War Cry 12 February 2022

Exhibition draws on Beatrix Potter’s legacy

WAR CRY

12 February 2022 50p

Taking a view on romance Radio 2 counts down rom-com favourites

From the editor’s desk

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.

WITH Valentine’s Day arriving on Monday (14 February), many people’s thoughts will be turning to love and romance. So perhaps it is no surprise that, as we report in this week’s War Cry, Radio 2 has picked this weekend to run down the most popular rom-com films of all time.

Stories of love – particularly love against the odds – hold great appeal. It is little wonder that the best rom-coms have been huge hits at the box office.

It is not, though, only stories of romance that grab our attention.

In this week’s issue we also feature Beatrix Potter, the woman who brought us the stories of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. Fans of these characters may be surprised to know that Beatrix initially struggled to find a publisher for them. Our feature reveals the role a clergyman played in bringing them to a grateful public.

Although it can be great to lose ourselves in the world of fiction and make-believe, some of the best stories are ones that are true. In this issue, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow describes how he and his brother, Fergus, were inspired to help children in Bosnia Herzegovina who had been caught up in the violence in the country in the 1990s.

Magnus explains how seeing the plight of the children prompted the siblings to start their aid work, which now, 30 years on, has helped millions of children in 20 countries. He also tells us he believes that giving this support is what God wants him to do.

In the War Cry, we regularly tell the true stories of people who do extraordinary things to help others, sometimes against the odds, because they believe that God values and loves those they are helping.

God’s love is for everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done, and, unlike in many ad the War C e re a valentine, that love is no secret. ry u’v

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.

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CONTENTS

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 Mal Davies

FEATURES 3

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favourite rom-coms 5

Off the shelf

Why it’s good to give away books 6

A country life

The story of Beatrix Potter

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Love stories

Radio 2 counts down the nation’s

Published weekly by The Salvation Army © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 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.

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‘Hunger deprives them of education’

Millions of children fed by charity REGULARS 4

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‘Notting Hill’, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, is on Radio 2’s shortlist

The greatest love of all Radio 2 is set to announce the ultimate rom-com Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku

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OY meets girl, they fall in love and, after negotiating a few bumps in the road, live happily ever after. The classic rom-com storyline has won the hearts of audiences all over the world. And, on Radio 2 tomorrow (Sunday 13 February), the station’s resident movie critic James King will reveal the most popular film from the genre in Your Ultimate Rom-Com. Last month, James shortlisted 40 romcoms from the past 80 years, and Radio 2 listeners have been voting for their favourite, which will be announced just ahead of Valentine’s Day. The genre is said to have its origins in Shakespeare’s plays, the plots of which have been used in some modern films such as 10 Things I Hate About You. Loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew, that 1999 hit has earned a spot on the rom-com shortlist.

While action films have dominated the box office in recent years, rom-coms were popular in cinemas in the Nineties and early Noughties, with many achieving

significant returns for their film companies.

Pretty Woman was the fourth highestgrossing film worldwide in 1990, and Notting Hill became the highest-grossing British film of all time internationally in 1999.

Both are included on James King’s shortlist.

Rom-coms have continued in popularity as streaming services have grown. When Netflix ran a season of rom-coms in 2018, 80 million subscribers watched one, and another of the films on James’s list, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, was singled out as one of the streaming platforms most viewed original films.

James says: ‘Rom-coms come in all shapes and sizes, but they nearly all have one thing in common: an utter belief in true love.’

He adds that ‘there’s something so comforting about rom-coms too – a flash of optimism that points to a more hopeful world’.

In many people’s eyes, the epitome of true love is found in a romantic partner – a best friend and soulmate. Romantic comedies appeal to people’s longing to

Rom-coms point to a more hopeful world

find that sort of love, against the odds, and their belief that it is possible. Watching it happen for others can make them more hopeful.

But for one group of people, the truest love doesn’t come from another human being, no matter how near to perfection they seem to be. Love, for them, at its best can be found in God. According to John, a dear friend of God’s Son, Jesus, ‘God is love. And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him’ (1 John 4:8 and 9 Good News Bible).

