War Cry 1 July

WAR CRY

A winning return?

Players are heading back to Wimbledon

The creation and resurrection of mystery plays

What is The Salvation Army?

The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity seeking to share the good news of Jesus and nurture committed followers of him. We also serve people without discrimination, care for creation and seek justice and reconciliation. We offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK. Go to salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church to find your nearest centre.

What is the War Cry?

The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.

WAR CRY

Issue No 7634

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major

Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow

Production Editor: Ivan Radford

Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku

Staff Writer: Emily Bright

Staff Writer: Claire Brine

Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk

Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston

Graphic Designer: Mark Knight

Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk

The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 101 Newington Causeway London

SE1 6BN

Tel: 0845 634 0101

Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org

Founder: William Booth

General: Brian Peddle

Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill

Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn

FOR people whose background does not include any experience of churches, the Christian faith is not always easy to understand. Anyone trying to discover more about it may sometimes encounter phrases and terms that don’t crop up in conversational English.

This is nothing new. Throughout the centuries, effective ways have had to be found to tell people about the good news of God’s love. In the 14th century, when church services were conducted in Latin, monks staged what were known as mystery plays, which acted out stories from the Bible.

These plays were performed for some 200 years before coming to an end. However, in Chester, the tradition was re-established 72 years ago, and in this week’s War Cry we speak with the director of this year’s production and one of its cast members.

Also in this issue, we take a look at an exhibition at the National Gallery in London which, almost 800 years after his death, displays artistic images of the prominent Christian Francis of Assisi. The exhibition includes art about Francis that was produced in the same century in which he died.

Explaining that many of the depictions of Francis were produced to show the type of person that Francis was, co-curator Joost Joustra tells us: ‘I think that what attracted people to him was that he was relatable. He looked after the poor, he was kind to animals and he cared a lot about the natural world.’

Use of the arts to help people better understand Christians and their faith has proved effective through the years. Another way for people to discover more is by seeing the positive difference Christians make in the societies they live in.

This week we carry a feature on the employment services that The Salvation Army runs to help people find paid work. The church and charity’s motivation to do this is its belief that all people are of value and worth to God. And that’s true whatever a person’s background may be.

INFO INFO

SMASHING!

Wimbledon serves up golden moments for tennis

YOU cannot be serious! It’s time for Wimbledon again? On Monday (3 July) scores of tennis stars from around the globe will be hitting the courts at SW19, hoping to be in with a shot of championship glory at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Although fans arriving at Centre Court know what to expect – neatly trimmed grass, strawberries and cream, athletes grunting their way through a set or five –the tournament remains one of the most exciting events in the sporting calendar. On that court, anything can happen.

Last year, in the men’s singles final, Novak Djokovic recovered from being two sets down to Nick Kyrgios to take home his seventh Wimbledon title. If he is able to repeat his success this summer, he will share Roger Federer’s record for holding the most Wimbledon singles titles in the men’s game.

Watching as the women’s competition gets under way, British fans will no doubt be disappointed by the absence of Emma Raducanu, who – as a result of surgery earlier this year – had to rule out competing. Will the crowds, instead, be seeing reigning champion Elena Rybakina, who made history last year by becoming the first Kazakhstani player to win a grand slam, successfully defend her title?

Gods of Tennis (available on iPlayer). Focusing on champions of yesteryear, including Billie-Jean King, Björn Borg and Martina Navratilova, the programme explores the challenges they faced, not just on the court, but off it.

Players faced periods of hardship

After winning the women’s singles title in 1968 – and taking home just £750 in prize money, compared with £2,000 given to men’s champion Rod Laver – King began her fight for equal pay, which endeared her to some tennis fans, but alienated her from others.

Arthur Ashe, who in 1975 became the first black winner of the men’s singles title, had difficulties in his ascent to the top, having to contend with and overcome systemic racism.

Wimbledon champions of the past with rose-tinted glasses and simply label those times as the golden era of tennis, many of the players featured in the documentary recall periods of hardship and disappointment.

Perhaps we know how that feels. Maybe friends and colleagues see our lives as easy, triumphant and happy – but under the surface we know that there are times when we feel alone, sad and defeated.

When we come face to face with struggles and we don’t know how to get past them, Jesus can help. He promised his followers that, if they trusted him, they would find peace in their hearts – and the ultimate victory in him.

