War Cry 18 January 2020

18 January 2020 20p/25c

STARRING Interviews with the actors in Terrence Malick’s new movie Faith in film history – a retrospective A look at Jamie Foxx drama Just Mercy

The reel thing FILM IS THE MAIN FEATURE OF OUR SPECIAL ISSUE

From the editor’s desk

What is The Salvation Army?

The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church

WITH popcorn at the ready, millions of people go to the cinema every week. According to the most recent figures available from the UK Cinema Association, more people went to the cinema in 2018 than in any other year since 1970 – and the early indications are that attendance figures in 2019 did not drop dramatically from the 177 million admissions of the previous 12 months.

Despite competition from television and online streaming companies, a trip to the cinema is still a popular pastime. And the interest taken at this time of year in the nominees and winners of awards such as the Golden Globes, Baftas and Oscars clearly demonstrates the kudos that the silver screen still holds.

In this week’s War Cry, we put film in focus as we look at two new dramas: Just Mercy and A Hidden Life. Both are stories based on real events, and their release proves the attraction of seeing true-life stories told at the cinema.

Screenwriter and author Murray Watts believes that people engage with well-told stories. In this movie-themed War Cry, he describes how ‘a story can engage more emotions’ than other forms of communication. Perhaps that is why people of faith, such as Murray, have often been keen to promote Christianity through films.

Film critic Simon Carver, however, is not sure that films depicting Bible stories have a bright future.

‘I don’t think they have the cultural relevance that they once did,’ he says in our interview. ‘Bible knowledge is pretty scant nowadays.’

However, the Christian movie reviewer sees in secular films faithbased themes such as hope and ‘the nature of God’s fatherhood’.

In that respect, the film world is similar to the real one. As we often reflect in the War Cry, glimpses of God can be seen in the world he created – assuring those who see them of his love, care and compassion for each one of us.

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 7457

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 War Cry office: 020 7367 4900 Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101 Helpline: 020 7367 4888 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Malcolm Davies

Published weekly by The Salvation Army ©The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity.

The charity number in England and Wales is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.

Printed by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper

Your local Salvation Army centre

Contents FEATURES 3

In need of justice Film highlights plight of prisoners on death row

4

Miracle movie maker Interview with author and screenwriter

6

In full review Reviewer sees how films project faith

8

Hidden life brought into focus New film depicts couple’s Second World War heroism

6

REGULARS 12

Browsing the Bible

13

Faces of Faith

14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: Shutterstock.com

2 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

4

15

JAKE GILES NETTER

FILM Lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) defends Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) in ‘Just Mercy’

In the interest of justice ‘D

O you know how many people have been freed from Alabama death row?’ asks inmate Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) rhetorically, before providing the answer: ‘None.’ He is talking to young and hope-filled lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), who has just opened a legal centre for death-row prisoners. Their true-life story is told in the film drama Just Mercy, which was released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 17 January).

Walter McMillian was convicted of the murder of a young white woman in his small town. But it is clear that he is not guilty. He was at home hosting a ‘fish fry’ gathering with his family the day she was killed. Family and friends could testify to that. Yet their testimonies were not even considered in his trial.

It’s evident that something else is at play. The crime took place in the Deep South of America in the late 1980s, and race and class discrimination was having a destructive effect on the lives of many poor and black people.

By the time Bryan takes up the case, Walter has been on death row for three years. Bryan is shocked to learn the details of his client’s situation. Despite his alibi, Walter was still found guilty on the basis of the testimony of a man who was being tried for murder in a separate case.

Bryan is suspicious after reading the case notes and finding that the testimony doesn’t quite add up. He has his work cut out for

Sarah Olowofoyeku investigates how a new Hollywood release is addressing the issue of inequality within the US prison system him as he attempts to pick it apart within the context of an unjust criminal justice system.

All the while, the young lawyer’s caseload is getting heavier as he takes on more cases of people who have been unfairly convicted and cannot afford legal aid.

