War Cry 14 October by The Salvation Army UK and Ireland

WAR CRY

14 October 2023 50p/60c

A look at recycling Discovering the initiatives that are trying to save the planet

What is The Salvation Army? The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity seeking to share the good news of Jesus and nurture committed followers of him. We also serve people without discrimination, care for creation and seek justice and reconciliation. We offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK. Go to salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church to find your nearest centre.

What is the War Cry? The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.

WAR CRY Issue No 7649

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

From the editor’s desk RECYCLE Week begins on Monday (16 October), with steps being taken to encourage us all to recycle and reuse rather than send unwanted items to landfill. The national awareness campaign has been running since 2004, and this year will focus on helping people to identify items in their home that can be recycled but are often missed. It’s estimated that last year’s campaign encouraged more than 3.5 million people to change in their approach to recycling. Finding new ways to reduce waste is something The Salvation Army works on 52 weeks of the year. The church and charity’s clothing banks are a familiar sight in car parks, council recycling centres and other public places across the UK. In this week’s War Cry, we discover what happens to the donations that fill up those banks and about some of the other recycling schemes run by the organisation. Almost as familiar as the clothing banks are Salvation Army charity shops. This week, one of the War Cry team reports on her experience of taking donations to her local shop. She found not only a place for unwanted items, but also somewhere where the community can meet together. It’s a place where goods and people’s lives can find a new lease of life. Caring for the planet and for those who inhabit it is central to the Christian ethos of The Salvation Army – as its members believe that all things were created by God. In the Bible’s account of Creation, God gives people the responsibility of looking after the world. Later the Bible records Jesus giving his followers the instruction to love and care for other people. Offering people opportunities to recycle rather than dump unwanted items is a way of caring for the planet. Providing places for the community to come together gives support to some of the most vulnerable people in society. These are things The Salvation Army will continue to do, this coming week and in the months and years to come.

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Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 1 Champion Park London SE5 8FJ

4 8 11 INFO 15

CONTENTS

Tel: 0845 634 0101

Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Lyndon Buckingham Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn

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

Your local Salvation Army centre

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FEATURES

Net results How online recycling is booming

Saving tonnes of rubbish The national recycling work of The Salvation Army

Creating community Charity shop provides more than pre-loved goods

11 Grand designs A fashion label’s pattern for sustainability REGULARS

14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Second-hand sales are in vogue There’s a growing market for buying and selling pre-loved items Feature by Claire Brine

NYONE following the trend of buying and selling second-hand items online is probably using Vinted, eBay, Vestiaire Collective, Facebook Marketplace or one of the many other platforms that are available. These days, there seems to be a never-ending supply of them – but when did online resales grow so popular? Launched in the US in 1995 as AuctionWeb, eBay was among the first websites that allowed users to list, sell and buy pre-loved items, thereby turning this new thing called the internet into a marketplace for everyday shoppers. The site, created by software engineer Pierre Omidyar, grew quickly. ‘By its second week,’ wrote Ben Tarnott in a Guardian article last year, ‘the items listed for sale included a Yamaha motorcycle, a Superman lunchbox and an autographed Michael Jackson poster.’ Clearly, there was, or could be, a bargain for everyone – all a seller had to do was list an item, wait for someone to make a bid to buy it, then pocket the cash. By the summer of 1996, AuctionWeb was generating $10,000 a month. In 1997, the site was renamed eBay. In 2008, the idea for another secondhand sales website was brewing – this

time in Lithuania. When Milda was moving house and had too many clothes to take with her, her pal Justas offered to create a website to give away her clothes to her friends. Vinted was born. Today the second-hand fashion resale app has about 75 million users. With eBay and Vinted growing in popularity, Facebook spotted an opportunity. In 2016, it launched Marketplace as a section on its site, allowing users to sell things they no longer needed. Its focus on buying and selling locally meant that shoppers didn’t need to worry about postage and packaging – which was a huge plus. By 2021, Marketplace had amassed one billion global users, according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Though numerous second-hand sales sites and apps have been popping up on our screens these past 30 years, the number of people using them shot up dramatically during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to an eBay report in 2021, ‘as sellers lost full-time jobs or otherwise grappled with financial concerns, reselling pre-owned

items became a way to make additional income during a challenging time’. The same report also highlighted that buying and selling second-hand was important in terms of sustainability, with 32 per cent of Brits choosing to buy and sell pre-owned items because of the positive environmental impact. However much or little we choose to buy into the world of online second-hand sales, there’s no doubting that websites such as Vinted are part of a growing trend across the world. Countless people use them because what they offer is valuable – and when word gets out that something is good, it spreads. It has always been that way. When Jesus told his followers about the love that God had for them, it was a message that couldn’t be contained. For his followers, the idea that God forgave their wrongdoing was too good to pass up. The fact that he would set them on a new path for the future was something they saw as a must-have for life. Two thousand years later, Jesus’ offer of a relationship with God is still available – and everyone is welcome to try it out, all over the world.

