War Cry 11 July 2020 by The Salvation Army UK and Ireland

11 July 2020 20p/25c

All at sea Discovering the support for seafarers around the globe

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

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 7482

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 UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN 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

ONLINE a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk @TheWarCryUK TheWarCryUK

salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

2 • War Cry • 11 July 2020

EDITOR From desk From the editor’s desk

THERE has been an explosion of holiday bookings in the UK. With is goodoffor you. So say scientistsitquoted aSINGING further relaxing coronavirus restrictions, seems on thatthe the lure BBC Future website. experts said singing can boost of sandy beaches and The sparkling seas is that too good to resist after our moods and sense of social connection. three months of lockdown. Perhaps it is with these benefits in mind been Even in more normal times, sun, sea and that sandpeople can behave the perfect joining onlinefor choirs during lockdown. this week’s the the combination rest and relaxation. ForInsome people,issue, however, WarisCry’s Sarah joins a virtual rehearsal of the London sea a place of Olowofoyeku work. International Gospel for 1.5 herself theseafarers pleasureson It is estimated that Choir there to arediscover more than million people haveand found alone, yet one together the oceans seasofofsinging the Earth at any time.with others. Meanwhile Austen Hardwick hasand found similar value inone running. ‘They say that without seafarers without shipping, half of Thisworld week’s Warstarve, Cry also includes an half interview the marathon the would and the other wouldwith freeze,’ says Ben runner the whodirector found that his sportand helped him to regain his life after Bailey, of advocacy regional engagement at the he suffered three strokes while in his early forties. Mission to Seafarers charity. However, it was running Austen’s In an interview in not thisonly week’s War that Cry, helped Ben explains thatrecovery. shipping His Christian faith played a vital in him taking a positive transports more than 95 per centpart of everything we need and use approach to the all that faced.‘It’s a testament to seafarers that the every day in UK, he adding: I was hospital,’ Austen asked God take what vast‘When majority of in supermarket shelvessays, have‘Iremained fulltoduring the I was going pandemic.’ through and to transform me through it.’ coronavirus Christianscoronavirus believe thathas God can takethe anylives situation or anything However, impacted of people on board that theyHundreds do or face use it toofmake a positive in others’ vessels. ofand thousands seafarers have impact been stuck lives or ships, their own. That been the experience Oliver on their unable tohas return home because of of thepainter lockdown Pengilley. Ben describes the help the mission has given to such restrictions. Oliverinhad developed successful career as been an artist with some people, addition to thearegular support it has providing to of his at work for than significant sums of money. But, as he tells those seaselling for more 160 years. the War Cry this week, grew frustrated. The organisation was he founded by an Anglican clergyman who saw didn’t see the meaninginofwhich it,’ hepeople says. Now helived. travels to the‘Iperilous circumstances at sea Motivated churches all over the he world to paint pictures during by his Christian faith, wanted to do something to worship help them. sessions his faith-based hashave helped other people in Across and the centuries, other artwork Christians been at the forefront their own faithdesigned journey. to assist people who are finding life a struggle. of movements It isstill anare amazing thatchurches God canhave takebeen any skill a person They today truth – many providing vitalhas or any situation they are facing and can transform it intotosomething support during lockdown – and Christians will continue help those that canaschange theirtolives and the lives of all. the people around them. in need they look show God’s love to

Contents

What is The Salvation Army?

FEATURES 3

Sister act

Sibling comedy comes to an end

Support comes in waves

The charity that cares for seafarers

‘I was so angry, bitter and broken’

Author talks of losing her husband to cancer

‘Extraordinary but mysterious’

Jesus through Muslim eyes

REGULARS 12

Team Talk

Out of the Mouth of Babes

14 Puzzles 15

War Cry Kitchen

BBC

TELEVISION Cat and Cathy become friends

Sister ship

T’S not the honeymoon Cathy was expecting. First of all, she’s not even on it. Secondly, after failing to turn up to his own wedding, the groom nabbed the flight tickets and whisked his receptionist away instead of her. Feeling depressed, Cathy is left to pick up the pieces of her life in the final episode of The Other One, scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One next Friday (17 July). Being ditched by her fiancé is the latest in a string of disasters for Cathy (Ellie White). Six months ago, her dad, Colin, died on his birthday. Cathy and her mum, Tess (Rebecca Front), were devastated. But then came another shock. Cathy’s dad had a secret family: a partner of 30 years called Marilyn (Siobhan Finneran) and a daughter called Cat (Lauren Socha), who is just five days younger than Cathy. Neither family knew about the other one. As Cathy and Cat came to terms with the loss of their dad, they bonded and shared memories. Despite their differences, the two became friends. The same couldn’t be said for their mothers, who bickered over who had been loved the most. Full of anger, Tess ignored Marilyn, choosing instead to channel her grief into planning Cathy’s wedding. The problem was, Cathy wasn’t sure

