4 April 2020 20p/25c
Easter is still on its way
Christians to mark Christ’s resurrection online BECAUSE of Covid-19
From the editor’s desk
What is The Salvation Army? The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church
THE 2020 Olympic Games that were due to be staged in Tokyo this summer were postponed last week. But this momentous decision was greeted by little more than a metaphorical shrug of the shoulders. The only surprise was that it took the organisers so long to make the decision. Across the world, thousands of events to which people had been looking forward are no longer taking place. In the UK that has included the Chelsea Flower Show and Glastonbury. Meanwhile, football fans are still waiting to hear whether their team’s league will resume at a later date or be declared null and void, as some leagues already have been. All these events have fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic that grips our country and much of the rest of the world. For the past ten years, crowds have gathered in Trafalgar Square every Good Friday as Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection have been dramatically acted out. But not this year. Instead the story will be told by showing online clips of rehearsals and previous performances in London and other cities where these Passion plays were due to take place. In an interview in this week’s War Cry, James Burke-Dunsmore – who plays Jesus in the Trafalgar Square production – explains why retelling the story, whether in the open air or via the internet, is so important to him and his fellow actors. ‘I think the cast are there because they’re aware of the potential of attempting to make the sacred real,’ he says. The reality is that the events Christians remember at Easter changed the world. The fact that a group of people who had seen Jesus executed believed that they then encountered him resurrected and alive has impacted millions of people’s lives in the centuries since then. It is why, despite the coronavirus pandemic and self-isolation, Christians will still be taking time to celebrate this miracle in the coming week. Nothing can cancel out the difference the resurrected Jesus has made in their lives.
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 7468
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 War Cry office: 020 7367 4900 Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN
Contents
Tel: 0845 634 0101 Helpline: 020 7367 4888 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 Mal Davies
Published weekly by The Salvation Army ©The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. Printed by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper
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FEATURES 3
As good as new
The Repair Shop is making things better
4
All by myself
The realities of self-isolation
5
Street drama goes online
Why recreating the Easter story still matters
8
Picture this
How art has depicted the sacred
8
REGULARS 12
Browsing the Bible
13
Now, There’s a Thought!
14 Puzzles 15
2 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
5
War Cry Kitchen
15
TELEVISION BBC
Emma (centre) has a stool to be repaired by William and Suzie
F ixe d nd No one is beyo e Brine ir la C s e it r w , repair
up!
TEP into The Repair Shop, a place where precious S yet faded treasures are given new life. So far in the latest series of the BBC One show, presenter Jay Blades
and his team of experts have rescued a weathered set of ship’s tools, repaired a rare lantern clock from the 1600s and reupholstered a bomb-damaged chair. Needless to say, the items’ owners have been delighted to see their damaged family heirlooms restored to their former glory. In next week’s episode (Wednesday 8 April), Emma from East Sussex turns up at the repair shop to ask if leather expert Suzie can spruce up her 100-year-old music stool so that her children can use it. ‘It’s so much more than just a chair,’ Emma explains. It’s an item that has been passed down through the generations of her family – and consequently evokes many special memories. Feeling positive, Suzie rolls her sleeves up and gets cracking. In another corner of the workshop, ceramics expert Kirsten is facing one of her trickiest challenges to date – repairing an alabaster lampshade that is, literally, in bits. It’s a painstaking process to piece it back together and then treat the material so it looks as good as new. Reflecting on the challenges she faced in the programmes, Kirsten confesses:‘The light shade has been the item that has given me sleepless nights. It’s such an unforgiving material, soft and translucent and yet needing to have the strength, once reassembled, to hang safely again.’ To stand any chance of restoring the item so that it looks as good as new, Kirsten needs stacks of patience. But then so do the
Julie mends a da maged bear
rest of the team, who are busy working on other projects. They all understand that when something valuable is broken, the repair job can’t be rushed. It takes time. The same principle applies to people. When people’s hearts are hurt or broken, an instant fix is rarely possible. They need care and kind treatment from others. They need patience to heal. They need time to grow strong again. When our life feels as though it has fallen apart and we are beyond saving, we need to realise that is not the case. There is still hope – because of Jesus. Taking the time to get to know him can restore us completely and give us a brand-new perspective. When we allow his love to work in our hearts, new life is possible. The Bible writer Paul put it like this: ‘Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 Contemporary English Version). However broken we may feel, Jesus can help us overcome our past and show us a different way of living. By his death on a cross, we are set free from the damage we have done to ourselves and others. By his resurrection, we are given the power to become brand new people, full of love, hope and peace. Whatever our age and stage of life, we don’t have to allow the struggles we face to chip away at us and ruin us. Jesus offers to repair us and make us like new.
