War Cry 13 August

Bug explorers dig deep for Allotments Week

WAR CRY

13 August 2022 50p

To have and to hold TV plotline is wedded to a husband and wife

Coastguard chaplain helps with life’s storms

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.

AS well as sweltering heat, the summer of 2022 will undoubtedly be remembered for some spectacular sport. There was tennis at Wimbledon, with Brit Cameron Norrie reaching the semi-finals, the excitement of all the action in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games and, of course, the roaring success of the Lionesses at the Women’s Euros just a couple of weeks ago.

In many ways, these events have brought the country together. But it’s not the first time sport has done this. Over the past few weeks, we have been recalling the London 2012 Olympic Games – another great sporting event which united people across the UK. But do these competitions have any lasting impact after the action is over?

We investigate one part of the legacy of London 2012 in this week’s War Cry as we visit Hadleigh Farm in Essex. It was the site of the mountain bike races 10 years ago and the farm, which is run by The Salvation Army, is still benefiting from the installation of the track.

‘We have over 700,000 annual visitors,’ estate director Ciaran Egan tells us. ‘People not only come out and use the mountain bike track, but also 1,000 runners take part in Parkrun every Saturday.’

Ciaran also explains that the farm, which has been used by the church and charity to help people since 1891, is also a training centre for people with additional needs, such as mental health issues or learning difficulties.

It provides a home to a rare breeds centre and encourages its visitors to explore the Christian faith through Muddy Church and its ‘wonder walks’, which combine roaming the 900-acre site with reflecting on Scripture.

Hadleigh Farm is a great example of the way the spiritual and everyday can link in together and how faith is connected with all aspects of what we do. If we allow God ad the War C e re ry to play a part in our lives, he can take us to v ’ u heights that we could never have imagined.

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 7589

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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

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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

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.

Printed by CKN Print, Northampton, on sustainably sourced paper

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INFO Your local Salvation Army centre

Together forever?

Relationship challenges are rife in BBC’s Marriage

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Creatures great and small Allotments Week explores creepy-crawlies

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Pedal power How a former Olympic mountain bike track is still serving people today

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Saving those all at sea Coastguard chaplain talks about his work

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REGULARS 4

War Cry World

12 Team Talk 13 Keys of the Kingdom 14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: BBC/THE FORGE

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Happily ever after?

Husband and wife are lost for words in BBC drama TV preview by Claire Brine

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HE can’t believe they are having an argument over a jacket potato.

He can’t believe that she ordered him some fries, when she knew he would have wanted a jacket potato. Behind the smiley faces they wear in public, a husband and wife are struggling to hide their frustration with one another in the BBC One drama Marriage, which starts tomorrow (Sunday 14 August).

After a relaxing holiday in sunny Spain, married couple Emma (Nicola Walker) and Ian (Sean Bean) have landed back home in drizzly England. Once they’ve unpacked their luggage, flicked through the post and thrown away the mouldy food from the fridge, they go to visit Emma’s dad, who resents the fact that his daughter went on holiday, leaving him behind. Though Emma tries to lighten the mood by talking about swimming in the sea, conversation is stilted. There are awkward pauses. Emma is relieved when it’s time to leave.

Though sympathetic to his wife’s situation, Ian is struggling with his own problems. His mum has recently died – but he doesn’t talk about it. And he finds it hard to fill his days since being made redundant from his job. He jokes that he’s enjoying the

Ian and Emma

‘freedom’ of not having to go to work, but his face tells a different story.

Picking up on the difficulties facing her parents is daughter Jessica (Chantelle Alle), who tells her boyfriend that Ian and Emma ‘don’t really talk’. She feels that they avoid expressing emotion because of a painful loss they faced in the past.

She’s not wrong.

Screenwriter Stefan Golaszewski points out that – whether people are married or not – communication is often challenging. Working out what we want to say and then saying it requires courage.

‘People find things difficult and they don’t really know what they feel,’ he says.

‘They think they feel one thing but often feel something else. They often don’t know what to say to each other.’

In all kinds of relationships, there are times when it’s hard to talk. Perhaps we are wary of being misunderstood, so we keep our mouth shut. Or we feel ashamed of our thoughts and would rather ignore them than risk sharing them with someone.

