War Cry 10 June

WAR CRY

Why we need to act now on climate crisis 10 June 2023

Bear with the family

TV adventurer explores his heritage in Who Do You Think You Are?

Corrie star: ‘I love playing Dee-Dee’

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 7631

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

MONDAY marked the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day, an event held annually on 5 June to inspire positive change and bring together millions of people in more than 150 countries who are working to protect and restore the Earth.

Also on Monday, The Salvation Army joined a growing number of organisations in declaring a climate emergency. Doing so recognises that urgent action is required to address climate change.

In this week’s War Cry, we speak with Major Heather Poxon, The Salvation Army’s environmental officer, who explains how faith has played a key part in motivating the church and charity to take this action.

‘We are a Christian organisation,’ she tells us. ‘This world belongs to God, it doesn’t belong to us and we have a responsibility to love the world as much as God loves the world.’

She continues: ‘We’ve trampled on the Earth and used it as if it’s our own to just abuse. We’ve forgotten that this is our home and, if we abuse our home, we won’t have one.’

Heather outlines some of the projects that The Salvation Army runs to help take better care of the planet, including making wildflower seeds available to individual members.

Elsewhere in this week’s issue, we also highlight the work that The Salvation Army is doing to recycle clothing and fabrics through the 8,100 clothing banks it has throughout the UK. In our How to… series, we discover how even tatty clothes that can no longer be worn may still be recycled and used.

Perhaps it sometimes feels as if the climate emergency is so big a problem that, as individuals, there is very little we can do to help. But if we all do what we can do, making small changes that will improve our own impact on the environment, then we can know that we have played our part in protecting the planet for future generations.

INFO INFO

bear branches OUT INTO FAMILY TREE

BBC ancestry series unearths more secrets

TV preview by Emily Bright

TO date, the military seems to be the watchword linking the latest line-up of celebrities uncovering their roots in BBC1’s

ancestry series Who Do You Think You Are?

In the opening episode, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber charted the life of his four-times great-uncle Sir Peregrine Maitland, a general who played a pivotal role at the Battle of Waterloo. He also discovered musical and theatrical people among his ancestors, including his grandfather William Webber, who sang in a choir at King George VI’s coronation, and his six-times great-grandfather Johannes Magito, who was part of an extended family of travelling showmen and musicians.

veteran accused of participating in a riot to free leaders of the Fenian movement, which wanted to overthrow British rule in Ireland.

have always been good rocks for me’, and – after exploring his family tree –concludes that the same was true for his ancestors too.

Faith is a rock in their lives

In next week’s episode, adventurer Bear Grylls wants to find out more about his paternal grandfather Ted Grylls, who was a brigadier during the Second World War. After Ted’s death, Bear discovered that he had commanded T-Force – a military unit tasked with tracking down high-ranking Nazi scientists – and is keen to find out more. He also wants to track down information about the life of his maternal greatgrandfather, Lionel Ford, a vicar and schoolmaster at Harrow.

Many Christians, like Bear, have felt faith to be a rock in their lives. They have discovered a truth put into words thousands of years ago by a man who overcame the challenges he faced through faith and who wrote: ‘My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety’ (Psalm 18:2 New Living Translation). This Bible writer knew that God would give him the strength and resilience to keep him going in his toughest times.

This week (Thursday 8 June) actress Claire Foy explored the life of her twotimes great-grandfather on her mother’s side, Henry Stimpson, who was a soldier at Carlisle Castle barracks and was once posted to India. She also investigated the history of her father’s two-times greatgrandfather, John Martin, a British Army

During the episode Bear learns that, in different ways, his ancestors showed extraordinary resilience during tough times – perhaps most notably Lionel, who turned to desperate prayer in his darkest moments.

At the start of the episode, Bear reflects that ‘faith has been a strong part of my heritage, and family and faith

While our lives may look quite different today, we can all have moments when our circumstances seem overwhelming.

The good news is that God can give us his divine help when we’ve reached the end of our own strength and abilities. God wants to be in a relationship with us. And, if we let him, he can become the rock on which we rely in the toughest storms of life.

Whatever our history, all we need to do is root ourselves in him.