The repair job can’t be rushed. It takes time
4 April 2020 • WAR cry • 3
FEATURE
‘ M y h e a r t d ro p p e d w h e n I c o u l d n ’t h u g anyone for weeks’
COUPLE of years ago, I had to self-isolate for A several weeks when I underwent radioactive iodine therapy for my thyroid.
With official measures for self-isolation and social distancing imposed throughout the UK, War Cry editorial assistant Linda McTurk recalls her own experiences of being in quarantine
at building an online blog. And when I didn’t feel like doing anything, I watched TV programmes I’d never seen before, such as Suits. I first found out that I had a thyroid illness in 2015. But during the second and third week of my isolaMy thyroid gland had gone into overdrive and was tion, I hit a wall of resistance mentally, emotionally causing havoc in my body. After three years of using and physically. I began to feel increasingly poorly. My medication to manage the symptoms, my husband, body felt as if it was punishing me. I struggled to keep Stuart, and I decided that I should pursue treatment my faith intact, as I felt desperate to escape my flat and that would help me in the long-term but have a go outside to engage in normal activities with massive impact on my life when I first came other people. No matter how hard I tried out of hospital. to pray or read my Bible, I still felt full ‘Avoid all public places for several of fear. The weeks,’ my doctor instructed me. ‘You It was at this time in particular that kindness and your husband will need to sleep the kindness of others became a lifein separate beds. You will need to line for me. Stuart cooked nutritious of others have your own eating utensils, bowls meals, colleagues sent encouraging and plates.’ texts, my family and friends spoke to became a Stuart and I sat in shock as we prome on video chats or over the phone, lifeline cessed what this would be like. As the and a kind person dropped off a gift thought of not hugging anyone or even basket of goodies. for me holding my husband’s hand for several Gradually my health did improve. weeks sunk in, I felt my heart drop. Today I feel tremendous gratitude to We reached out to our friends, family everyone who helped me to recover. At a and church and asked people to pray for us, as time when it was hard to keep going in my faith, we knew that we would need help during this time of their kindness served as a tangible reminder of God’s momentous change. love for me. My actual treatment, thankfully, was an underWith so much fear around the coronavirus pandemic, whelming experience. I only had to swallow a small it can be easy to focus on what we are not able to do. pill of radioiodine, and be very careful not to drop it on But, having lived through self-isolation myself, I know the floor! that it is possible to get through it. Much to my surprise, my first week in isolation was I’d encourage everyone to do what they can to help surprisingly positive. I discovered innovative ways to each other. Even the smallest compassionate gesture spend my new-found alone time. I learnt how to play can mean a lot to someone who is feeling lonely and chords on my piano keyboard using online videos. I afraid. Let’s work together with kindness – it’s the best cleaned my flat on an almost daily basis. I had a go antidote to fear and loneliness we have.