It might be that we long to offload our burdens but don’t know how to. It could be that we have no one to listen to us.

When talking feels impossible, it’s a relief to know that someone understands what we are going through. Before we have even said anything, God is already with us – willing to help us process our emotions if we ask him.

When we tell him how we feel, he promises to listen.

One Bible writer expressed it like this: ‘You have searched me, Lord, and you know me… Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely’ (Psalm 139: 1 and 4 New International Version).

The things we can’t tell anyone else, we can always say to God. No subject is off limits. No time is inconvenient. When we tell him what’s on our mind, we can trust that he is listening and wants to help us. When we ask for his guidance and comfort, he promises to give it.

In every situation we’re in, God loves us – for better, for worse.

There are times when it’s hard to talk

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LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL

LICHFIELD Cathedral has brought the seaside to the city by installing a sandy beach outside.

Every day during August, visitors to the cathedral are able to access the beach for free, relax on deckchairs, play in the sand and enjoy snacks and drinks.

‘As Britain’s most landlocked cathedral, we want to bring an unfamiliar landscape to Lichfield – a beach on the West Front,’ said the dean of Lichfield, the Very Rev Adrian Dorber.

‘Our invitation is to come to a sacred place but come and relax and be playful.’

The cathedral has also installed an 8m-high climbing wall, available to the public on Saturdays throughout August. The Right Rev Jan McFarlane, the canon custos at Lichfield Cathedral, explained why it had been put up.

‘For a start, it’s just good fun,’ she said. ‘And we’ve had two years of not having much fun with the pandemic. But it’s also about pushing ourselves. The Christian faith is about life in all its fullness. And it’s about pushing ourselves to be the best that we can be.’

‘Unprecedented demand’ from worried parents in holidays

Rosemary’s faith through thick and thin

ALAMY

TEACHERS, health visitors and GPs have been referring children at risk of going hungry to The Salvation Army. The church and charity says it has seen ‘unprecedented demand’ for support from worried parents during the summer holidays.

Throughout the summer, from its 600 locations across the UK, The Salvation Army has been providing thousands of cooked meals and essential food parcels for children.

A food hunger programme in Gateshead is offering free breakfast and lunch for children, plus food to take home to their families twice a week throughout the sixweek summer holidays. In Anderton, Glasgow, a summer club is serving up a hot meal for up to 60 primary school age children. Meanwhile, a summer camp in south London has given free places to children whose parents are struggling financially, which guarantees them three meals a day.

Carol McKean, a Salvation Army community manager in Sheringham, said: ‘I constantly hear the phrase “I’ve never had to claim benefits before”, normally said by people crying in the office, who look broken, asking for help. I know that, for these people, we are the last resort. They really are short of food for their kids, and some are saying they haven’t eaten for a couple of days so their kids can eat.’

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DIET expert Rosemary Conley tells the story of how she became a Christian in her new book, Through Thick and Thin, which is due for publication on 18 August.

In an extract from the book, published last month in the Daily Express, Rosemary described how she came to faith during a difficult time in her life, which included a period of illness.

‘While in hospital, I saw an advert for a Christian book called Power For Living, promoted by pop singer Cliff Richard,’ she says. ‘At this messed-up stage of my life, I felt I needed some divine intervention.

‘My life was a disaster: a broken marriage, a closed down business, a failed relationship, no job, ill health and probably needing to sell my house – a total mess.’

Rosemary explained that Power for Living changed her life, as it helped her to see Christianity in a way that ‘made sense’.

‘I knelt by my bed and prayed from the book,’ she says. ‘I went to sleep feeling like a brand-new person: 20 years younger, confident about my future and hugely relieved someone else was now in charge of my life.’

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tWwxcx Church helps pair to escape Ukraine A YOUNG Ukrainian woman who volunteered with the Salvation Army in the UK three years ago has escaped the Russian invasion with the help of two of its church leaders, reports the Irish Independent.

Oleksandra Hromova, who first came to Ireland and volunteered with The Salvation Army on a gap year in 2019, is now living in accommodation provided by the church and charity with her mother, Yuliia.

Olesksandra has returned to volunteering for the organisation and works as a barista at its Hub Café on King’s Inns Street.

The mother and daughter undertook a 30-hour train and bus trek to the Polish border after the airport in their hometown of Dnipro was destroyed.

