War Cry 21 March 2020 by The Salvation Army UK and Ireland

21 March 2020 20p/25c

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT WOODS

PRAISE FOR POETRY

A MOTHER FACES DIFFICULT TIMEs IN JULIAN FELLOWES’ BELGRAVIA

Downturn in happiness

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

MILLIONS of mums are likely to be told tomorrow (Sunday 22 March) that they are one in a million. If anything, that familiar Mother’s Day sentiment is a numerical understatement. Being an individual human, every mother is unique. Being human, however, every mother is also a mix of the good and bad characteristics found in every person – sometimes in wildly varying proportions. Nona Jones is now a happy, successful businesswoman. But this week she tells the War Cry that when she was growing up, she was ill-treated by her mother and suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend. Nona’s experiences were so traumatic that she tried to end her own life. Nona reflects: ‘I forgave my mother a long time ago, but it’s a process I have to go through every day.’ This week, we also hear about the experiences of being a mother. Emma Rutland says that ‘frustrating’ is the first word that comes to mind when she describes raising a teenage daughter who has an autistic condition that causes her to resist normal everyday demands. While finding ‘real joy’ in moments with her daughter, Emma admits: ‘It has been challenging when Jasmine says no to everything … I can see that she is suffering because she’s saying no to something she nevertheless needs.’ But, like Nona, Emma talks of finding hope. And both say that they found that hope in their relationship with God. Nona says: ‘The Bible tells me I am wonderfully made.’ The Bible also compares the love God has for humankind with the love that a mother has for her children. ‘Can a woman forget her own baby?’ God asks in its pages. ‘Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you’ (Isaiah 49:15 Good News Bible). Nona, Emma and millions of other people have discovered that when they need to turn somewhere for comfort, strength, guidance and hope for the future, God is the one.

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 7466

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

Contents

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

Your local Salvation Army centre

FEATURES 3

Will truth out? Belgravia is full of secrets

Lines on World Poetry Day A celebration of communication

The mother of all challenges The joy and pain of being a mum

Root-and-branch therapy Boosting well-being in the woods

‘I grew up feeling worthless’ Nona Jones came through a traumatic childhood

REGULARS 4

News and media

Browsing the Bible

Now, There’s a Thought!

14 Puzzles 15

War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: ITV

2 • War Cry • 21 March 2020

ITV

Moments of truth

TELEVISION

Emily Bright watches a mother wrestle with a secret in ITV’s Belgravia

N the eve of the Battle of O Waterloo, members of the aristocracy were assembled for

the Duchess of Richmond’s glamorous ball. Not everyone, however, was having a ball in last week’s opening episode of Belgravia – the new ITV period drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Anne Trenchard (Tamsin Greig), the wife of a successful merchant, seemed ill at ease. Coming from a more ordinary background, Anne did not necessarily feel that she belonged in this lofty social circle. Those surrounding her were selfregarding, judgmental and quick to look down on others. She was also nervous as she watched the flirtations between her daughter Sophia (Emily Reid) and the son of the Earl and Countess of Brockenhurst, Edmund Bellasis (Jeremy Neumark Jones), fearing that any romance would end in tears. Her domestic worries didn’t last long. The ball was interrupted. The soldiers present, including Edmund, were commanded to leave for the battle at Waterloo, Belgium. Before long, the Trenchards heard the devastating news: Edmund was dead. The drama leapt forward 26 years. While attending an afternoon tea, Anne met Lady Brockenhurst (Harriet Walter). Anne told her that Sophia had died a matter of months after Edmund. Together, the two bereaved mothers reminisced about the night of the ball, when their children were in their prime. However, Anne did not tell Lady Brockenhurst a secret about Sophia’s death – a revelation that could shock their social circle and irreversibly alter the future of both families. As Belgravia goes on, viewers will be

