War Cry 19 September 2020

19 September 2020 20p/25c

QUIZMASTER JEREMY VINE ON WHY HE IS GRIPPED BY A PAINTING

Cross question

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

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 7492

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 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 Mal 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, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.

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

ONLINE a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk @TheWarCryUK TheWarCryUK

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salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

2 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

EDITOR From desk From the editor’s desk

QUESTION: what do TV quizmaster Jeremy Vine and global prayer SINGING is good for you.

So have say scientists quoted the is that movement founder Pete Greig in common?

One on answer BBCare Future Theinexperts said singing they both website. interviewed this issue ofthat the War Cry.can boost our and sense of articles social connection.

At moods first glance, the two may appear to be on very different Perhaps it is withpresenter these benefits in Vine mindhas thatjust people have been subjects.

Eggheads Jeremy written a novel joining online choirs duringwork lockdown.

In this week’s issue, the inspired by a 20th-century of art. Pete Greig talks about his War Cry’stoSarah Olowofoyeku joins a virtual of the London response his wife Sammy’s chronic illness.rehearsal Look more closely, International Choir toconcerns discover for herself the pleasures however, and Gospel some common become apparent. people haveon found of singing alone, yet together with others.

Reflecting his experience of Christian faith, Jeremy says: ‘I Meanwhile Hardwick similar value in running. suppose we allAusten struggle with ourhas faithfound and whether we really believe.’

This week’s War Cryinalso interview with passion’, the marathon He describes having his includes younger an years ‘a burning runnerhewho found hishe sport to regain after which then lost, that before felt helped its ‘slowhim burn’ return.his Helife says his he sufferedhas three while in hisperhaps early forties. experience leftstrokes him thinking that ‘doubting can be good’ wasdoubt not only thatofhelped Austen’s andHowever, that ‘faithit and arerunning two sides the same coin’. recovery.

His Christian faithtalks played a vital part in him positive Pete Greig also about ‘struggles withtaking faith’. aHe is one of the approach to aall24-7 thatprayer he faced. team behind movement that spread round the globe.

I was hospital,’ Austen says, ‘I asked God take what Yet ‘When when his wifeindeveloped a chronic illness, he felt astothough his I was going through and tounheeded. transform me through it.’ prayers for her were going Christians God canatake any situation or anything He says hisbelieve prayersthat have made noticeable difference to his wife’s that theyondoonly or face and use it to a positive impact others’ seizures two occasions.

Hemake acknowledges that he in could lives ‘walked or their own. experience of he painter Oliver have away That from has the been wholethe God thing’ – but didn’t.

Pengilley.

Christians, Pete admits, don’t have ‘all the answers’. Yet he and Oliver a successful as an artist‘awith some others stillhad holddeveloped on to faith.

He talks of career questions being legitimate of his workofselling of money.

But,‘airlift as heus tells expression faith’ for andsignificant says that sums often God does not out of theproblems’ War Cry this grew frustrated. our butweek, ratherhe ‘parachutes’ in to join us in our ‘darkness, ‘I didn’tand seepain’. the meaning of it,’ he says. Now he travels to questions churches all over the world paintdepicted pictures right during To Christians, a clue is thetoscene in worship the middle of sessions and faith-based artwork helped in the painting thathis fascinates Jeremy Vine:has Christ of Stother Johnpeople of the Cross. their own faith journey.

In Jesus’ suffering, God shows that he suffers with us. It’s a It is anthat amazing truth thatand Godstill can take anythe skill a person has message has changed, changes, lives of countless or any –situation they about are facing people no question it. and can transform it into something that can change their lives and the lives of the people around them.

Contents

What is The Salvation Army?

