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 7617
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
WHEN Hope Virgo was asked to draw her idea of her body shape, she was shocked when she discovered how different her concept was from reality.
As she tells us in an interview in this week’s War Cry, Hope was living with an eating disorder that had been triggered by a childhood trauma.
‘I was driven to a place where I had to find a way to deal with how I was feeling, a way to numb all these emotions,’ she says. ‘The eating disorder became a coping mechanism.’
Hope goes on to explain that, although she received treatment which enabled her to ‘function’, she doesn’t believe that she has always been able to access the full support that she has needed.
When she decided to open up about the abuse that contributed to her developing an eating disorder, it made life challenging for her. ‘I was hurting so much,’ she remembers.
But during that time, she found her way to church and she became a Christian. Although her problems have not disappeared, she has found that following Jesus has changed the way in which she handles those challenges.
‘When I’m having a difficult day, I try to read Scripture, pray and listen to worship music,’ she says. ‘I’m not great at it, but I try to know that, when my struggles do feel impossible, God is there throughout.’
Hope’s honest description of her experiences of life and faith will be familiar to many Christians. Having a faith does not make anyone immune from challenging days or a sense of being overwhelmed by circumstances. But when Christians face such times, they know that God will always be there for them, ready to help them cope.
The good news is that, even if they feel – as Hope does – that they are not very proficient in looking to God for support, he will still respond to anyone who genuinely tries to reach out to him. And that is a reality we can all be certain of.