Anne and Lady Brokenhurst have lost a daughter and a son watching to see whether the truth will out. Tamsin Greig explains that the drama has put the two women – Anne and Lady Brockenhurst – centre stage and has focused on the power they hold. ‘They have secrets about the continuation of

Anne is not doing anything for her own ends the family line,’ she says. ‘It’s what they do with that information which drives the story.’ Tamsin says that what is fascinating about her character, Anne, is that she ‘is not doing anything for her own ends. Her husband is a social climber and wants to be accepted, but Anne doesn’t care. She is only interested in the truth.’ Whether in the 19th or 21st century, the truth can change lives. Sometimes the truth can initially seem shocking and at times it can even hurt. Understanding the true state of our

relationships, finances or work prospects can alter the way we perceive ourselves – and everything else. But sometimes the truth can have a positive impact. There is one truth that has changed the lives of millions of people for the better in all eras. Jesus taught his followers that he came to restore people’s broken relationship with God. He said that God offered people forgiveness for times when they were self-centred, prejudiced or judgmental. He told people that if they put their trust in God, they would see how much they were valued by him. ‘If you hold to my teaching,’ he said, ‘you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:31 and 32 New International Version). The truth is that through a relationship with God, we can experience freedom from all that wrongly defines us. No matter what we’ve done, we can reach out to him for help. If we do so, we can encounter his unconditional love. It’s no secret.

21 March 2020 • WAR cry • 3

NEWS and media DIARMUID MITCHELL/Christian Aid

Actor gives love and forgiveness top billing

THE former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams led n a group of Christians in praying for the climate when they gathered outside the Houses of Parliament.

Other church leaders and parliamentarians were also present at the event, which was part of an ongoing global prayer chain run by Christian Aid in partnership with Christian charities Tearfund and Cafod. The campaign seeks to encourage people to pray about climate change every day until a UN summit on the issue takes place in Glasgow in November. Dr Williams, who is a chair of Christian Aid, said: ‘It’s clear that the impact of climate change on the poorest people in the world drives instability, injustice and conflict. Where climate justice is concerned, we’re summoned to acknowledge the consequences of our actions.’

MAX VON SYDOW, who played Jesus in the film The Greatest Story Ever Told, has died aged 90. The Guardian noted that the 1965 biblical epic, which charted events from Jesus’ birth to his resurrection, was the Swedish actor’s first large-scale US production. The actor had earlier appeared in Ingmar Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal and went on to feature in films such as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and Minority Report.

DURING an interview with lifestyle website Beliefnet, Ben Affleck talked about God’s love and forgiveness. While promoting his latest film Finding The Way Back, about an alcoholic basketball coach, the actor said: ‘I do see there’s something enormously beautiful and elegant about the notion that we are all sinners, and that it’s our job to find our redemption, to find God’s love.’ The actor, who said that he attended a Methodist church, added that it was important to ‘live the best life that we can, to love one another, not to judge one another, and to forgive one another’.

Do you a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk @TheWarCryUK have a TheWarCryUK story to share? B salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

CB AD

Letters reveal Narnia writer’s grief and pain

4 • War Cry • 21 March 2020

UNPUBLISHED letters from CS Lewis have been unearthed by an academic, shedding new light on the Christian author’s attitude towards grief. The Guardian reports that the letters, written months before his death, reveal the pain Lewis felt at losing his wife, Joy, to bone cancer in 1960. The author (pictured left), who created the magical world of Narnia, wrote a series of letters to American scientist Thomas Van Osdall. In one he expressed his sadness at the death of Van Osdall’s teenage son in 1962, adding: ‘I too have lost what I most loved.’ Philosophy professor Michael Peterson is to publish the letters next month in his book CS Lewis and the Christian Worldview. The Guardian quoted the professor as saying that Lewis’s theological questions about Joy’s death led him to understand his rational faith ‘a bit differently intellectually’. He added: ‘One of these letters shows his faith wasn’t destroyed. He was speaking out of the framework of faith.’

poetic FEATURE

Richard Foreman

How poetic! Claire Brine marks World Poetry Day HAT is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and enjoy W a poem or two? Today (Saturday 21 March) is World Poetry Day – a day that acknowledges the beauty of poetry.