FEATURES 3

Jeremy Vine

Painting puts broadcaster in reflective

frame of mind

6

Tech – the opportunities

Software developer on coding for good

8

Wall of silence

‘My prayer didn’t work’

REGULARS 12

Team Talk

13

Puppy Tales

14 Puzzles 15

6

War Cry Kitchen

8

15

Front-page picture: SOPHIA SPRING © Hodder & Stoughton

INTERVIEW

‘We need the Jesus story more than ever’ Broadcaster JEREMY VINE has written a novel based on a Salvador Dalí painting which depicts the Crucifixion from an unusual angle. He tells Claire Brine about his passion for the picture and why he is seeing his own faith from a new perspective

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HENEVER Jeremy Vine had a day off from filming the BBC Two quiz show Eggheads, he would walk to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow to stand in front of one particular painting. Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí got under his skin.

‘I think it’s the best painting since the end of the Second World War,’ says Jeremy, who, apart from his work on the quiz, has a longrunning weekday show on Radio 2 and his own news discussion programme on Channel 5. ‘When you look at it, you have this sensation that you’re descending from outer space and the first thing that you can see as you approach Earth is the top of Christ’s head. It’s a very strange angle.

Dalí’s painting of Jesus is different

‘The story behind the painting is also amazing.

It started off as a little sketch, no bigger than a Post-it Note, by a 16th-century Spanish guy called St John of the Cross. He got into a lot of trouble for it, because to depict a scene from above the Crucifixion was seen as blasphemy. For whatever reason, Dalí knew of this little sketch and decided to turn it into a painting. I must have seen it about 15 times now, so I’ve developed a bit of a relationship with it.’

Fascinated by the surrealist’s depiction of Jesus on the cross, Jeremy felt inspired to write a novel. Set in 1951, The Diver and the Lover tells a fictional story based on real events: that to create his masterwork, Dalí hired a stuntman and hung him from a gantry in his studio.

‘It must have been like an actual

Turn to page 4

➥ SOPHIA SPRING © Hodder & Stoughton

PA

Salvador Dalí with his painting ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’, which inspired Jeremy Vine to write a novel

19 September 2020 • War Cry • 3

From page 3 crucifixion,’ says Jeremy. ‘I’m amazed that Dalí did it. So we’re dealing with a crazy artist, a stuntman who has been asked to pose for a painting – yet probably doesn’t have a clue what the job involves – and two fictional sisters,

Ginny and Meredith, who get caught up in the situation. The problems start when the stuntman decides that he doesn’t want to pose for Dalí’s painting.’

Before Jeremy gets into spoiler territory, he turns the conversation to

the subject of faith and reflects on Dalí’s religious beliefs.

‘He’s one of those people that you can’t really categorise, because great artists inhabit every single piece of art they make,’ he says. ‘We always think of Dalí for his surrealism – his lobster telephone and the melting clocks. But this painting of Jesus is different, which I find interesting.

Perhaps Dalí got to a point where he wanted to go back to some first principles. He was approaching 50 years of age and said he wanted to paint something cosmic. I think he was searching for what his faith really was.’

It’s a search that Jeremy can relate to. After developing

I felt the slow burn of my faith come back

PA

an interest in Dalí’s painting, Jeremy found his faith in God evolving.

‘Christ of St John of the Cross has been a gateway to me,’ he says. ‘I suppose we all struggle with our faith and whether we really believe.

And if we go to church, do we all believe exactly the same thing? Here is a painting which takes our faith – and Jesus Christ at the centre of it – but delivers it in an angle that is completely shocking. It made me realise we can all have different perspectives but still believe in the same thing.’

In The Diver and the Lover, the fictional, modern-day security guard who works at Kelvingrove develops a feeling of responsibility for Dalí’s painting. At one point in the story, he utters some Workers reinstall Dalí’s painting after Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (right) was closed for refurbishment

4 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

INTERVIEW

words that come directly from the Bible, echoing the disciple Peter, who says to Jesus: ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ I ask Jeremy if those words reflect his own beliefs.

‘In my heart of hearts, I do believe it,’ he says.

‘I was brought up by two wonderful, evangelical parents, so I had the full “fire and power” Christian experience.

When I was 20, I read the Bible from cover to cover. I felt a burning passion.

And then I just lost it. The world encroached and now I feel my faith is a bit grey.

‘But I wonder whether my big discovery is that doubting can be good. Faith and doubt are two sides of the same coin, and the one thing to be scared of is certainty. So I’ve started embracing my doubt.

