War Cry 7 January

Wrestler matches fights with faith

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.

IT must be every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child. It must be even more devastating for that parent to know that their child would have been scared and suffered horrifically in their final moments.

Yet that was the experience of Mamie Till-Mobley. In 1955 Mamie’s 14-year-old son, Emmett, was attacked and lynched in Mississippi because of the colour of his skin. Despite the fact that it potentially endangered her own life, Mamie attended the trial and took steps to ensure that the world was aware of the evil racist actions that had taken her son’s life.

Now those actions are being portrayed in a newly released film, Till. In this week’s War Cry, the film’s producer, Keith Beauchamp – who got to know Mamie before her death in 2003 – tells us why he wanted to bring this story to the big screen.

‘I believe Mamie Till-Mobley was the unsung hero of the civil rights movement,’ he says. ‘I wanted people to meet the person that I had met, in the hope that it would transfer to them the energy that I felt from her. I believe that when someone is so inspirational and you’re able to tell their story, it can become contagious.’

Keith also believes it was important that the film depicted Mamie’s Christian faith.

‘It’s only through faith that this woman – who was only 33 years old at the time – would have been able to deal with the tragedy in her life,’ he says.

Turning to God is something all Christians can do when they face the toughest circumstances. Their faith does not mean that they are immune to sad and difficult times, but it does mean that, when those times come along, they can turn to a loving God who will help them through.

As we enter into the new year of 2023, it is good to know that, whatever the future may bring, God offers his love and support to us all.

Curious cleric is on the case

Father Brown is back solving crime

FOR 10 years, he has cycled round the village of Kembleford, questioning suspects and solving crime. With his soup bowl hat, drab clerical robes and oversized umbrella, he hardly looks tough enough to catch murderers.

But the Catholic priest created by GK Chesterton is back in the saddle, ready to tackle some more whodunnits in a new series of the BBC1 detective drama Father Brown.

In the opening episode broadcast this week, Father Brown (Mark Williams) was

on the hunt for a new parish secretary. Multiple women applied for the role, but none was as excited at the prospect of working at Kembleford’s ‘very own 221b Baker Street’ as Mrs Devine (Claudie Blakley). A middle-aged woman with a passion for amateur dramatics, she couldn’t wait to ask the priest what particular duties the job entailed.

‘Would I be allowed to join in your investigations?’ she asked, wide-eyed.

Despite Father Brown’s explanation that solving crime was only ‘a small part’ of his work in the parish, Mrs Devine’s enthusiasm couldn’t be dampened. After losing her husband two years ago, she told Father Brown that she was ‘desperate for some excitement’.

She didn’t have long to wait. After the owner of Kembleford’s new model village was stabbed to death, Mrs Devine approached Father Brown with information she deemed important. Later, when a second body was found, the pair worked together to narrow down the suspects.

Mark Williams says of his character’s new sidekick: ‘Mrs Devine is so enthusiastic, she gets involved straightaway.’ The actor also feels that, when it comes to solving crime, her ‘gung-ho’ approach complements one of Father Brown’s own qualities – his ‘endless curiosity’.

‘Everything matters,’ Mark explains. ‘It’s Miss Marple, I think, who says the details that other people don’t think are important are the details that she does. And that’s the point about Father Brown.

He’s a differently motivated character to most detectives, where it’s an intellectual problem-solving thing. Father Brown is dealing with people’s souls because he’s a man of faith. For him, it’s about respect for humanity.’

Though Father Brown is always relieved to solve the mysteries in front of him, his motivation in tackling crime is primarily the pursuit of truth. He doesn’t settle for what appears to be obvious. He isn’t afraid to ask difficult questions. His endless curiosity means he will keep looking until he is satisfied.

Perhaps we could learn from his approach when we are confronted with our own perplexing situations. An enquiring mind is certainly a good place to start when it comes to exploring the mysteries of faith.