Bear’s great-grandfather Lionel Ford with his wife and seven children

Ted Grylls, Bear’s paternal grandfather

BEAR GRYLLS

BEAR GRYLLS

WAR CRY

New international leader announced by Salvation Army

COMMISSIONER Lyndon Buckingham is to be the next General of The Salvation Army. He will be the first international leader of the church and charity to come from New Zealand and will take up his responsibilities in August on the retirement of General Brian Peddle. Speaking shortly after being chosen, the commissioner – who, along with his wife Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham, led The Salvation Army in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 2018 – said that he felt ‘overwhelmed but humbled’ while also ‘excited about the opportunity’ to lead the organisation that is working in 133 countries around the world.

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has encouraged churches to equip themselves to provide better support for people with mental health issues, the Premier Christian News website reports.

At a wellbeing conference organised by the ChurchWorks Commission – a national network of Christian organisations – the Most Rev Justin Welby said that church ‘should be a place where we’re comfortable talking about mental health’.

‘The pastoral and spiritual care of the church is not a substitute for the expertise of mental health professionals,’ he said. ‘But the gifts offered by spiritual and pastoral guidance, and just by the love of the church community, have a valuable role in our wellbeing.’

He added: ‘Faith doesn’t mean the absence of mental health challenges. But it does mean that there is comfort for us when we’re experiencing hard times.’

Swift action at cathedral

DURHAM Cathedral has installed speakers to attract birds to its belfry.

The high-powered speakers sit 60ft above ground and will broadcast the sound of swift calls to attract young birds looking for their first nest site. It is hoped that the swifts will breed in nest boxes, which were fixed to the belfry tower last year.

Motion-triggered cameras have also been installed to allow the cathedral to update the public on the progress of its wildlife project.

Swifts spend most of their life in flight and only land to breed. Between 1995 and 2020 the population declined by 60 per cent, so the bird is on the red list of the UK’s most threatened species.

Edward Twiddy, of Atom Bank, which funded the installation of the swift boxes, said: ‘The cathedral is already home to many wonderful bird and bat species that enjoy the sanctuary of the towers and the cloisters. Helping the swifts to come back year after year from Africa to find perfect nesting conditions felt like a small but right thing to do.’

Oldest Bible sold for $38m

THE world’s oldest Hebrew Bible has been bought at Sotheby’s in New York for $38.1 million.

The New York Times reported that the American Friends of ANU bought the near-complete Hebrew Bible for the Museum of the Jewish People in Israel.

The Bible, which is known as the Codex Sassoon, is only missing 12 leaves.

A donation from Alfred Moses, a US lawyer and former ambassador to Romania, made the purchase possible.

‘The Hebrew Bible is the most influential in history and constitutes the bedrock of western civilisation,’ he said.

Churches should be ‘comfortable talking about mental health’

Taking steps to save the planet

This week The Salvation Army joins a movement of organisations in declaring a climate emergency. Major HEATHER POXON, environmental officer for The Salvation Army, explains why it is a pressing issue for the church and charity and what can be done to make a difference for good in perilous times

Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

IT’S an emergency. The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland has declared that climate change poses a serious risk locally and globally and must be treated with urgency. The church and charity joins a growing list of citizens, churches, councils, businesses and other organisations across 40 countries which have declared a climate emergency. The movement recognises that urgent action is required to reduce emissions and to address climate change impacts, insisting that people around the world ‘have a fundamental human right to clean, healthy and adequate air, water, land, food, education, healthcare and shelter’.

Major Heather Poxon, environmental officer for The Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland, says that the announcement, which went out on World Environment Day (Monday 5 June), aims to reinforce the message that the world is facing a climate crisis.

‘This is not a game,’ she says. ‘This is important. We need to act now. Hopefully the announcement will bring more engagement and make this a priority.’

Heather describes her role in The Salvation Army.

‘We have someone else who looks after the sustainability of our buildings and tries to bring down our carbon footprint from all our properties – that’s the hardware side. My side is the heart side. It’s looking at The

Turn to page 6 f

Members of The Salvation Army joined other Christians in a protest, calling on the UK government to stop investing in fossil fuels

Heather Poxon

Church leaders fronted the march to parliament

From page 5

Salvation Army’s teaching, encouraging and providing resources for people who are already interested in caring for creation, and raising awareness that we need to “tread softly”.’

‘Tread softly’ is a phrase that Heather likes to use when speaking about The Salvation Army’s work in caring for creation, embodying the idea that people need to be careful with how their lifestyles affect the planet.