According to Unesco, which held the first World Poetry Day in 1999, poetry connects people across the world because it reminds them that, humans share the same questions and feelings. Another aim of World Poetry Day is to create an attractive image of poetry, so that it is no longer considered ‘an outdated form of art’. Harry Baker is keen to put poetry in the spotlight every day of the year. The spoken word poet tells the War Cry why he thinks it is important. ‘I feel grateful that writing and performing poetry are daily practices for me, but the feedback I get from the school visits I do confirms how rare and valuable that can be.’ Considering the power of poetry, Harry says that people often connect with it, even if they can’t explain why. ‘Poetry is brilliant at capturing aspects of human existence, whether it is euphoria or grief,’ he says. ‘At the moment, when it is possible to feel so disconnected with one another, it’s wonderful to have these shared moments of communication.’ He’s not the only one to think so. People have been seeking comfort from poetry for centuries. Many of them have found solace in the Bible’s Book of Psalms, which records the poetic lyrics of songs from thousands of years ago. By diving into the 150 psalms – which deal with love, grief, longing, fear, depression, joy and hope – many readers have grown closer to God. One of the most famous opens with the line: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need’ (Psalm 23:1 Good News Bible). In a world that can leave us feeling disconnected, overwhelmed and empty all at the same time, the Bible assures us that we are never alone. We have God. With him, we can find the peace we need in all of our human experiences. Every day.

Poetry can capture euphoria or grief Ben Affleck in ‘Finding The Way Back’

TV’S The One Show featured the work of The Salvation Army as part of a segment on a BBC Young Reporter of the Year competition. Eleanor Hall had submitted an entry about her uncle David’s alcoholism, and The One Show’s piece included a visit to the Salvation Army centre where he received support and temporary accommodation. ‘We thought this was great and a turning point,’ said Eleanor’s mum, Ruth, about the organisation’s work with David. ‘But it wasn’t.’ David withdrew from the support provided and later died. Eleanor reflected: ‘We find comfort from the fact that places like The Salvation Army were there.’ Paul Huggins, a support worker at The Salvation Army, said: ‘We try to do what we did for David, to help somebody else. Hopefully we don’t have the ending that happened with David.’ Eleanor’s entry won silver in the competition’s Our World category.

Ali Johnstone/Greenbelt Festival

Spoken word poet Harry Baker 21 March 2020 • War Cry • 5

‘My daughter’s health condition has brought me to my knees’ EMMA RUTLAND talks to Sarah Olowofoyeku about the unexpected challenges of motherhood OMETIMES I have to think about ‘S how I’m going to manage the next two hours, because they could

go any way,’ says Emma Rutland, whose teenage daughter Jasmine has Down’s syndrome and a condition known as pathological demand avoidance. ‘Sometimes they go badly, and sometimes brilliantly.’ Emma wanted to be a mother from an early age. But she had no idea what it would entail for

her. The first time she became pregnant, she had a miscarriage. Then she had two children with significant health difficulties. When Jasmine was born and diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, Emma initially felt numb. After getting through a bout of physical health problems associated with Jasmine’s Down’s syndrome, the family experienced a period when life was more peaceful. But some years later, Emma realised that Jasmine’s behaviour had become challenging. Emma sought professional advice. After Jasmine went through much testing and misdiagnoses, Emma learnt of pathological demand avoidance (PDA). Its symptoms matched Jasmine’s behaviour. The condition falls on the autism spectrum but is different from autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Its characteristics include a need to resist normal everyday demands as a way of managing acute anxiety. Raising a daughter with the condition has been difficult for Emma. ‘The first word that comes to mind is “frustrating”,’ she says. ‘You know a child would not be able to do something without your help, but when they have PDA, they don’t want your help – they just say no. ‘It has been challenging when Jasmine says no to everything. It has brought