Taking time to investigate the Bible can uncover a number of life-changing truths, including the promise that anyone who searches earnestly for God will always be sure to encounter him. In the Book of Jeremiah, God says: ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’ (29:13 New International Version).

However clueless we may feel when it comes to God, no amount of questioning need stand in the way of a relationship with him. God is never put off by our doubts or fears. Instead he welcomes anyone who turns to him.

If we seek it, his love is evident, just waiting to be discovered.

The first mystery Father Brown must solve involves a model village

BBC STUDIOS/GARY MOYES

TV feature by Claire Brine

He is dealing with people’s souls

Mrs Devine wants to help

Prayerlink

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

Mind

A new year message from Commissioner Anthony Cotterill, leader of The Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland

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

your step

IWAS challenged by the conflicting opinions of my two frightened companions. ‘Hold the lamp up!’ said one. ‘No, shine it on the ground!’ countered the other.

We were hurrying through what was, for me, an uncharted area of African bush. It was nighttime and pitch-black. I’d like to say it was quiet, but it was obvious by the sounds around us that we were being watched – and the eyes watching us did not belong to humans. One of my companions wanted the lamp held up so that we could see where we were going. The other wanted it to shine on the ground in order that we could see where we were treading.

We all want to see where we are going – and, if you are like me, the last thing you want to do is put your foot in it, whether that’s mud or something worse. ‘Putting your foot in it’ is a phrase we’re all familiar with, coming from the longer ‘opening your mouth and putting your foot in it’ and describing instances where we say the wrong thing. And now that 2022 has at last been exited, I would imagine that most of us can look back and know that at some point we put our size 13s in it.

Let’s be honest – while we may try to avoid such mistakes at all costs, some of us seem to be gifted in putting our foot in it. We may have said something or followed a course of action that has led to us slipping, stumbling and even hurting ourselves or, worse still, that has caused those around us to face hurtful consequences.

The new year is an ideal time for us to acknowledge and, if necessary, apologise to others and God, for times past when our

feet strayed from the best way. As we take our first steps into 2023, our own personal challenges may well be amplified as we all struggle in the gloom and darkness brought about by the dire economic situation that has followed on from a pandemic and by the war in Ukraine, which has not only devastated that beautiful and fruitful country and her people but has also had global repercussions. Is there any hope for us? Is there a source of redemption? Is it possible for things to be better as we gingerly move forward?

I dare to suggest that for the people of Britain, heading into the new year of 1940 was even darker and more desperate than our days heading into 2023. At the end of his 1939 Christmas Day broadcast, King George VI, grandfather of Charles III, quoted words of the poet Minnie Haskins, whose poem entitled ‘God Knows’ contained the lines:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’

And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.

The King then said: ‘May that Almighty hand guide and uphold us all.’

It’s sound advice for us all at this time, especially if we may feel we are heading out into the darkness.

The hand of God himself is extended to every one of us to guide and uphold

us. We dare not forget the wonderful Christmas truth that Jesus is described as being God with us. Thirty or so years later, this unique one, born in Bethlehem, boldly declared: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (John 8:12 English Standard Version).

Amazing! Aligning ourselves to Jesus, seeking to follow him and to be like him in all our ways has the benefit of this light of the world illuminating the way for us – usually one step at a time, which I have discovered helps immensely to reduce the number of times I put my foot in it! That’s good news. But there’s more.

We have been given another guide as we start a new year.

‘Hold the lamp up, so we can see the way ahead!’

‘No, shine the light on the ground!’

Those were the cries in my darkness. Hundreds of years even before Jesus walked on Earth, one Bible writer declared: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Psalm 119:105).

May 2023 be a year in which you walk confidently in the light of Christ, guided by the word of God that is the Bible. If you need a new year challenge, perhaps you could start reading John’s Gospel in the New Testament and experience this light for yourself. Oh, and if – or more likely when – you do put your foot in it, when you make mistakes and trip up, remember that God loves you and he delights in lifting you up and putting you back on track.

A happy and bright new year to you.

