War Cry World

nLICHFIELD 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

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.’

Rosemary’s faith through thick and thin

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.’