‘I also think the Jesus story is one we need more than ever.’

Reflecting on his Christian upbringing, Jeremy remembers that attending church as a child had a significant effect on him.

‘Our church was falling down, and the congregation raised loads of money to rebuild it,’ he says. ‘I remember thinking: for these people, this building is as important as their own home. I was amazed by their commitment.

‘But the sermons were too long.

There was quite a lot of Hell and talk of a burning lake of fire – and I was a sensitive little boy. So I have reservations about Christianity in such black-and-white terms. Life is lived in the grey and nuance. And our faith needs to help us on those days when we don’t feel like we believe in anything.’

After stepping back from faith for several years, Jeremy felt drawn back to church in his forties.

‘I had wanted to be a foreign correspondent and do the buccaneering thing,’ he says.

‘But in my forties, I felt the slow burn of my faith come back. I was remarried, had two daughters and felt very blessed. The miracle of becoming a parent made me think: is all this accidental? It didn’t feel like it.

‘These days, I don’t read the Bible as often as I should, but I pray – because there is so much to pray about. I pray for my kids. I look at

the world and pray for peace. Prayer is a way of talking things through.

‘The key revelation for me is that religion is about rules and buildings, but faith is about a person: Jesus Christ. It sounds wacky but the depth of his love and the drama of his life, as recorded in the Gospels, are amazing.

‘I often think of the story of Zacchaeus. He climbed a tree to get a view of Jesus amid the crowds, and Jesus spotted him and said: “I’m dining at your house tonight.” I feel a bit like that. I want to have a look at Jesus and be out of sight, but then Jesus approaches.

I love it.’

And time and time again, Jeremy’s perspective on Jesus has been enhanced by looking at Dalí’s Christ of St John of the Cross.

‘The key word has to be “grandeur”,’ he concludes. ‘If Christ is who he said he was, then Dalí’s painting is no small thing – it’s cosmic.’

l The Diver and the Lover is published by Coronet

19 September 2020 • War Cry • 5

Code of To mark National Coding Week, software developer JAMES DOC talks with Sarah Olowofoyeku about his approach to the use of technology

S

ENDING money, turning off the heating and finding love are just three of the many things that are now (almost) as simple as tapping a button on our phones, tablets or computers. We live in a digital world, and behind all the technology is code.

‘Code is the instructions that make software, the internet and websites work,’ says James Doc, a software developer and one of the leaders of Kingdom Code, a group for Christians working in technology.

‘The example I normally use is that if you were going to instruct someone on how to make a cup of tea, you’d give step-by-step, line-by-line instructions: find the kettle, fill the kettle with water and so on. Code is that, but for a computer. And it controls everything from what shade of blue to make a button on the screen to what happens when you click the Google search button.’

National Coding Week, which runs until tomorrow (Sunday 20 September), aims to improve digital literacy in adults, and, while no formal events can take place this year, the organisers are encouraging people to share their passion for learning digital skills. James agrees that digital technology is something people should be aware of.

‘We are increasingly living in a digital world,’ he says. ‘It’s inescapable. Technology governs how we work and what we do.

It’s important to understand that, because if you don’t, it’s easy to make mistakes and not realise how everything works or that you were doing something wrong. It’s important because it’s the way we keep in touch now. Technology has an ability to bring people closer.’

James believes that technology is good, but is mindful that, at times, it can go bad.

‘So much of technology has the idea of building relationships at its core, but it

6 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

conduct

INTERVIEW

James Doc

At Kingdom Code’s events, coders gather to create new apps doesn’t always play out. Social media can make us feel lonely. Watching a film used to be more of a social event, now Netflix is a great way of entertaining someone, but on their own.’

Through Kingdom Code, James and other Christians working in code want to explore how they can combine their faith with their work to make the world of technology better for everybody. Prior to lockdown, Kingdom Code ran monthly events in London, Leeds, Bath and Bristol.

Coders gathered to socialise, take part in seminars and join together for a 24-hour hackathon in which groups worked to build an app that would help the work of a Christian organisation or cause.