4 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
INTERVIEW
An abiding
Passion
For the past ten years, the Easter story has been acted out in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday. This year, the story will be streamed online because of the health crisis. As actor JAMES BURKE-DUNSMORE tells Philip Halcrow, it is a story worth telling
A
LL the world’s the stage – or at least it’s the scenery. On Good Friday a decade ago, a group of professional and volunteer actors performed a Passion play surrounded by the sweeping steps and grandiose monuments of Trafalgar Square. In the years since, the play that tells the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus has become a fixture in the capital’s calendar. This year, the play was ready to be joined by similar outdoor productions in Liverpool, Bishop Auckland, Hamilton and other cities and towns around the UK. But concern for the health of the actors and public has meant that the events are to be held off till Good Friday next year. Nevertheless, pre-recorded excerpts of rehearsals from the various locations and previous performances from Trafalgar Square will be streamed online in order for the Easter story to be told. James Burke-Dunsmore, who helped launch the annual event in London and who has played the role of Jesus since its second year, says the Passion play has become an ‘important and transforming’ part of the year for him. He has good memories of the way the production has developed since it began. ‘The first year, there was no extra staging. From that point on, we started using a little bit of extra staging, particularly at the base of Nelson’s Column, and then a small stage in
Turn to page 6
James Burke-Dunsmore makes an entry as Jesus in the annual Trafalgar Square Passion play
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4 April 2020 • WAR cry • 5
From page 5 the centre, simply From page 5 to lift the action. We’re pretty much playing it in the round, so we’ve got an audience of almost equal numbers all the way round us.’ Before taking the Good Friday play into the centre of London, James and the company had been performing biblical plays, including The Life of Christ, in the grounds of Peter and Ann Hutley’s Wintershall estate in Surrey. Taking the action into the metropolis had an effect. ‘There are times when in Wintershall, we’re trying to create Jerusalem and the Temple, and we’re standing on lush grass, surrounded by beautiful trees. In those productions, we have to think about how our body language, the way we walk and the way we sit can convey that we’re in a city. ‘When we perform the Passion play in London, Trafalgar Square becomes our set and, if we use it, can tell part of the story for us. The
Beneath the layers we’re more alike than different
scale of the buildings, the hardness of the slabs that everyone is sitting on, and even the sound of our footsteps on the concrete all affect the performance.’ James suggests that the location also affects the performance because of the variety of people who see it taking place. Some people have headed for the square specifically to watch the play. But they are not the only ones who see it taking place. ‘The audience who are in the square to watch the play can’t see who’s behind them walking past, stopping and watching. But I can. ‘There are times in the play when I talk to the audience immediately in front of me as if they are the Jewish locals or other people in the story. It’s as if I’m addressing them with the same dilemmas that I’m presenting to the disciples or the priests. But behind those members of the audience, other people are walking by, and I can give them part of the speech. And sometimes those people that were passing by suddenly walk into the audience, join it, sit down and listen and watch the rest of the story.’ James is also fascinated by how the audience reacts to the drama. ‘Because people haven’t gone through the ticketing experience, there is a different atmosphere,’ he says. ‘The distance between the audience and the actors is narrowed. There are times when I have to say powerful words such as “Will you?” or “Can you?” The audience know I’m saying those words to the other characters, but because there’s no barrier
6 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
People that were walking by joined the audience and watched the rest of the story
INTERVIEW between us, they react notably. I see it most in young people. I’m not talking about little children who don’t know about the conventions of theatre, but about older children. They get so caught up in the drama that when they hear me say “Come” or “Follow me”, they get up. ‘I love that the story is getting people, particularly young people, to think about their own position: “Do I want to react to this call, which is to all intents and purposes to live in the light, to live truth, to live a considered life?” ‘It reminds me how important this story is, how much of an impact it makes on people’s lives.’ James has witnessed other evidence of the power of the story. ‘There have been times when I’ve been hanging on the cross and have looked down to people in the audience, and I’ve seen very profound reactions. I can tell that they’re bringing something of their own lives
to the play. Some people have come up to me after the play and said that it had reminded them of some experience in their lives. ‘And people have come back to see the play again and again and have told me how the play had been an important turning point for them after a bereavement or some other experience. They talk about growing and seeing the story in a completely new way.’ The story continues to draw people in – and the organisers are hoping that the online screenings will do the same again this year. The venture of taking the Passion play to central London was announced at the beginning of 2010 at a launch event in St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, just across the road from the square. Standing on the steps of the church, James looked over to the National Gallery, which at the time was staging an exhibition called The Sacred Made Real.