Claire Brine catches a BBC comedy exploring sisterly love

she wanted to get married any more. She had no idea that her fiancé felt the same. By the time the final episode rolls round, Cathy is feeling deflated, and Cat suggests they take a honeymoon

She’s fed up with feeling so much bitterness together. No exes. No Instagramstalking. Just two sisters on their dad’s boat. It’s time to move on. Tess is thinking along the same lines. Sitting on Colin’s memorial bench, she tells him that she’s fed up with feeling so much bitterness and that she forgives him. Then she does the same for Marilyn. ‘I forgive you,’ she tells her. ‘I can’t walk around with this much hate.’ Just as the pair are beginning to put the past behind them, Colin’s will turns up. In it, he drops another bombshell: one that will need even more forgiveness from his loved

ones. But is it too much to ask this time?Perhaps it is. Forgiveness often feels that way. When people do us wrong, the thought of forgiving them may seem impossible or unnatural. We can’t imagine doing it – and neither do we want to. But it’s only when we forgive that we can begin to let go of the pain that is threatening to consume us. We can fill our heart with peace instead of hate, and stillness instead of rage. That’s why Jesus said forgiveness should be something we do again and again, not just ‘seven times, but seventy-seven times’ (Matthew 18:22 New International Version). He understood that forgiveness would bring us freedom. If we follow Jesus’ instruction and accept his offer to forgive us for the things we have done wrong, then he can give us the strength to forgive the people we never thought we could. And when we experience the true liberation that forgiveness brings, we can make room in our life for joy once again. It’s a feeling like no other.

11 July 2020 • War Cry • 3

A TIDE OF To mark Seafarers Awareness Week, Emily Bright hears from BEN BAILEY of the Mission to Seafarers about how life is far from plain sailing for crew members

NSCRUPULOUS ship owners, appalling living conditions and press gangs: 19th-century shipping was a perilous career. Deeply moved after seeing the plight of seafarers first-hand, in 1835 the Rev John Ashley decided to surrender his parish and wealth to minister to crews in the Bristol Channel. Within the first year of his ministry, he had sold 3,500 Bibles and set up the Bristol Channel Mission. By 1856, he had joined with other Anglican mission organisations to create the Mission to Seafarers. Since then, the charity has expanded to 200 ports across 50 countries, serving merchant fleet crews. ‘We welcome seafarers to our centres, where we provide counselling, spiritual support and practical advice,’ says director of advocacy and regional engagement Ben Bailey. ‘We offer free wifi access, and they can buy

The Mission to Seafarers continues to support crews during the pandemic 4 • War Cry • 11 July 2020

SUPPORT supplies in our hubs, because, in many cases, seafarers aren’t able to go ashore. We also visit seafarers on board their ships. In an average year, we conduct about 60,000 ship visits.’ Seafarers Awareness Week, which ends tomorrow (Sunday 12 July), seeks to highlight the challenges that such merchant crews face as they carry out their vital work. ‘They say that without seafarers and without shipping, one half of the world would starve, and the other half would freeze,’ says Ben. ‘Shipping transports more than 95 per cent of everything we need and use daily in the UK. It’s a testament to seafarers that the vast majority of supermarket shelves have remained full during the coronavirus pandemic.’ The feat is all the more remarkable as seafarers face a range of threats, including piracy, shipwrecking and ship abandonment by owners. ‘Piracy is still an issue,’ says Ben. ‘It happens primarily now off the west coast of Africa. ‘Ship abandonment is also a problem. Some unscrupulous ship owners stop paying their crews. We have provided for seafarers in the United Arab Emirates and Middle East who had been stuck on their vessel for upwards of a year with no salary, food or oil to get the generators going.’ Coronavirus has created extra logistical challenges, and added to the mental health pressures experienced by seafarers. ‘There are 1.6 million seafarers at sea at any one time,’ Ben explains.