James explains that the skills the attendees acquire can be used in whatever context the coders work. ‘It’s a good learning experience,’ he says. ‘And we’re helping them to see that their faith can transform whatever they do.’

James has experienced a transformation in his own work.

‘I’m not writing code to try to make lots of money.

I’m asking how I can please God with it,’ he says. ‘The second greatest commandment Jesus talks about is loving your neighbour, so the challenge with whatever I’m working on is to consider whether it’s the loving thing to do.

‘I was working on a project a couple of years ago. It was a big ecommerce

system and we were told we had to upsell as many products and get customers to put as many things in their basket as possible to make the company as much money as possible. I came to a point when I realised that it was not loving or kind to the consumer. Some people have problems with buying things online, so I asked myself: is it loving for us, regardless of how they’re feeling, to put all this stuff on display? Maybe we should be careful about what we put up, watch how they’re spending and what they’re buying to make sure that they don’t have a problem.’

While James’s motivation to use technology responsibly stems from his faith, he argues that concern for wellbeing

Technology can bring people closer

is something that consumers already look out for: ‘If a brand shows you that they love you, you go back to them. But the ones who exploit you, you don’t.’

He believes that Christian values are good for everybody’s wellbeing and match up with how humans were designed to live.

‘As a software developer, I love the idea of design, that there is a way things are supposed to be used,’ he says. ‘When someone says software is broken, I say it’s probably not being used how it’s supposed to be.

‘The same is true for us. There is a right way we were designed for, a way that life is to be lived, and we can find that by coming to Christ. We can let him shape, influence and change us for the better.’

19 September 2020 • War Cry • 7

PETE GREIG talks to Claire Brine about his prayers for his unwell wife and why he didn’t walk away from faith when God was silent

I

N the year 2000, Pete Greig was the leader of a prayer movement that was going global and changing people’s lives. Later that same year, Pete’s faith in God was pushed to breaking point after doctors found a large tumour on his wife’s brain, requiring urgent surgery. Fearing she might die, he prayed for a miracle. As the founder of 24-7 Prayer, he believed in a powerful God who answered prayers, frequently working wonders. But on this occasion, God was silent.

‘The brutal fact of the matter is that while most of us pray, prayer does not always seem to work,’ says Pete, who told his story in the book God on Mute, a title which was published in 2007 and has just been rereleased with extra material.

‘It’s not always easy to be honest about God’s silence,’ he tells me. ‘Step into church culture and people feel that they have to be happy and have all the answers. But there are times when they just don’t. God doesn’t always answer prayer the way that we want him to.’

For the past 20 years, Pete has spoken openly about his experiences of God’s silence, hoping that it will encourage

8 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

others to be honest about their own struggles and questions. As the senior pastor of Emmaus Rd Church in Guildford, he believes that it’s natural for faith to encounter doubt.

‘The silence of God is a normal part of the Christian experience,’ he says.

‘We see that in stories in the Bible. More than half the Psalms are laments, not happy-clappy. When I read some parts of the Bible, I’m amazed at what didn’t get redacted.

It’s far more honest about the struggle of life than the Church is.’

Pete believes that such brutal honesty is valuable and necessary.

‘If we are honest about our struggles with faith, then we can also be honest when our faith encourages us,’ he explains.

‘One of the most interesting days in the year is Holy Saturday – the day between Good Friday and Easter Day. It’s a day with no answers and no easy solutions.

Jesus has died on the cross, but people haven’t yet seen the miracle of the Resurrection. God allowed the whole of

No creation to live in that space. I think that’s where most people live their lives today.’

And as they go about their business, millions of them pray. Even atheists, says Pete.

‘The root of the word “prayer” in Latin is precarius,’ he explains. ‘People pray because life is precarious. It’s terrifying and dangerous, but also wonderful. To be alive is more marvellous and precarious than we know how to cope with, which is why I think that to pray is not to be religious, but to be human. According to research, most people pray.’