People who have a belief in God have discovered a love that is truly unconditional and from which they can never be separated.

We don’t have to be perfect or look a certain way to receive this love. All we have to do is accept it and entrust our lives to God. He can change our story and lead us to our own happy-ever-after – a life with him beyond the here and now, where pain and heartbreak are no more.

If we commit our lives to him, we can discover that ultimate love.

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IN a interview discussing music, the Rev Richard Coles told The Guardian that he grew up listening to the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

The priest and co-presenter of Radio 4’s Saturday Live explained: ‘I grew up in Kettering. We didn’t have culture. The nearest we got was Andrew Lloyd Webber. I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar, got the album, then the sheet music. So I probably know every word.’

Richard also revealed that ‘A Hymn for St Cecilia’ by Herbert Howells was the last song he streamed.

‘On St Cecilia’s Day – the patron saint of music – last year, I used the song in morning prayer,’ he said. ‘It’s such a beautiful setting, I’ve played it five times since.’

Nurse donates the bear necessities

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Churches get creative during Covid-19 A ‘FRESH wave of creativity and innovation’ has transformed the Church during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Evangelical Alliance’s chief executive officer wrote in The Times.

In an opinion piece, Gavin Calver highlighted how churches have played a role in supporting their communities during the pandemic and have now diversified into online services.

He cited figures from an Evangelical Alliance survey conducted in October last year, which found that 61 per cent of churches ran online services at least once a month.

‘There’s a fresh wave of creativity and innovation as to what it means to be the Church and it’s incredible to see this all over the UK,’ he wrote.

‘Throughout the pandemic the Church has transformed itself to serve the needs of our communities. Just a few years ago the idea of online church would have seemed a farfetched concept and yet today online church is standard practice.

‘During lockdown, churches served their neighbourhoods by providing food banks, caring for the elderly, supporting underprivileged children and much more.’

THE Salvation Army in Huddersfield is planning to redistribute a single donation of 1,000 teddy bears to families in need, including the Afghan refugees it supports.

A retired nurse, Lynn Howarth, began collecting bears in the 1990s, after family and friends started buying them for her for Christmas and birthdays.

‘I read an article appealing for teddies for children who had lost everything in a fire or had suffered trauma so I decided to donate them,’ Lynn says.

‘When I was a hospital nurse, teddies would offer comfort to children who were unwell. If they had a special teddy, it helped them feel less frightened.

PARALYMPIC silver medallist Stef Reid told I feel good knowing that my collection is going to Premier Christian Radio that listening to help children in need.’

Christian music has helped her while she The Salvation Army’s church will redistribute the has been taking part in toys as part of a drop-in it is planning to run for ITV’s Dancing on Ice. Afghan refugee families, as well as giving some to The long jumper revealed other families who are struggling financially and are that worship music gave her a ‘boost’ when unable to afford toys for their children’s birthdays. she needed encouragement. She said: ‘I have

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found myself really drawn to “Oceans” … Just about stepping out into the unknown – that one has really been speaking to me.’

Stef also described how she ‘struggled quite a bit’ learning to skate with an artificial leg, explaining: ‘Before you meet your professional partner, you spend 30 hours with a local coach, learning how to skate…

Probably the hardest thing was learning how to skate backwards.

‘I think that is what faith looks like – you give your best and you just accept that is your job, you are not God.’

Lynn with some of her bears ITV

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War on drugs ‘isn’t working’ LAW enforcement alone isn’t working in the war on drugs, a new policy paper from international development charity Christian Aid argues.

Published in partnership with Soas University of London, Violence, Peace and Drugs in the Borderlands warned that in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar, livelihoods – particularly of women and those in extreme poverty – can depend on the illegal drug economy.

It also found that in such areas, harsh and repressive tactics in the war on drugs have taken prominence over public services and social welfare.

Christian Aid is encouraging EU countries to factor in additional indicators to their support for counternarcotics strategies, such as access to public services, respect for human rights, access to meaningful employment, poverty reduction and confidence in the state.

Paul Quinn of Christian Aid said: ‘There is no easy solution, but it is evident that the war on drugs isn’t working. The old approach of prioritising hectares eradicated or the capture or killing of traffickers is not reducing violence and providing a lasting peace for innocent people.