It is – James suggests – what he and the other performers are trying to do. ‘I think the cast are there because they’re aware of the potential of attempting to make the sacred real, attempting to perform something that speaks in the same way that the Bible does. ‘The Bible brilliantly attempts to describe what is almost impossible to describe. Theatre can also go some way to unpack the difficult parts of our lives. Long before we came to Trafalgar Square, the Wintershall productions set out to do that. I think that generally theatre practitioners all do that – they try to deal with what is sacred in our lives. ‘Storytelling allows that. It lays out something before the audience and allows them to ask what would it mean for them if they accept the truth of what they’re seeing.’ l Watch the streaming at facebook.com/Wintershallplay
4 April 2020 • WAR cry • 7
Frame by frame W
Pictures courtesy of Seventh Art Produ
ctions
ANTING to know more about the greatest story ever told, film director Phil Grabsky went to the pictures. As a maker of art documentaries under the banner Exhibition on Screen, he researched works of art from the early years of Christianity right up to the present day. Their pictures of episodes from the story of the arrest, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are set to feature in the film Easter in Art, which is scheduled to be released in cinemas at Easter next year. ‘Easter in Art,’ says Phil, ‘was prompted by my desire to understand more about what is the most commissioned genre in art: the Passion.’ Phil says that he has been making television documentaries – many of them focused on the arts – for years, but a change in the cinematic landscape about a decade ago opened up new vistas. Technology and distribution were changing, and cinemas began broadcasting live performances of theatre and opera. ‘Around the same time as the new genre of event cinema was taking off,’ Phil says, ‘I was thinking that the television films I’d been making about exhibitions would look much better in the cinema on big screens, in high definition and where people weren’t distracted by their phones. Initially cinemas in the UK thought the idea was mad. Who would go to the cinema to see an art exhibition? But I persevered, and we made our first film about the National Gallery’s Leonardo exhibition in 2011. We placed it in 42 cinemas, and 41 of them were completely sold out.’ After Leonardo, Phil’s Seventh Art Productions
‘The Raising of the Cross’, 1610, by
8 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
Peter Paul Rubens
Film director PHIL GRABSKY tells Philip Halcrow about his project to show how the Easter story has been told through art
INTERVIEW
nt Peter’, 1610 Caravaggio’s ‘The Denial of Sai
company has gone on to explore the work of Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and others, often highlighting an exhibition taking place in a major gallery. The latest Exhibition on Screen film is not a film version of something being staged by a particular gallery, but its own collection of works. Phil says that the project grew out of his personal desire to look at great art from a different perspective. ‘I have to be honest and say that when I would pop into the National Gallery, there were other rooms I would head for – Dutch art or impressionist art – before I would visit the religious paintings. But then I realised that a very high percentage of artworks in any major gallery are not only religious but specifically about that last week of Jesus’ life. ‘I thought it was time to have Phil Grabsky
a look at this art – not only to admire the work of the greatest artists in history, but also on a basic level to understand the story. ‘Whether you’re Christian or not, this story is hugely significant, and I wanted to explore what we can learn about ourselves through the way artists have interpreted it.’ The film gathers a variety of images, which are accompanied by readings from the original narratives in the Gospels and by occasional contributions from a handful of experts, who put the works of art into context. ‘There are some very famous paintings by Caravaggio and Leonardo, but there are other works that even well-versed art enthusiasts will probably have never seen before. We have a mosaic from the ancient Roman period as well as works from contemporary artists. ‘And that is the interesting thing,’ says Phil of the fact that artists are still turning their attention to this story that is almost 2,000 years old. ‘There was obviously a peak in the genre in the Renaissance, when artists such as Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo were working. As with every artist we’ve made a film about, you have to understand the economic context – that is, who is commissioning them and why. When Leonardo paints The Last Supper, he is not doing it
Turn to page 10
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A very high percentage of artworks are about that last week of Jesus’ life 4 April 2020 • WAR cry • 9
As with cinema, the art was about storytelling From page 9
‘Christ Carrying the Cross’ c 1490-1510, by Hieronymus Bosch
10 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
just for fun; he’s doing it because the monks have commissioned him to paint the scene on the wall of their refectory. They want to look at it while they are eating. In the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries there were great religious buildings going up, which would have room for artworks. ‘You might have imagined that such imagery would decline from the 17th century onwards and as the 20th century arrives, and it does a little bit. But it still has power today.’ The works titled Ecce Homo in the film echo the words of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, ‘Behold the man!’, as he introduces the vulnerable figure he is about to send to his death. Among them are not only paintings by Hieronymus Bosch from the 15th century and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo from the 18th century but also a sculpture from the turn of this millennium. Mark Wallinger’s lifesize sculpture of Jesus, hands tied behind his back and barbed wire crown of thorns on his head, became the first of the regularly changing works of art to be installed on the ‘fourth plinth’ of Trafalgar Square and was later temporarily installed on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral. ‘These images are equally powerful to people who don’t believe in the Resurrection and those who do, because this story is about many things – it’s about human beliefs, sacrifice, pain and suffering and the loss of a child.’ Every picture tells part of the story – and some of the works that appear in the film are themselves ‘almost cinematic’, says Phil. ‘As with cinema today, the art was all about storytelling, about narrative. ‘When cinema was born, it was based on 12 still images – if you showed 12 still images in a second and there was a slight change between those images, the viewer had a sense of movement. These days in the UK we shoot a minimum of 25 images and in some cases 50 images, to make it smoother. ‘If you go to see Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, you look at the start of the story, then you look to your right and you see the next phase and so on. Giotto is very unfussy and clear about what’s going on.