‘On the very first day of the war I woke up to explosions, there were four really strong ones and our windows were shaking,’ Oleksandra recalled.

‘I was so scared.’

Salvation Army church leaders Captains Tim and Charlotte Lennox kept in contact with Oleksandra. ‘We said quite early on, “if you need to get out, just know there is a place for you to come to,”’ they said. ‘Bringing Oleksandra here was not part of our homeless accommodation or refugee project, it was simply about helping out a fellow church member at the most difficult point in her life.’

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

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What’s the buzz?

Gardeners are focusing on bugs in National Allotments Week Feature by Claire Brine

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OVE them or hate them, we need creepy-crawlies. And creepy-crawlies need somewhere to live. But how many of us can name the minibeasts that visit our gardens, flower beds and vegetable patches?

Before National Allotments Week concludes tomorrow (Sunday 14 August), the National Allotment Society is prompting gardeners to complete an online survey, listing any bugs and insects they have spotted around their plots and plants. The idea behind the initiative is to encourage people to remain active on their allotment over the summer, while also working towards the preservation of insects in the UK. Younger gardeners are also being invited to spend time outdoors and get their hands dirty. The big bug hunt worksheet – available on the National Allotment Society website – teaches children how to identify minibeasts while also providing them with some interesting facts. (Did you know that there are 46 different species of ladybird in the UK?) Big or small, bugs are important for wildlife and nature. The organisation Buglife, which supports National Allotments Week and aims to protect all invertebrates, says that insects are responsible for ‘pollinating our fruit and veg, controlling our pests and improving our soil’ – and therefore ‘vital to healthy growing’. Without bugs, plants and vegetables we wouldn’t survive for very long.

When it comes to bigger species, such as humans, we also need help in growing healthily – because sometimes life can leave us feeling damaged.

Perhaps we face tough situations in our home or work environment, making it impossible for us to thrive.

Though we can’t always control the conditions around us, every day we have the power to protect and cultivate our mind. We can ensure that it is rooted in things which are good and true.

For Christians all over the world, Jesus’ message of God’s love has proved life-changing – and life-giving. It’s about a heavenly Father who forgives our mistakes and then guides us on how to do better. It’s about nurturing a relationship with our Maker who promises us eternal life if we believe in him.

When we embed our lives in God, we can find ourselves growing in love, patience, peace, joy and faith. Is it time we turned over a new leaf?

We have the power to cultivate our mind

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KEEPING TRACK ON Ahead of London 2012, a track was built at The Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Farm in Essex to host the Olympic mountain biking event.

Estate director CIARAN EGAN recalls the atmosphere around the global event and reflects on what the Games inspired

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Interview by Emily Bright

Julie Bresset in action for France at Hadleigh Farm in 2012 6 • WAR CRY • 13 August 2022

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N August 2012, Olympic mountain bike riders raced around the winding cross-country track in search of golden glory. Their trials and triumphs were taking place at The Salvation Army’s 900-acre Hadleigh Farm estate in Essex.

That memorable sporting summer seems a long time ago as I nurse a cup of coffee and shelter from the pouring rain in Hadleigh Farm’s offices. But in my chat with estate director Ciaran Egan, he vividly recalls the buzz of being part of the London Olympics while at work for The Salvation Army.

‘I loved having so many people from all around the world here,’ he says. ‘Our team made everybody feel welcome. We had all the signage in so many languages, and Salvation Army shields to represent the different countries in which we work across the globe.

‘It had a real celebratory feel to it. Some of the teams were staying and training locally, so you’d bump into Olympic teams as you walked around.’

But the impact of London 2012 on Hadleigh Farm has lasted much longer than the competition itself.

The track, which is maintained by Essex County Council, hosted World Championshiplevel events for four years after the Olympics, drawing

AN OLYMPIC LEGACY

Ciaran Egan in 10,000 spectators on a typical racing weekend. Nowadays, it primarily attracts young families.

‘Originally the track was aimed at high-level hobbyist mountain bikers after the Olympics had ended,’ says Ciaran.

‘However, most of our visitors are now from families in our community.

‘We have over 700,000 annual visitors.

People not only come out and use the mountain bike track, but also 1,000 runners take part in Parkrun, a 5km race every Saturday.