There was a bargain for everyone

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Clothes need recycling?

Sor t ed At any one time there are some 250 vehicles on the road, gathering textiles from The Salvation Army’s thousands of clothing banks across the UK and delivering them to facilities where – along with other goods – they will be processed for reuse and recycled, bringing material benefits to the planet and people Feature by Philip Halcrow

SSHHHH! Every few seconds the machine produces a burst of air and fires an item of clothing from the conveyor belt into one of the bins below. John Webb, the site manager for the Salvation Army facility in Kettering, explains how the technology next to us is helping the textile recycling process. ‘There are two cameras,’ he says. ‘One recognises colour and the other is a spectrometer that picks up the wavelengths of the clothing – polyester, for instance, will give off a different wavelength from cotton. The cameras and the computer work together to translate that into something we can see.’ The composition and colour of the fabric are displayed on a screen and then, at the right moment on the item’s journey down the conveyor belt, a jet of air sends it into the appropriate bin. ‘So we can see,’ says John, indicating the screen, ‘that the last product that went through will have gone into the bin for low-grade cotton polyester, the blended grades.’ The Fibersort technology is assisting SATCoL – The Salvation Army’s trading

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Textiles are unloaded by hand from vans…

arm – in its efforts to find more and more ways of using everything possible that is donated through its clothing collection schemes. The best-quality clothing that arrives at the facility may be creamed off to be sold in The Salvation Army’s hundreds of charity shops – though, because of direct donations, they are rarely in need of extra stock. The rest of the 60,000-plus tonnes of textiles collected by SATCoL each year ends up in a variety of guises at home and abroad. ‘Our drivers are our first line of sorting,’ says John as we walk round to where vans are arriving to unload what they have picked up from some of The Salvation Army’s 8,000 clothing banks. ‘Part of our deal with placing our

clothing banks at supermarkets is that we remove anything in and around our banks. It could be glass bottles, cardboard, fridges, freezers. We work with supermarkets and police to deter flytipping. ‘Once a driver gets to a clothing bank, if they see a bag that isn’t clothing, they still pick it up. If it’s just books, they keep that to one side and we put them into tote boxes. A company buys them off us. They can put them through a conveyor belt system that scans the barcodes and automatically uploads them to online platforms where they can be sold. ‘Our goal is to do everything we can to ensure nothing goes to landfill. At the very worst it will go to waste that is incinerated for energy. The waste we pick up may not be what we would have liked, but we want

Our goal is to ensure nothing goes to landfill

…or automatically from a trailer

PHILIP HALCROW

Co-ordinating the arrival of vans

Pull quote for this one here etc like this

Site manager John Webb

It will have gone from something waste to something brand new

to have done the right thing with it.’ Books and the like set aside, the textiles are emptied on to a conveyor belt, either manually from the vans that have been out on collection rounds nearby or automatically from one of the giant trailers strategically placed in secure locations around the country. The trailers are filled with collections by drivers on local runs until ready to be brought to Kettering. ‘The trailer is tilted about 48 degrees in the air, and gravity empties it out,’ says John. ‘We used to empty the trailers by hand, which would take three and a half hours. Now it takes about 30 minutes to tip 16 tonnes of clothes from a trailer – and within the hour they will be fully processed through the system and ready to go out to one of our customers.’ Unloaded, the donated textiles are

Turn to page 6 f

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From page 5 sorted again by hand. Working on what is almost a reverse production line, a team sift out duvets and pillows, feathers, cardboard or general waste. ‘The main thing we probably get that fills up the chutes is duvets,’ says John. ‘They’re not something we ask for, but we don’t like to say no. If you say no to something, you may not get the bits you do want. And we have an outlet for them.’ The textiles are then given another manual sort. ‘Unwearables – that is, anything that’s worn, torn or looking as if it’s at the end of its life – are put down a chute, and they go over to the Fibersort area.’ Many of the wearable items of clothing are exported and sold by the tonne to customers from all over the world. John explains: ‘We’re averaging 40 to 50 loads a week out of here or our other site at Winchester, and that could be anywhere from Hungary to Dubai. We sell to customers that will do a thorough sort on the contents of the bags for different markets throughout the world. For instance, we have a customer in Hungary that will take our stock, supply their shops with what they require and then sort the