Many of his clients feel hopeless and as though they are trapped in a system

Some of Bryan’s clients have been wrongfully imprisoned that does not care about them. Some, like Walter, are innocent and have been wrongfully imprisoned because of their status.

Others did commit the crimes for which they have been incarcerated, but did not have contributing factors such as poverty, difficult childhoods, mental health or disability taken into consideration.

In his award-winning book Just Mercy,

on which the drama is based, Bryan tells the stories of those people who appear in the film, along with many others he has helped. He quotes statistics that highlight the extent of mass incarceration in America, such as the growth in the prison population from 300,000 to 2.3 million in 40 years.

He also shows the work that his organisation, the Equal Justice Initiative, is doing to tackle the problem, and reveals one of the motivations behind his work: his belief that ‘each of us is more than the worst thing that we’ve ever done’, a creed that he has spoken about as being rooted in the principles of the gospels. Even if a client has committed a crime, he reminds them that they still have inherent worth.

Many Christians share that belief, recognising that all people have value because ‘God created human beings in his own image’ (Genesis 1:27 New Living Translation).

This truth invites us to love others no matter what their race, class or ability.

It also reminds us that, regardless of who we are or what we have done, God still sees us as worthy of love, and offers that love to us all.

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY • 3

great

The greatest st Writer MURRAY WATTS has often turned his attention to the figure of Jesus and the theme of faith, whether in his film The Miracle Maker, his TV, radio and stage plays or in his latest book. ‘A story can make you feel sorry for someone or realise that a character is a bit like you,’ he tells Philip Halcrow

A

Murray Watts

S he talks about the power of storytelling, one project gets Murray Watts particularly animated. The author, playwright and screenwriter remembers: ‘I had written many sketches for a theatre company that I helped to form, and I’d even dramatised John’s Gospel for a stage production that went round major theatres in the UK, but I never thought I’d be asked to write a film such as The Miracle Maker.’

In 2000, the animated retelling of the story of Jesus was released in cinemas, with a voice cast that included Ralph Fiennes, Richard E. Grant and Miranda Richardson.

‘I was asked whether I could write a screenplay to tell the story of Jesus in a way that would work for families and for children,’ says Murray. ‘It’s notable that the great films about open. Once I went through it, I found myself Jesus – like The Greatest Story Ever Told or in a brightly lit garden in which everything Pasolini’s Gospel According to Matthew – are was colourful and quite different from how I’d not directed at children. I had to do something imagined it. different. So I homed in on the words of Jesus: ‘I had come from a background where the “Unless you become like a little child, you will Bible was taught and read. I knew quite a lot never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” about it. But I had to unlearn what I thought I ‘It was as if I’d found that phrase inscribed knew and think my way through the story from on a little, forgotten doorway covered in a child’s perspective.’ brambles. I felt as though I had to get down on Murray told the story through the eyes of the my hands and knees and pull that rusty door 12-year-old girl who in the gospels is raised from the dead by Jesus.

‘I structured a film that begins with her being ill and her family facing a dilemma; it continues with the death and resurrection of the girl; and then shows her becoming a follower of Jesus.’

Murray has spent much of his career looking in new ways at the time-honoured stories that appear in and have sprung from the Bible.

His new book of ‘parables and stories’, Yours Truly, includes tales of

I had to think my way through the story from a child’s perspective

Jesus with the young girl he heals in ‘The Miracle Maker’ 4 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

call centres, a round robin Christmas letter and a man who begins to doubt his atheism after hearing a scornful lecture on religion by an atheist scientist.

Debates between atheists and people with faith are common, whether in publicly organised events at universities, literature festivals or online. But Murray believes that a

test

INTERVIEW

ory ever retold

story can achieve something different from such exchanges.