‘Afterwards they come for coffee, cake and a catch-up in our Hub café.

‘The number of families that make use of the site is huge – it’s certainly not something we envisaged when we started out.’

As a result, the mountain bike track has been adapted to cater for a wider range of abilities.

‘We now have purple trails for those who are complete novices to mountain biking, such as a circular flat trail,’ explains Ciaran.

‘And then people can move on to a green trail, which doesn’t include any significant jumps or inclines, but does take you on to parts of the Olympic mountain bike track.’

But The Salvation Army’s work at Hadleigh Farm estate extends beyond sport into spirituality. Visitors and groups are encouraged to use the grounds to explore and reflect on the Christian faith.

It regularly holds a Muddy Church, which builds relationships in communities through outdoor activities.

‘Muddy Church is aimed at children and families and makes use of nature on site to explore faith,’ Ciaran says. ‘There is a craft activity each time they meet, and the site is their playground.

‘At Hadleigh Farm, we also invite people to come on “wonder walks”. We go out with groups of people and there are points of reflection, where we’ll stop and consider elements of Scripture. There are also self-led trails, which people can go on and explore at their own pace.’

Hadleigh Farm’s faith-based foundation began in 1891, when The Salvation Army bought it as a place where it could train people who were caught up in poverty and give them agricultural and brickmaking skills. Nowadays, Hadleigh Farm is home to a training centre for people with additional needs, such as mental health issues or learning difficulties.

‘We help people get closer to the lives to which they aspire,’ says Ciaran.

‘While many things have changed at Hadleigh Farm, that ethos of working with people to help them practically resolve problems themselves remains to this day.

‘Some people need additional vocational skills to get a job. Others need help with life skills such as confidence and having the ability to socialise in new spaces. We come up with individual support plans looking at where they want

We invite people to come on wonder walks

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From page 7 to go and what we need to do to help them get there.’

Hadleigh Training Centre has groups focused on instruction in landscape management, horticulture, catering and hospitality. While the site’s tearoom are currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, Salvation Army staff hope to reopen them when safe to do so and enable the trainees to take charge, as Ciaran explains.

‘What we’ve been working towards is a social enterprise model, with trainees taking ownership over and operating the tearooms – deciding on the menu, and the type of ordering and service there’s going to be. We encourage entrepreneurship, to assist people in developing the skills to run their own business.’

Running since 1990, the Hadleigh Training Centre has already given generations of students the confidence and skills they need to thrive in their chosen career or area of development.

Ciaran cites an example of a man who had his heart set on entering the catering industry.

‘He had the core elements of catering nailed down. He didn’t need major input from us, apart from building his confidence. He struggled with simply saying: “Hello, good morning.”

‘So we built up his confidence by encouraging him to work in our tearooms and interact with new people. We were also able to work with some local businesses to give him experience in kitchens, so working in a new place didn’t make him fearful. He was then able to get employment in catering and hospitality.’

The other dimension of Hadleigh Farm, which many may not associate with The

A trainee works on her computer at Hadleigh Training Centre (above); and goats roam the grounds of the Rare Breeds centre (below)

Salvation Army, is a rare breeds centre that opened in 2004.

‘It provides a point of interest for people and an opportunity to talk about who we are and how we can work with them,’ says Ciaran.

The rare breeds centre is now home to rabbits, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, alpacas and sheep. The team use sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.

Ciaran continues: ‘We’ve given over some of the land here to graze with rare breed animals rather than mechanically farm. We also work with other organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and send herds of our animals to graze their land.’

The rare breeds centre attracts young families, who can get up close to, pet and feed some of the animals.

The wider farm contains 600 acres

We encourage entrepreneurship

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of arable land and 300 acres of organic grassland.

As our time together ends, Ciaran takes me on a tour of the expansive estate, including the distinctive peaks and troughs of the bike track. It strikes me, as he talks enthusiastically about his plans for the future of Hadleigh Farm, that much has developed on the site since London 2012.

The Olympics were a catalyst for change.

Perhaps the most lasting and unexpected legacy for Hadleigh Farm, though, has been the links that have been forged between The Salvation Army and the community.