A team sort the textiles rest for other markets. ‘With our Fibersort system, we’re trying to remove unwearables from what goes into the bags, rather than just giving them everything.’ Fibersort is helping in other ways – and its possibilities are still being explored. ‘We’ve had this machine a year and a half, and we’ve been trying to find outlets for our waste to make it back into something useable,’ says John as he

peers into the bin where textiles made up of 95 per cent cotton or above are accumulating. ‘This is unusable, unsellable end-of-life stock that our customers wouldn’t want. We have an outlet for this – a company in Sweden will take this, shred it, decolour the resulting slurry, then produce fibres for making into another item of clothing, maybe a T-shirt, blouse or dress. It will have gone from something waste to

SATCoL’s circular economy and sustainability manager Bernie Thomas

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PHILIP HALCROW

Bags of processed textiles, ready to leave the site

something brand new.’ Not every type of textile is so easy to recycle. ‘Nylon is a real headache. At first, we were sorting it, but nobody was doing anything with it – but that’s changing. BASF, the chemical company, have taken nylon and chemically turned it back into oil. Blended materials are being used for fillings in furniture. ‘Necessity is the mother of invention, and we’re trying to find the clever people who have got ideas.’ One of the latest ideas being pursued by SATCoL is a groundbreaking machine capable of recycling polyester textiles back to their raw form. John points out an old unusable, unsellable bedsheet and says: ‘The new machine will shred this and heat it up to liquidising point. Some filters will remove impurities. It will go through a cooling process and will come out as little pellets of recycled polyester, which can then be respun into new clothing or turned into something else.’ In a meeting room behind the scenes, Bernie Thomas, circular economy and sustainability manager, describes SATCoL’s polyester recycling scheme – labelled Project Re:claim – as a ‘world innovation’. He says: ‘We’ve been given funding

from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero to cover some of the cost, because nobody has tried this before. We’re the first commercial operation to do this and return those materials back into clothing and other textiles, rather than forgetting about them. ‘At present, most of the recycled content in clothing is coming from plastic bottles, which are not being recycled back into plastic bottles. Retailers and brands are setting themselves targets – they’d like to include more recycled content in their clothing, so we’re hoping this project will contribute some of the materials to that. It’s the right thing to do, rather than waste these finite materials.’ SATCoL works to prolong the lives of goods other than textiles. ‘By volume, the materials we collect are predominantly textiles, but in our charity shops we’re collecting, reusing and repurposing all kinds of products – such as household goods and furniture – and selling them, extending their lives,’ says Bernie. SATCoL has also formed a partnership with home appliance manufacturer Beko that will enable people to buy spares for existing items rather than have to replace them. Beko will supply SATCoL with goods returned by customers.

It’s the right thing to do

‘We are creating a bit of a parts farm,’ says John. ‘So, if you buy a coffee percolator and you break the jug, you will be able to come to us online and buy a new jug for that percolator rather than have to buy a whole new appliance – because companies like Beko don’t necessarily sell just the spares.’ SATCoL also takes laptops from schools or businesses that are in the process of replacing them, wipes the data from them and sells them in its shops at a price well below that of a brand-new model. As with all its work, the money made goes towards supporting the work of The Salvation Army in communities across the UK – work which SATCoL assists in other ways, for instance by supplying shoes and coats to the Every Child Warm initiative run by the Salvation Army church in Gateshead and clothing to a scheme for asylum-seekers in Glasgow. Bernie says that he appreciates the fact that The Salvation Army’s values chime with his own. ‘I feel that they’re an excellent fit for me in terms of purpose, which I guess comes from my Christian belief system around doing the right thing. Our work is all about doing something useful, looking after the environment and looking after people.’ l For more information visit satcol.org

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Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku

TION LVA

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In a corner of south London, staff and volunteers are caring for the environment and the community through their charity shop, The Village, which is more than just a place where people can donate and buy clothes