‘Christian Aid believes we need a new, alternative approach to drug policy that is linked to development, peacebuilding, the eradication of poverty and the rights of people most affected.’

Do you have a story to share? a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk

Campaign’s day encourages bookworms to pass on the gift of knowledge Feature by Emily Bright

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HE more that you read,/ the more things you will know./ The more that you learn,/ the more places you’ll go.’ Penned by children’s author Dr Seuss, those words reflect the ability books have to teach and transport readers into new realms of imagination and knowledge.

In that spirit, International Book Giving Day takes place on Monday (14 February) with the aim of getting as many books in the hands of children as possible. People are encouraged to participate by donating books to a charity shop or by supporting non-profit organisations that send books overseas.

The day was conceived in 2012 by Amy Broadmoore. Having started her own company, Delightful Children’s Books, two years earlier, Amy came up with the day to help children fall in love with reading.

International Book Giving Day is now celebrated in 44 countries, including the UK, Australia, India, Singapore, the US and Brazil.

The day’s popularity suggests that hunger for the written word remains.

Findings from the National Literacy Trust survey that was published in October support that notion. One in two children and young people said they enjoyed reading, while the same proportion said they read because it helped them to learn new things.

Whatever age we are, we can always learn new things from the written word. There’s plenty of wisdom to be found if we look in the right places.

One such text, the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, provides wise sayings that people have relied on throughout history – for instance: ‘All wisdom comes from the Lord, and so do common sense and understanding. God gives helpful advice to everyone who obeys him’ (Proverbs 2:6 and 7 Contemporary English Version).

Sometimes, we may feel that we reach the limits of our wisdom and strength. In such times, God is always there to provide the answers, if we’re willing to listen. The Bible can throw fresh light and hope on our circumstances, if we’re open to learn from it.

Don’t judge the Good Book by its cover. The wisdom within can help us turn over a new leaf in life.

We can always learn from the written word

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In her nature Assistant national curator at the National Trust HELEN ANTROBUS tells the tale of the clergyman who inspired Beatrix Potter’s love of the land

NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JAMES DOBSON

Interview by Claire Brine

Helen Antrobus

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AY the name ‘Beatrix Potter’ and a mischievous rabbit in a blue coat may spring to mind. Or a pinny-wearing hedgehog, clutching an iron. Or a duck, smartly dressed in a shawl and bonnet. But, while thousands of children have been raised on the tales of Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Jemima Puddle-Duck, the story of their creator is, perhaps, less familiar. That’s why the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is uncovering some of the key people who shaped her life and outlook in a new exhibition, Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature, which opens today (Saturday 12 February).

‘I imagine that visitors will come along to this exhibition, expecting to read about this woman who created Peter Rabbit, but then they will go home having learnt about Beatrix’s work as a scientist, an artist and a conservationist,’ says Helen Antrobus, assistant national curator for the National Trust and co-curator of the exhibition. ‘As well as having an artistic talent, Beatrix was an award-winning sheep farmer and a very knowledgeable land manager, and, in the later years of her life, she put a lot of work into protecting land in the Lake District, because she wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it. All of her work was informed by her love of nature and landscapes.’

To help visitors learn more about Beatrix’s work and legacy, the exhibition is divided into four sections, each exploring a

different area of her life. In ‘Town and Country’, the focus is on her childhood in London, and visitors will be able to see some of Beatrix’s earliest sketchbooks and illustrated letters. Another section, ‘Living Nature’, charts Beatrix’s permanent move to the Lake District and the friendship she formed with Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust. It’s in this section that visitors will be able to view Beatrix’s walking cane with its inset magnifying glass – a necessity for examining curiosities of the natural world.

‘Beatrix’s love of nature stemmed from childhood,’ explains Helen. ‘She was born into a wealthy family in Kensington, though all her relatives were Lancastrians. Her grandparents had a house in the country and her greatgrandfather owned a farm in the Lake District.