‘If you were to loop back to what the organisers wanted the legacy of London 2012 to be, it was around a sense of community ownership and engagement,’ says Ciaran. ‘And since the Games we have been making a point of running events with the specific aim of nurturing relationships. We want to connect with people.’

WHEN LIFE IS ALL AT SEA As the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s first full-time chaplain in its 200-year-history, the Rev TOM EBBENS explains how he supports those who work to keep people safe in our seas Interview by Emily Bright

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OU don’t really have a socially acceptable excuse to be on a stunning clifftop location at 2am in howling wind and rain, apart from when you’re volunteering for the coastguard,’ the Rev Tom Ebbens recalls cheerfully of his time as a student volunteer. ‘It was great fun.

‘We went to some special parts of our coasts to carry out rescues where we really felt like we were helping people. We learnt good skills, had the camaraderie of a team and worked with police, fire and ambulance services. There seems to be no shortage of people wanting to become coastguards.’

Tom became the first full-time chaplain for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in its 200-year history in January. But his interest in the coastguard dates back more than a decade.

While studying history and politics at the University of Aberystwyth in 2010, he volunteered as part of a coastguard rescue team. He tells me what those teams do.

‘We deal with road rescue, water rescue, mud rescue, and search for missing people. All sorts of emergencies that happen in a coastal domain are responded to by coastguard rescue officers, of which there are about 3,500 in more than 300 teams across the UK.’ While still at university, Tom took a job at a maritime rescue co-ordination centre in Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, 1 of 10 sites of its kind in the UK. The centre receives 999 calls and mayday radio calls from vessels, and then assigns the resources needed to respond, whether helicopters, lifeboats or rescue teams.

In 2015, he became a senior coastguard operations officer, which took him to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

‘I spent seven years managing and leading teams of volunteers, doing everything from

We deal with all sorts of emergencies

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From page 9 incident command to recruitment and training,’ he explains.

During that time, his interest in Christianity drew him towards a village church where he found faith.

Tom admits that when he was growing up, the nearest he got to church was ‘taking a can of beans to the harvest festival’. He would say he didn’t believe in God, while crossing fingers behind his back, just in case. Then, while studying Victorian domestic life, he became fascinated with the centrality of Christianity in that society.

‘I thought it was a common theme throughout the centuries, so there must be something in it,’ he recalls. ‘And over a number of years, I liked the idea of going to church. Whenever I had an excuse to go, I would take it.

‘When I met my wife in 2012, I wanted to go to church but didn’t want to scare her off. Three years later, we moved to a nice Cornish village with a church, and I enjoyed going to it. It was exactly what I needed and gave me an opportunity to explore my faith. I’m so glad I did.’

After becoming a Christian, he was drawn to the idea of ministry.

‘I had a strong sense that what the vicar was doing, I should also be doing,’ he says.

As time went on, his two vocations merged.

‘I ran a chaplaincy for the coastguard on a voluntary basis for a couple of years, alongside the operational role that I was

doing. I noticed that police have more than 600 chaplains in the UK, the NHS has more than 900, and the coastguard, as the smallest emergency service, didn’t have any and hadn’t done in its 200-year history.

‘The coastguard said: “We think what you’re doing is impactful. Would you consider doing it for us on a full-time basis?” My answer was yes.’

Tom describes his role as ‘caring for and caring about’ coastguard volunteers and staff.

He fields phone calls, texts, emails and Facebook and Twitter enquiries.

‘Every week,’ he says, ‘I’m talking to people about everything from suicide to mental health issues, and from divorce to disgruntlement. Pastoral care is the mainstay of the job.

‘I also get plenty of opportunities to do vicarly things, such as taking coastguard services, praying for someone’s mum at a Christian burial or marrying a couple, as I’ll be doing next year.’

Tom explains that his practical experience with the coastguard, while not strictly necessary for his chaplaincy, helps him to relate to those he works with.

‘People are reassured that they’re calling someone who’s wearing a dog collar, who’s compassionate, but who also has worked in the coastguard for 12 years and understands their context.

Some people just want someone to talk to

Tom was appointed as the coastguard’s first full-time chaplain in its history in January this year 10 • WAR CRY • 13 August 2022

‘When people use the coastguard’s acronyms as they’re recalling an incident, they know that I’ll know what they’re talking about.’