While players are looking forward to the games, sets and matches that lie ahead, some Wimbledon fans have spent the runup to the tournament feeling nostalgic, thanks to the BBC documentary series

By 1980, all eyes were on the fiery John McEnroe, whose biggest challenge wasn’t playing in the final against Björn Borg, but keeping a lid on his temper.

Though it’s tempting to look back on

He said: ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 New International Version).

Whatever problems are looming in front of us, Jesus is bigger. With him on our side, and his love in our heart, we’re part of a team that can never be beaten.

BBC/MINDHOUSE

The BBC series ‘Gods of Tennis’ reflects on past champions

Feature by Claire Brine

DOMINIC LIPINSKI/SANDFORD ST MARTIN TRUST

nRLD WAR CRY

TV writer honoured for tuning into religious themes

ACTOR Ricky Tomlinson presents TV screenwriter Jimmy McGovern with one of this year’s Sandford St Martin awards for broadcasting on religion and ethics.

At a ceremony in Manchester, Jimmy McGovern received the 2023 trustees’ award – which recognises ‘outstanding contributions to the understanding of religion, ethics or spirituality’ – for his decades of work, including the dramas Broken and Time, which respectively explored faith and forgiveness.

On receiving the award, the screenwriter spoke about having been a churchgoer while growing up in Liverpool and recalled the church’s insistence that people examine their conscience before confessing their sins. ‘I know, looking back,’ he said, ‘that made me a writer.’

The Channel 4 documentary Good Grief with Reverend Richard Coles, in which the retired vicar tried out unconventional activities to alleviate his sense of grief after the loss of his partner, won the Radio Times readers’ award.

outlook on faith and justice Anniversary service offers thanks for Windrush

THROUGH prayers, songs and Bible readings, members of the Windrush generation and their descendants and friends who had gathered in Southwark Cathedral thanked God for the contributions made to Britain by arrivals from the Caribbean over the past 75 years.

The congregation at the National Windrush 75th Anniversary Service – marking the day when passengers disembarked from the ship – heard accounts of prejudice but also aspirations for a fairer future.

The Rev Arlington W Trotman, former secretary of a church commission for racial justice, outlined people’s ‘denial of citizenship because records were not possible or evident’ and their difficulties in successfully accessing the government’s Windrush compensation scheme. He called on political leaders to ‘serve justice and truth’.

Reflecting on a reading from the Book of Revelation, the Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, encouraged the congregation to see the passage’s imagery of ‘every nation, every people, every language’ gathering together before God’s throne as their ‘aspirational and inspirational challenge and hope’.

After the service, musician Noel Robinson – who had participated with singer Sharlene-Monique – told the War Cry that, as a child of the Windrush generation, he hoped such a celebration of heritage could help future generations.

Windows’

STAINED-glass windows at a church in Bristol will depict Jesus in multiple ethnicities, the BBC has reported.

St Mary Redcliffe Church removed its windows that commemorated Edward Colston, a local charity donor and slave trader, after protesters pulled down his statue in the city in 2020. A competition was held to find new designs for the replacement windows, and the church has now been granted permission to install the new designs.

Justin Gau, chancellor of the Diocese of Bristol, agreed that the original Victorian panels hindered the church from its mission of ‘singing the song of faith and justice’.

The replacement windows, designed by local doctor Ealish Swift, depict Jesus in four scenes: joining the Bristol bus boycott, on a slave ship, as a child refugee and among a diverse group of neighbours.

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Not just for the birds

IT’S something of a Marvel. Eight hundred years after he died, a free exhibition at the National Gallery about Francis of Assisi is displaying not only a painted panel from the 13th century and a 16th-century oil on canvas by El Greco, but also the cover of Francis, Brother of the Universe, a 1980 comic from Marvel, telling the ‘complete life’s story!’ of the man associated with a love of God’s creation and the founding of the Franciscan religious order.

Interview by Philip Halcrow

‘We’re very used today to seeing depictions of celebrities and recognisable people – they come and go,’ says Joost Joustra, co-curator of the Saint Francis of Assisi exhibition. ‘But Francis, who died in 1226, seems never to have left the public imagination. He has real staying power –and that says something.’

Many of the works of art made about Francis over the centuries have reflected stories of miraculous happenings. Yet what particularly captured people’s imagination about him, suggests Joost, was that he was ‘very human’.