‘From a young age, Beatrix thought of herself as a

Beatrix was an award-winning sheep farmer

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NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/ROBERT THRIFT © VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON, COURTESY FREDERIC

Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley and Beatrix Potter shared a love of nature

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Drawing of a hedgehog, 1904, and (left) Mrs Rabbit pours some tea in ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, 1902

northerner rather than a Londoner.

She formed a connection to the natural landscape because she recognised that it helped her to feel better.

‘Beatrix was also encouraged by her parents to develop an interest in animals. We know that when she got a book about birds for her 10th birthday, she danced around holding it. Her parents used to draw animals with her. In one of her father’s sketchbooks, there are pictures of ducks in bonnets.’

As well as reading about animals, Beatrix enjoyed drawing them, studying them and writing stories about them.

‘The Potter family owned so many pets – and not just traditional ones,’ says Helen. ‘Beatrix had bats, jackdaws, lizards and hedgehogs. Sometimes she had to smuggle her new pets into the house, causing the school room to become a bit of a menagerie. I think there were times when Beatrix felt quite lonely, so she found real friendship with these animals.’

In 1882, when Beatrix was 16 years old, she visited the Lake

District for the first time while on holiday with her family. As she took in the scenery, she was unimpressed by what she saw.

‘The family rented Wray Castle, which is by Windermere,’ says Helen. ‘And, at first, Beatrix was really apathetic about it.

She didn’t think the Lakes were as nice as Scotland.

‘But, year after year, as the family returned to the Lakes and rented different villas, Beatrix began to fall in love with the area. It became a powerful place for her – a place of security, far away from her home in London. You can see from Beatrix’s diaries that she felt strong and happy when she was in the countryside.’

While on holiday at Wray Castle, the Potter family struck up a friendship with the local vicar. The Rev Hardwicke Rawnsley of Wray Church was passionate about protecting the Lakes from industrialisation, organising protest meetings and committees, which landed him the nickname ‘Defender of the Lakes’. In 1883 he established the Lake District Defence Society, and such unwavering commitment

She felt happy in the countryside

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© NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES

‘View across Esthwaite Water’, by Beatrix Potter, 1909

From ‘The Tale of Benjamin Bunny’, Peter Rabbit with a handkerchief, by Beatrix Potter, 1904

From page 7 to preserving the land made a lasting impression on a young Beatrix.

‘Rawnsley was someone Beatrix could look up to,’ says Helen. ‘Though he was older than her, they got on very well because he was youthful, good company and entertaining.

He taught her about the action that was needed to protect the Lake District, and such a way of thinking became a big part of her life.’

As well as ministering at a church, Rawnsley was a gifted writer, penning a number of poems, hymns, pamphlets, articles and books during his lifetime. He spotted a creative talent in Beatrix and began encouraging her to contact publishers with her tale of Peter Rabbit. She did – and the story was rejected by several publishing companies. Undefeated, Beatrix set about self-publishing her book, just as Rawnsley was in the business of contacting the publisher Frederick Warne & Co, asking them to take another look at it.

‘Rawnsley played a formative role in helping Beatrix to get The Tale of Peter Rabbit published

by Warne in 1902,’ says Helen. ‘He wrote to Warne, championing Beatrix and supporting her.

I think it’s interesting how, in later life, Beatrix picked up the reins of Rawnsley by carrying on the work he started in the Lake District.’

In 1895, four years after becoming an honorary canon at Carlisle Cathedral, Rawnsley cofounded the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. His desire to care for the land, stirred by his Christian faith, inspired Beatrix.

‘Rawnsley saw God in the mountains and in the landscape,’ Helen explains. ‘He felt that it was in these places that people would find God, so his determination to protect the land was spiritual for him. It was part of his practice as a Christian and a man of the Church.

‘I don’t know that Beatrix necessarily shared the canon’s faith, though her family was religious and rooted in

Unitarianism. We know that she went to Quaker meetings sometimes, but I think the landscape itself was her faith. She seemed to draw spiritual peace and comfort from it.’

As the years went by and Beatrix Potter became a household name, Rawnsley continued to advise his friend on the areas of land she should buy in order to protect a number of them from development. When she died in 1943, Beatrix donated 4,000 acres of protected land and farms in the Lake District to the National Trust, including Hill Top, her holiday home and studio.