On the night Pete’s wife, Sammy, was fighting for her life in hospital, all he could do was hurl prayers up to God. He takes me back to the beginning of their story.

‘When our second son was seven weeks old, Sammy woke me up in the night, having an epileptic fit,’ he recalls.

‘I’d never seen a seizure before, and I’d certainly never seen Sammy have a seizure. I thought I was watching my wife dying. I was more scared than I’d ever been in my life.

‘I started praying for God to stop the

People pray because life is precarious

INTERVIEW

answer seizure. But it didn’t work.

‘When we got to the hospital, doctors discovered that Sammy had a tumour the size of an orange in her skull and it required surgery. I remember very clearly thinking: I’m one of the leaders of a global prayer movement and yet my prayers for my own wife don’t seem to be working.’

As doctors took care of his wife, Pete’s faith in God was foundering. He didn’t know how to pray.

‘At first, I prayed like crazy,’ he says. ‘And then my prayers got shorter because I ran out of things to say. I’d think about my kids and Sammy and sigh “Oh God!” I didn’t know if that even counted as a prayer. Then I became terrified, thinking I wasn’t praying properly.

I wondered if I needed to fast, or take

Turn to page 10

➥

Pete Greig

19 September 2020 • War Cry • 9

From page 9 Sammy to Lourdes. At best, I prayed like a child and at worst like an addict.’

Despite the uncertainty of what the future might hold, Pete clung on to his Christian faith. It was a choice that he remembers making.

‘I could have said that I was hurting too much and walked away from the whole God thing because it was nonsense. But I realised that it would have been a denial of all the good things I had seen God do. I believed that there was more hope and beauty in life than terror and trouble. I also felt that if I got rid of God, it wouldn’t make anything better. In fact, I’d open up some far more complex questions. So I came to a conclusion that God is good, but life can be tough.’

Sammy had her operation and survived.

She was released from hospital and gradually became stronger. But over the past 20 years she has suffered countless epileptic seizures.

‘Only on two occasions have my

prayers made any noticeable difference to Sammy’s seizures,’ Pete says. ‘I don’t know why that is. To manage her condition, morning and night Sammy has to take fistfuls of multicoloured drugs, which leave her exhausted and lower her immunity. But amid all our questions, both of us have drawn closer to God through our experiences and been changed in ways that we wouldn’t want to reverse. I think we have become much more sensitive to people who are hurting.’

The perception that God sometimes appears to answer prayer and sometimes doesn’t is a stumbling block to many people who want to believe. Pete acknowledges that a God who seems inconsistent is difficult to understand.

‘God is powerful, but so are humans when it comes to the choices they make,’ he explains. ‘It’s not the will of God when people do evil things. So, although I believe that God is all-powerful, I also believe that he doesn’t always get his way. His power

God joins us in the darkness, questions and pain

10 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

is manifest through influence, not dictatorial control. There are times I wish he was like a dictator and did whatever was necessary to fix things. But there are other times when I’m glad he doesn’t work like that.

‘Here’s how I see it: we always pray for miracles. We want God to airlift us out of our problems. And sometimes he does.

More often in my experience, though, he parachutes into the valley of the shadow of death, and joins us in the darkness, questions and pain.

‘For Sammy, the valley of the shadow of death is the MRI scanner. At her first scan, she vomited all over the machine because she was so scared. But she had also memorised Psalm 91, and she recited it to herself while she was lying in the scanner. When it was all over, she said: “Pete, I experienced the presence of God in there.”

‘Throughout Sammy’s illness, we have experienced the peace and presence of God time and time again. Even when it doesn’t make sense.’

In the early stages of Sammy’s illness, the co-existence of peace and turmoil was

INTERVIEW

Pete and Sammy

reflected in Pete’s prayers. On the one hand, he was thankful for God’s mercies, such as the kindness of a Christian nurse who prayed for his family. He found comfort in Bible verses that promised hope and strength. At the same time, he remembers being driven to despair and shouting at God. ‘Tears were streaming down my face as I said to God: “I don’t care what your will is. If your will is to take a 29-year-old mother away from her children, then I’ll fight you for her. I don’t care about Bible verses!”

