruction to these seasoned fishermen and yet, in their desperation, they try something new and obey this strange command. QUESTIONS O What stops us from trying new things even in the areas where we think we are experts? O Can you think of a church venture you thought was doomed to fail but turned out to be successful? The resulting catch is abundant and the disciples’ nets are filled to bursting. And the amazing thing is, they don’t receive a bumper haul because they are skilled fishermen, because of their determination or because they have worked hard all night. Their nets are brimming with fish simply because of Christ’s grace. One of the biggest mistakes I have fallen into is believing that victories won, or missional successes gained, have
somehow been down to an individual’s talent and skills. This scene by Galilee helps us to see these things for what they really are – gifts of grace. It’s not that we shouldn’t work or sharpen our skills, but we kid ourselves when we think that our bumper hauls are completely our own doing. Christian theologian Dallas Willard writes: ‘Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.’ Here, as the sun climbs over Galilee, we see what grace is about. Grace finds us where we are. Grace sees past failed plans and failed people. Grace does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Grace gives us more than we could ever earn, or even deserve. QUESTIONS what ways do you think we might try to ‘earn’ God’s favour? O What are the differences between ‘effort’ and ‘earning’?
What, then, is the effect of such grace? This act of grace causes the ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’ (v7), widely believed to be John, to recognise Jesus. However, it is Peter who, true to form, jumps into the water and hurriedly makes his way towards Christ. It’s as though when we encounter God’s grace, the failures of the past no longer matter. This story starts in the darkness of failed plans, denial and failure to recognise Christ. It ends in the light and the promise of a bright new day. Even those who have failed are recalled and recommissioned to follow Christ. The great news is that if Peter’s failure can be forgiven, then so can ours.
O In
CAPTAIN MCKENNA IS CORPS OFFICER, HYTHE
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.’ (Luke 2:27–30)
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,/ Look full in his wonderful face;/ And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim/ In the light of his glory and grace. (SASB 445)
‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”’ (Matthew 25:37–40)
What can I do to ease life’s heavy burdens?/ What can I do to help mankind in need?/ Just where I am I’ll share my neighbour’s hardship,/ Lighten his load, and prove a friend indeed./ Just where he needs me, my Lord has placed me,/ Just where he needs me, there would I be!/ And since he found me, by love he’s bound me/ To serve him joyfully. (SASB 944)
Prayer Father, we thank you for those who generously support our ministry. With resources stretched due to the pandemic, bless every fundraising event, project and donor and so enable us to continue to ‘serve suffering humanity’.
Salvationist 5 September 2020
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The Pilgrim Fathers – 400 years on
Thinkalou d by John Coutt
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In September 1620 the Mayflower set sail with 102 passengers seeking a new life in the New World. John Coutts examines why and what happened next IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM They left their native England and sought safety in exile in order to worship God in freedom. They planned to build a new and truly Christian society – in the words of Jesus, ‘a city set on a hill’ (Matthew 5:14 Revised Standard Version) – on the wild and little-known coast of North America. ‘God,’ said their pastor, ‘hath yet more light to break from his holy word.’ Four hundred years have passed since more than a hundred men, women and children set sail from Plymouth in the cramped and crowded Mayflower. Some died on the difficult four-month voyage, but at last they came ashore on a spot that seemed uninhabited – for the local inhabitants had been destroyed by an epidemic. Surely, they thought, God had prepared a place for them. Many more were to die in the first cruel winter, but others survived and were befriended by the Wampanoag people, whom they knew as ‘Indians’. They learnt how to plant maize, and in the following year newcomers and natives enjoyed a friendly feast together. Tradition has called those colonists the Pilgrim Fathers. But does our picture tell the whole truth? MORE LIGHT FROM GOD’S HOLY WORD? Back in England, the Christian Church played the role of the national spiritual health service – the NSHS as it were – essential to the well-being of the nation in time and in eternity. But which church was the one true NSHS? The Church of England had been Protestant since the Reformation, but for many ardent believers – often called