‘In an average month, you would expect to change over 100,000 crew members. Crew changes haven’t taken place since most countries went into lockdown, so the industry is trying to repatriate upwards of 400,000 people and add the same number of people on to those vessels. ‘When seafarers have already been away for nine months or a year, suddenly to be told that they’ve got to spend another three months apart from their families is tough. ‘There have been mental health concerns and a number of suicides as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, because seafarers are unable to go home and are fearful they will contract the virus while stuck at sea. We’re there as a listening ear to provide support to them.’ During the coronavirus crisis, the Mission to Seafarers has launched a campaign to raise money for its digital chaplaincy services, global provision of personal protective equipment for its port teams and to supply more wifi units so that crew members can contact their families. The charity has stepped in to aid seafarers during the outbreak. ‘We’re doing gangway ship visits, where we meet seafarers and support them at a safe social distance,’ says Ben. ‘We’ll go into town for the seafarers to buy things like Sim cards and phones to contact their loved ones. We also offer 24/7 chaplaincy access to seafarers wherever they are in the world, in multiple languages.’ As the global economic fallout from coronavirus draws on, the Mission to

Without seafarers and without shipping, one half of the world would starve

INTERVIEW

Ben Bailey

Seafarers is providing basic supplies for seafarers’ families. ‘In south India, we’ve been feeding 2,000 seafarers’ families,’ Ben says. ‘They are suffering severe financial insecurity as they have no access to funds because of the lockdown.’ Whether it’s supporting families or the seafarers themselves, Ben reflects that the organisation’s foundation of Christian faith underlies everything it does. ‘Our chaplaincy teams support seafarers of all faiths and none in whatever way that is needed,’ he says. ‘It’s common for seafarers to write to us, asking us to pray with them or hold a service on board. ‘Everything we do comes from the belief that we are called to serve seafarers and show them the love of God. Our job is to shine a light and be a presence that is not a union or shipping company, but an impartial and practical friend.’

11 July 2020 • War Cry • 5

‘I believed my husband was not going to die,

but he did’ July is Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Month, which provides people in those communities with information about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. MARIA MITCHELL tells Sarah Olowofoyeku about losing her husband to the condition two years into their marriage

Tyrone and Maria got married t 13 weeks after their engagemen

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UST ten months after she started dating Tyrone Mitchell, Maria was standing with him at the altar, promising to love him in sickness and in health. What she did not know was how soon she would have to love Tyrone through a serious sickness. ‘Everything about our relationship happened very quickly,’ Maria tells me. ‘When we started dating, we were really serious and spoke about when we could get married.’ Tyrone and Maria officially began dating in October 2012 and by May 2013, they were engaged. ‘I had expressed to Tyrone before that I had wanted to get married in the month of August,’ says Maria, ‘so when he popped the question, he also asked me if I wanted to get married that August. I said yes! And we announced at our engagement party that we’d be getting married in 13 weeks. It was crazy, but we were both on the same page.’ Two became one on 23 August 2013. The couple were happily married and began to build their lives together. They were working on their business ideas, making plans to move

INTERVIEW

The couple were beginning to build their lives together out of London, and had even chosen the names of the four children they wanted to have. In her book about her experiences, From Wedding Rings to Imperfect Dreams, she describes Tyrone as the man of her dreams. But some 18 months into their marriage, they faced something they could never have imagined. In late 2014, 28-year-old Tyrone developed a persistent winter cough. ‘Tyrone was fit and healthy. He never even got a headache,’ says Maria. ‘By January 2015, we knew something was off. Things had progressed quite rapidly. The cough persisted, to the point where Tyrone was unable to lie down in bed and sleep because of it. He went to his GP, who said that his childhood asthma had returned. He had been given inhalers and told that the results of an x-ray came back clear, but it didn’t make sense to us. ‘Tyrone would walk a few metres and have to stop to catch his breath. He was coughing so much that he couldn’t keep food down. He was losing weight. He was in and out of hospitals the first few months of that year, but he would just