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USTAINABLE shopping meets community care at The Village, a Salvation Army charity shop in Nunhead, southeast London. When I walk in with my donation bag, I’m greeted warmly by two smiling volunteers and shop manager Tiziana. One of them thanks me for my donation then takes my bag, and my no-longerneeded items have officially entered the circular economy. Tiziana explains what happens next. ‘When we receive the donation, we take it into the sorting space. Some of the volunteers sort them, which means checking what is inside and the quality of the items. Then we decide if they’re good enough to be on the shop floor. ‘We store them temporarily, and if U EK something is not in good condition, we Y FO O recycle it. We have contact with some companies that do recycling. They come weekly and collect bags of clothes or boxes of bric-a-brac. ‘Once the goodquality clothes are ready and priced, we display them on the shop floor. Everything is organised by categories. For example, we have a section with the bags, with womenswear, with childrenswear. We decide how to display them, making them appealing for the customers. ‘The customers and donors are

all part of the community, so when we display the donations, we try to give them the right value. We need to respect the donation and at the same time respect the person who is coming to buy it. We want to make sure that we have affordable but good-quality items. ‘In the past few months, we have attracted another group of people in the community, who are giving very good, expensive items, so we are dedicating a little space to those donations. ‘This is the cycle of receiving, sorting, displaying, pricing and selling.’ Through its many charity shops across the UK, The Salvation Army is fulfilling one of its missions, which is to care for creation. The fashion industry is known to cause harm to the environment through its use of energy and materials, so providing a place that gives clothes and other items a second life – rather than sending them to landfill – makes a difference. The Village charity shop in Nunhead is well stocked, and Tiziana tells me that donations come in every day. Beyond just being a place for people to donate or buy

Customers and donors are part of the community

A bag of items that might have been thrown away but can now get a second life 8 • WAR CRY • 14 October 2023

Shop manager Tiziana puts some items on display

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clothing, it is also a space for them to find connection. Julie tells me that she decided to volunteer at the shop because she enjoys meeting and helping people. ‘All different types of people come in here,’ she says, ‘and I wanted to give something back to the community. It’s worthwhile and you feel good at the end of the day when you’ve helped someone. ‘People come with all sorts of problems and we try to solve them if we can. If we can’t help them, we tell them who to go to. We’ve helped people in the past and they come back. They feel this is somewhere where they can get advice, be comfortable and make new friends.’ Lisa, a younger volunteer who took my donation bag, says that she started at the shop after her mum told her about it. ‘My mum kept coming back. She said the staff were nice, how lovely it was and how she likes to sit down, chat and have a coffee. She wanted me to see it for myself. ‘Then she said I should volunteer, as it would give me something worthwhile to do with my holidays. I’m never bored here. There’s always something to do, and it keeps me on my feet.’ Fatima, from Pakistan, another volunteer, was introduced to The Salvation

Army in Nunhead through her father, who was experiencing homelessness here in the UK. Major Maria Konti-Galinou, who is one of the leaders of the church, helped her and her family to be reunited. At the back of the shop is a community café. When I walk through, I see Maria. From her warm welcome, it is clear that

NUNHEAD SALV ATIO N

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Turn to page 10 f A volunteer sorts items

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HO RA SA OF LOW

O Y EK U

Church leader Maria cooks the food served in the café

From page 9 people don’t come just for the food or the drinks. She has a laugh with each customer, catching up with them as though they are old friends. In between greeting customers and rustling up their food and drink orders, she talks with me about her role in the Nunhead community. ‘I’m rarely in the office,’ she says, laughing. ‘I’m talking to people, I’m out and about in the streets and the alleys. We have a food bank, which more than 30 families come to. The Salvation Army

The café sells food and drink at affordable prices is part of the community.’ She tells a story that shows how much a part of the community she is. She describes how the police came one day to ask if they could search the building. ‘I asked if they were after one particular lady. They said: “Yes, how do you know?” I told them I knew because this lady had stolen some stuff from us a couple of weeks ago. I had spoken to her at the park, telling her: “Don’t run, please, my name is Maria. Do you want the food bank or help?” ‘She brought back the stuff she had stolen. I told the police that I saw her with two guys and maybe they forced her to do it. The police said to me, “Wow, The Salvation Army. You know better than us.” ‘I felt so blessed and I praised God because the police had noticed that I am involved in the community. If I don’t know the community, what am I doing?’ Through meeting with people in the charity shop and