Puritans – not nearly Protestant enough. Some of them were condemned as separatists and were driven to form small independent churches outside state control. To the government this was potential treason. Dissenters were fined, jailed or even executed. That is why some from Gainsborough and elsewhere in the north of England sought exile and spiritual freedom, first in the Netherlands and later in North America. Their story is told in detail in The Journey To The Mayflower: God’s Outlaws And The Invention Of Freedom by Stephen Tomkins. STRANGERS, ALLIES OR CONQUERORS? The Wampanoag people, led by their chief, Massasoit, did indeed share a great feast with the newcomers, but that was because their nation, weakened by the epidemic, needed allies against other tribes. A sincerely meant but precarious peace lasted 40 years, until growing English immigration and competition for land ended in savage and all-out war. The Native American side was led by Massasoit’s son, Metacom, whom the English knew as ‘King Philip’. His defeat and death in 1676 ensured that Plymouth Colony – the ‘city set on a hill’ – would become part of a growing nation, which would leave little space for Native American huts or wigwams. CONSIDER YOUR VERDICT For many Christians, especially English Nonconformists, the Pilgrim Fathers were brave spiritual pioneers, who risked everything to prove that believers, free from state control, had the right to worship God according to the light of
their h i own conscience. i That Th t is i a principle i i l that needs to be upheld today. For citizens of the United States, that first common meal is recalled every year in the public holiday of Thanksgiving, reminding them that the ideal ‘city set on a hill’ – an example of racial and religious harmony – is not yet realised but still to be sought and cherished. For the Wampanoag – and for other Native American groups whose descendants still live in New England – the arrival of the Europeans led to defeat, dispossession and survival. See mayflower400uk.org for more about that. For the Pilgrims’ critics, secular and religious, their puritan outlook was far too narrow, confusing their own cultural standards with gospel essentials. For example, Native American Christians, known as ‘praying Indians’, were expected to adopt English dress and customs. And, sadly, like the persecuting church they had left behind, the colony of Plymouth denied freedom of worship to others. LIGHT DAWNS? Another spiritual pioneer, the equally puritan Roger Williams, founder of nearby Rhode Island, took the Pilgrims’ great insight to its logical conclusion: freedom of conscience for me must mean freedom of conscience for others. In 1644 he published a revolutionary tract that shocked society in old and New England. ‘It is the will and command of God,’ he wrote, ‘that a permission of the most Paganish, Jewish, Turkish [Muslim] or anti-Christian consciences and worships be granted to all men in all nations and countries; and they are only to be fought against... with the sword of God’s Spirit, the word of God.’ Light did indeed break from God’s word. The Pilgrim Fathers played their imperfect part in discerning it. Can we in our own age do the same? JOHN IS A SOLDIER AT STIRLING
The First Thanksgiving, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
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His promises stand God answers prayer Brian Colley (Clowne) continues his series of reflections on verses from Psalms How long, Lord? Will you forget me for ever? (Psalm 13:1)
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HE first two verses here cry out to God, almost in protest, as ‘How long?’ is asked four times. It seems to the psalmist that he has been forsaken, but he knows better because he is still praying, he is still crying out to a God he knows will hear him. The last two verses of this short psalm are of praise and in direct contrast to that initial cry of anguish. The final words are, ‘I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me’ (v6). Or, in the King James Version, ‘He hath dealt bountifully with me.’ Instant answer to prayer is often expected and sometimes even demanded, but God, who always knows what is best for us, will answer our pleas when he sees that the time is right. It is easy to become impatient and ask how much longer it is going to be before he answers a particular prayer, even saying with the psalmist, ‘Will you forget me for ever?’, before stating all the reasons why our prayer is so important and why there should be an instant and positive response from him. One man, unemployed and waiting for the answer to a job application, was so disappointed with yet another rejection in the letter he had just received that he responded with, ‘You’ve let me down again, Lord!’ Not long afterwards he attended an interview for another job and was back in work. God always knows what is the best answer to our prayers. If we pray, pausing to listen and understand our heavenly Father, we realise that past blessings and salvation have been ours, and our initial irritation becomes praise. I believe God answers prayer, I believe God answers prayer, I believe God answers prayer; He’s answered mine before. (SASB 761)