‘Not only did Beatrix help to protect the land, but she preserved the traditional practices associated with working farms and rearing Herdwick sheep,’ says Helen. ‘I think her biggest legacy is that she fought to keep the Lakes open for everyone to enjoy – not just visitors, but the people who lived there as well. Through her actions, she demonstrated a kind, forward way of thinking which was exceptional.’

Rawnsley saw God in the mountains

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l Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature runs at the V&A, London, until 8 January 2023. For more information on Beatrix Potter in the Lakes visit nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top

m f o o u s t h n o s i l l i M to feed ANGELA CATLIN

MAGNUS MacFARLANE-BARROW is the CEO of Mary’s Meals, a charity that every day provides food for two million of the world’s poorest schoolchildren. As the charity reaches its 20th anniversary, he talks about the beginnings of his aid work and explains why the charity’s headquarters is a shed Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

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HE conflict in Bosnia Herzegovina made headlines in 1992. Reports of ethnic cleansing and massacres flashed across television screens in the UK. Many people were shocked. Some were moved to respond. Two of those people were Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow and his brother, Fergus, who launched an appeal for aid.

Just a few weeks later, the pair arrived in the town of Medjugorje, with a Land Rover full of gifts that they delivered to people in a nearby refugee camp. However, it wasn’t their first visit to the area. Many years earlier, they had been on pilgrimages to the town and had life-changing spiritual encounters.

‘We had a link with that part of the world,’ says Magnus, as he speaks with me over Zoom from a shed in Scotland.

‘We were seeing reports of people suffering in an area where we’d been shown God’s grace and experienced amazing hospitality when we’d visited as teenagers. So we wanted to do just one small thing. But the way people responded to our little appeal was a big surprise.’

When Magnus and his brother got back home, they went to their father’s shed, where they had stored the donations they had just delivered, and found it full of even more aid. Magnus had to make a decision. After a few days of prayer, he resigned from his

We wanted to do just one small thing

Turn to page 10 f Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow

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job and set about organising aid deliveries to Bosnia Herzegovina.

Thirty years on, Magnus is still organising international aid. The trips to southern Europe developed into Scottish International Relief, which began taking aid to other regions too. Then, 20 years ago, Mary’s Meals was launched. Named after Mary the mother of Jesus, ‘who brought up her own child in poverty’, the organisation feeds the world’s poorest children every day in their place of education. In 2015, Mary’s Meals was feeding one million children. Last year, it reached the milestone of two million children a day.

Magnus says he didn’t expect his work to continue in the way it has.

‘I’m grateful to God that it didn’t feel like I was making any big, scary choices in those early days. God showed me just a little bit of his plan at a time. I’m grateful because, if not, I might have been scared.

But as the work developed, and certainly as Mary’s Meals was born in 2002, I understood that this was my life. I didn’t know how big it would become, but early on I thought, “Why wouldn’t this grow?” in light of the simplicity of the mission, my experience of people’s goodness and the huge need in the world.’

The idea for the simple mission originated in an encounter that Magnus had in 2002 with one dying woman and her children.

He explains: ‘It was a year of terrible hunger in southern Africa. We were working in Malawi for the first time, running emergency feeding projects in a

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From page 9

Magnus with volunteers for Mary’s Meals in Haiti

place where people were eating tree roots and leaves to survive.’

With a local parish priest, Magnus visited a home where the father of the family had recently died and the mother was dying.

‘Emma was lying on the floor, surrounded by her six children. I began talking to her oldest child, Edward, who was 14. I asked him, as we would any young person we meet for the first time, what his dream was in life. He said to me: “I’d like to have enough food to eat and I’d like to be able to go to school one day.”

And that was all his ambition at 14 years of age.

‘I’d met children like Edward many times before – children out of school because of poverty, children who did all kinds of things to survive.

But Edward’s words made me think in a new way about the link between hunger and education: the horrible cycle of hunger being the result of poverty but also the cause, because it deprives you of an education. So I started to think about how that Mary’s Meals provides a daily cycle could be broken by the meal to children in Malawi promise of a daily meal in the place of education.’