‘One of the problems with arguments is that they engage the emotions but usually in only a limited way. When we’re arguing with somebody we may feel that they’re not listening to us, or we’re desperately trying to refine what we’re saying, and we can have feelings of anger, frustration or possibly – if we think we’ve won – exultation. But a story can engage more emotions. It can make you feel sorry for someone or realise that a character is a bit like you.’

The story about an individual questioning his atheism focuses on the universal theme of faith.

‘It’s not a question of whether you have faith or not,’ Murray says. ‘Faith is like a spiritual organ that we all have; it’s just a question of where we put it. Some people

We all have faith; it’s just a question of where we put it

put their faith in “scientism”, which is a doctrinaire approach to science.’

One of the other stories in his collection examines another kind of misplaced faith.

‘Some people worship their family, so I decided to write a story about the typical round robin Christmas letter that is really a veiled form of boasting. But I deal with it in a way that’s sympathetic to the person who’s writing the letter. She doesn’t see clearly the impact of this letter when it goes to people who haven’t got happy families, who aren’t having five holidays a year and whose lives don’t feel successful. It is an uplifting story, because it involves her changing.

‘Some of the best stories and the best films are about a character who changes.’

Murray notes that many such stories appear in the Bible – such as the parable Jesus tells about the prodigal son who squanders his

wealth before deciding to return to the father he left.

He is also aware that stories have the power to change the understanding of the people who hear them.

‘A little while ago, I was talking to a woman in her twenties,’ he remembers, ‘and she asked me, “Did you write The Miracle Maker?”

‘When I told her that I did, she said: “I want to thank you. Watching that film, I realised that Jesus had time for children.”’

l Yours Truly is published by SPCK

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY • 5

Seeing the big picture Premier Christian Radio’s film reviewer SIMON CARVER tells Claire Brine about finding faith on the silver screen

S

INCE the beginning of cinema, there have been films about the Bible. In 1902, there was Samson and Delilah, which ran at just six minutes. In 1904, filmmakers told the black-and-white story of a colourful young dreamer, Joseph Sold By His Brethren. By the 1920s, Bible movies were big business – and breaking new cinematic ground. The 1923 silent film The Ten Commandments included special effects to depict the parting of the Red Sea, while King of Kings, released in 1927, intensified Jesus’ dramatic resurrection with its use of colour.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, and film companies are still making movies about the Bible and the people in it. Additionally, each year, usually over Easter, television channels offer viewers the chance to watch an ‘old classic’, such as The Greatest Story Ever Told, while also broadcasting more modern counterparts. The Rev Simon Carver, who reviews films on Premier Christian Radio, believes that Bible films have been popular throughout history because the stories are compelling.

‘And back when a lot of these films were made,’ he says, ‘the stories were familiar to people. These days, I’m not sure that people know the Bible in quite the same way, but I would argue that people are still interested in the idea of origins.’

6 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

INTERVIEW

In his role, Simon is used to watching the latest cinematic releases and looking for themes in the plot that support Christian teaching, which he then highlights to listeners.

‘Sometimes there are films with an obvious Christian message, such as God’s Not Dead,’ he explains. ‘But then there are other films where you have to think a bit more laterally to find the connection. The Shawshank Redemption is an example. That’s not a Bible story. But it’s about hope and faith, and people want hope. I also love the old Steve Martin film Parenthood, which has some great scenes that I believe illustrate the nature of God’s fatherhood.’

While in recent years there have been a number of mainstream films released which tell Bible stories – including Noah, starring Russell Crowe, and Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara – Simon is not convinced that films telling Bible stories have a secure future.

‘I don’t think they have the cultural relevance that they once did,’ he

Films about grace and mercy are attractive because we like the idea of justice explains. ‘Bible knowledge is pretty scant nowadays. But perhaps films that touch on wider biblical themes are more appealing. Films about lawyers working on death row which talk about grace and mercy are attractive to people because we like the idea of justice.

Those kinds of films have no “religious baggage” attached to them, but they scratch where people are itching.’

However they touch on religion, films dealing with faith often attract debate.

