What is The

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.

Issue

No

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major

Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow

Production Editor: Ivan Radford

Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku

Staff Writer: Emily Bright

Staff Writer: Claire Brine

Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk

Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston

Graphic Designer: Mark Knight

Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk

The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 101 Newington Causeway

London

SE1 6BN

Tel: 0845 634 0101

Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org

Founder: William Booth

General: Brian Peddle

Territorial Commander:

Commissioner Anthony Cotterill

THE latest chapter in the history of a well-loved story will arrive next Friday (26 May) with the release of The Little Mermaid. The film is Disney’s liveaction version of its 1989 feature-length animation, which itself was a retelling – if fairly loose – of the 19th-century fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen.

As we note in our film feature, Mark Henn, who worked on the 1989 version, once told the War Cry that the animated Little Mermaid marked a milestone in the history of Disney’s ‘leading ladies’, because, unlike previous characters, Ariel ‘took matters into her own hands’.

It’s testament to the power of the original story – with its themes of identity and yearning – that it has resulted in films, plays and ballets and has come to mean so much to Hans Christian Andersen’s native Denmark that a harbourside sculpture of the character has become an emblem of Copenhagen.

An even more significant piece of literature is on the mind of Nicky and Pippa Gumbel in this issue.

‘Even for a lot of people who wouldn’t call themselves Christians, it’s on their bucket list to have read the Bible,’ says Nicky, who describes it as ‘the most powerful book in the world’.

Recognising, however, that some people are unsure how to tackle it, the couple have produced a series of Bible in One Year resources, including a book and an audio app, to help make it accessible.

‘Many people use the app while they’re running or going to work,’ says Pippa. ‘It can be part of your busy life.’

The Bible can become part of life in more ways than one. Those who take in its words find that it influences their everyday actions.

And stories in this week’s War Cry – such as our feature on a Salvation Army-run school for children with additional needs or our news snippet on how sports broadcaster Simon Thomas felt a sense of peace during a painful bereavement – show how its message of God’s love is still having a ripple effect.