We all want to see where we are going

Wrestling with

by Sarah

BACKBREAKERS and gut-busters have provided a thrill for wrestling fans for decades. Growing up, Gareth Thompson was one such fan. He is now bringing those moves into a church in Bradford, using wrestling as way to reach people in the community.

When he was young Gareth loved to watch wrestling. But for him it was more than just entertainment – it was his escape from a difficult childhood.

Gareth’s dad had walked out, and he had been left to grow up with his mum, who had an alcohol problem. Gareth was bullied at school. He was sexually abused by a relative. By the age of 15 he was

homeless and living in a skip.

Now 35, he looks back on how the world of wrestling changed his life for the better.

‘I’d get absorbed into the characters and use it as a way to get lost in something that wasn’t rubbish. As I grew older, my mates and I used to practise the moves on each other. One day I put a video up on YouTube of me wrestling with a friend, and someone commented to say that I should come along to this wrestling school in Blackburn.’

Gareth attended the school for about

six months, advancing quickly.

‘I knew how to use the ropes and do all the physical stuff, but I also had charisma and character and the ability to work a crowd. So they said that if they got me some gear and a character, I could start working shows, which I did.’

The start of Gareth’s professional wrestling career as Gareth Angel, 11 years ago, was a positive step and it coincided with another change.

‘I had kind of got my life sorted after my childhood,’ he says, ‘but I bounced around jobs, racked up a lot of debt, I’d got married and the marriage had fallen apart. I had a lot of bitterness and anger – I was not happy. But I was invited to church and, as we were singing songs about love, I felt my heart break. I found myself in floods of tears, and a guy said to me: “You’ve just felt love for the first time in your life and not known what to do with it.” He was right. I realised I needed to give this church stuff a chance.’

It wasn’t straightforward at first. Gareth felt as though life was still not going well. He eventually connected with someone who became a mentor to him and who talked him through how to move forward – primarily through forgiving those who had hurt him. Forgiving his

Gareth performs as Gareth Angel in wrestling matches

Neglected and abused, GARETH THOMPSON found a way to deal with his difficult childhood through wrestling. At the same time, he was also introduced to faith. He talks about how he was able to bring the two parts of his life together to start a wrestling church and help people from all backgrounds

Interview

Olowofoyeku

I had a lot of bitterness and anger

faith

Gareth

parents felt doable, but to forgive the man who had abused him felt impossible.

‘I prayed to God and said, “If you’re real and can help me fix this, then I’m all in, you’ve got me.” That was a bold prayer, but I meant it.’

It wasn’t long before his prayer was answered.

He says: ‘I got a new job in a computer store and one day my abuser walked in. I had to serve him. As I gave him his change, I felt it was a fork in the road and that God had presented an opportunity for me to fix it. I looked him in the eyes and said, “I forgive you for what you did.”’

From then, Gareth fully committed his life to God, and he brought his passion for faith and wrestling together by starting GT Ministries.

‘We began touring churches. We’d rock up with a wrestling ring and a bunch of wrestlers and put on an event for the community,’ he says. ‘In the middle of the show, I would share my testimony and invite people to find out more about the church.

‘Then I thought about starting a wrestling school – teaching people how to wrestle while sharing faith with them.’

He contacted a church that was taking over old nightclubs and using the spaces for Christian community outreach projects. The idea was well received. After a successful first weekend of events, including a fundraiser and a takeover of a Sunday church service, Gareth and his wife, Beth, decided to launch a wrestling church.

Baptisms take place during wrestling church, which runs every other month

Every month, Fountains Church in Bradford either stages a straightforward wrestling show or holds a wrestling church service that features live worship, baptism, wrestling and preaching. The shows and services attract all types of people, Gareth says.

‘We get parents who come with their kids, homeless people, old ladies, lots of young men. There are many people who I don’t think you’d normally see at church on a Sunday. During the event, we invite people back for other stuff at

church, like the mental health wellbeing café, free food on a Saturday night for the homeless, and the wrestling training school every Thursday.