Simon mentions the controversy surrounding the 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ, which imagines Jesus’ life taking a different direction from that which is recorded in the gospels. Does a film plot that strays from the original narrative cause problems for Christians?

‘Personally, I don’t mind when films take artistic licence with the Bible, because it can be helpful for opening up discussion,’ says Simon. ‘Because I believe the Bible is God-inspired and not literally written by him, I think it is okay to be creative with it.

‘Also, many Christians take artistic licence with the Bible every year when they put on Nativity plays. The actress playing Mary might be wearing blue and there will probably be talk of three kings, but none of that is mentioned in the Bible. And if we don’t get in a sweat about that, nor do I think people need to get in a sweat about films like The Last Temptation of Christ, which is powerful.

I thought Willem Dafoe highlighted Jesus’ anguish at confronting temptation.’

Playing the role of Jesus on camera is a challenge that appeals to many actors.

John Legend, Jim Caviezel and Michael Sheen have all stepped into the Son of God’s sandals.

‘I imagine he’s a character who’s hard to pin down,’ says Simon. ‘There’s something other-worldly about him.

I remember that Robert Powell, who starred in the 1970s miniseries Jesus of Nazareth, tried not to blink during any of his scenes to create a look of serenity.’

Simon Carver

Whatever Simon makes of the films he reviews – and however they portray the Bible and Christianity – he remains convinced of one thing: that God can speak through cinema.

‘When I was a kid, I used to read Superman comics and then, when I was a bit older, I saw the Superman films.

The connection between Superman and Jesus seemed incredibly strong. Here’s this person who has come from outside our world in order to save our world. For me, it doesn’t matter so much about the wholesomeness of a film, but I believe there is always the possibility to see the image of Christ within it.’

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY • 7

From here to ete Director Terrence Malick’s new film A Hidden Life tells the true story of how an Austrian farmer refused to fight for the Nazis during the Second World War – and how, motivated by their Christian faith, he and his wife were prepared to stick by their beliefs whatever the cost. Philip Halcrow talks with AUGUST DIEHL and VALERIE PACHNER about playing the couple who took a stand

R

August Diehl and Valerie Pachner 8 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

ESEARCHING the real-life woman she was playing on screen, actress Valerie Pachner came across an interview. Fani Jägerstätter had been through extraordinarily tough times. During the Second World War her husband, Franz, had been put on trial by the Nazis for his refusal to swear allegiance to Hitler and fight in the army. The other inhabitants of their Austrian village labelled him a traitor and ostracised the couple. Fani outlived Franz. Valerie remembers: ‘In the interview I saw, Fani was something like 96 years old – she lived to turn 100 – and she was this old, fragile woman, yet she was not broken at all. She was beaming, she was happy.

‘And that really hit me. I realised it was going to be important to remember that, although she’s going through the worst things, she does not lose trust in the good and she doesn’t lose faith. She still believes that there is good on Earth.’

Before she joined the cast of Terrence Malick’s film A Hidden Life, which was released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 17 January), Valerie knew a little about the story

INTERVIEW

rnity

of her compatriots the Jägerstätters, ‘though they’re not national heroes or anything like that’.

She says: ‘What interested me most about them was the strength that the two of them must have had in order for Franz to go through with his decision.

Fani supported her husband although it meant making a great sacrifice. She had

Following what is right, no matter what, makes you strong to know in her heart what was right. I had the feeling that following what is right, no matter what, and not compromising yourself, elevates you and makes you feel like you can do everything. It makes you

strong, and I was drawn to that.’

As well as trying to find out about the Jägerstätters, Valerie set about ‘getting connected’ with the rural lifestyle of the couple, who lived with their children and Franz’s mother and sister-in-law as farmers in the mountain village of St Radegund.

‘My grandparents were farmers, and in my childhood I often spent time at the farm. I also grew up not far from Radegund, so I know about farm life. I know what it’s like to live in the countryside.’