‘We are a Christian organisation,’ Heather explains. ‘This world belongs to God, it doesn’t belong to us and we have a responsibility to love the world as much as God loves the world.

‘It’s a justice issue as well. Those who are creating the emissions are creating issues for the most vulnerable people, those on the receiving end of the crisis of global warming, who are fleeing their homes and are struggling with droughts, floods, landslides and fires. We have a responsibility before God to act justly and

do the right thing.’

She admits that the Church is late in adopting the agenda, but that it is still important to show up.

‘For some reason, in the past, we haven’t linked caring for creation with our faith. In the Genesis story, God creates the world, then he creates mankind in his own image and says this world is for us to look after. For decades, we Christians have understood that as a stewardship role, but we haven’t acted like it. We’ve trampled on the Earth and used it as if it’s our own to just abuse. We’ve forgotten that this is our home and, if we abuse our home, we won’t have one.

‘Now we are too late, but we have to mitigate as much as we can the effects of global warming. I say “mitigate” because we’re not going to stop this. The effects are already rolling, and we have to build our resilience to cope with what’s coming.

It’s important that as a Church, we wake up, raise our voice and get on the front line – which is why we were outside parliament recently, making noise and making our presence felt. It was the right thing to do.’

Heather is referring to The Salvation Army’s participation in a protest called No Faith in Fossil Fuels. Some 1,000 Christians gathered for a church service and a march to parliament to call on the UK government to end its investment in fossil fuels.

For Heather and other Christians, faith is a source of encouragement and a motivation to act.

She says: ‘God is a God of hope, and he still has this world in his hands. So we have to believe that there is redemption available. But God wants to work with us to redeem this world.

‘He has given us this responsibility and

The world doesn’t belong to us

we need to take it seriously. He may work miracles, but that’s his prerogative. We have to do our bit.’

Across The Salvation Army, many congregations and individuals are doing their bit. Heather has recently introduced an initiative called Heard About the Third? It was inspired by the outcome of the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, whose aim is to protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030.

‘I was keen to make that pledge doable for individuals,’ says Heather. ‘So we’ve produced wildflower seeds with the “tread softly” message on the back, and are encouraging people to keep a third of their garden or window boxes for the wild. Plant the seeds, leave them for the worms and squirrels and birds. That way, you’re doing your bit for the third, the 30 per cent in your patch.’

A number of Salvation Army churches

have also signed up to be Eco Churches.

‘It’s a scheme that comes under A Rocha, an international Christian environmental organisation,’ explains Heather. ‘In the UK, they provide a survey that a church can sign up to do, and it looks at how you use your land and buildings, at your lifestyle, your teaching and your community engagement. Then you get graded and get a bronze, silver or gold award, depending on how environmentally friendly you are.’

The Salvation Army church in Watford is also doing its bit. It has bought an allotment, which is visited every week by children from a primary school.

project in Stornoway that is bringing the community together.

Though good work is being done, she warns that there is ‘still a feeling that we can kick this can down the road a bit’. She is passionate about getting the message out that we cannot delay in tackling climate change.

We need to tread softly

‘The kids learn about how to grow carrots and pick apples, how to make a compost heap and how to dig the ground,’ says Heather. ‘A lot of these children are from the inner city, they’re not from wealthy backgrounds and may not have ever been on a farm or done much with the soil. They’re getting their hands muddy and loving it. The hope is that it’s building a love and appreciation for creation, which they then share with their families and which motivates them throughout their lives to care for the world.’

Heather also mentions community wardrobes that are working to redress the negative impact of the clothing industry. Then there is a vegetable growing

‘We need to invest in doing things now. One of the challenges is that there is a reluctance to invest in something where we may never see a return. But we need to change that mindset and invest in looking after creation, because if we don’t, things are only going to get more expensive and life is only going to get harder.

‘We’re hardwired to respond to risk that we feel, and while we weren’t feeling the warming world, we didn’t do anything. But that’s starting to change, because we are beginning to feel. Food costs are going up, energy prices are going up and this is going to be the hottest summer yet.

‘We need to tread softly and reduce our waste, the amount that we buy and the energy that we use. We’ve been trampling and we need to start tiptoeing.’