be sent home and told that everything was fine. ‘It was horrible seeing my husband in so much pain, and then for it to be made out that it was all in his head or that he was overreacting. He was so disappointed. He felt unseen, unheard and let down by the medical system. ‘It got so bad one night in the April that Tyrone rushed into the bathroom and was coughing and coughing, vomiting up his food. He said, “I’m not fine, this is not normal. We’re going to A&E right now, and I’m not leaving until I’m seen, heard and taken seriously.”’ At the hospital Tyrone was seen by a consultant. ‘He was like our angel,’ says Maria. ‘He found the x-ray from the previous doctor and said it showed that Tyrone had been walking around with a deflated lung, and his lungs were fluffy like white clouds, showing a lot of infection. The consultant said that from the first x-ray to the one he’d done that day, there had been a rapid increase in infection.’ After further tests, Tyrone and Maria were sent home with oxygen tanks. About a week later, they were called back to the

It was horrible seeing my husband in so much pain

hospital. A CT scan had shown a mass on Tyrone’s ribcage, which the medics believed was connected to the problem in his lungs. Maria recalls getting the diagnosis: cancer. ‘Tyrone never went home,’ she says. ‘They kept him in and that was the first time I expressed how I had really been feeling all those months – I just cried. It was like anguish that came out of my soul. ‘After having cried that day, I wiped my tears, held my husband’s hand and promised him that I was going to be there. I made a decision to stand with him.’ Maria also resolved to become even more committed in her faith. ‘I said to God, “You gave me this man, we’ve planned and dreamed so much together, we serve you – there’s no way you’ve brought us this far to leave us.”’ Tyrone was moved to another hospital and began chemotherapy. ‘We dug deep,’ says Maria. ‘Our faith become stronger and we became more resilient. We prayed, we got other people to pray. Tyrone was going through chemo, his health was deteriorating, he was losing his hair and becoming weaker,

Turn to page 8

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11 July 2020 • War Cry • 7

From page 7 but there was no one who could tell me that Tyrone was going to die. ‘There were times I asked myself what I would do if Tyrone died and how I would live. But it didn’t make sense to me that God would give him to me and take him away. So I didn’t allow myself to dwell on those thoughts.’ However, almost five months after the cancer diagnosis, and just two years after their wedding day, Tyrone passed away. ‘I was so angry, so bitter and so broken,’ says Maria. ‘I screamed and I wept. I remember putting my fist up in the air, telling God I wished I could go up to Heaven and punch him. ‘I didn’t sense that God was angry

I had to let go of the need to understand. Instead, I had to trust God

8 • War Cry • 11 July 2020

with my reaction though. I felt like he wanted me to express that. I asked God why Tyrone died, but I didn’t receive a response. It got to a point where I had to say that, in spite of what had happened, I chose to believe that God was faithful and loved me. I had to let go of the need to understand. Instead, I had to trust God. ‘Digging deep in my faith when Tyrone was sick had strengthened me during that time. Looking back, I know it also strengthened me for what I’d go through after he passed.’ Maria also believes that words she spoke on the day Tyrone died enabled her to survive her loss. She recalls: ‘Tyrone’s hospital room was

filled with people. I addressed everyone and said, “I don’t know why this has happened. It is so painful and it doesn’t make sense. We may never understand why Tyrone is dead, but in spite of all the questions, the brokenness, the pain and the confusion, I declare that God is still faithful.” ‘I didn’t feel that God was faithful, it didn’t look like God was faithful. I didn’t know how I was going to keep going the following day, but I believe that speaking those words and choosing to trust God was how I got through it.’ Maria tells me that over the past five years she has been rediscovering her identity outside of being a widow. Now she is able to help others. ‘What I experienced has impacted the direction of my life. I’ve become a bereavement support worker and a family worker,’ she says. ‘I believe that what I’ve gone through is for others and that God has used me to be a representation of hope, trust, faith and not giving up.’

l From Wedding Rings to Imperfect Dreams is published by Conscious Dreams

INTERVIEW

A man reads verses from the Koran in a mosque in Yemen on the first day of Ramadan