other initiatives which the church runs, including the food bank and the café, Maria wants to ensure that people are made to feel welcome in the building and to feel a part of the community. She leads Nunhead Salvation Army with her husband, Major Polis Pantelidis, who takes me upstairs to see a large room that is currently being refurbished. ‘We want to create a place for the community,’ he says. ‘We have the Village charity shop and café downstairs, and this room will be like a meeting place. There are no places like this in Nunhead, so we want to make this a community space. ‘We’ll have a big bookcase and a children’s corner, a small stage for music events. We have a pool table and table tennis, so we can use it for youth activities. We may also use it as a working space, so people who work from home can have somewhere where they can come. They will be able to eat food here at affordable prices. That’s what we are developing. It’s something the community really needs. ‘We want to see a village atmosphere. We want the community to be a part of what is happening here. The door is open for everyone.’

We want to see a village atmosphere

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l Some names have been changed

Tailor-made for sustainability When ESTHER KNIGHT witnessed an epidemic of environmental and social problems within the fashion industry, she rolled up her sleeves and started her own clothing brand, Fanfare Label. She tells us how her faith has helped her in the challenges she faces Interview by Emily Bright

‘P

FANFARE LABEL

ULL your socks up. At the drop of a hat. Below the belt.’ Clothes have had a huge impact on the English language and on our whole culture. Fast fashion has provided a quick fix for consumers. But Esther Knight, who worked her way up to the role of fashion buyer, began to question the ethical price tag that came with it. ‘As a buyer, you’re responsible for everything you see in the store,’ she explains. ‘You take the garment from sketch to store and manage everything in between. You pick the fabrics, select the factories, and have a direct impact on the supply chain and the people making the clothes. ‘But when I was a buyer for a high street retailer, I started to question the current fashion system: the fact that my supplier was still working at 3am, and the constant pressure we were putting them under. It was unethical. We were negotiating ridiculous prices for garments, knowing it wasn’t going to affect us as a brand, or even them as a supplier, but that it would impact the workers.’ Esther, who is now CEO of her own London-based company Fanfare Label, had always been interested in making clothes with a conscience. Her faith played a role in shaping her approach towards fashion and social justice. ‘When I was very young I got involved in an anti-trafficking charity within my church, and then I found out there was a lot of human trafficking within supply chains. ‘This meant I was volunteering at one end for a human trafficking charity and then fuelling it at the other end. I didn’t want to be part of that contradiction. I wanted to do something about it.’ Rather than railing against the industry and leaving it behind,

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Esther Knight

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From page 11 Esther decided to use fashion as a platform for positive change. ‘It’s the biggest labour-intensive industry after agriculture,’ she says. ‘I saw huge potential to do good through the work. I knew the sustainability shift was going to happen, and I wanted to make sure I was a key player. ‘I started to research sustainability and ethical supply chains in my first job out of university. I worked my way up in various companies, from fast fashion to heritage brands like Barbour, and then to designer brands. Through all the different companies, questions kept arising around sustainable fashion. I was talking about sustainability and the responsibility of companies over a decade ago.’ Over time, she sought out ways to redress the social and environmental damage done by the fashion industry. As she was exploring different companies to work for, one designer label stood out ahead of the rest. Esther says: ‘I started to look into sustainability and moved to Vivienne Westwood to learn from the best. She has been a driving force within the industry, particularly in terms of environmental impact.’ After building her experience at Vivienne Westwood, Esther became a self-employed fashion entrepreneur and started Fanfare Label in 2019. The aim was to ‘create a brand that was more accessible than designer price tags, but that accounts for the waste caused within the fashion industry’. She says: ‘I couldn’t start a sustainable business without accounting for the waste, and that’s where the upcycling came in. I worked at Barbour, where the jackets were repaired and repurposed. When you have an item that you love, why not repair it, redesign it and work it back into the system? That makes us cherish garments more and brings value. We encourage customers not to think of any fashion item as disposable.’ Fanfare Label also ensures that textiles in its core collection are sustainably sourced and environmentally friendly. The company’s zips and labels are created from recycled plastic bottles, its designs use surplus fabric from mills which would otherwise go to landfill, and its core collections are made of certified organic cotton. ‘It’s important that we’re following certifications,’ says Esther, ‘because they have governing bodies investigating the supply chain. The resources of a small business are quite limited, so having that protection from a bigger organisation is helpful in monitoring the supply chain. ‘About 80 per cent of everything at Fanfare Label is made in the UK, with artisans and small factories, and then we produce our jeans in Portugal. That’s a certified factory, all audited, and we’ve gone out and visited it. We’re considering the social impact side, the environment and wastage.’ Internal estimates suggest that the company’s sustainability measures have saved more than 500 metres of fabric and textile waste from going to landfill, almost 1.5 million litres of water by using recycled organic and linen, and the CO2 equivalent of 20,000km of driving emissions through recycling and using sustainable fabrics. Esther gives an example of how sustainability works within designs: ‘Our new jeans save 92 per cent of water compared with conventional denim. They have 20 per cent post-consumer waste within them, which means that the clothing and textile waste that can’t be repurposed is broken down and spun into a new fibre.’ Esther’s biggest challenge in running her own label is the financial cost. ‘A product-based business is hugely expensive to start up,’ she says. ‘Then, because we’re in fashion, we’re