‘Later, I felt guilty about praying in such a way, but then I felt God clearly say to me: “I love that you prayed like that – because I love Sammy like that as well.”

I began to understand that there is an intimacy to be had with God that comes when we wrestle with him in our despair.’

While Pete’s faith proved strong enough to drag him through the darkest days, he understands that many people facing pain are confused by the suggestion that God is kind. He knows that sometimes it’s easier not to expect too much from God, in order to avoid disappointment. Despite

the unanswered prayers and questions, he claims there is plenty of evidence to suggest that God is good.

‘My evidence is Jesus Christ,’ he says.

‘He is my definition of what God is like.

Jesus is someone who suffers with us and for us, who is forgiving, magnetic, kind, sacrificial and funny. We see in Jesus a God who tiptoes and whispers and influences and refuses to exercise the kind of power that controls people’s lives like a dictator. Some people may expect such control from God, but in my experience, he behaves like a loving friend.’

Pete concludes that the silence of God does not have to spell the end of faith. It’s possible to live with doubts and questions while clinging to the idea that even in suffering, there is hope, love, life and meaning.

‘If people believe in God but go through a difficult season which causes them to doubt him, I’d urge them to reflect on the good things which they knew to be true about him in the past – because those times will carry them through,’ he says.

‘Secondly, I’d advise them to lean into their friends. Sometimes you can’t find

glory anywhere except in the kind friend who gives you a hug. That’s the smile of God. ‘Thirdly, I believe that questions are a legitimate expression of faith. They’re not a sign that we are losing our faith, but that we are flexing its muscles.

‘And ultimately, in all things we need to stay focused on Jesus. Through him, I believe in a God who suffers and who is weak and vulnerable with us – and that brings me the most glorious and wonderful hope.’

l God on Mute is published

by David C Cook

19 September 2020 • War Cry • 11

EXPLORE

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for David, who feels stressed as he awaits his court case; for Chris and Danny, who are not feeling well; and for Peter, that he will know that he is loved.

The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their ­circumstances. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk or to War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.

j

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

Team talk Team talk

talk ‘ ’ Lost Christmas?

Sarah Olowofoyeku gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

CHRISTMAS is cancelled, apparently. After last week’s announcement of the ‘rule of six’ being introduced in England – a restriction on social gatherings appearing in various versions across the UK – headlines suggested that the holiday had been ruined. ‘There goes Christmas’ claimed the Daily Mail headline.

That most wonderful time of the year is when so many people want to get together with their family to exchange gifts, play games, watch films and eat well. Christmas is about spending time with loved ones, the whole month often filled with engagements with friends or colleagues. This time last year, I was researching ideas for the work Christmas party. Twenty-five of us ended up playing indoor crazy golf. In 2020, the festivities will, no doubt, look a bit different.

Christmas is a time that many look forward to. After the year that we’ve had, celebrating properly would have been a redemptive end.

Perhaps it still can be. With three months until 25 December, there is time for rulings to change, and we may be able to have ourselves a merry little Christmas. Even if restrictions continue until then, the essence of the festive season can still be present.

Every year, Christmas is when millions of people mark the birth of Jesus. This year more than usual, it seems that we need the gifts of peace and joy that the news of his arrival brings.

Some words from the Bible usually recited at carol services remind me of what that news means: ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.’ This has been a dark year in many ways. But Jesus’ coming is a sign of hope. The Gospels gives him the additional title Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’.

Whatever we find ourselves facing at the end of this year, we can find comfort in the hope of the season. Light has come, and we are not alone. And if our celebrations are downsized, we can still open up our minds to the true significance of Christmas, which can never be cancelled.

We need the gifts of peace and joy

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a

War Cry 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN

Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army

Looking for help?

Contact details of a Salvation Army minister Name Address Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

EXPRESSIONS

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

Jak on holiday A

q -

quick quiz 1

In which cathedral was Thomas Beckett murdered in 1170?

2

Who had a No 1 hit with the song ‘Someone You Loved’ in 2018?