INTERVIEW
In ‘The Last Supper’ Leonardo
da Vinci shows ‘a number of mo ments’, says Phil
‘I’ve argued before that these artists were great film directors. There are no accidents in art. The artist starts with a blank canvas and they know how to make your eye travel round the picture. Caravaggio is a great example – he knows that the viewer will start at one point and then their eye will be taken along an arm or towards the light in another part of the picture. ‘Another example is Leonardo’s The Last Supper. That’s not just one moment in time. It’s a number of moments. Christ has told the disciples something, and Leonardo shows how they are reacting, all at different times.’ Painters and sculptors, says Phil, enjoyed the artistic endeavour of trying to present the Passion story. ‘It was one thing for them to paint a sideways portrait of a duke or duchess, but it was such a challenge to paint a virtually naked man being lifted up to or down from a cross.’ However, he insists, they were driven by more than the technical challenge. ‘They believed in God – and they wanted
to use their ability, which they knew was gained through hard graft but they considered was ultimately God-given, to communicate with him, as well as to their audience.’ Audiences, past and present, are similarly not gripped only by the artists’ technical skills, says Phil. ‘The artists are communicating truths about the human experience. Crucifixion
What you see in the paintings is a search for understanding was the cruellest method that the Romans had of putting someone to death. And in Jesus we see a man who knows he’s going to be betrayed – and indeed, for the story, has to be betrayed – and within 24 hours he’s dying on a cross, watched by his mother and people who know him. It’s a powerful story. ‘But what’s also powerful is the way that
out of the historical event of the Crucifixion grew a religious movement that remains huge. ‘It says a lot about our need as human beings to make sense of who we are, where we’ve come from, where we’re going. What you see in the paintings is a search for understanding. ‘There is no question that if you want to be cynical, you can tear the story apart. People always have done. In the film we quote from the Gospels where people said to Jesus: “If you’re the Son of God, then come down from the cross.” I can hear people in the pub today saying: “Yeah, if he was the Son of God and wanted to persuade people, why didn’t he just come down from the cross and heal his own wounds.” ‘But the art and perhaps the story itself is about the human need for understanding – it’s about faith. You either believe in the Resurrection or you don’t. But whatever you believe, you can still connect with the emotion and power in the art. ‘It’s the greatest story ever told, and we call it the greatest story ever painted.’
4 April 2020 • WAR cry • 11
EXPLORE Prayerlink THE War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.
Becoming 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 Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
Hebrews
Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures
DDRESSED to Jewish Christian conA verts, this letter counters teaching that Christians should observe the ceremonies of
of our atonement. Because he died, we can be forgiven and have eternal life – ‘we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all’ (10:10). We avail ourselves of this salvation not by keeping rules or observing religious rituals but by putting our faith in the fact that God accepts Christ’s death as the penalty for our sin.
Judaism. Referencing Old Testament characters and passages, the writer explains that, as the longed-for Messiah, Jesus fulfils and transcends the principles and practices of their former faith. The opening chapter states the theme: God has spoken to Jewish people through Jesus, his Son. Jesus is ‘the exact representation’ of God (1:3) and as such, he is superior to the angels. Jesus, says the writer, is greater than the revered Moses, the leader who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian captivity to the Promised Land (chapter 3). Jesus is also greater than Moses’ brother, Aaron, the high priest The writer says that even before the regulato the people of Israel (chapter 5). The high tions of Old Testament law were compiled – priest was a mediator between people and the regulations that detractors are saying God. He prayed to God for his people. Christians should keep – faith was the defining Jesus is a great high priest who sympathises basis of a relationship with God. All the patriwith human weaknesses (4:14 –16). Because archal heroes were men of faith (chapter 11). his priesthood did not end upon his death, With faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus at Jesus still speaks to God on our behalf and the heart of their new relationship with God, ‘always lives to intercede’ for us (7:25). the letter’s readers are to remain disciplined, The high priest also offered sacrifices to endure hardship, honour marriage and do good God on behalf of his people, so that they could to others (chapters 12 and 13). be forgiven (5:1). As high priest, Jesus ‘sacrificed for their sins once for all’ (7:27). Therefore, he is the ‘mediator of a new covenant’ (9:15). As well as being the priest, Jesus is also the sacrifice. Christ was ‘sacrificed once to yesterday ‘Jesus Christ is the same take away the sins of many’ (9:28). ’ (Hebrews 13:8 and today and for ever God accepts his death as the means
As well as being the priest, Jesus is also the sacrifice
Key verse
on) New International Versi
Do you have a Stay connected story to share?