FANFARE LABEL

Questions kept arising around sustainability

Fanfare Label uses recycled materials in its designs

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FANFARE LABEL

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Clare, who wants to be reunited with her husband and children. 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’.

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

constantly needing new products, and there’s a pressure to produce more. ‘To produce an item takes 10 times longer than it does in normal brands, because we’re considering every aspect of that garment. We want to do things correctly, rather than being pressured by the fashion industry to produce. Whatever we make, we want it to last for ever. We focus on pieces that won’t go out of fashion and are relevant every year.’ Throughout the running of the business, Esther has relied on her faith. And, as she explains, God has always been faithful. ‘Every single time I’m at breaking point and don’t see how we can carry on as a business, there’s always provision. I’ve learnt over the four years to trust that, even though I see the bank account going down or the money becoming a problem or things changing, God’s provision is there. He protects the company, and always in the nick of time. From a financial perspective particularly, his hand has been all over it, and I’ve been able to trust him.’ At the heart of Esther’s faith is a relationship with Jesus, who provides all the strength and support she needs. She explains that ‘his gentleness, love and understanding give me great comfort. In a world where everything is not secure, and in turmoil, I have a peace that is grounded in him.’ In the busyness of running her own fashion label, Esther is encouraged by Psalm 23 in the Bible, in which the writer describes having his soul restored. ‘As an entrepreneur, things are stressful,’ Esther says. ‘There’s lots to do all the time, and knowing that calmness and stillness can be found in Christ is important. I have got a place where I can go in order to restore my soul.’

We want to do things correctly

Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen

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

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PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Little (5) 4. Eros (5) 8. Exclamation of disgust (3) 9. Basis for calculation (5) 10. Thrown (5) 11. Prohibit (3) 12. Main artery (5) 13. Article of dress (7) 16. Flask (6) 19. Wily (6) 23. Staying power (7) 26. Wither (5) 28. Guided (3) 29. Facial hair (5) 30. Entrance room (5) 31. Reverence (3) 32. Blended (5) 33. Same again (5)

SUDOKU

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

2 1

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

DOWN 2. Shrine (5) 3. Back pain (7) 4. Alter (6) 14. Encountered (3) 5. Puzzling problem (5) 15. Snare (3) 6. Drench (5) 17. Allow (3) 7. Combat (5) 18. Jewel (3) 9. Companion of 20. Burdened (7) Snow White (5) 21. Void (5)

W RDSEARCH

22. Story song (6) 23. Sword (5) 24. Scare (5) 25. Forefinger (5) 27. Elliptical path (5)

6 5 7 3 2 1 9 4 8 2 3 8 4 9 6 1 7 5 Look up, down, forwards, 9 1 backwards 4 7 8and5diagonally 2 6 on 3 the grid to find these words associated with encouragement 7 9 1 5 4 3 8 2 6 L O S I L G4 Z O2Q 3 U L6 C 1 R B8 J 5S G9 A 7 J C X G K L DME P O H L VWYMR 5 V9Q 7I Q2 X 3I Z1 Z 4 C G X Z T Q8 E N6 Z M O H F L Z L 1 X N7 F 2 Z G8 A 5J E4 Y 6V X3 S 9 N H S Y QGQO N F Q Z P S S D T Z F OQ E G Z 5 R P4G 6 B M1 P 3 R S9 R 7 R A8 X 2 I Z I J D T 3 F Q8 Z 9 H B2 Z 6 B E7 E 4Z Z5 H 1