His role overlaps with coastguard support networks.

‘It already had things in place for traumatic incident management and counselling for staff and volunteers,’ he explains. ‘But some people don’t need counselling, they just want someone to talk to.

‘Incident management also doesn’t necessarily address the stuff that happens at home, like the divorce, the car crash, the miscarriage, whatever it might be that is affecting the person’s ability to do their job. It’s those things that most frequently come to my desk.’

Another perhaps less obvious part of his role is influencing workplace policy.

‘I travel all over the country, picking up general trends and issues from coastguard teams, and try to speak truth to power,’ Tom says. ‘The role empowers me to speak as an individual who has heard things confidentially and raise issues to improve workplace culture.

I’ll try to push for measures to improve that, whether that’s getting mental health resilience training for people or strengthening policies on safeguarding.’

He adds that, while he does not receive the recognition that NHS, police and armed forces chaplains already enjoy, there are parts of the job that he finds immensely rewarding.

‘When I put down the phone from an intense pastoral care conversation, I feel a direct sense of worth that I, with the help of God, have impacted someone in a positive way,’ he says.

Tom hopes that he can expand his chaplaincy support on the front line in the future.

‘I’d like to create a team of pastoral care volunteers who can be a presence with people, sitting with them and listening to their stories. Long-term, I’d love to have a team of chaplains.’

As Tom forges a path for coastguard chaplains, he is playing his part in an organisation dating back two centuries.

‘The coastal paths of our country have been stomped to the same beat by coastguards for 200 years,’ he muses.

‘That’s a beat of helping our community and dealing with the realities of search

With his background as a senior coastguard operations officer, Tom is able to understand the coastguards’ context and rescue. Our purpose has always been to protect, to search, to rescue and to save.’

As Tom works to support people of all faiths and none, he finds his own source of support and strength in his Christian beliefs.

‘For me, God is love,’ he says. ‘In the

Bible, I find a practical guide to a holy and better life.

‘My faith compels me to be a better person, to have more humility and to show more compassion to others. It has also given me a desire that previously didn’t exist to be with and help others. Jesus has transformed my life.’

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Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Carol, who is feeling fearful about making some big life decisions and would benefit from inner strength to move forward.

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 You beauty!

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

‘IF you were to write a letter to your daughter, what would you say? What advice would you give her and what stories would you share?’ These were some of the questions posed by Namulanta Kombo, when she asked people all over the world to help her create the podcast Dear Daughter.

I heard Namulanta speaking on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, after winning Podcast of the Year at the British Podcast Awards 2022. Speaking with broadcaster Anita Rani, Namulanta explained how the idea for Dear Daughter came about.

‘I became a mum and then I just wanted to give [my daughter] something in terms of advice,’ she said. ‘So I asked people to write letters.’

Namulanta turned the letters she received into a podcast and received stories and advice from men We are all and women across the globe. A woman called Emma wonderfully submitted a letter urging the reader to ‘love your thick, dark and wild eyebrows, even if it goes against made current beauty trends’. Namulanta felt that such words conveyed an important message.

‘Emma knows that there are girls and boys going through changes in their body and not accepting who they are,’ Namulanta told Woman’s Hour. ‘So she really wanted to just let that next child know … “you might not see it now but you are beautiful just as you are”.’

In a world where people of all ages face constant pressure from their peers to look good, to hear that they are beautiful – without make-up, filters or diets – is crucial. I want my own daughter to grow up knowing that she is wonderful because of who she is, not because of what she looks like.

Emma’s letter also brought to mind some words of wisdom from the Bible, written thousands of years ago. Reflecting on himself, the writer said to God: ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful’ (Psalm 139:14 New International Version).

Whoever we are, and whatever we look like, the message that we are all beautiful, because we are all wonderfully made, is worth hearing again and again. My hope is that, one day, every single one of us can find it within ourselves to believe it.

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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

Looking for help?

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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 • 13 August 2022

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QUICK QUIZ 1

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Which graffiti artist’s Girl with Balloon appeared on Waterloo Bridge in London in 2002?

Who had a No 1 album in 1983 with No Parlez?

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Which TV historian wrote the children’s book Black and British: A Short, Essential History?

Who plays Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane Foster in the film Thor: Love and Thunder?