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So Magnus set about launching Mary’s Meals, a task made easier by the 10 years of Scottish International Relief, which were, he says, like ‘a school of learning’.

‘One thing we’d learnt was that, if anything was really going to make a difference, it had to be owned by the community more than us. It could never be about us just coming in from the outside and imposing our solution.

So in the beginning of Mary’s Meals, we met with communities and leaders to share the idea, but to say we’d only go forward with it if they believed in it as much as we did, and if they wanted to play a part. The communities said yes, and they began organising.’

We’ve chosen places where there’s great suffering

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oday, Mary’s Meals operates in 20 countries. ‘We’ve chosen places where there’s great suffering, as that’s where we feel God wants us to be,’ says Magnus.

Whatever the country, the mission remains simple. ‘We aren’t providing the education or anything else – it’s the provision of the daily meal in the children’s place of education. In Malawi today, there are over 85,000 Malawian volunteers who cook and serve the meals. Our part is providing the food, which is purchased locally, monitoring how it’s used and training volunteers. But the daily work is done by the community.

‘That’s important for long-term sustainability,’ he adds. ‘We don’t want Mary’s Meals to be relied on for ever.

At an appropriate time, communities or the country’s government can take responsibility for feeding children in their place of education. But we recognise that we have chosen to work in the

The Mary’s Meals shed

CHRIS WATT

poorest countries. We feel that it’s about generational change. It’s a long-term commitment we’re making.’

Amid the expansion of Mary’s Meals, one of Magnus’s main focuses is on maintaining its values.

‘As we grow, we want to take care that we don’t lose the essence of who we are,’ he says.

‘Those values are respect of the human person: not losing sight of the fact that this is about the human in front of us – the child we serve, but also the people who support this mission. We don’t want to think of supporters like ATM machines

we’re trying to extract money out of by applying marketing techniques.

‘Another value is simplicity: resisting the temptation to think that we can do everything. We’ve been asked to do this one crucial thing and we’re going to do it very well.

‘And stewardship: recognising that, when people give us a donation, it’s to feed hungry children, not for us to build fancy offices or to pay ourselves high salaries.’

It’s why, Magnus adds, he still works in the

shed he borrowed from his father all those years ago.

Magnus says he is thankful for all that has been achieved in the 20 years of Mary’s Meals. ‘But honestly, we don’t want to spend too much time looking inwards or congratulating ourselves. It’s more about how we go forward and the question of how we reach the next child waiting for a meal.’

Mary’s Meals feeds hungry children in some of the world’s poorest countries 12 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 11

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for June, that she will feel at ease; and for John, that his reintegration into society will go smoothly.

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’.

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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.

talk ‘ ’ Team talk TEAM TALK Looking at love

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

‘REVOLTING, endearing, toxic … and addictive’ were the words used by Guardian reviewer Lucy Mangan when, in 2020, she binge-watched Netflix’s Love is Blind, a dating series which aims to marry off its contestants before they set eyes on each other.

It is, she wrote at the time, a ‘reality show that requires participants to communicate with each other only from isolated pods, decide to get engaged on the basis of conversation alone, then live together for a month before the actual wedding’.

I’ve got to confess that the first series of Love is Blind totally passed me by. But when I learnt that the second was on the way (starting on Friday 11 February), curiosity kicked in. I decided to catch up with some old episodes, mainly because I wasn’t convinced that agreeing to marry someone without seeing them first was the greatest foundation for a lifelong relationship.

Right at the start, presenter Vanessa Lachey explained Other kinds the concept of the programme by saying: ‘Your value is judged solely by the photo on your dating app. But of love are often everyone wants to be loved for who they are. Not for their looks.’ The participants nodded in agreement. available Chatting with a colleague about the series, I remarked on the pursuit of romantic love and how it is the focus of so many reality TV shows, books, films and songs. ‘But what about other kinds of love?’ I said.

‘Why does romantic love always get put on a pedestal, as if it’s the most important love to aspire to? Aren’t other kinds of love equally important?’

Having spent many years being single, I know what it’s like to desire romantic love. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a partner – and if anyone is looking for a relationship, I cheer you on.

