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.