Despite the challenges, Heather loves encouraging people to be more engaged in caring for the environment, and she is not despairing. ‘We’ve got the opportunity to change,’ she says, ‘so there’s hope.’

A placard from the protest, referencing The Salvation Army’s tradition of fighting for justice

Faith is right up Corrie star’s street

CHANNIQUE STERLING-BROWN talks about life on Coronation Street, praying for online trolls and the relationship with Jesus that changed her life

Interview by Claire Brine

‘WHEN I think about being in Coronation Street, I still have a bit of a “pinch me” moment,’ says actress Channique Sterling-Brown, who joined the long-running ITV soap last year as part of the Bailey family.

‘Apart from a few adverts, this is my first big TV job – and it has been such a blessing. I love playing Dee-Dee because she is very much “what you see is what you get”. She’s compassionate. Unapologetically herself. A bit ditzy, but

also super smart. I love how she loves people.’

Despite her sunny outlook and the ability to make friends quickly, Dee-Dee has faced some difficult situations since arriving on the cobbles. Earlier this year she tried to support her friend Paul (played by Peter Ash) as he struggled to accept his diagnosis of motor neurone disease. She also agreed to keep a secret – albeit reluctantly – from her boss, Adam (Sam Robertson), after she discovered that his

Dee-Dee supported Paul when he learnt that he had motor neurone disease

wife was cheating on him with Damon (Ciaran Griffiths).

‘At work, it has been such a horrible position for Dee-Dee to be in,’ reflects Channique. ‘She didn’t want to overstep the mark by saying too much, but nor did she want to see anyone getting hurt. From the start, I think she felt that keeping her mouth shut might protect Adam. But we will just have to see what happens if or when he finds out.’

While Dee-Dee’s professional position could soon be under threat, Channique has been relishing every exciting storyline coming her way. Several times in our conversation, she speaks of the gratitude she feels for landing a role on such a wellloved soap. It’s a thankfulness, she tells me, that she directs towards God.

‘I sent off my self-tape for my first

Corrie audition a few weeks after I was baptised at church, and I tried to put my trust in God’s timing,’ she says. ‘As much as I wanted the job, I knew that I wanted God’s will for my life even more.

‘Then, when I got the role, I was reminded of the quote: “Your talent is your gift from God. What you do with it is your gift to God.” Those words encouraged me, because they helped me to see that, if an acting career is what God wants for my life, then who am I to say that I’m not good enough for it? If God has been so kind as to bless me with this role, then it’s my duty to do my best and honour him in it.’

Ever since childhood, Channique has been interested in faith and aware of God’s presence in her life.

‘My dad is a Muslim and my mum was raised a Christian,’ she explains. ‘So I always knew that God was real. When I was a teenager, I used to go to church with my grandma and enjoyed it. But back then I didn’t know the fullness of what I could get from faith. I guess God was slowly working away at me, though, because I always believed in him and knew that there had to be more.

‘When I was in my first year at drama school, my friend and I decided that we needed to find a church to go to. We hadn’t been at all since starting our courses, so we were feeling a bit out of touch. We knew that there was a church

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Channique plays Dee-Dee Bailey in ‘Coronation Street’

This is my first big TV job

on our street, so we agreed that we’d go on Sunday morning. When Sunday morning came, we overslept and missed it. But I told her: “We said we’d go to church – so we need to go!” I did a quick Google search and found out that The Salvation Army in Preston had a service due to start at 11am. I knew we could still make it – so off we went. I kept going to the Army for the next three years.’

It sounds silly – I’d always known about Jesus. But I began to understand the truth about him.

‘Today, Jesus is my Lord and my God. One thing that always held me back from pursuing a relationship with God was that I always thought we had to be perfect. But then I realised that his Son, Jesus, calls us as we are and loves us as we are. But he also calls us to more.

My faith is at the centre of my life

As well as attending services on a Sunday, Channique joined a small midweek group that was aimed at young people who wanted to get together, have a chat and explore their faith a bit more deeply.

‘It was great to have that community of students and young people at The Salvation Army,’ she says. ‘On Sundays, I loved the brass band – I thought it was brilliant. And it was good to hear a different perspective on the gospel, even though I’d say that my faith journey didn’t really pick up until I was in my 20s. I became a Christian during the Covid lockdown.’