‘The disagreement is really about what help we need’ I

Jesus

T’S not news – in more ways than one – to Richard Shumack that Christians and Muslims get along with each other despite their differences. ‘One of the problems is that when we talk about public perception of the two faiths, we’re in a very polarised media setting,’ he says. ‘The media is interested only in extremes: if it’s a fight or if it’s an unusual situation in which Christians and Muslims have co-operated. The idea that ordinary Christians and Muslims get along does not seem interesting. Yet that has been the norm – which I know from having lived happily in a predominantly Muslim community for 12 years.’ Those years helped send Richard along the path to becoming director of the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam in Melbourne and a research fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney. They opened his eyes to the reality of Christian-Muslim relations. ‘I was living in an inner-city housing estate, as a community worker for a

church,’ he says. ‘The community was overwhelmingly made up of Muslims, many of them from the Horn of Africa – Somalis, Ethiopians and Eritreans who were very conservative. ‘Over time, I discovered that Christians and Muslims tended to use certain words, thinking that we meant the same thing when often we didn’t. So the members of one faith were often answering questions that the members of the other faith weren’t asking.’ Richard highlights some of the points at which conversations between adherents of the two monotheistic religions could be dislocated. ‘Islam teaches that there is no such thing as original sin. It certainly

RICHARD SHUMACK tells Philip Halcrow about Christians’ and Muslims’ differing understandings of Jesus says that humans fell out of Heaven, but there is no sense of their having an inability to be good and subsequently to be obedient. There is no sense of a deep corruption of humans’ capacity to be in relationship with God. So, if you don’t need saving, then the idea of a saviour being sent, as Christians believe, doesn’t make any sense. ‘In my conversations with these conservative Sunni Muslims it also emerged that the only way they could imagine the relationship between God and humans was as that of a Lord and an obedient slave. Christian talk of an intimate personal

Turn to page 10

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I want to model a robust but friendly conversation Richard Shumack

11 July 2020 • War Cry • 9

Jesus From page 9

relationship with a Father did not compute – it might have seemed a nice idea to them, but it was theologically impossible. The theological imaginations of the two faiths are very different.’ In his new book Richard explores the two faiths through the way that they both revere, in markedly different ways, the same figure: Jesus. ‘I wrote Jesus Through Muslim Eyes to model a robust but friendly conversation with Muslims about Jesus,’ he says. Richard remembers how, having been ignorant of the beliefs of Islam, he was surprised when he learnt that Muslims professed to follow Jesus. But Islam had an awareness of Jesus from its beginnings in the 7th century. ‘Muhammad was operating in an area in the Arab Peninsula where people were familiar with Jesus,’ says Richard. ‘There were Christian communities throughout the region. It’s clear from Muhammad’s teaching that when he spoke about Jesus, he expected people would know who he was talking about. We can also tell from his teaching that the type of Christianity he was encountering was orthodox and Trinitarian, because his expectation was that people would know about the belief that Jesus was divine.’ What has Jesus come to look like in the eyes of Muslims? The answer, according to Richard, is: extraordinary but mysterious. ‘He is singularly extraordinary, even

in Islam. Muhammad does not do the miracles that Jesus does. He does not have a miraculous birth, like Jesus does. Muhammad is not there to welcome a person into Heaven, like Jesus is. Muhammad is not called the Word of God or the Spirit of God. ‘Yet he is also a mysterious figure. There’s no real biography around Jesus in the Koran. We are told about his miraculous birth, but we know little about where he lived or what he did or who his friends were. There’s little of his teaching in the Koran, which seems uninterested in the details. Rather, Jesus appears as someone who Muhammad wants to align with. It’s as if Muhammad is saying to everyone: you already know this guy, and I’m saying the same things that he said.’ But Islam does not say the same things about Jesus of Nazareth that Christianity says. ‘It agrees with traditional Christianity about many things – such as the virgin birth, the miracles, his ascension to Heaven, his coming return as judge. Yet there are fundamental points of divergence. ‘The obvious difference is that the Koran denies that Jesus is divine in any way, shape or form. The other thing that it denies is that Jesus died on the cross.’ Historians are generally confident about saying that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. From the earliest days of their religion, Christians have made claims about the meaning of that event, seeing