I was punched when I told her she couldn’t have breakfast because she had a stomach bug me to my knees. I can see that she is suffering because she’s saying no to something that she nevertheless needs. ‘The simple demand, “Can you put your shoes on?” can send her heart racing. The anxiety is so high that it causes her to become violent and aggressive. I was punched in the eye once when I told

6 • WAR cry • 21 March 2020

INTERVIEW

I have a good circle of people around me

The Rutland family Jasmine that she couldn’t have breakfast because she had a stomach bug.’ Reflecting on her experience as a mother to Jasmine, Emma admits: ‘It’s like living with Jekyll and Hyde. I have to be hyper-vigilant because an incident can happen very quickly. ‘The times that go brilliantly are moments of real joy. We’ve started from a place of real difficulty, so when Jasmine has achieved something that she struggled to achieve, it’s amazing.’ Emma says that although raising Jasmine, who is now nearly 18, has been tough, she herself has learnt much. ‘Jasmine has been my greatest teacher. She has taught me how to be extra patient and how to hold my tongue.’ Emma has also realised that she needs to be honest about how she is feeling. ‘I’ve learnt to say when I’m not coping. I have a good circle of people around me and great social workers. ‘Once a year, I go on holiday with a

friend, one of my older daughters or my husband. Jasmine is at school during the day, so I’ve found other things to do. I mentor and run parenting classes, so that I’ve got something of my own going on as well.’ Emma has also been helped by her Christian faith. She admits, though, that she does question God. ‘There have been times when something has happened and I’ve said: “God, you say that everything works together for my good, but I’ve just been punched in the eye, so how does that work?” ‘What I’ve come to understand is that life here on Earth is not final. There is another life beyond this. So it is true that everything works together for good. Sometimes we see it on Earth, and sometimes we have to wait. ‘This world isn’t as it should be, but God gives hope and helps us to get through life. I often have quiet dialogue in

my head, asking God what I should do, and telling him I need help. My journey has drawn me into relationship with him.’ Emma believes that God’s help is available to everyone, and she has tried to communicate that good news in a book, Stretched. ‘For people who’ve had a tough time in life, not necessarily in motherhood, the message is that God can meet you where you are. He loves you, he cares about you and there is hope. God doesn’t always suddenly fix a difficult situation, but he is present and can give strength to help you get through it.’ l Stretched is published by Authentic

21 March 2020 • WAR cry • 7

On International Day of Forests, PETE CARTHY tells Emily Bright how his community organisation is reconnecting people with nature in a bid to boost their well-being

e o t h a f l l C

OME to creatures great and small, the forests of Great Britain and Ireland have played host to generations of campers, walkers and cyclists as well as Scouts and Brownies keen to earn their bushcraft badge. Through International Day of Forests (21 March), the UN encourages people to discover even more about their wooded wonderlands. In Scotland, the community organisation Instinctively Wild is already tapping into the potential of forests. It runs a Branching Out programme of activities, designed to help people who are facing mental health problems. Developed by Scottish Forestry and run in partnership with the NHS, Branching Out encourages people to discover, explore and conserve wild places, and share their experiences with others. Clients can be referred by their GP or by mental health services. Pete Carthy, the founder of Instinctively Wild, explains: ‘In Branching Out we do lots of different activities, such as mindfulness, listening to birdsong, building shelters and fires, and learning about natural history. People can carry out surveys and conservation work by building bird boxes, planting flowers and observing wildlife.’ A study conducted during the first year of the programme found that it led to an increase in participants’ physical activity, and boosted their self-esteem, confidence, motivation and social skills. Branching Out is not the only programme that Instinctively Wild offers. For the past seven years, in partnership with the NHS, the organisation has also run an eco-therapy programme for people with early-onset dementia. ‘We use sensory experiences in nature to rekindle memories,’ explains Pete. ‘It’s an eight-week programme where clients might create environmental art, use tools, listen to birdsong and do tea tasting.’ Pete says that eco-therapy has many benefits for people with dementia. Not only does it trigger memories, but it