And Valerie believes that understanding where Fani lived is important in understanding her as a character.

‘I’ve led quite an urban life over the past ten years, and before the shoot, when I went to a farm just to get reconnected with the ground, I realised that if you live in those surroundings, you have a different

perception. You have a different relation to the world, to the earth, to the sky because you’re so much in nature.

‘I felt that was very important for the character of Fani – that she is very grounded but on the other hand has access to something that is beyond. She is in nature, and yet, at the same time, being in nature makes it easier to be connected to something bigger.’

A Hidden Life shows how Fani and Franz were driven to take their decisions by something bigger.

They are living a happy life until Nazi Germany gears up for war and, having annexed Austria, begins enlisting men from St Radegund.

Most of the village are happy with what Hitler is doing. Not Franz. He refuses even

Turn to page 10

➥

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY • 9

From page 9 to contribute financially to the war effort.

He is sent for military training, where soldiers cheer film footage of Nazis killing and conquering, but he writes to Fani: ‘My dear wife, what’s happened to our country?’

On his return to St Radegund, he cannot hide his misgivings. He will not go off to fight.

‘We’re killing innocent people, preying on the weak,’ he says.

And he cannot see it as compatible with his Christian faith.

‘If God gives us free will,’ he says, ‘we’re responsible for what we do, what we fail to do, aren’t we?’

He seeks advice from members of the clergy, but even if they are sympathetic to him, they are worried about what will happen to him and his family – and they are scared for themselves. The Nazis are melting church bells and turning them into bullets.

However, through everything that happens to him – hostility from fellow villagers, the realisation that he may have to be torn from Fani and their children, and the threat of execution – he cannot escape what he sees as the demands of the faith that

plays a pivotal role in his and Fani’s life.

It’s a faith that is tested many times through the film, as the actor who plays Franz emphasises.

‘It’s a conflict that is going on in Franz,’ says August Diehl. ‘Now we say he was a

It’s a conflict in Franz. You could say he’s abandoning his family hero because he didn’t fight in the war. But when he was in the middle of this process, there were a lot of reasons why he should make another choice – you could say he’s abandoning his family, he’s letting his children down. It was a huge decision and it was a fight, it was a conflict within him I think until the end.’

Writing to Fani from cells where he is imprisoned, Franz talks of seeing beyond

The Jägerstätters have their domestic bliss destroyed by the war

10 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

survival at any price and of feeling flooded with new light. He can reassure her: ‘Mine is the smallest of crosses.’ But at other times the couple struggle to understand what is happening. Fani prays: ‘Lord, you do nothing.’

August says: ‘When he was directing us, Terrence said it was important that we don’t see Franz as a pious farmer who absolutely knows that he’s right. That was not the case. The further Franz goes in the process, the more doubt comes in, not only about his decision but also in God, in faith. He wonders if what he is doing is actually right.

‘So later on we can say, “OK, he was a hero”, but no hero in the world is aware of being a hero while he’s doing something heroic.’

August says that, in his eyes, the film is about something beyond faith. He suggests it is about simplicity, and says that his main work in playing Franz was to ‘enter a state like a child’.

He says: ‘Every child knows what is right and what is wrong. It’s only later when we become adults and have all these different points of view that we become confused. But actually it’s pretty simple – to kill somebody is wrong.

Everybody knows this.

‘So when I was making the film I wanted to get back into the state of simplicity – I wouldn’t say naivety, but soberness and clearness.

‘The film is about finding a way to see what is right and what is wrong.’

Both August and Valerie are sure that this story set in the 1940s can say something in the 21st century.

‘There’s a tendency,’ says Valerie, ‘to think about power in a brutal and aggressive way, but it’s important to find this other kind of strength that is quiet and helps you realise that love is stronger than anything else.’

August believes that the world is in need of people who are willing to think and act differently from others.