‘The idea is that people come in and hear something of God and hear the gospel and Bible stories told in a way that is easy to understand. I want them to come away thinking that church isn’t what they expected it to be – that it’s a lot more fun.’

l For more information visit fountainsbradford.org/wrestling

Thanks to their training, Gareth and his wrestlers can perform moves without hurting each other

hosting a wrestling event last year

‘An unintentional activist’

When a 14-year-old boy was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, his mother’s actions helped to spark the civil rights movement. A new film,Till , tells the story of Emmett’s murder and of Mamie, who in her response to the tragedy, says producer KEITH BEAUCHAMP, drew on her faith

Interview by Philip Halcrow

ANXIOUS about her young son Emmett’s trip from their home in Chicago to visit family members in the Deep South, Mamie Till (Danielle Deadwyler) advises him: ‘Be small.’ Mississippi will be a different world that has different expectations of how black people should behave. Emmett (Jalyn Hall) thinks his mother is worrying unnecessarily.

The history that subsequently unfolds in the new film Till – released at cinemas yesterday (Friday 6 January) – is that in 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was abducted, beaten and lynched, his body dumped in a river.

In a director’s statement, Chinonye Chukwu explains that, when she was approached to tell a story about Emmett Till, she found herself ‘drawn to a singular figure at the centre of his orbit’.

She says: ‘I saw an opportunity to subvert expectations and approach the narrative through another lens – from the maternal point of view of Mamie TillMobley. Had it not been for Mamie, her son’s memory would have evaporated into thin air.’

Till shows how Mamie’s anxiety had been well founded and how it was

followed by grief and then by resolve.

After Emmett is hunted down and killed purportedly for whistling at a white shopworker, Carolyn Bryant, Mamie insists that his maimed body – initially identified because he was wearing a ring bearing his late father’s initials – be returned to her in Chicago. She decides to hold an open casket funeral at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ. She allows a magazine to publish photographs of her son’s body, wanting the world to witness the result of oppression and hatred.

Refusing to disappear into the background – and giving her own mother, Alma (Whoopi Goldberg), cause to be anxious – she travels to Mississippi under the protection of civil rights and social justice campaign group the NAACP. She attends and takes part in the trial of the two white men, Roy Bryant and JW Millam, accused of the murder.

In a climate where the local sheriff dismissively says that the disfigured body from the river could not be identified, that Emmett ‘is still alive somewhere’ and that the NAACP may have plotted the whole

thing, the verdict seems inevitable. Mamie does not stay in the courtroom to hear it. But she does not walk away from the fight against racial injustice. The film shows her working as an activist for equality.

Mamie’s response to her son’s murder had a big effect, says Keith Beauchamp, co-producer and co-writer of Till

‘Her impact was paramount,’ he tells me via a Zoom call. ‘I believe Mamie Till-Mobley was the unsung hero of the civil rights movement. I’ve always considered her as being the mother of it. It’s because of the murder of Emmett Till that we learn about the likes of Dr Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.

‘Rosa Parks said that Emmett Till was foremost in her mind when she made the courageous decision not to get up from her seat on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr Martin Luther King – who was 26 years old at the time of the Emmett Till lynching – did not arise as a leader until he took on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. But the reason for him taking on the boycott wasn’t just because of the actions

Emmett Till with his mother, Mamie

Mamie was the mother of the civil rights movement

change may have happened, but I don’t believe it would have been as powerful. He became the poster child to the anti-lynching movement, which came out of the Black resistance movement and would later become the American civil rights movement.’ Keith’s participation in the film has a personal, as well as a professional, angle. Long affected by

Emmett’s story, he had contacted Mamie in 1995, met her the following year and went on to make a documentary about the murder. The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till featured interviews with Mamie, with the family that Emmett had been visiting in Mississippi and with witnesses.

‘She eventually became not only my close friend and confidante but my mentor for eight and a half years until her passing,’ he says.