‘A lot of saints,’ he says, ‘seem quite removed, in that the miracles associated with them are not something that you can easily relate to. Of course, Francis performed miracles as well, but ultimately I think that what attracted people to him was that he was relatable. He looked after the poor, he was kind to animals and he cared a lot about the natural world.’

Looking back over the art history represented in the exhibition, Joost says that Francis began attracting the attention of artists ‘pretty much straightaway’.

He explains: ‘Francis died in 1226

Turn to page 6 f

An exhibition at the National Gallery in London gives glimpses into 800 years of art depicting one figure known for his appreciation of God’s world. Co-curator JOOST JOUSTRA says that Francis of Assisi has always seemed to capture the imagination of artists

© THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

‘Saint Francis and the Birds’, 1935, by Stanley Spencer

Joost Joustra in the ‘Saint Francis of Assisi’ exhibition at the National Gallery

From page 5

and was canonised in 1228, and images of him were already popping up then. The first biography of him was written in 1228 by Thomas of Celano, and that proved to be a great mine for artists to dig into to find subject matter. A few years later Bonaventure wrote the first official life of Francis, which was authorised by the Franciscans. More biographies kept being written and new things were added to the legend.

already in circulation, not even including manuscript illuminations.’

Francis looked after the poor

‘It is thought that in the first century after Francis’s death, 20,000 images were

Joost says that early images of Francis were produced ‘really to confirm his sainthood’. They often showed Francis simply standing, holding a book, wearing his habit and showing his ‘stigmata’ – the wounds that had been inflicted upon Jesus at his crucifixion and which, according to the early biographers, Francis had himself developed after an intense visionary experience. The portraits

of Francis gave people ‘a sense of what he looked like’, while depictions of miracles surrounding him ‘were there to confirm he was sanctified’.

Francis’s mystical vision and the development of his stigmata – which signified his closeness to Jesus – became an essential subject for artists in earlier times, says Joost. But over the centuries the picture has changed.

‘Something like the stigmatisation was more prominent in the Middle Ages than it is now. It might seem to a lot of people today to be quite a far-fetched miracle and something they struggle to understand, whereas something such as him preaching to the birds is a very popular piece of iconography, especially in England, and seems to have had a longer afterlife.’

Art that offers a visual interpretation of old stories of Francis speaking to birds about God’s love for them represents his modernsounding appreciation of creation, which is explored in the exhibition in 20th-century works such as Stanley Spencer’s Saint Francis and the Birds, in which Francis is surrounded by birds on a sunny path, and more obliquely in some works made specially for the exhibition by Richard Long.

Joost explains: ‘Richard is known for going on walks through nature which often become his work, and he documents these walks, sometimes in text circles. For A Walk for Saint Francis he went to Assisi, the birthplace of Francis, and he camped for eight days, walking round

‘River Avon Mud Crescent’, 2023, by Richard Long

© RICHARD LONG, DACS 2023/THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

nature and recording his impressions. He notices birdsong, the presence of deer and the sound of a meandering brook.

‘It’s not directly a depiction of Francis, but it stands for something that feels very Franciscan.

‘Richard has also made one of his “mud works”. He collected mud from the River Avon and applied this to a crescent moonshape on a circle on the wall, with the mud dripping down. Again, the idea of taking a humble material like mud and turning it into something almost sublime feels very close to Francis.’

The exhibition particularly notes how the moon appears in a hymn written by Francis, ‘Canticle of the Sun’, in which

– praising God through creation – he personifies the moon as his sister and the sun as his brother.

Joost highlights another work that reflects ‘a certain Franciscan spirit’. Francis had grown up in a rich family and had lived fast while young. But, believing himself to have been called by God, he renounced his wealth –to the disgust of his father – and set off on his life of restoring churches and associating with disadvantaged people.

‘At the end of the exhibition, we have a series of nine prints by a German artist, Andrea Büttner, which depict beggars,’ says Joost. ‘These beggars are not depictions of St Francis, but they definitely

stand for something Franciscan.’

Antony Gormley, whose sculpture Untitled (for Francis) has been installed in the exhibition, has said that Francis – as someone who ‘realised the interdependency of life’ – is ‘curiously contemporary’.

Joost agrees that Francis is ‘a figure with particular relevance for our time’ but adds that that ‘seems to be the case for a lot of preceding times as well’.