He says he has been thinking about certain kinds of political party ‘gaining power again in Europe’ and about

INTERVIEW

Sometimes a simple ‘no’ would be enough to change the world

how generally ‘more or less everybody in society is on a “yes” trip and rushing in one direction’.

He explains: ‘If you imagine that a small group sitting in a room decides to do something, but just one person says “no”, then everybody else gets a little angry and starts asking that person whether he thinks he’s better than them – but they might also question why they are saying “yes” so fast.

‘Saying “no” can be very unattractive and annoying, but it’s lacking in our society. We need more people to say “no”. Without being aggressive, without fighting, sometimes a simple “no” would be enough to change the world.’

In A Hidden Life Franz is repeatedly challenged to explain whether he thinks his defiance will do any good, especially when no one will know about it.

‘Looking back from the outside,’ says August, ‘you could say that it did have an impact. It was the question that was put to Franz till the very end: what will his protest change? But to me personally, that is not the question. Franz’s choice is much simpler. It is just: “I can’t do this. I can’t go a way which I can see is wrong.”

‘That’s all. It’s not even a philosophy, which can be discussed. It is simply a personal act. But in it lies so much power.’

Franz suffers for refusing to swear allegiance to Hitler

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY • 11

EXPLORE Prayerlink THE War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their ­circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.

Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.

Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen

Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures

2 Corinthians AVING been forthright in his advice H on unacceptable behaviour in his earlier letter to the church at Corinth,

the apostle Paul was more conciliatory when he wrote again. His second letter is a response to those in the church who did not respect his leadership (see 1 Corinthians 1:12–14). As such, it reveals much about Paul’s psyche – including his insecurities.

Paul is defensive when he explains that a proposed trip to the church did not happen.

He also refers to a ‘painful visit’ he made (2 Corinthians 2:1). The personal nature of the letter can be seen in the fact that in his explanation, he uses the word ‘I’ 20 times (1:12 to 2:4). Nevertheless, he urges his readers to forgive those who are in the anti-Paul faction (2:5–11).

Paul sets about defending his record as a church pioneer. He had been commissioned

by God (2:17), and the existence of the church in Corinth itself testified to his ability (3:2).

Paul asserts that, while leadership is stressful and attracts detractors, his motivation has

always been honest (chapter 4). His mission is to preach that sinful people can be reconciled to the holy God through faith in Christ’s atoning death (5:11–21). For this, Paul has been misunderstood, mislabelled and mistreated (6:3–10; 11:24–28).

Paul is aware that his first letter caused

The letter reveals much about Paul’s psyche – including his insecurities

heart-searching and pain among the church members, but he is glad that they changed their ways as a result (7:8–13).

He refutes the charge that he is timid when face to face but assertive when behind the pen (chapter 10). At the same time, he admits that he is ‘untrained as a speaker’ (11:6).

Paul reveals his fragilities. At times in his missionary work, he had ‘despaired of life itself’ (1:8). Despite great success at spreading the Christian gospel, Paul has also been plagued with a ‘thorn in the flesh’ that God refused to remove (12:7–10).

Speculation abounds as to whether Paul meant a physical ailment or mental fragility.

Whatever the case, Paul says he is prepared to pay new the ist, ‘If anyone is in Chr the emotional, mental and e, physical cost of preaching creation has come: the old has gon new life through faith in 7 5:1 s ian the new is here!’ (2 Corinth Jesus Christ.

Key verse

New International Version)

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

"

Looking for help?

Just complete this coupon and send it to War Cry 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army Contact details of a Salvation Army minister

12 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

Name Address

j Q&A

EXPRESSIONS

FACES OF FAITH JANE BUTCHER, from Winsford, talks about cowboys, reading historical novels and hamsters with poorly legs

What’s your typical day?

During the week, my son Ben, who has Down’s syndrome, and I are often at our Salvation Army church. We help with the parent-and-toddler group and drop-in café, and every month, we go to the creative café church, which is designed for our adult friends with special needs and their families and carers.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What one piece of advice would you pass on to your teenage self?