3

In the original UK version of Monopoly, how much money is given to each player at the start of the game?

a 4

5

6

Who plays protagonist DI Jimmy Perez in the TV crime drama Shetland?

What is a triangle with two equal sides called?

Who won the Formula One British Grand Prix this year?

ANSWERS

FEW weeks after our new puppy, Jak, arrived in our home and turned our life upside down, we went on holiday by the sea. Jak loved the holiday cottage, and he played catch me if you can around the lounge and kitchen. He was faster than us and difficult to grab, so he was on the loose for a long time.

Jak loved the smells of the seaside but our other dog, an elderly spaniel named Jessie, was less amused. She missed her bed at home, along with her usual routine and everything that was familiar to her.

It was interesting to see the way the two responded to the change in their circumstances, with Jak excited at the new adventure and Jessie unsettled by the change. It’s not only dogs, though, who can react like this.

Humans can feel either thrilled or agitated when their situation changes.

Sometimes their reaction is governed by their age and disposition.

In times of difficult change, many people of all kinds have found comfort through their belief in God, who is unchanging. Yet it was that same God who created this Earth and put into place the changing seasons of winter, spring, summer and autumn – all with their differing looks and feel.

Whether we prefer change or continuity, we can take confidence from the truth that God understands, is comfortable with both and is able to help us at all times.

As long as the Earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

Genesis 8:22 (New International Version )

BOOK REVIEW Running the Race John W. Keddie Christian Focus IN his biography of Olympic runner Eric Liddell, John W. Keddie gives insights into the Scotsman’s life on the track and off it. Many people are aware of Eric’s outstanding achievements – his sporting career memorialised in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire – but not so much about what happened to Eric after his gold medal in the 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

John describes Eric’s decision to follow in his parents’ footsteps and become a Christian missionary in China. He tells the heartbreaking story of how Eric was forced to send his wife and daughters to Canada for safety during the Sino-Japanese War, and how he died a few years later in an internment camp aged 43.

Running the Race is a heartfelt tribute to Eric. It shows the impact that one life lived well can have on countless others for many generations to come.

Linda McTurk

19 September 2020 • War Cry • 13

1. Canterbury. 2. Lewis Capaldi. 3. £1,500. 4. Douglas Henshall. 5. An isosceles triangle. 6. Lewis Hamilton.

CROSSWORD CROSSWORD PUZZLES

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Rebuke (7) 5. Asian river (5) 7. Friendly (7) 8. Surpass (5) 10. Thomas _______ , composer of ‘Rule, Britannia!’

(4) 11. Underground burial place (8) 13. See 23 across 14. Bornean state (6) 17. North African semolina (8)

by Chris Horne

19. Subpoena (4) 21. Deputy doctor (5) 22. Prevent (7) 23 and 13 across.

Baseball competition (5, 6) 24. Perpetual (7) DOWN 2. Spouse (7) 3. Leave out (4) 4. Seabird (6)

5. Excessive admiration for someone (8) 6. The same (5) 7. Culturally traditional (9) 9. Dungeon (9) 12. Greeted (8) 15. Relate (7) 16. Uproar (6) 18. Sore (5) 20. Ardent (4)

SUDOKU

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

HONEYCOMB HONEYCOMB

9

5

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

1. The lowest position 2. Sitting room 3. Sign of the zodiac 4. Swine enclosure 5. Spool back 6. Shallow trough beneath the edge of a roof

Answers

ordsearch ordsearch ordsearch ordsearch ordsearch

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

Wordsearch AA MILNE

BEATRIX POTTER CS LEWIS

DR SEUSS

EDITH NESBIT JRR TOLKIEN

JACQUELINE WILSON JULIA DONALDSON LAUREN CHILD

LEWIS CARROLL

MALORIE BLACKMAN

MICHAEL MORPURGO POLLY HO-YEN ROALD DAHL

HONEYCOMB 1. Bottom. 2. Lounge. 3. Pisces.