What Italian term, which literally means ‘in chapel style’, describes singing without instrumental accompaniment?

Who won the men’s singles title at this year’s French Open tennis championships?

ANSWERS

In this occasional series, Nigel Bovey unlocks the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus speaks to his disciples about in Matthew’s Gospel

The Kingdom of beggars I

N his Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5 to 7, Jesus focuses on many of the principles and practices of the Kingdom of Heaven. He opens these teachings by emphasising who God’s Kingdom is for, using the word ‘blessed’.

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word translated as ‘blessed’ is makarios, which means ‘to be made holy’ or ‘to know the favour of God’. While a few translations use ‘happy’, the majority go with ‘blessed’ – with good reason. Linguistically, the ‘hap’ of ‘happy’ stems from ‘luck’ or ‘fortune’, as in ‘happenstance’. To be blessed, by contrast, has nothing to do with luck and all to do with God. Likewise, being blessed has nothing to do with being in favourable, fortunate or pleasant circumstances. Jesus teaches that to be blessed is to know that God is with us and within us in every circumstance – even those which are difficult to face.

The Kingdom, begins Jesus, is not for those who are full of themselves but those who are empty: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’ (Matthew 5:3 New International Version).

Jesus is talking about a spiritual poverty.

A bank balance is no indicator of a person’s spiritual life. Just as it is possible to be cash-rich but time-poor, so it is possible to be whatever-rich but spirit-poor.

The Greek word for ‘poor’ – ptochos – is also used for ‘beggar’ (see Luke 16:20). It is connected with the idea of cowering. God’s blessing, says Jesus, is for those who cower at the shame of their wrongdoing – and who, realising their inability to earn God’s approval, reach out, beggar-like, to him.

A beggar does not earn donors’ contributions; they are dependent on the generosity of others. So it is with the poor in spirit, who are recipients of God’s undeserved grace. They are reliant on his generosity and mercy to forgive their wrongdoing.

A beggar is someone who has acknowledged their poverty and predicament. They’ve realised that the only way to stay alive is to ask for help. Similarly, those who acknowledge their sinfulness, recognise their inability to earn God’s favour and throw themselves on his mercy will find entry to the Kingdom of Heaven.

To be blessed has nothing to do with luck

13 August 2022 • WAR CRY • 13

1. Banksy. 2. Paul Young. 3. David Olusoga.

4. Natalie Portman. 5. A cappella. 6. Rafael Nadal.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

ACROSS 1. Power (5) 4. Sticky (5) 8. Exclamation (3) 9. Adored (5) 10. Assisted (5) 11. Play on words (3) 12. Reverse of coin (5) 13. Acrobat (7) 16. Climbing aid (6) 19. Bodice (6) 23. Plunge (7) 26. Sensible and solemn (5) 28. Enemy (3) 29. Paved garden area (5) 30. Answer (5) 31. Increase engine speed (3) 32. Urgency of action (5) 33. Church official (5) DOWN 2. Donor (5) 3. Frog larva (7) 4. Derides (6) 5. Allure (5) 6. Alpine singing (5) 7. Snake (5)

9.

14.

15.

17.

18.

20.

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

5

8 1 2 3

Even (5) Prohibit (3) Evening (3) Purpose (3) Perish (3) Notice (7)

21. Sluggish (5) 22. Prior to (6) 23. Hint (5) 24. Tally (5) 25. Origins (5) 27. Two-footed (5)

WORDSEARCH 4 5 3 2 8 9 7 1 8 2 1 3 6 7 5 9 Look up, down, 6 forwards, 9 7 backwards 4 1 5 and 8 2 diagonally on the grid to find these birds 1 3 5 9 7 8 4 6 1 S 2U O4 H 3Q N5 R M I Z W O R9 R 7 A P6S E P T P G X F R2 A M 4 Z8Y V6 W5K Q3 L 1S Y7 E Z K XWQ Z V A V T MQ L B H E T 7 H9M N2 N 6U A8 O B Y H D X H3 Y 1 G W4R N M S O L P M G7 H 8 P B9C S 5 F 3L Z6 Y 2Z A4 W J GWQ Z S R I K T BW J Q S J D 8 D4O O1W 9X C3 K Z Q Z C N N5 O 6 E G2 I P