When I was young there were a lot of cowboy programmes on the telly and I quite liked the idea of galloping across the wilderness on a horse. But in the end I became a teacher.

Stop trying to be like everyone else. Don’t be so negative.

Enjoy the moment more.

What was the last book you read?

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield, a true story about a father and son during the Holocaust. I love historical novels and stories with a lot of adventure and archaeology. I also read a lot of young adult fiction so that I can read it with Ben.

What’s good about being a Christian?

QUICK QUIZ 1. Who had a No 1 hit in 2016 with the song ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’?

2. In which Russian city is the Kremlin?

3. Who wrote the history books Double Cross and Agent Zigzag?

4. Which couple won TV’s Strictly Come Dancing last year?

5. At how many degrees Fahrenheit does water freeze?

6. How many football clubs are in the English Premier League?

You can mess up and lose your way, but you can always come back and find acceptance. Also, at times when I have felt isolated or alone, I have taken comfort from the fact that people were praying for me.

Offering to pray for someone is one of the most loving things you can do. Ben and I used to sell the War Cry, and people would come to share their worries with us. I would always offer to pray for them. Sometimes people said they didn’t believe in all that God stuff, to which I replied: ‘You don’t need to. We are doing the believing, so you can leave that with us.’

What one question would you ask God? How can I be a better me?

What do you pray about?

ANSWERS

Everything! At the Salvation Army kids’ club, we pray for hamsters with poorly legs, world peace and everything in between.

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY •13

1. James Arthur. 2. Moscow. 3. Ben Macintyre.

4. Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse. 5. Thirty-two. 6. Twenty.

PUZZLES

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Endure (4) 3. Task (3) 5. Furnace (4) 7. State (9) 9. Buffoon (4) 10. Brandish (4) 11. Intended (5) 14. Small rodent (5) 15. Truism (5) 17. Damaging written statement (5) 18. Cowboy contest (5) 19. Minutest (5) 20. Poor (5) 23. Acid-tasting (4) 25. Stoop (4) 27. Remarked (9)

HONEYCOMB

SUDOKU

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

9

7

1

4

3 8

1

1. A gentle wind 2. Drive forward 3. Eight pints 4. Monetary unit 5. Writer of a book 6. Written correspondence

5

4

1

4

9 3 8

1

5 9 8

3

2

4

5

WORDSEARCH

2

3

2 7

1 4

8

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these faith-based films

9 7 3 6 8 1 5 2 4 O A S P U D H B W K H Q H T Z R O P X W 2 4 1 3 I 5 9 I 7G R C J 8 6 W T B V N N C N Q G Z M N A BEN-HUR E H P R Z E E G Z N Y R G A 5 6 8 7 4 I 2 X S G T Z 1 3 9 BREAKTHROUGH

N E D Y E V I T S Y Z S M S I G P S Q G EXODUS 7 3 5 4 2 6 8 9 1 E S X X G A H B F R Q G U J Z G R W Y Z FACING THE GIANTS 2 9 1 3 4 5 F M 7 L H R P D E K B 6 I 8X D D C H Q O R Y HARRIET A A M O J H F T L V O K R O Z Z E X B F 1 9 4 5 7 8 3 6 2 JESUS CHRIST D C R Z G M S O H X G S V V U C Z T Y M SUPERSTAR 5 6 1 9 4 2 7 3 G K L M E O J S 8E R F Q B V N G B G D N MARY MAGDALENE A Z R P Y R R R E C O 4 2 9 I 8T E 3 I 7 R R A H S 6 1 5

M K A L F F Y H K T N U L F N W I E R C MIRACLES FROM 3 1 7 2 6 5 9 4 8 Y N L U K S T V Q Y O I G I Q H Q S Y Q HEAVEN R A T S R E P U S T S I R H C S U S E J NOAH

A J R U R L J G T Z N T B P X M G R Z N RISEN M S Z Y H C N T R J O K H Z E C Z H X S SILENCE I Q N B Z A E F I L N E D D I H A V V W SON OF GOD J Q X Q D R G E X I F F V Y W O T G O I THE PRINCE OF EGYPT O N F A C I N G T H E G I A N T S K N M D Z E S Z M Q N W Z Y N Z H S H N P P S THE SHACK A HIDDEN LIFE

HONEYCOMB 1. Breeze. 2. Propel. 3. Gallon.