Jesus is singularly extraordinary, even in Islam

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INTERVIEW

Christians think we need a saviour; Islam says we need a guide

Jesus

A young woman reads the Koran at the Pink Mosque in Shiraz, Iran

it as the means by which God brought about humankind’s atonement. But, says Richard, the Koran ‘is very polemical in the way that it denies the reality of the death on the cross. ‘The big problem that Muhammad had with the cross was really – and again the Koran is very strong on this point – that no one can die in the place of us. It was a moral objection.’ While they share a reverence for him, Christians look at Jesus in one way, Muslims in another. Richard senses that there is even a disconnection between the two groups in their attempts to understand their disagreements. ‘Muslims can’t get why Christians won’t agree with

them, because they love Jesus and regard him as a prophet; and Christians find it hard to express why it matters so much. ‘What it comes down to is a different imagination about what the religious life is. In a nutshell – and oversimplifying the issue – Muslims think the religious life is about being obedient to the law, living a good life and then God rewarding that by being gracious to you. To them, Jesus comes as a teacher and example of that. It’s about being good. ‘Christianity says that you can’t be good. Rather, the religious life is about you needing God to come into your life, to raise you from death to life and then fill you with the power to be good. ‘Christians want to be good too, but say we can’t do that in our power; we need God to help us. ‘So the disagreement really is about the human predicament and the sort of help that we need. Christians think we need a saviour; Islam says we need a guide. That’s the intractable issue.’

Even if the issue is intractable, Richard, who concludes his book by saying that he is ‘sticking with’ the Christian Jesus, says that he does not see the differences as making it impossible for Christians and Muslims to live together. ‘We don’t need to agree about Jesus, all we need to agree about is a commitment to be friends,’ he says. ‘We were doing that during the 12 years I lived in the Muslim community. We had vigorous arguments about Jesus, Muhammad and a wide range of topics. There was a lot of energy in those discussions. But it was always done with coffee and laughter.’

l Jesus Through Muslim Eyes is published by SPCK

11 July 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 or to War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. 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.

Team talk

talk

Team talk

‘

Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

’

THE campaign group Keep Britain Tidy has said that the UK is facing a litter emergency. It made the statement after news bulletins reported that thousands of people have been failing to clear up their rubbish when visiting beaches and green spaces. While I understand that the easing of lockdown and the gorgeous weather bring people together in beauty hotspots, it doesn’t explain why they have to throw their litter on the floor when they leave. To help people visualise the scale of this growing problem, last week Rugby Borough Council arranged for a refuse truck to tip a tonne of rubbish on to the grass in one of its parks. The park was trashed in seconds, live on breakfast television. In the same news segment, Richard McIlwain of Keep Britain Tidy told the BBC that clearing up after ourselves was something ‘we’ve lost control of’. A few days later the Daily Mail quoted Boris Johnson as saying that litter was ‘a blight on communities’. When the UK went into lockdown, many people who were able to take one hour’s exercise a day headed for their nearest green space or beach. Those who had no access to beauty spots found they began to miss them. At the time, social media sites were full of posts along the lines of: ‘Never again will I take this park/forest/beach for granted.’ While the nation’s desire to get out and about in green spaces clearly remains, has our care for those places been replaced with something of a carelessness? I hope not. In recent years, I’ve heard more conversations about being ecofriendly, living sustainably and reducing plastic waste than ever before. I’ve been proud to see how people in the UK have made a conscious effort to take care of the world in which they live, even if it’s in a small way. But while coronavirus has hogged the news in recent months, perhaps our attention for other important causes has fallen by the wayside. Maybe in environmental issues, we’ve taken a step backwards. At this stage, a bit of litter may not be the end of the world. But unless we clean up our act, it may well be. And that would be rubbish.

Littering is a growing problem

Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen Tick one or more of the options below, complete the coupon and send it to

War Cry 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN

Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army

Looking for help?

Contact details of a Salvation Army minister Name Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

12 • War Cry • 11 July 2020

Address

Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk

EXPRESSIONS

Rosemary Dawson on the life lessons she has learnt from her grandchildren

A shortcut to God

quick quiz 1

What are the computerchecked co-ordinates of each stage of a flight called?

On which continent do house martins spend their winters?

a 3

Who played TE Lawrence in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia? In the book Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, who is imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread? What is the capital of the country Georgia?