But, despite the happiness that can be found in coupledom, I think it’s also worth remembering that other kinds of love are available to us. Meaningful, lifeenriching love can be found within families and between friends. For believers, unconditional love can be found through faith in God. Though dating programmes may suggest otherwise, love is more than butterfly feelings and marriage. I hope we can always see that.

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

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

Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • WAR CRY • 12 February 2022

puppy tales Life with a young dog leads Barbara Lang to look at the world from a new perspective

New tricks J

Q

QUICK QUIZ 1

Who starred as rebellious

teenager Ren in the 1984 musical film Footloose?

2

British Olympian Dave Ryding

AK, our Welsh collie, enjoys performing tricks, principally because he gets treats for them. As soon as I lift the container of treats off the shelf, Jak starts performing any of the tricks he can think of. He sits, lies down, plays dead and fetches his toys.

Jak learnt a new trick just a few weeks ago. He lies down, and I place one treat on his left paw and another on his right. He waits patiently until I say ‘Get it’, and then he eats the treats.

I’d been trying to teach Jak this trick since he was tiny, but he was unable to stay still without gobbling up the treats. It took a lot of practice for him to learn to wait patiently.

Sometimes, we humans have to practise something before we can do it well. I’ve found that it has taken patience, practice and time to learn how the words in the Bible can teach me about God and the promises he makes to us.

Those promises include the chance to put our past behind us and to have a new start in life. There are also promises that God will always be with us to help and guide us. And then there is the promise of an eternal life with him.

There are no tricks behind these promises, but there is the offer of a better life with God.

God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true.

Psalm 18:30 (New Living Translation)

BOOK REVIEW A Lent Journal Shield Books Edited by Rebecca Goldsmith

competes in which sport?

A

3

How many hearts does an

4

AJ McLean, Howie Dorough and

octopus have?

Brian Littrell are three of the

members of which American vocal group?

5

What is the name of the galaxy

6

What is the largest lake by area in

that includes Earth?

Africa?

ANSWERS

FOR many people, Lent, which begins after Pancake Day, is a time for giving up something. But the six-week period also holds a deeper significance for Christians.

They see it as a reminder of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before he began teaching people about the Kingdom of God and as an opportunity to prepare their hearts for the Easter story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In that spirit, A Lent Journal offers readers 40 hymns and short Bible passages on which to reflect, including classic songs such as ‘Amazing Grace’ and verses from all four Gospels. It also provides plenty of space for users to write down – or draw – their own musings on faith.

As an accessible way to connect with God, this book is a noteworthy addition to any Lent reading list.

Emily Bright

12 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 13

1. Kevin Bacon. 2. Skiing. 3. Three.

4. The Backstreet Boys. 5. The Milky Way. 6. Lake Victoria.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Perception (7) 5. Young dog (5) 7. Bewildered (7) 8. Spacious (5) 10. Eager (4) 11. Dead end (3-2-3) 13. Vibration (6) 14. Help (6) 17. Tied (8) 19. Compact (4) 21. Slack (5) 22. Elucidate (7) 23. Arouse (5) 24. Theft (7) DOWN 2. Be enough (7) 3. Festival (4) 4. Boredom (6) 5. Heaven (8) 6. Religious (5) 7. Very pretty (9) 9. Sailor (9) 12. Expected (8) 15. Copy (7)

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

1 6 7 3

8 4 9

2

6 8 9 1 5 4 7

2 9 5 7 6 4 5 2 8 3 6 16. Disclose (6) 18. Startle (5) 20. Incentive (4)

WORDSEARCH

1 6 4 5 2 8 3 7 9 8 7 9 3 4 6 2 1 5 Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these 5 words 3 2associated 9 1 with 7 marriage 4 6 8 2 L 9Y W1 E 5 F L C M W C Z3B 8 S N6E W D P4 7 G Q Z T Q W Y7W G Y N9 2 4 Y1L A8 Q 5W Z3R 6 P S Y F RZR T RRUACR TOS Z X C B T P U A2 T 9 J G5L S7 Q 6D J4Q 1 S L8 3 I D S Z I W S4Q H 5 T7W Z1 M 8L A2H 9E Y3 6 AGRR I L R T CE P S ERONNV 2 S8H I4 P 3N L9O 7 M W X F R I E6N D E A5 1 Y Z T Q O R V9D 1 S N3P X6 E 7E M5 I 8 V D2 4

M O HONEYC B Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number 1.