4. Dollar. 5. Author. 6. Letter.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Last. 3. Job. 5. Kiln.

7. Condition. 9. Fool. 10. Wave. 11. Meant.

14. Mouse. 15. Axiom. 17. Libel. 18. Rodeo.

19. Least. 20. Needy. 23. Sour. 25. Bend.

27. Mentioned. 28. Weir. 29. Nip. 30. Tidy.

DOWN: 1. Loaf. 2. Tool. 3. Judge. 4. Baton.

5. Know. 6. Name. 7. Conundrum.

8. Navigated. 11. Melon. 12. Amble. 13. Tally.

14. Mar. 16. Mat. 21. Eaten. 22. Droop.

23. Show. 24. Rear. 25. Beat. 26. Duty.

1

3

2

4

5

8

9

1

8

6

3

7

6

5

4

2

7

9

1

3

7 9 6 4 2 5 8 1 3

2 8 1 5 9 4 7 3 6

6 3 9 7 1 2 4 5 8

5 7 4 8 3 6 2 9 1

9 6 2 3 4 8 1 7 5

4 1 7 6 5 9 3 8 2

8 5 3 2 7 1 9 6 4

SUDOKU SOLUTION

4

2

1

8

8

14 • WAR CRY • 18 January 2020

DOWN 1. Bread portion (4) 2. Implement (4) 3. Arbiter (5) 4. Wand (5) 5. Comprehend (4) 6. Title (4) 7. Riddle (9)

6

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

ANSWERS

8. Piloted (9) 11. Large fruit (5) 12. Saunter (5) 13. Match (5) 14. Impair (3) 16. Rug (3) 21. Consumed (5) 22. Sag (5) 23. Display (4) 24. Back (4) 25. Rhythm (4) 26. Obligation (4)

28. Dam (4) 29. Pinch (3) 30. Neat (4)

5

3

9

7

2

RECIPES

Cauliflower pilaf 1 medium cauliflower 2tsp rapeseed oil 4 spring onions, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 red pepper, chopped 2tsp ground cumin Pinch white pepper 25g sultanas 75g frozen peas

SERVES

4

1tbsp coriander, finely chopped 1tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

Carrot cake 60ml rapeseed oil

4tbsp granulated sweetener

300g wholemeal flour

50g sultanas

1tsp baking powder

400g carrots

2tsp mixed spice

250g fat-free quark cheese

3 eggs, beaten

1 orange, zest

1 banana, mashed

20g walnut pieces

Remove the stalks from the cauliflower, roughly break into pieces and grate into a bowl. Cover with clingfilm and pierce the film a couple of times.

Cook in the microwave on high for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, place the cauliflower on a clean tea towel and squeeze over the sink to remove any excess water.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the spring onions, garlic and red pepper for 2 minutes, stirring well. Add the cumin and pepper and mix well. Stir in the sultanas and frozen peas and cook for a further 2 minutes. Mix in the grated cauliflower.

Garnish with the coriander and almonds, to serve.

MAKES

18

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease a 25cm cake tin with 10ml oil. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and banana. Mix in 3tbsp sweetener and the remaining 50ml oil.

Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.

Mix in the sultanas and carrots.

Pour the mixture into a cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, mix the quark and remaining 1tbsp sweetener in a bowl. Once cooled, cover the cake with the sweetened quark.

Garnish with orange zest and walnut pieces, to serve.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk

18 January 2020 • WAR CRY •15

Matthew 5:7 (Good News Bible)