Hugh Bonneville plays Ian Fletcher, head of values at the BBC, in which sitcom? ANSWERS

Y elder daughter, her husband and their children were scheduled to return home to the Netherlands from a Christmas holiday with us when their younger daughter became quite poorly. Amy had a high temperature that developed into convulsions. She was sent to hospital for observation, accompanied by her anxious parents, while her elder sister, Stephanie, stayed with us. My daughter asked us to phone her Dutch father-in-law and explain the situation, because he was due to meet them off the ferry. Only problem: we didn’t have his number (and this was in the very Dark Ages before mobile phones). Then we had what seemed a good idea. We asked Stephanie if she knew her grandad’s number, and were very impressed with her confident reply: ‘Yes, it’s M1.’ It was the shortcut memory number on her parents’ landline phone in Holland! We were glad when Stephanie’s dad came back soon afterwards, and phoned his father. Problem solved. Memory shortcuts are only useful when we know the right code for the right person. Even young children can know to phone 999 for help in an emergency. Who would we call in a time of crisis, when we want someone to confide in, or just the reassurance that someone who understands is listening? Here’s the good news: we don’t need a special code to talk to God. He’s not for ‘emergencies only’ or a last resort when all else has failed. Many people find that just speaking his name can give them access to his presence, power and peace.

BOOK REVIEW Browsing the Bible Nigel Bovey Shield Books THE Bible is like an iceberg, explains author Nigel Bovey. While we may know a handful of stories, the vast majority often remain unexplored. So in his scriptural study guide, based on his War Cry series, he seeks to summarise all 66 books of the Bible and draw out their key messages. Nigel provides an accessible account of the treasures that lie within each book. He also provides relevant cultural and historical context. By drawing links between the Old Testament and the New Testament, he sets out the landscape of how God’s promises come to pass. Nigel uses additional sections to elaborate on the books, exploring topics such as the intertestamental years and what Jesus represents to the Gospel writers. Each chapter is accompanied by a question for reflection and a prayer encompassing the key theme of the passage, prompting the reader to consider how the text is applicable to them. The book is available from sps-shop.co.uk and amazon.co.uk as an ebook.

Emily Bright

11 July 2020 • War Cry • 13

1. Waypoints. 2. Africa. 3. Peter O’Toole. 4. Jean Valjean. 5. Tbilisi. 6. W1A.

CROSSWORD CROSSWORD

PUZZLES

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 3. Joke (3) 7. Tint (6) 8. Attract (6) 9. Take away (6) 10. Aircraft shed (6) 11. Stain (3) 12. Vigour (6) 14. Patterned flow (6) 17. Shock (6) 21. Demand (6) 24. Fruit (3) 25. Creed (6) 26. Closer (6) 27. Gobble (6) 28. Clamour (6) 29. Owing (3)

DOWN 1. Up to date (6) 2. Exalt (6) 3. Avaricious (6) 4. Assemble (6) 5. Sufficient (6) 6. Sermonise (6) 12. Consume (3) 13. Mouth part (3) 15. Female fowl (3) 16. Encountered (3) 18. Staggered (6)

19. Agreement (6) 20. Have the means to buy (6) 21. Disregard (6) 22. Not plentiful (6) 23. Vomited (6)

SUDOKU Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9

HONEYCOMB HONEYCOMB

5 4 3 7

Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

4 9 1

9 4

1. Easy to understand 2. Express admiration for 3. Stand around 4. Journey by aircraft 5. Building used for vehicles 6. Metal

1 2

3 4 2

ordsearch ordsearch ordsearch ordsearch ordsearch

4 1 5

Answers QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 3. Gag. 7. Colour. 8. Allure. 9. Remove. 10. Hangar. 11. Dye. 12. Energy. 14. Rhythm. 17. Trauma. 21. Insist. 24. Fig. 25. Belief. 26. Nearer. 27. Devour. 28. Racket. 29. Due. DOWN: 1. Modern. 2. Honour. 3. Greedy. 4. Gather. 5. Plenty. 6. Preach. 12. Eat. 13. Gum. 15. Hen. 16. Met. 18. Reeled. 19. Unison. 20. Afford. 21. Ignore. 22. Scarce. 23. Spewed.

Wordsearch ALDOUS HUXLEY ANDY WEIR

ARTHUR C. CLARKE DOUGLAS ADAMS FRANK HERBERT

HONEYCOMB 1. Simple. 2. Praise. 3. Loiter. 4. Flight. 5. Garage. 6. Copper.