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

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

K C O N N U D Q G H A

Breathe in Female parent Place to sell goods Bat used in tennis Moving swiftly Chess piece

ANSWERS 4 8 6 1 9 2 3 7 5

5 2 9 3 7 4 1 8 6

3 1 7 5 6 8 4 9 2

6 2

2 3 4 9 1 6 7 5 8

8 6 1 7 2 5 9 3 4

9 7 5 8 4 3 2 6 1 6 1

7 5 8 4 3 1 6 2 9

1 9 2 6 5 7 8 4 3

6 4 3 2 8 9 5 1 7

HONEYCOMB 1. Inhale. 2. Mother. 3. Market.

4. Racket. 5. Racing. 6. Knight.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Might. 4. Tacky. 8. Aha. 9. Loved.

10. Aided. 11. Pun. 12. Verso. 13. Tumbler. 16. Ladder.

19. Corset. 23. Immerse. 26. Sober. 28. Foe. 29. Patio.

30. Reply. 31. Rev. 32. Haste. 33. Elder.

DOWN: 2. Giver. 3. Tadpole. 4. Taunts. 5. Charm.

6. Yodel. 7. Adder. 9. Level. 14. Bar. 15. Eve. 17. Aim. 18. Die. 20. Observe. 21. Tardy. 22. Before. 23. Imply.

24. Match. 25. Roots. 27. Biped.

14 • WAR CRY • 13 August 2022

2 7 1 3 9 4 1 5 3 7 2 6 3 5 9 7 9 2 8 6 1 6 2 1 3

S Q Q Z K H H Q J B Y

H B F R X I P V L V J

D T P D J Q L A Z X E

HR F E T A CMK J F Z NWR F PG I J I MB K F NKNDZ C Z L WH H O QWB GSRZQ T I T DE VODDE

A D E I Q N R L N L R

C T N G S O E U A I A

N C T N B X R E Z A L

BLACKBIRD

DUNNOCK

BLUE TIT

GOLDFINCH

CHAFFINCH

GREAT TIT

COAL TIT

GREENFINCH

COLLARED DOVE

HOUSE SPARROW

H E C I C D Q T R T L

Z Y Z V WQ N T X L RA T V Z BCQ ZQ J I T R J Y Z GNO OCQ

GG TQ I A T S LW AU OF CZ I R L G OP

LONG-TAILED TIT MAGPIE ROBIN STARLING WOODPIGEON WREN

6 4 3 2 8 9 5 1 7

3 1

Blazing burgers Ingredients

Method

450g lean beef mince

Preheat a grill to moderate heat or prepare a barbecue.

1 small red onion, peeled and finely grated

Place the beef in a large bowl and add the onion, ginger, chillies, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Mix thoroughly together.

Using damp hands, shape the mixture into 4 evenly sized burger patties. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

1cm-piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped 2 red or green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 2tsp Worcestershire sauce 1tsp salt 1tbsp sunflower oil 4 bread rolls Salad leaves, to garnish Chilli strips, finely shredded, to garnish

Brush the burger patties with a little oil and cook under the grill in a suitable pan or on a barbecue for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and any meat juices run clear.

Place the burger patties in the bread rolls, and garnish with the salad leaves and chilli strips.

Serve with a couple of relishes and some potato wedges.

SERVES

4

Piri-piri beef and bean salad Ingredients 2tsp olive oil 2 thin cut beef steaks 2tsp piri-piri seasoning 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips 400g can chickpeas

Method Brush half the oil over the steaks and season with the piri-piri seasoning.

Set aside. Heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the red pepper for 3-4 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and tomatoes to the pan to warm through, then remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl.

Stir through the half the coriander.

Salad leaves

Heat the same frying pan until hot.

Add the steaks and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side to cook medium well or 6-7 minutes on each side for well-done steaks. Add the lime juice, a large handful of salad leaves and the remaining coriander to the bowl with the red pepper, chickpeas and tomatoes. Slice the steaks and add to the salad.

Salt and ground black pepper

Season to taste, then toss together, to serve.

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 2tbsp coriander leaves, freshly chopped ½ lime, juice

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

SERVES

2

13 August 2022 • WAR CRY • 15

Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you.

All things are passing; God never changes Teresa of Avila

WAR CRY