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

D E Z T Z O H AWZ D Z L N F Z C E E D L K A S V O I EM I G L R F G D N Z G R O L R Y K T E T Q U E S C U C K S U P P O R T F H T L F S X J T E C N A R U S S A E R Q E P H G F I Q Z X L V Z I J N VWR Z L MD H T U V J V N B Q I Z OG C H E E R U R D F I K L Q N OQ T C Z N H N E V O OG Z K Z G C T P Y OQ T B T D Q F Z Z N F J E C N A T S I S S A F Z F R E J KWH Z Y Q C C T O B Q B G G

1. Hair over forehead 2. Stick of coloured wax 3. Out of sight 4. Short oar 5. Afternoon nap 6. Simultaneous action

ANSWERS 6 2 9 7 4 8 1 5 3

5 3 1 9 2 6 7 4 8

4 3 8

7 8 4 1 3 5 2 6 9

3 4 7 5 6 9 8 1 2

2 9 8 4 1 7 5 3 6

1 6 5 3 8 2 4 9 7

9 1 2 8 5 3 6 7 4

4 7 6 2 9 1 3 8 5

8 5 3 6 7 4 9 2 1

HONEYCOMB 1. Fringe. 2. Crayon. 3. Hidden. 4. Paddle. 5. Siesta. 6. Unison. QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Small. 4. Cupid. 8. Ugh. 9. Datum. 10. Slung. 11. Ban. 12. Aorta. 13. Garment. 16. Flagon. 19. Astute. 23. Stamina. 26. Droop. 28. Led. 29. Beard. 30. Lobby. 31. Awe. 32. Mixed. 33. Ditto. DOWN: 2. Altar. 3. Lumbago. 4. Change. 5. Poser. 6. Douse. 7. Fight. 9. Dwarf. 14. Met. 15. Net. 17. Let. 18. Gem. 20. Saddled. 21. Empty. 22. Ballad. 23. Sabre. 24. Alarm. 25. Index. 27. Orbit.

14 • WAR CRY • 14 October 2023

ASSISTANCE CHEER COMFORT CONFIDENCE CONSOLATION FAITH FORTITUDE

HELPFULNESS HOPE REASSURANCE REFRESHMENT RELIEF STRENGTHENING SUPPORT

2 6 8

Lamb skewers with quinoa salad

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Place the garlic, cumin seeds and 1tsp peppercorns in a shallow dish, then add the lemon juice, honey, 1tbsp oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. Mix together with a fork. Add the cubed lamb and toss with the garlic mixture, then thread on to 8 metal skewers.

1tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed Peppercorns, roughly crushed 1 lemon, juice 2tsp runny honey 2tbsp olive oil Salt flakes 700g lean lamb leg steaks, cubed 125g fine asparagus For the salad 750ml vegetable stock 200g mixed red and white quinoa with bulgur wheat 1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced

QUICK QUIZ 2 3 4 5 6

In the musical Six, which of Henry VIII’s wives sings ‘Don’t Lose Ur Head’?

100g sunblushed tomatoes in oil, drained Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped Small handful fresh mint, roughly chopped 2 lemons, halved, to serve

Enduring Love and Atonement are novels by which British author? Which former England footballer presents the ITV game show Moneyball?

For the quinoa salad, bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan, add the quinoa mix and simmer for 12 minutes or until the grains are just beginning to separate. Pour off any excess stock, leaving just enough in the pan to keep the quinoa moist. Tip into a bowl, then add the remaining salad ingredients and toss together with spoons. Preheat a griddle pan or grill and cook the lamb skewers for 10-12 minutes, turning several times, until browned. Remove from the pan, add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Serve the salad with the asparagus, lamb skewers and lemon halves.

Recipe reprinted, with permission, from the Love Fresh Berries website lovefreshberries.co.uk

In the Nato phonetic alphabet, what word denotes the letter ‘F’?

" To receive basic reading about Christianity and information about The Salvation Army, complete this coupon and send it to

What is a baby kangaroo called?

Name

Ophidiophobia is the fear of what?

Address

War Cry 1 Champion Park London SE5 8FJ

Looking for help?

ANSWERS 1. Anne Boleyn. 2 Foxtrot. 3. Ian McEwan. 4. Ian Wright. 5. A joey. 6. Snakes.

200g blackberries

Toss the asparagus with the remaining oil and a little extra salt and pepper. Set aside with the skewers.

Or email your name and postal address to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk

14 October 2023 • WAR CRY • 15

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