‘He has always been the subject of image-making – right from devotional panels, enamels, textiles and stained glass through to films,’ he says. ‘When I started researching Francis, I realised that he has never not been relevant.’

l Saint Francis of Assisi is at the National Gallery until 30 July

‘Vita-retable of Saint Francis’, about 1253

Marvel Comics’ ‘Francis, Brother of the Universe’ by John Buscema, 1980

‘Beggars Suite (1–9)’, 2016, by Andrea Büttner

© DISNEY

He has always been the subject of image-making

‘These stories are the biggest we have’

In a tradition carrying on from medieval times, every five years in the city of Chester the community join together to put on the Chester Mystery Plays, telling the story of the Bible. Director John Young explains his vision to make the well-known narratives fresh, and cast member Lindsay Tanner describes what those stories mean to her

Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku

‘THE hard thing about this show is that everyone knows how it’s going to end,’ says director John Young. He is talking about the Chester Mystery Plays, a production which tells the story of the Bible from creation to crucifixion – plus a little more after.

‘We don’t have the element of surprise like you would when you’re going to see a new piece of work,’ he continues. ‘So what we’ve got to try to do is find a freshness and a spontaneity to how we get there. How do we make it feel as if God is deciding to banish Adam and Eve in that moment?

‘We all know that the choice will be made to crucify Jesus, but what I want to see is that decision happening for the first time.’

A National Theatre director who studied at the University of Chester and then trained in north Wales and London before returning to Chester, John came on board as artistic director of the Chester Mystery Plays in 2019. What brought him back to the city 12 years ago, he says, was the ‘tight-knit’ community. It’s a community who gather together every five years to put on the full-scale production.

These plays were first conceived in the 14th century,

I’m trying to create a world in which Jesus is right in front of you

John Young

Duncan Crompton in Chester Cathedral, where he is playing Jesus in John Young’s production

at a time when church services were conducted in Latin and most people couldn’t read the Bible for themselves.

Monks at the Abbey of St Werburgh, which is now Chester Cathedral, enacted Bible stories inside the church to help people understand. When the plays became too disruptive, they were moved outside and performed by guilds in the city. Grocers, bakers, ironmongers and other groups would each perform one of the plays at various points in the city, travelling by wagon.

The plays in Chester, and other parts of the country, continued until they were banned in the 16th century. In 1578, Chester was the last city to concede to this ban and so its plays became the

longest-running in medieval times.

It wasn’t until 1951 that the Chester Mystery Plays were revived, as part of the Festival of Britain. Since then, they have been performed every five years or so.

While the Bible stories do have themes relevant to modern times, John said his vision in directing the plays for the first time is simply to make them feel fresh and new.

‘I wanted them to feel like stories we were hearing for the first time,’ he says. ‘I’m trying to create a world in which Jesus is right in front of you.’

One way he has tried to achieve such immediacy is through the production’s staging.

40m stage that runs through the centre of the cathedral, and there are only four rows of audience,’ he explains. ‘This puts the audience at the centre of the action. It’s a bit of a nod to where these plays started, carted around the streets of Chester. The shape of the stage almost feels like a street.

‘The plays should feel like a sensory experience as well,’ he adds. ‘I’ve been interested in how we can use sound so that when creation is happening we can make it feel like trees are coming up from under the ground and the waves are crashing all around us. I want all the dials to be turned up because these stories

‘Audiences will sit on either side of a Turn to page 10 f

From page 9

are the biggest stories we have. We’re talking about the birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus. We’ve got these epic stories, and I’m interested in making them feel epic.’

Directing the plays has been enriching for John. Just as they did in medieval times, the community of Chester gather together to bring these plays to life. The company is made up of about 300 volunteer performers.

‘There’s something special about a group who meet twice a week because they want to tell stories together,’ says John. ‘People have given up hours and hours of their life, since January, to rehearse on a Sunday and a Thursday and then to perform this show in a cathedral for two and a half weeks. The fact that we can have a massive commitment by such a large number of people is a joyous thing.’

One of those people is Lindsay Tanner.

Lindsay, a social worker who moved to Chester in November 2020, is playing one of the Pharisees, who were religious leaders in Jesus’ day and who in some instances opposed his ministry.

‘I enjoy acting and wanted to have a go,’ she says. ‘To me it was also a space to act in something that is an expression

of my faith. I think anything that helps you to engage in the depth of the story of Jesus’ life on Earth is good.