As the global Covid crisis unfolded, Channique linked up with a Manchester church that was running an Alpha course, an 11-week series of sessions in which participants explore questions such as ‘Who was Jesus?’ and ‘Why did he die?’

‘Doing the course helped all those final bits of my faith click into place,’ she says. ‘It was like my eyes were opened.

‘I have found so much peace and joy in my faith. I know that I can’t do anything to earn this unconditional love – which has been freely given to me – so why wouldn’t I want to share that gift with the world? Jesus has helped me to understand the true meaning of love.’

Though not everyone at work shares Channique’s Christian beliefs, she tells me that the cast and crew at Coronation Street are often interested when she talks about what she has been up to at church.

‘Everyone there knows that I’m a Christian,’ she says. ‘I’m always sat in the make-up chair, talking about my weekend and what I did at church on Sunday, and people are always happy to chat about it. And in conversations, it’s part of my natural dialogue to come out with an “Amen!” –which colleagues seem to accept.

‘As a Christian, I don’t believe my role is to preach at people, but I know that I am called to live authentically, so I welcome any conversation about faith, however big or small. We’ve had some great chats

about it in the green room. I’ve certainly never faced any negativity at Corrie for my beliefs.’

However, there have been work-related challenges that Channique has faced publicly since joining the soap. Online, she has been subjected to racist abuse.

‘I was with my mum the other weekend, and we were watching a scene I’d done on YouTube,’ she says. ‘We were laughing about it, and then these comments popped up on the side of the screen, which were super unkind and unnecessary. It was really hard, because my mum was upset by them. But I told her that I was fine, because I know that my presence on the show shouldn’t cause offence. Those kinds of comments don’t faze me, or even challenge my faith. In fact, they solidify it.

‘I feel sorry for the people who make racist comments like that. I pray that their brokenness is healed, because it must be hard carrying around that much hurt.’

Showing compassion towards others has always been important to Channique. She volunteers at her church’s weekly after-school club, where she spends time with kids as they do their homework and then is ‘usually beaten at Connect 4’. Away from church, she also volunteers for the Samaritans, listening to people who need someone to talk to.

‘I’ve been a listening volunteer for a few years now, and it is a good use of my time,’ she says. ‘I like it because the service is anonymous, so I’ll probably

Dee-Dee has established a friendship with Paul

never speak to the same caller twice, but I think it addresses the core of what it is to be human. We all need to know that someone cares about us. The Samaritans offers support with no strings attached.

‘Although I became a Samaritan before I went on my big journey of faith, I find that it’s a role which aligns with my beliefs. It’s about being there for the last, the lost and the least. I’m there to listen to people and give them emotional support. I consider it a privilege.’

Since joining Coronation Street, Channique has spoken publicly about various charities and causes close to her heart, hoping to use her platform to help raise awareness and support for people in need. On social media, she also talks frequently about the value she finds in her faith. After landing the role of DeeDee, she posted on Instagram ‘Look at what God did’. Her bio at the top of her page also declares: ‘Jesus is King.’

‘My faith is at the centre of my life, so there’s no way I can cover it up,’ she says. ‘I hope, with my platform at Corrie, that I’ll be given the opportunity to glorify God for as long as he calls me. I want to be faithful to him. Sometimes, following that calling feels nerve-racking, because one day God may decide to take all of this away, and I’d have to be willing to lay it down. But I know that God’s plan for me is best – so why would I ever want anything else?’

Dee-Dee confronts bad boy Damon at her work

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’.

How to…

Salvation Army clothing bank

YOU’RE never going to be too far from a Salvation Army clothing bank in any town or village, because generally there will be one on the site of a Tesco, Asda, Morrisons or Co-op store. We have about 8,100 across the UK.

As well as clothing, such as coats, scarves, jeans and T-shirts, you can put in other textiles, including bedding and towels, as well as paired shoes and handbags.

If items are bagged, they’re easier to collect – but actually we don’t want to see plastic bags being used. We need to be heading towards a point where items are donated loose.

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

If an item of clothing is tatty, you can still put it in, because, if it cannot be reworn, it can be reused for a variety of things – for example, in industries that use textiles for wiping machinery or for soundproofing in vehicles or buildings. We don’t want damp clothing or anything that has already been used for wiping oil or paint, for example.