CBAD a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk @TheWarCryUK TheWarCryUK
B salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry 12 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
salvationarmy.org.uk Visit the Salvation Army website for the latest on the organisation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and to find links to your nearest centre.
EXPRESSIONS Justin joins his fellow Janners at a Plymouth game
Now, there’s a thought!
by Justin Reeves
q a
quick quiz 1
Who painted the 15th-century mural The Last Supper?
2
In which country are the Lascaux Cave prehistoric paintings?
3
Who wrote the novel The Call of the Wild?
4
What is the name of the fictional setting of TV series Noughts + Crosses?
5
6
Who directed the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ? In Britain, how many old farthings made a penny? ANSWERS
Should we always follow the crowd? not a massive fan of crowds. Getting jostled and bumped and Iof’Mpushed and shoved is not my idea of fun. (Perhaps that’s one upside social distancing – no crowds!)
Having said that, one kind of crowd I don’t mind is a football crowd. I’m a Plymouth Argyle fan and I love joining my fellow Janners to sing my heart out and clap my hands to support the mighty greens. In fact, I’m famed among family and friends for my ability to offer a seriously guttural ‘Green Army!’ Another crowd I think I’d have enjoyed being a part of is the crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. That’s a spectacle that would have been well worth getting jostled, bumped, pushed and shoved for. With thousands of people passionately cheering and singing praises to Jesus, it must have been an amazing experience. I’d like to think that, had I been there, I’d have shouted a very hearty ‘Hosanna!’ Fast forward a number of days in the account of the week leading up to Easter Sunday, and another crowd gathered – this time with far more sinister intent, to make sure that Jesus was put to death. Where might I have placed myself on that day? I sincerely hope I wouldn’t have been one of those crying, ‘Crucify him!’ So, which crowd would we feel most comfortable in and why? Would we have joined the Palm Sunday cheer squad, happily joining in with the crowd? When our behaviour matches that of our peers, is it for good reason or simply because we got caught up in the mood of the moment? Sometimes it can be hard to know what we believe, or what team we want to be on. It’s easy to be influenced by others to say one thing one minute and then another the next. At this time of year, we have the chance to think for ourselves about which crowd we want to be a part of. Do we want to join with those who mocked Jesus, mistreated him and wanted him dead? Or do we want to be among those who showed Jesus their appreciation and welcomed him into their hearts?
It’s easy to be influenced by others
4 April 2020 • WAR cry •13
1. Leonardo da Vinci. 2. France. 3. Jack London. 4. Albion. 5. Mel Gibson. 6. Four.
PUZZLES
QUICK CROSSWORD QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Merchandise (5) 5. Weak (5) 8. Yellow pigment (5) 9. Nautical (5) 10. Shiny fabric (5) 11. Cellar (5) 12. Profound (4) 15. Soak (6) 17. Extra payment (5) 18. Relatives (6) 20. Expectation (4) 25. Dirt-free (5) 26. Cogitate (5) 27. Lubricated (5) 28. Nudge (5) 29. Horse (5) 30. Observed (5)
DOWN 1. Desired (6) 2. Annul (6) 3. Unravel (5) 4. Bellow (5) 5. Rankles (7) 6. Deed (6) 7. Measurement (6) 13. Age (3) 14. Young lad (3) 15. Delved (3)
16. Drinking vessel (3) 17. Obstructed (7) 18. Unborn baby (6) 19. Reason (6) 21. Means of exit (6) 22. Dodged (6) 23. Famous horse race (5) 24. Understood (5)
SUDOKU Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9
HONEYCOMB
3
5 4 8
HONEYCOMB Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number
Answers HONEYCOMB 1. Legacy. 2. Cygnet. 3. Ledger. 4. Attend. 5. Statue. 6. Pastry. QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Wares. 5. Frail. 8. Ochre. 9. Naval. 10. Satin. 11. Vault. 12. Deep. 15. Drench. 17. Bonus. 18. Family. 20. Hope. 25. Clean. 26. Think. 27. Oiled. 28. Elbow. 29. Steed. 30. Noted. DOWN: 1. Wanted. 2. Revoke. 3. Solve. 4. Shout. 5. Festers. 6. Action. 7. Length. 13. Era. 14. Boy. 15. Dug. 16. Cup. 17. Blocked. 18. Foetus. 19. Motive. 21. Outlet. 22. Eluded. 23. Derby. 24. Known.