4. Pigsty. 5. Rewind. 6. Gutter.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Reproof. 5. Indus. 7. Cordial.

8. Outdo. 10. Arne. 11. Catacomb.

13. Series. 14. Brunei. 17. Couscous.

19. Writ. 21. Locum. 22. Obviate.

23. World. 24. Endless.

DOWN: 2. Partner. 3. Omit. 4. Fulmar.

5. Idolatry. 6. Ditto. 7. Classical. 9. Oubliette.

12. Welcomed. 15. Narrate.

16. Furore. 18. Ulcer. 20. Avid.

6 5 9 7 8 4 1 2 3

4 1 2 3 9 6 8 5 7

8 7 3 1 5 2 4 6 9

9 4 7 6 2 8 3 1 5

2 3 5 4 1 7 9 8 6

1 6 8 5 3 9 2 7 4

7 2 1 9 4 5 6 3 8

3 9 6 8 7 1 5 4 2

5 8 4 2 6 3 7 9 1

SUDOKU SOLUTION

VASHTI HARRISON

4

14 • War Cry • 19 September 2020

Look up, down, forwards, backwards

6 and 4 diagonally 8 9 2on the 1 grid 7 to 3 find 5 these children’s authors 5 1 7 4 3 6 2 9 8 9 2 3 7 5 8 1 6 4 E B R E A V K S Z Y M M B C K F P I H N Q E P G Z S Y M R B R X Z N O S 7 3 1 6 4 5 9 8 2 L N L D D V W U J V M Q T V A S L I 8 9 5 2 1 3 4 7 6 A E Z I Q R Z E Q Z I R J M T M L T U I Q U M D V S Y S C B K C B S Y P 4 6 2 8 7 9 5 1 3 R K S T J A Q R P B H C S V U Y H R 1 8 4 3 9 2 6 5 7 E L J U L I A D O N A L D S O N O E N O S L I 2W E N 5 6 I 1L E U Q C A 8 7 3 4J Y U 9 C T L K Z R C H B W L A X U V Y E Q 3 7 9 5 6 4 8 2 1 H R H Y T R S E I W M S K O M F N X

I R A Z W Y I S Z T O Z Q X S D Q L L J D H Z R L L O R R A C S I W E L D L D F O R E T T O P X I R T A E B Q J L L F S J Y J Z U W Z O K Q W H W V A S H T I H A R R I S O N S Q Y L M O Z S K Y X J K G F Z X M R G R J Q R R V U N Y I Y O Q E H N Z P N M V F Z V E D I T H N E S B I T F E

2

6 8 4

7 9 1 9 2 6 3 9

D Traffic light omelettes Ingredients

Method

2tsp vegetable oil

Preheat the grill.

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

Heat 1tsp vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add the peppers and spring onions and stir-fry for 3 minutes until soft. Set aside in a bowl.

Wipe the pan with kitchen paper.

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped 6 spring onions, finely chopped 8 eggs 4tbsp 1 per cent fat milk Ground black pepper SERVES

4

Beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Heat a few drops of the remaining vegetable oil in the frying pan and pour in a quarter of the egg mixture. Move the pan so that the egg mixture covers the surface. Cook for 2 minutes to set the base of the omelette.

Sprinkle a quarter of the pepper mixture evenly over the surface, and then grill for 2 minutes until set. Slide on to a warm plate.

Repeat with the remaining mixture to make 4 omelettes altogether.

Season with a pinch of black pepper, to serve.

Crunchy salad pittas Ingredients

Method

2tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and mustard in a salad bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot, onion, apple, raisins and cheese.

Season with a pinch of black pepper. Toss together gently.

1tsp olive oil 1tsp wholegrain mustard Âź small red cabbage, finely shredded 1 carrot, grated 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Warm the pittas in a toaster or under the grill. Split each open and fill with a portion of the salad.

Serve at once, or wrap and keep cool until ready to eat.

1 medium apple, cored and chopped 20g raisins 50g reduced-fat hard cheese, cut into small chunks Ground black pepper 4 wholemeal pitta breads

SERVES

4

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Public Health England website nhs.uk/change4life

19 September 2020 • WAR CRY • 15

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