‘The documentary was a result of my failed attempt in trying to get the story of Emmett Till on the big screen. Mother Mobley herself had been trying to produce a movie about Emmett. Right after the lynching took place, she had two movie deals but they were never produced, because of the times.

‘As I was down South uncovering new evidence, she encouraged me to pursue the documentary so that it could be used as a stepping stone to get the case reopened.

‘So Till is a lifelong dream of Mother Mobley’s, but also a promise I gave her before she passed away that I would do all that I could not only to fight for justice

Jalyn Hall as Emmett and Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie in the new film ‘Till’

‘Till’ writer and producer Keith Beauchamp

for Emmett but also to make sure that this story is seen on the big screen.’

In his contributions to Till, Keith says, he wanted to make sure that the film was able ‘to resurrect’ the woman that he knew.

‘When she spoke, you could feel the words – that’s how much of an impact she had on not just me but anybody whose paths crossed hers.

‘But I wanted to do more than just resurrect a dear friend – I wanted people to meet the person that I had met, in the hope that it would transfer to them the energy that I felt from her. I believe that when someone is so inspirational and you’re able to tell their story, it can become contagious. And in playing her, Danielle Deadwyler captures her through and through.’

Towards the end of the film Deadwyler portrays Mamie standing on a platform,

addressing a crowd and urging them to work for freedom for all. At the beginning of her speech, she thanks God as ‘the source of my strength’. The words are significant, says Keith.

‘It’s only through faith that this woman – who was only 33 years old at the time –would have been able to deal with the tragedy in her life. And I say that because I don’t think people really understand what happened.

‘I knew the more polished woman Mamie Till-Mobley, the elder, the much wiser woman. I never knew the 33-year-old Mamie Till-Bradley. And when you think about the story of Till from Emmett’s abduction, his death and the trial of 1955 – all this is happening within a one-month span. Here’s a woman who becomes an unintentional activist in the midst of all these “isms” of the world that she has to constantly fight in order to get

her mind set in a manner to seek justice for her son. It’s only through faith, I believe, that that could have happened.

‘Mamie Till-Mobley and her family were God-fearing people. Her mother, Alma Spearman, was known to have founded Cogic – Church of God in Christ – churches throughout the United States and particularly throughout the South going up to Chicago. So faith, religion and God the Creator had always been a very significant part of Mother Mobley’s life.’

Mamie’s faith was not unshaken by her son’s death.

‘There’s a scene in the film where she’s questioning God and asking why he has taken her child from her,’ says Keith. ‘But she quickly understood that Emmett was here for a higher purpose, and she was able to gather herself to deal with the case in 1955 and beyond.

‘In fact, she talked about how God came to her in a vision when Emmett was lynched. He told her that Emmett wasn’t

Emmett (Jalyn Hall) outside the store where he causes offence to a white woman

ANDRE WAGNER/ORION

PICTURES

She understood that Emmett was here for a higher purpose

hers, that he belonged to him and that Emmett was brought into this world for a higher purpose. She truly believed that.

‘She talked about this vision all the time to me, until I believed that something must have reached her to enable her to deal with such injustice.’

Empowered by her strong faith, Mamie became an activist who advocated for social justice and equal educational opportunities for black children and who continued to speak about – and seek justice for – what had happened to her son.

The end of Till provides only a partial

resolution. Before the closing credits roll, the film mentions the 1957 Civil Rights Act and notes that the US signed the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act into law as recently as this year. However, no one was convicted of Emmett’s murder, even though the two men accused admitted to it in a magazine interview the year after the trial. And, says Keith, there is still a need for change in society.

Yet he believes that the hope for such change can be drawn from the story retold in Till

‘The hope comes when you see what transpired in 1955,’ he says. ‘The murder of Emmett Till and the courageous actions of his mother led to the civil rights movement, which was one of the greatest movements that was ever created by citizens anywhere. And we have all benefited from this movement, not just in the United States but across this globe.’

Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler) and her mother Alma (Whoopi Goldberg) in ‘Till’

Mamie and family members at the trial of the two men accused of Emmett’s murder in September 1955

EVERETT COLLECTION INC/ALAMY

Yours faithfully

Every week the War Cry carries interviews with people who talk about how the Christian faith has affected their lives. As we look back over 2022, here are some of the words of people in the public eye who have spoken to us

Sometimes the Bible is misquoted or misinterpreted – but the God I believe in brings peace and comfort. In what can be a chaotic, fast-paced life, he brings me reason. I believe he has a plan for my life, and it’s one I can trust in. He’s my creator.

Katie Piper – writer and TV presenter

Everything stems from God, any success I have in sport or out of sport. It all stems from what he has given me – the opportunities, the mindset, all the things that he’s instilled in me. He represents a second chance and opportunity in life.

Joel Fearon – Olympic bobsledder

Sometimes prayer is vivid and exciting, sometimes it’s not. But I keep up the daily discipline of doing it, because discipline is discipleship. And if I want to be a disciple of Jesus, the least I can do is put myself in his way once or twice a day.

Living a life with God, I’ve realised that he is always far more interested in my growth than in my comfort. Every day I spend with him, I have to prepare myself by saying: ‘This may not be comfortable, but you’re going to grow through it –and that’s going to be good for you.’

Stef Reid – Paralympic long jumper and sprinter

j j j

The Rev Richard Coles –priest and broadcaster

PICTURE COURTESY OF JOEL FEARON

With faith, you’re always learning and it always changes. It’s OK to wobble. When it comes to Christianity, you’re loved, so you’re in –even though we are all completely messed up. That’s what makes it revolutionary.

The Rev Canon Kate Bottley – priest and broadcaster

Through all my ups and downs, God used everything for good. He showed me that life is amazing and precious, even when disappointments bring me down.

Debbie Flood –Olympic rower

Because of Jesus, I have joy, peace, wisdom, stamina. Life with Jesus doesn’t mean that everything goes perfectly – it’s actually probably the opposite. But having him, you never have to go through life alone.

CeCe Winans – Grammy-winning gospel artist

Ever since I started throwing myself more into my faith, I feel fearless. I know that God is always with me, bringing me joy and love. And I couldn’t be more thankful to him for everything he has given me.

I’ve made mistakes in the past and done things which I wish I could undo. But what’s constant is my belief that God is for me. And if God is for me, then who can be against me? My relationship with God brings me peace in life’s chaos. It’s the anchor that tethers me.

Tom Lister – former ‘Emmerdale’ star

PICTURE COURTESY OF STEF REID

Glyn Wise – former ‘Big Brother’ contestant

BBC/LEIGH

KRIS RAE

LUCE NEWMAN-WILLIAMS

Pancetta and avocado wraps

INGREDIENTS

2tbsp sunflower oil

150g pancetta, finely diced 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 avocado, finely diced ½ lemon, juice

Salt and pepper

8 ready-made buckwheat pancakes or tortillas, cut in half

½ lettuce, leaves separated

METHOD

Heat the oil in a pan over a high heat and sauté the pancetta for 3 minutes, until golden and crispy. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain.

In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, pancetta, avocado, lemon juice and seasoning.

Lay the pancakes or tortillas on a flat surface and cover with an even layer of lettuce leaves. Arrange the tomato, pancetta and avocado mixture on top. Fold the bottom ends inwards and over, and roll to create wraps. Serve in pots.

Winter vegetable soup

INGREDIENTS

2tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 courgette, finely chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 green pepper, seeded and cut into strips

50g green beans, topped and tailed

400g can chopped tomatoes

800ml vegetable stock

1 sprig thyme Salt and pepper

METHOD

Heat the oil in a pan, then cook the onion until softened and deep gold.

Add the garlic, courgette, peppers and beans and cook briskly for 5 minutes, until softened.

Pour in the tomatoes, stock and thyme, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the liquid has reduced a little.

Season and serve.

God wants you to live a life of hope

Joyce Meyer