We have a team who are constantly travelling round collecting what has been donated. We’ve got 250 charity shops around the country, so we look to see if they need stock. But they don’t always want more – in which case we sell what we have collected to other textile sorters and graders in the UK and to audited customers overseas. Regardless of where we sell to, all the money is given back to The Salvation Army for it to use in its work.

Some people find it hard to understand what recycling textiles has to do with a church such as The Salvation Army. We are looking after the planet, which is God’s creation. We are trying to address the environmental problem that the world is facing.

Derek was speaking to Philip Halcrow

This week in our series of handy hints, DEREK GOODWIN of SATCoL – The Salvation Army’s trading arm – offers advice on donating textiles

use a

To find a clothing bank, visit satcol.org

QUICK QUIZ

1 2 3 4 5 6

Who wrote the dystopian novel Brave New World ?

What is the name of the former royal residence on the Isle of Wight which was often visited by Queen Victoria?

How many moons does Mars have?

Who won the Oscar for best actress at this year’s awards?

According to the proverb, how many words is a picture worth?

Which suffragette died after being hit by a horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby?

Back on t rack

Cycling initiative helps people find direction

Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku

ON your bike! That’s the message of Bike Week, which began on Monday (5 June). The awareness week, organised by charity Cycling UK, is this year focusing on workplace cycling and has been encouraging people to ride to work or take part in events at their place of work.

Cycling UK wants to see a country where cycling is a popular mode of transport that is safe for everyone of all backgrounds and abilities, believing that it will help make the world a better place. For more than 140 years, through its campaigns and initiatives, the organisation has inspired people to discover the joys of cycling.

Another charity harnessing the power of cycling in its work to improve people’s lives is The Salvation Army. In Swindon, for example, it runs a social enterprise called Recycles, which helps to get cyclists back on the road by repairing, restoring, refurbishing and rebuilding bikes.

We work with everyone

But its main aim is to bring people who are experiencing homelessness into a working environment, so they can get their lives on the right track.

Simon Styles says that his focus has changed since he became manager of the shop 11 years ago. ‘I was employed because of my previous experience in the bike trade, but that is not the important thing now. It’s the people that I work with. At times it’s a challenge, but the best aspect of my job is seeing people come through the project, flourish, develop as individuals and move on.

‘The Salvation Army is about social outcomes and we work with everyone.’

The organisation is motivated by its mission to love God and other people. It aims not to discriminate, but to ensure that people who are marginalised can experience that love and a helping hand.

Simon says that at Recycles the bike is just the vessel. The project is ‘all about giving people an opportunity to move in a different direction’.

Simon Styles, who runs The Salvation Army’s bike repair shop in Swindon

1. Aldous Huxley. 2. Osborne House. 3. Two.

4. Michelle Yeoh. 5. 1,000. 6. Emily Davison.

Quick CROSSWORD

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the

to find these British bands

SERVES 6

Strawberry and feta tart

INGREDIENTS

375g sheet puff pastry

200g reducedfat soft cheese

1tbsp chives, snipped

1tsp finely grated lemon zest

Freshly ground black pepper

125g feta cheese, crumbled

125g strawberries, hulled and sliced Rocket leaves, to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/350F/ Gas Mark 6.

Unroll the pastry sheet on a baking tray, keeping it on the paper from the pack. Score a line

2cm from the edge down each side. Combine the soft cheese, chives, lemon zest and some pepper and spread over the pastry. Scatter over the feta and strawberries and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and puffed up.

Top with rocket leaves, to serve.

MAKES 12

Rocky road blueberry bites

INGREDIENTS

100g dark chocolate, broken into squares

50g butter

1tbsp syrup from a stem ginger jar, plus 1 piece stem ginger

100g blueberries

75g amaretti biscuits, roughly crushed

30g white chocolate, broken into squares

METHOD

Line a 20cm x 20cm tin with clingfilm. Gently melt the dark chocolate, butter and syrup in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Alternatively, melt in the microwave for 1 minute on high or until just melted. Stir to combine.

Add the blueberries, biscuits and stem ginger into the chocolate mixture and mix well, then press into the tin, smoothing the top.

Melt the white chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave and drizzle over the mixture in the tin.

Set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before cutting. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

GOD SAW ALL THAT HE HAD MADE,

AND IT WAS VERY GOOD