6 3 8 2 7 9 5 4 1
2 1 9 4 5 8 7 6 3
7 4 5 6 3 1 9 2 8
5 8 6 3 4 7 1 9 2
3 7 1 5 9 2 4 8 6
4 9 2 1 8 6 3 5 7
9 2 4 7 6 3 8 1 5
1 5 7 8 2 4 6 3 9
8 6 3 9 1 5 2 7 4
SUDOKU SOLUTION
9 8 7 5 7 9 6 8 2
5 1 7
14 • War Cry • 4 April 2020
7 3 9 8 7 5 7 9 6 8 2
WORDSEARCH WORDSEARCH WORDSEARCH WORDSEARCH
1. Amount left in a will 2. Young swan 3. Book of financial accounts 4. Be present at 5. Lifesize carving 6. Dough used to make pies
Wordsearch AMITY CALMNESS CONCORD CONTENTMENT EASE FRIENDSHIP HARMONY LOVE PACIFICATION QUIET RECONCILIATION RELIEF RESPITE SERENITY SOLACE TRUCE UNITY
4 9 5 4 7 3 1 8 9 6 1
5 1 7
7
Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these words associated with peace
6 2 7 5 3 4 9 1 8
V P G G K Y T S F O N B F H E D Q E 3 1 4 8 7 9 2 5 6 M Z X K W R W Z N N L D Y G V E M F 8 9 5 6 1 2 4 7 3 C G Y K N W N L B U P H K V P V O V F N M D X O 2Z 4 S I 6 F 3R 5P A 1 A 7V 8B F 9A J F M H S Z I L Y N R E C U R T S Z 7 5 3 4 9 8 6 2 1 M N Q J V D Y T A Z X I T I C M X E 9 I 8E A P F X Z K X F Z O 1 7 2 6 3 4 5 J B K F J K X Y C M R M Q L C 5 7 9 I 1O 4J T 3 S M K 8 6 E 2V J F E Z A I Z R C A L M N E S S D S 4 6 2 9 8I N R A Z 5 1 3 I 7S A Z E M Z W E A U J L F Y T N E M T N E T N O C E Y C R F 1 3 8 2 6 7 5 9 4 B F W L P I I Q D P P D S N B O N Z G T C Z O T P U W S R X O I O N B F B N Y N Y V S I Z E H M Z T N C F H F M G Y S J E L L F R I O Y Z O E U F D V S R D R I L A Q E P K T R G R P W V Q U I E T H P W U C D E D J Q M J I V O F Y L X L F C I Y V M L R
7
RECIPEs
French onion soup
Serves
4
1 chunky white fish fillet, skinned 1 small leek, finely sliced 3 whole baby leeks 215g can butter beans, drained and rinsed 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 1tbsp light crème fraiche 1tbsp stock 1tbsp lemon juice Freshly ground black pepper Lemon wedge, to serve
3tsp sunflower oil 1kg onions, finely chopped 400g sweet potatoes, cut into 12 wedges 800ml low-salt vegetable stock 4 slices wholemeal bread, cut in half 20g reduced-fat mature cheddar cheese 20g mozzarella 1tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to serve Pepper 1tsp low-salt soy sauce
Fish parcel Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/ Gas Mark 5. Heat 2tsp oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and cook over a very low heat for 30 minutes, stirring regularly until caramelised. Meanwhile, pour the remaining 1tsp oil on to a baking sheet. Add the potatoes and toss to coat them in oil, then bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Once the onions are cooked, pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. To make the cheesy bread, top each half slice with cheddar and mozzarella. Place them on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and browns. Meanwhile, stir the parsley, pepper and soy sauce through the soup, then spoon into four bowls. Garnish with a sprinkling of parsley and serve with the cheesy bread and sweet potato wedges.
Place the fish, leeks, beans and parsley in the centre of a 25cm x 25cm piece of foil. Mix the crème fraiche, the stock and lemon juice and spoon over the fish and vegetables. Season with pepper, then fold the foil and secure into a parcel. Place on a suitable baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes. Open the parcel and transfer to a serving plate. Serve with the lemon wedge.
Serves
1
4 April 2020 • WAR cry •15
“Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” John 12:13 (New International Version)