‘I didn’t know how the plays were run in Chester, but I knew it was acting, I knew it was faith and I knew it was an opportunity to get to know people in the community and connect with Chester. Because I’d moved during the pandemic, a lot of things I tried to get involved with weren’t happening at that time.’

She found out about the plays only a few days before the audition, but went along anyway.

‘The production has a mantra of anybody who wants to be in it can be. After that, it’s a question of what part you get. The audition had a lovely community feel about it, was accessible and you could say whether you wanted a small part or a big part.’

After landing her role, Lindsay has been in rehearsals for the production since January.

‘The first couple of days of rehearsals, I was blown away,’ she says. ‘The person who does the movement work just led really simple arm and worship movements. After a challenging day at work, it was so lovely and peaceful.’

Throughout the process of re-enacting

the story behind her faith, Lindsay has been reminded of some key truths.

‘There was a moment in rehearsal where I was looking at the woman caught in adultery,’ she says. ‘Then I looked at Jesus after he’d been writing in the sand, and how he looked at her. I went away and wanted to reflect more on how it is that Jesus looks at me when I’ve got things wrong, and in what ways I am receptive or not receptive of his warmth and grace, or am too embedded in my own expectations to see what Jesus is doing.

‘And then I’m playing a Pharisee. They thought that they were defending the Law and religious piety and doing what God wanted, but they had totally missed seeing God at work.’

She hopes that audiences too will be moved to reflect when they watch the production.

‘I hope the plays will bring the story of Jesus to life in a way that encourages people to think: “If Jesus is how he is portrayed in these plays, then isn’t that worth exploring? Isn’t it worth asking more about what the invitation to start a life with him really means?’

I’m acting in something that is an expression of my faith

l The Chester Mystery Plays run until 15 July

Cast members – including Lindsay Tanner (back row, third from left) – rehearse the trial of Jesus

JOB WELL DONE

PROFESSION, occupation, vocation, trade, bringing home the bacon –whatever you call it, the subject of jobs was front and centre on the agenda of Employability Day yesterday (Friday 30 June). The day enables the employment support sector to demonstrate the work it does in assisting people into the labour market.

Among those offering such support is The Salvation Army, which runs an Employment Plus scheme that helps thousands of people every year. The scheme’s work is funded through the church and charity and a variety of other sources, such as grants and government programmes, and utilises Salvation Army centres for training sessions.

‘That’s one of the biggest assets we have,’ explains David Rowlanes, who works for the employment services team as mission development manager. ‘Our massive corps network means we can deliver programmes in many of the locations The Salvation Army works in around the UK and Republic of Ireland.

‘The people who come through the doors, particularly at corps, often initially come for things like food parcels. We then have them referred to us. The numbers we are seeing week

Feature by Emily Bright

by week, day by day, month by month, are growing.’

Someone who went to The Salvation Army for support was Geoff, who had previously been a gardener by trade before caring full-time for his

‘She died suddenly seven years ago of a major heart attack,’ he says. ‘That was

depression, which I’m still suffering with now. I have posttraumatic stress disorder.’

When Geoff began his job search after his mother had passed away, he quickly realised that the world had changed

significantly since he had last applied for a role.

‘I didn’t have a clue how to use a computer,’ he says. ‘The last time I went to the job centre, they used to have jobs on the boards, but now I had to learn to use a computer so I could do job searches.

‘I was down, because finding a job in your 30s, 40s, or 50s is hard enough, but trying to find one when you’re coming up to 61 felt nigh on impossible. For a long time I thought that, if I was going to get out of this, I needed some help because trying to struggle on jobseeker’s allowance is a nightmare. You are not living, you are just existing.’

Geoff came across the Employment Plus

Turn to page 12 f

Finding work can be a daunting task, but help is at hand from a network of employment services run by The Salvation Army. Such support is enabling people to rebuild their lives

The number of people we see is growing

David Rowlanes

LIBRARY PICTURE POSED BY MODELS

programme in Sunderland.

‘There were people from The Salvation Army at the library, where they ran a job club, and they helped me, otherwise I would not have known where to start,’ he says. ‘There are still a lot of people out there like me who do not have access to computers – I don’t think people realise that.’