GENE RODDENBERRY

7 8 2 3 9 5 6 4 1

6 9 3 7 4 1 8 2 5

1 5 4 6 8 2 9 3 7

3 4 9 1 7 8 5 6 2

8 6 1 2 5 4 7 9 3

2 7 5 9 6 3 4 1 8

9 1 6 8 3 7 2 5 4

5 2 7 4 1 6 3 8 9

4 3 8 5 2 9 1 7 6

SUDOKU SOLUTION

GEORGE LUCAS

GEORGE ORWELL IAIN M. BANKS

ISAAC ASIMOV JULES VERNE

MARY SHELLEY

RAY BRADBURY STEPHEN KING

TERRY PRATCHETT

8 4 1 5

14 • War Cry • 11 July 2020

Look up, down, forwards, backwards

7 and 6 diagonally 1 3 8on the 2 grid 9 to 5 find 4 these sci-fi writers 8 9 5 4 6 7 1 2 3 2 3 4 9 1 5 6 7 8 T L D X V H S G Q G B W R Z B T U Y T S H G F Y S Y V X R L U Q A K E B 3 7 6 1 2 9 8 4 5 E Z A G N I O M A R Y S H E L L E Y 9 4 8 7 5 6 3 1 2 H C N C E I H J A L Z R E I X V A Z C P D E U O K U J D N Z 5 1 2 8 4 3I U N W H H 7 6 9 T T Y H C L R N A J A O H Q K Y P M 6 8 9 5 7 4 2 3 1 A R W Z A A E G E H S S G P N I Z C R E E M Z O C G E H U 4 2 3 6 9 J 1A Z 5 P H 8 F 7V P B I W R J Z A R O P Z A L L Z O S 1 5 7 2 3 8 4 9 6 Y R R E B N E D D O R E N E G M Z E

R E S Z L M H L A Q E W T Q I U Q C R H E Y Q I A J Z Y Q G E S V W O J E K R A L C C R U H T R A L F V K D T N D Y X B S Y F K C C S Z L J S Y B A K C I K U Q T I A Q M Z N V J K Y R U B D A R B Y A R H O I G R C F Z F P H J U L E S V E R N E R Z S M M W W P E I A I N M B A N K S H J U

5 2

3 4 2

D Chilli beef and bean barbecue burgers Ingredients

Method

1 small onion, quartered

Use a food processor or blender to chop the onion, then add the beans, mince, breadcrumbs, chilli powder, beaten egg and tomato purée to the onion and blend together. Shape the mixture into 4 patties and store in the refrigerator until the barbecue is ready.

215g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 250g lean beef mince 1 slice wholemeal bread, turned into crumbs Mild chilli powder, to taste 1 egg, beaten 1tbsp tomato purée SERVES

1 tomato, sliced

1 red onion, sliced Lettuce leaves 4 wholemeal rolls, sliced in half

No-pastry mini mushroom quiches Ingredients

Method

1tsp low-fat spread, for greasing

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease 4 holes of a muffin tray with the low-fat spread. Use 4 cut-out circles of baking paper to line the holes.

1tbsp vegetable oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 100g button mushrooms, cut into quarters 2 eggs, beaten 50ml semi-skimmed milk Black pepper Nutmeg 10g reduced-fat cheddar, finely grated ¼ iceberg lettuce, shredded ½ green pepper, diced 1 celery stick, sliced ¼ cucumber, chopped 3 stems fresh chives, chopped

Barbecue the patties for about 6 minutes on each side. Place a patty into each roll with some sliced onion, tomato and lettuce leaves. Serve with corn on the cob on the side.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan and cook the onions for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for a few minutes. Evenly spread the mixture between the 4 holes in the muffin tray. Mix the eggs with the milk, a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg in a bowl. Pour evenly over the mushroom mixture in the muffin tray and sprinkle on the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until risen and brown. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the quiches from the tin by running a knife round their edges. Combine the lettuce, pepper, celery, cucumber and chives to make a green salad in a bowl. Serve each quiche with some salad.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Public Health England website nhs.uk/change4life

SERVES

11 July 2020 • War Cry • 15

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in timeS of trouble Psalm 9:9 (New International Version)