8 • War Cry • 21 March 2020

Pete Carthy

w ild

INTERVIEW

also creates community. ‘It’s quite isolating having dementia, especially in a rural community,’ he says. ‘So people find it helpful to come to a group where others have got a comparable condition to theirs. It’s helpful for the carers as well, because it allows them to talk to other people who are in a similar situation. ‘The social aspect of eco-therapy benefits everyone. It gives them something to look forward to. It raises their confidence and makes them feel better about themselves, helping them to realise that they’re not alone in their circumstances.’ Pete says Instinctively Wild’s eco-therapy programme has already had tangible results. ‘There was a guy who hadn’t played the guitar for years, because he’d lost his

We’re building communities and a positive ethos confidence and forgotten how to do it. We encouraged him to bring his guitar, and he sat and played. ‘It’s about raising the confidence of people, whether in the short or long-term.’ Pete’s recognition of the therapeutic power of nature spans decades. He first twigged that he wanted a career in environmental education as a geology graduate. Realising that he needed teaching experience, he studied for a PGCE and began working in a school. Twenty years on, his longawaited opportunity emerged when Edinburgh City Council advertised a training scheme for teachers to help run programmes where children learnt in the great outdoors. Three

years later, after much research and receiving a grant from a Scottish company, he set up Instinctively Wild. Running the organisation has not always been straightforward. At one time, it was on the brink of collapse because of a lack of finance. As a crucial meeting with a philanthropist approached, Pete turned to his Christian faith. ‘I prayed about it, and I got everybody I know to pray about it,’ he remembers. ‘I went to see the man and eventually he wrote me a cheque. And I think that was the work of God.’ It was not an isolated experience in Pete’s running of the venture. ‘My faith has played a big part in the project. I think of Instinctively Wild as my calling,’ he says. ‘Although we don’t tell anyone about Christianity on the programmes, we’re building communities and a positive ethos, which is very Christian. ‘We work with people where they’re at. We don’t judge anybody; we’re just treating people as we find them.’ As he seeks to serve and support people through nature, Pete draws his inspiration from a 19th-century Scottish Christian conservationist. ‘I agree with what John Muir once said: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul.”’

21 March 2020 • War Cry • 9

‘I found hope when my mother didn’t want me’ Y mother told me many times that she ‘M wished she had never had me,’ says Nona Jones. ‘When I was a child, my mom used to hit

me a lot. I was never sure what I had done wrong. But I grew up feeling worthless and very much alone.’ Nona is now a successful businesswoman and speaker living in Florida. But when she was five years old, her mother’s boyfriend moved into the family home and began sexually abusing her. The abuse continued until she was 11 years old. Nona’s young mind could not process the trauma of the sexual abuse or understand her mother’s behaviour. One day, when she was nine years old, she reached breaking point. ‘I was ready to end my life,’ she says. ‘I happened to see a story on a talk show about a toddler who had died after drinking bleach. So I went to the laundry room to see if we had any. We only had laundry detergent, so I drank that instead. I ended up with a very upset stomach and threw up. ‘The second time I tried to end my life was when I was 11 years old. Again, my mom had said something to push me over the edge. I slit my wrists because I felt so worthless. But it didn’t work.’ When she was six years old, Nona had summoned up the courage to tell her mother about the sexual abuse she was suffering. She remembers: ‘My mom had him arrested. He went to prison, and I thought the abuse was over. But, after his release from prison, my mom brought him back home, and the abuse continued. ‘I felt hopeless and desperate. I thought I had no value.’ Because of the trauma she was facing at home, Nona struggled at school. She was labelled a ‘problem child’ and was thought to have a learning disability. No one asked her why she was so unhappy. But one friend, Betty, invited her to church. ‘That Sunday, the pastor preached that God is a Father to the fatherless. My own father had died shortly before my second birthday,’ Nona explains, ‘and there were so many nights when I had cried myself to sleep, wishing my father was alive. Hearing about God being a Father piqued my interest. I thought: “Who is this God?” ‘I asked if I could take a Bible home, and I started to read the Psalms. I found so much comfort in the Scriptures. I wanted to learn more.’ The more Nona learnt about God, the deeper her faith became. It gave her courage in confronting the