Songster Leader Andrew Mair (Sunderland Millfield) adds his reflection on Psalm 13
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HE psalms offer great comfort and inspiration to the lives of Christians who are seeking to be better people; they are so down to earth and easy to relate to. They are about life as it really is and about people as they really are. In the first verse of Psalm 13 you have a desperate man praying a desperate prayer: ‘How much longer will you forget me, Lord? For ever?’ (Good News Bible*). Can you sense the utter desperation, frustration and dismay in that sentence? And he continues: ‘How much longer will you hide yourself from me? How long must I endure trouble? How long will sorrow fill my heart day and night? How long will my enemies triumph over me?’ (vv1 and 2). How long? Well, clearly long enough for him to feel forgotten, neglected and uncared for. He must have felt that God had gone deaf or given up on him. But then – and this is the important bit – it seems he realised that this was how he was feeling, and not how it really was. Two things happened. First, he drew on his experience. In verse 5 he says: ‘I rely on your constant love.’ That is a revealing statement because he knew deep in his heart, on the basis of experience, that God’s love was constant. In his moment of emotional desolation he stopped to apply some rational, levelheaded thinking. He drew upon his experience; he put his faith into action. It was as if he said: ‘God hasn’t failed me so far. His love is constant, so he won’t fail me now!’ Then, he started praising God. When he looked back over his experience and realised that God’s promise always stands, he started to praise: ‘I will be glad, because you will rescue me’ (v5). This attitude of praise led him to break out into song: ‘I will sing to you, O Lord, because you have been good to me’ (v6). It’s old advice but it’s sound advice: when you feel God is absent, try praising, try singing, try lifting your heart heavenwards. During these strange and anxious days, draw upon your experience and keep praising. Keep close to God. He is with us – wherever we are, whatever we are doing, however we are feeling. God’s promises have stood the test of time and still stand amid the fear and uncertainty we are facing. We have a faithful Father and, as I have experienced for myself, we can rely on him in any circumstance. His promises stand.
*All verses quoted in Andrew’s reflection are from the Good News Bible
Salvationist 5 September 2020
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NEW COMMITMENTS Editor’s note: Enrolments that took place in halls where meetings have not recommenced were approved by DHQ following a risk assessment. EXETER TEMPLE During a Sunday afternoon Zoom meeting, the corps was thrilled to witness the enrolment of Gillian Taylor as a soldier by corps officer Major Margaret Fozzard. Gillian shared her testimony and thanked corps members who had supported her in prayer leading up to this special day. Also present were Major Gordon Fozzard, Recruiting Sergeant Major Sue Camp-Richards and Gillian’s husband. All social distancing requirements were met. Gillian is pictured with Majors Gordon and Margaret. – JW
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Catherine Mapfumo was enrolled as a soldier in a special outdoor meeting with a few socially distanced corps members present. Catherine gave a powerful testimony. The owner of the neighbouring pub, The Monk’s Inn, presented Catherine, who is a palliative care nurse, with a card and flowers, and expressed his appreciation of frontline workers after spending eight weeks in intensive care with Covid-19. – SM
HULL CITADEL During a video meeting, corps officer Lieutenant David Jones welcomed Kevin Ashton as an adherent member. Kevin responded with the words from ‘I’ll Walk With God’. In his youth, Kevin became a junior soldier and joined the YP band and singing company at Hull Central before completing his corps cadet lessons at Cottingham. Shortly afterwards he left the Army. After many years, Kevin felt the need to attend Sunday meetings at Hull Citadel and decided to become an adherent member. – MK LEEK Corps officer Captain Leanne Wallis enrolled Anne Tomkinson as a soldier. Supported by Recruiting Sergeant Steve Williams, Corps Sergeant-Major Andy McKay and a few people from the corps, together with her family, Anne testified that God had been with her throughout her life. Social distancing measures were in place during the enrolment. It was filmed and shown to the wider corps family during online worship the following Sunday. – RJ