Geoff began having weekly meetings with Employment Plus co-ordinator Sue, who works at The Salvation Army’s Southwick community centre in Sunderland. It is one of more than 650 locations across the UK and Republic of Ireland offering the programme. To alleviate some of the financial pressures Geoff faced, Sue put him in contact with organisations which offer grants and food vouchers and supported him in finding cheaper gas and electricity suppliers. Additionally, he received food parcels from The Salvation Army.

Sue also helped Geoff to build up his CV, access a computer for job searches, write applications and prepare for interviews.

‘It paid off as I have now been offered a job as a groundsman at a hospital,’ he says. ‘It’s exactly the kind of role I was looking for. With the interview, I thought I wouldn’t get another chance at something like it, so I just went for it.

‘Sue has been a big help. When I told her I had got the job, she shouted, hugged me and said, “I could cry”, she was so over the moon. I told her: “I could not have done it without you.”’

While Geoff still faces significant cost of living pressures, he now has more income through his employment and knows that he can turn to The Salvation Army for help when needed.

‘Geoff’s story is an example of what we do and the people we support,’ David tells me. ‘In today’s cost of living crisis, it

can be demoralising when you don’t know which way to turn.

‘Our Employment Plus staff help people take on some of the burdens of everyday life, so they can start thinking about taking that step to becoming more self-sufficient by getting work.’

David explains that staff offer help every step of the way.

‘The support Employment Plus provides throughout the person’s journey is holistic. It’s intentional in getting people into work. But there are barriers which many people have that need to be resolved before we can even start to think about the employability aspect. You don’t know from one day to the next who’s going to come through the door and what needs they are going to present.’

Just like those they serve, The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus team comprises people from all walks of life.

‘It’s not a prerequisite that all the employees are Christian, they just have to have an empathy with the ethos of The Salvation Army,’ says David. ‘There

There are barriers which many people have

are many people with different faiths and different beliefs that work for Employment Plus.

‘But all the staff want to see the people they work with succeed in their onward journey. We believe wholeheartedly in the concept The Salvation Army promotes – “Love God, love others”. It’s the “love others” that shines through the dealings of all our team when we work with people.’

In his role as mission development manager, David helps staff to work with churches to deliver the Employment Plus programmes locally.

He also oversees Employment Plus’s partnerships with government programmes, ensuring that all the scheme’s work is compliant with The Salvation Army’s core mission and values.

The church and charity’s mission statement explains that its ministry is ‘motivated by the love of God’ and its vision is to see ‘fullness of life for all with Jesus’ – statements that resonate with David, who worships at a Salvation Army church.

After working for Employment Plus for 14 years, and in his current role for nearly 6 years, he is more convinced than ever of the important role that the scheme plays in showing the love of God by helping people get back on their feet. He is inspired in his work by his Christian faith.

‘Day in, day out, I’m demonstrating my own Christian beliefs by supporting people. I think of a quote from the Bible, John 10:10, where Jesus says: “I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full.” That’s what I want for the people that we work with.’

Prayerlink

YOUR prayers are requested for Andrew, who is in prison. The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances, for publication. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk or to War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.

jBecoming

a Christian

There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God

Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.

Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen

l Geoff’s name has been changed

Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

M B

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these words associated with Wimbledon

MAKES 12

Strawberry muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 large egg

120ml sunflower oil

120ml milk

225g selfraising flour, sifted

1tsp baking powder

200g caster sugar

150g strawberries, chopped

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Beat the egg, oil and milk together in a jug. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and chopped strawberries, then pour in the egg mixture and stir just enough to combine. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Poke a muffin with a wooden toothpick. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.

SERVES 4

Stuffed courgettes

INGREDIENTS

2tbsp olive oil

450g beef mince

1tsp smoked paprika

1tsp ground cumin

½ tsp allspice

1 garlic clove, crushed

300g can chopped tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large courgettes, halved lengthways

2tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

150ml full-fat Greek yogurt

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan and fry the mince for 10 minutes or until it starts to brown. Mix together the paprika, cumin and allspice. Set aside ½ tsp of the mix for the garnish and add the rest to the pan with the crushed garlic. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, scoop out and discard the seedy centres from the courgettes with a teaspoon, then arrange the courgette halves cut side up in a baking dish. Top with the beef mixture, then bake for 30 minutes or until the courgettes are tender to the point of a knife.

Scatter over the parsley, then spoon over the yogurt and sprinkle with the reserved spice mix.

The end of one thing opens the door for the beginning of another

Joyce