2.

3.

4.

Group of five Sick Breathe in Having an even and regular surface 5. Muscular organ of the mouth 6. Calm and unhurried

H J VN J BMB RY A I GE Z V L PO I TWK X S I P L Z AQS DVGS OUE S

ANSWERS 1 8 5 3 7 2 4 6 9

6 7 3 8 4 9 5 2 1

4 9 2 6 1 5 7 8 3

5 3 9 2 8 7 1 4 6

2 4 1 9 5 6 8 3 7

8 6 7 1 3 4 2 9 5

6 8 4 5

3 2

3 2 4 5 6 1 9 7 8

7 1 6 4 9 8 3 5 2

9 5 8 7 2 3 6 1 4

3 5 2 4

HONEYCOMB 1. Pentad. 2. Unwell. 3. Inhale.

4. Smooth. 5. Tongue. 6. Sedate.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Insight. 5. Puppy. 7. Baffled. 8. Roomy.

10. Avid. 11. Cul-de-sac. 13. Tremor.14. Assist.

17. Fastened. 19. Firm. 21. Loose. 22. Explain.

23. Waken. 24. Larceny.

DOWN: 2. Suffice. 3. Gala. 4. Tedium. 5. Paradise.

6. Pious. 7. Beautiful. 9. Yachtsman. 12. Foreseen.

15. Imitate. 16. Reveal. 18. Shock. 20. Spur.

14 • WAR CRY • 12 February 2022

3 5 2 4

GO I E I GS YB E Z T I ANN SO FMA RR I AG G D N P V OME P U O C R N X A Z O F CWA L N I O Y T Z N VMH P P S J N F R S I Y GNMX J C J U R O P YM F N X A B H PMQ Y H M Y A P A K M L MM V I WJ HQCXGDANOQ UOP S I V YCX J L CP

ANNIVERSARY BANNS OF MARRIAGE CEREMONY COMMUNICATION FIDELITY FORGIVENESS FRIENDSHIP HONEYMOON IN-LAW

INTIMACY KINDNESS LAUGHTER LOVE NEWLYWED RESPECT SPOUSE TRUST WEDDING VOWS

U E K A Y H E X T U

Steak with Brussels sprout salad Ingredients 2 lean rump steaks (150g each) Salt ½ tsp black peppercorns, crushed 1tsp oil 1 small red onion, peeled and sliced 200g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and blanched 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 2tbsp balsamic vinegar 150g thin green beans, topped and blanched

Method Preheat the grill to medium.

Put the steaks on a plate or a chopping board and season on both sides with the salt and peppercorns. Cook under a grill for 6 minutes on each side, until well done (or for 4 minutes on each side if you want it medium or 2-3 minutes on each side if you like it rare).

Meanwhile, to make the salad, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes or until soft. Add the Brussels sprouts and chilli. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender. Add the green beans to the pan.

Evenly spoon the salad on 2 warm plates and top with the steaks, to serve.

SERVES

2

Roast beef hash with eggs Ingredients 2tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped 350g leftover roast potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces 225g roast beef, shredded 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped ¼ tsp cayenne pepper Salt and ground black pepper (optional) 2tbsp mayonnaise 4 poached eggs

Method Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan.

Cook the onion over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Add the potatoes, press them down and continue to cook with the onion for 2-3 minutes to create a crispy base.

Add the beef, garlic and cayenne, then season with the salt and pepper, if desired. Reduce the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the meat is piping hot.

Add the mayonnaise and stir gently to combine.

Divide between 4 plates, and top with the poached eggs.

Garnish with the parsley, to serve.

1tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board website simplybeefandlamb.co.uk

SERVES

4

12 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 15

FROM J ESUS’ FULLNESS WE HAVE ALL R ECEIVED GR ACE UPON GR ACE John 1:16

WAR CRY