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Salvationist 5 September 2020
REVIEW
An inspiring and challenging read Jim Burns (Dunstable) reviews God And The Pandemic by Tom Wright
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ARLY on in the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Tom Wright (the former Bishop of Durham) responded to positive feedback to his article in Time magazine by expanding it into this book. He describes its aim not as offering solutions to questions raised by the pandemic, but rather to suggest a time of lament and restraint. Advising against conspiracy theories and the ‘blame game’, he specifically rejects the idea that the virus is a punishment from God or a sign of the end times. Since Jesus himself did not know when this would be
(see Mark 13:32), how can we have the audacity to claim to know more than he did? Although natural to ask ‘Why?’ and want answers, the better approach is to ask ‘What needs to be done? What can we do?’ The professor believes that God does send thunderbolts – human ones – when he sees some of the evil happening in his world. Quoting the Sermon on the Mount, he says that the poor in spirit, the meek, the mourners, the peacemakers and those hungry-forjustice are exactly the type of people that God can use. Christians should be doing what they have been doing since the Church was founded: staying and supporting people. Wright sees ‘lamenting’ as the vital initial Christian response to this pandemic: ‘We are to complain, we are to state the case, and leave it with God.’ Rather than be ashamed to cry out to God, or indeed cry at what we see happening in the world, he counts this as important – along with, first and foremost, prayer.
His final thought is: ‘We urgently need statesmanlike, wise leadership, with prayerful Christian leaders taking a place alongside others, to think with both vision and realism through the challenges that we shall face in the coming months.’ We can all say ‘Amen’ to that. With only 76 pages the book is quite a short read, but one that is inspiring and challenging. Buying it will also help other people, as the publishers are contributing profits from the book to resources that parents and children can use: bedtime story videos and free ebooks from a selection of authors.
•
God And The Pandemic is available from spckpublishing. co.uk priced £7.99 or as an ebook priced £4.99
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
ARMY PEOPLE
TRIBUTES
APPOINTED Effective 3 September O Major Pam Ralph-Barratt, additional appointment, Area Candidates Officer, West Midlands O Territorial Envoy Elaine Rogers, Ashton-in-Makerfield
TREVOR HARRY, BARGOED TREVOR was born in Cardiff in 1933, one of eight children. He spent his early years at Cardiff Stuart Hall as a bandsman and songster. Called up for national service in the RAF, he served in Singapore, continuing his Army service at the local corps and forming the first Salvation Army Cub Scout pack in the country. Upon his return to Wales he married Ivy, and they eventually moved to Bargoed, where Trevor continued his service playing trombone in the corps band and becoming songster leader. He later went to the Newport Citadel community programme with his daughter, Janet, and welcomed and spoke to all who attended. Trevor continued to bless people until the Covid-19 lockdown this year, playing in the South and Mid Wales Fellowship Band and singing solos. He would always make people welcome when they attended the corps. Trevor is fondly remembered by his children, Janet, Graham and Brian, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many friends. – BH
LOCAL OFFICER APPOINTED O RS Wendy Willis, Stockport Citadel WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Diamond O Ray and Myra Todd, Wellingborough (3 September) O Fred and Margo Paine, Wellingborough (3 September) O Geoff and Margaret Fuller, Romford (17 September) Golden O John and Jennifer Read, Staple Hill (5 September) RETIRED OFFICERS Birthday congratulations O Major Alan Richards (80 on 13 September) PROMOTED TO GLORY O Alan Pope, Trowbridge O Major Raymond Wardley from King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield, on 20 August O Rtd SL Norman Riddiough, Leighton Buzzard BEREAVED O S/Reservist Catherine Read, Staple Hill, of her sister Dorothy Hunt O Major Margaret Wardley of her husband Major Raymond Wardley, Captain Carl Wardley, Oldbury, and Mark Wardley of their father O S/Reservist Mavis Riddiough, Leighton Buzzard, of her husband Rtd SL Norman Riddiough, Jill McCoy, Martyn Riddiough and Mark Riddiough of their father Please note that soldiers’ and adherent members’ tributes submitted for publication should be no longer than 150 words. Good quality pictures will be included with tributes. Please do not send your copy to any individual’s email address as this could delay publication. Copy should be sent to salvationist@ salvationarmy.org.uk
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Salvationist 5 September 2020
JOY ANDERSON, SALISBURY A THIRDGENERATION Salvationist, Joy spent her whole life as part of the corps, serving faithfully as a bandswoman and songster. She later became YPSM, as she had a keen interest in children and young people, and more recently led a craft and chatter club. As a young woman Joy qualified as a graduate nurse, working notably in the intensive care and spinal units of the nearby hospital, and later moving into occupational health work when her physical health problems demanded a change. A significant number of work colleagues were present at her funeral as a witness to her influence in the workplace. Joy’s sudden and unexpected promotion to Glory occurred the day
before her father’s 90th birthday. She is sadly missed by her parents, elder sister and brother, other family members and her corps family, but they give thanks for her perseverance and fortitude as a true soldier of Christ, to whom she was totally committed. – GP MGS works professionally providing O
COUNSELLING O THERAPY O MEDIATION MGS works with relationships and other life experiences
MGS is conďŹ dential, experienced and free Contact Major Jorgen Booth and the MGS team Tel 07711 148538 or email mgscounselling@yahoo.com (Based in Worthing – MGS works throughout the UK)
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5 September 2020
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‘ All kinds of people attend, join, volunteer with or work for The Salvation Army. We’ve asked some to tell us about themselves. This week…
I would be thy holy temple, Sacred and indwelt by thee; Naught then could stain my commission, ’Tis thy divine charge to me.
Apart from English, what languages do you speak? I picked up a bit of German during my RAF service.
ALAN ROWE Isle of Wight How did you first come into contact with the Army? I was dedicated under the corps flag at Newport, Isle of Wight, when I was six months old. I am a third-generation Salvationist; my grandfather was the bandmaster. What made you want to become a soldier? The example and encouragement of corps members during my YP years. What was your job before retirement? I worked for BT telephone services. What was the most interesting thing about your work? Dealing with enquiries from people of many languages. What one thing would you change about the Army? I would bring back chorus singing, which has largely faded. If you could be in a film, which would it be and what character would you play? Song Of Norway, and I would play Edvard Grieg. I try and emulate his gift for melody in my own songwriting.
If you could bring back any fashion trend, what would it be? Smart Edwardian gents’ attire. What was the first record, tape or CD that you ever owned? An LP of Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli. What is your favourite Bible verse? ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:38 and 39). I am convinced, and have tried to be, despite life’s many setbacks. Which Bible figure would you like to meet and what would you ask them? Paul. I would ask whether he had doubts when he was assailed by dangers, persecution and pain – or if he was always ‘convinced’. If you could meet any historical figure, who would you choose and why? Hannibal. I’d ask him if he chose to cross the Alps with elephants to show that easier ways are not always the best.
What is your favourite meal? Anything without curry, mustard or celery. What do you do in your spare time? Sing baritone in an a cappella quartet, write music and go to auctions. Did you have a nickname growing up? If so, what? Rowboat. If you could invent a gadget, what would it be? A sock-finding device. Do you have any hidden talents? I can make the sound of a wood pigeon by gripping my hands together and blowing through them. Apart from the Bible, which book would you want on a desert island? The Golden Pool by R Austin Freeman. It was the first – and best – adventure story I read as a boy. If you had a ‘theme song’ that played whenever you walked into a room, what would it be? The theme tune from TV sitcom One Foot In The Grave. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Hold on to your sense of humour somehow. What is the most valuable thing you possess? A collection of childhood photos of my son.
What is your favourite hymn or worship song? ‘I Would Be Thy Holy Temple’ (SASB 591) by Brindley Boon to the tune ‘Showers Of Blessing’. If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be? Company.
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(SASB 591)
If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be? Bad manners.
Something interesting people might want to know about you is… I’ve written articles on antique silver. Also, I was musical arranger and conductor for a successful male choir for a number of years.