Nona Jones tells Claire Brine how her life has changed after a traumatic childhood pain of her past and helped her find healing. ‘My relationship with Jesus has given me hope,’ she says. ‘It helps me to understand that I have deep worth and purpose. At the same time, that relationship doesn’t answer all of my questions, such as why I was born to a mother who didn’t want me. But I don’t have to know why certain things happened to me to know that God can turn pain into purpose.’ One way in which Nona has found fresh purpose is by sharing her story. In her book, Success from the Inside Out, she describes how she found healing from her traumatic childhood. ‘I forgave my mother a long time ago,’ she tells me, ‘but it’s a process I have to go through every day. And that’s because forgiveness isn’t natural. What’s natural is to become bitter and angry when people hurt us. To be able to forgive requires supernatural power. For me, that power comes from prayer. I give my pain to God.’ Despite Nona’s attempts to make peace with her mother, the two no longer have a relationship. Nona continues to pray for her every day, which, she says, ‘has helped me to see her with eyes of compassion’. After years of living in pain, shame and fear, today Nona is happily married with two children and enjoys a successful career at Facebook. She recognises how much life has changed for her – and she’s grateful to God for it. ‘Occasionally whispers of shame come into my mind,’ she says. ‘But these days I come back to those whispers with shouts of victory because the Bible tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. So whenever I feel discouraged, I believe there is hope for the future.’

Forgiveness is a process I have to go through every day

10 • War Cry • 21 March 2020

l Success from the Inside Out is published by Zondervan

INTERVIEW

21 March 2020 • War Cry • 11

EXPLORE Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Robert and for his wife, who has dementia; and for Fredrick, who feels alone. 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’.

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

Titus

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

ITUS, a Greek by birth, was a co-worker T with the Early Church leader Paul and accompanied him to Jerusalem for his sum-

Believers must respect the rule of law and live peaceably (3:1 and 2). Three times Paul outlines the foundational Christian belief that Christ died to save the world from the consequences of its sin. Jesus Christ ‘gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness’ (2:14). Paul expands on the theme by writing that ‘when the

mit meeting with other leading members of the Church (see Galatians 2:1–10). He later travelled with Paul to Macedonia and the church in Corinth. Paul regarded him as a ‘true son in our common faith’ (Titus 1:4). When Paul writes his letter to him, Titus is in Crete to put the church there in order (1:5). It will be a big challenge. Crete is notorious for its waywardness. Cretans are known for being ‘always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons’ (1:12). The churches have been infiltrated by ‘rebellious people … full of deception’ (1:10). To combat this, Titus must ‘rebuke them sharply’ (1:13) and warn troublemakers. If kindness and love of God our Saviour they do not listen, he is to ‘have nothing to do appeared, he saved us, not because of rightwith them’ (3:10). eous things we had done, but because of his Titus must also appoint elders in every mercy’ (3:4 and 5). church. They are to be faithful to their wives, He goes on to say that God ‘saved us hospitable, above reproach and teachers of through the washing of rebirth and renewal ‘sound doctrine’ (1:6–9). by the Holy Spirit … so that, having been Paul outlines what constitutes sound doc- justified by his grace, we might become heirs trine. It is twofold: sound belief and sober having the hope of eternal life’ (3:5–7). behaviour. This, says Paul, is the sound belief the In contrast to the pervading culture, older Cretans need to understand, live by and share men are to be temperate, self-controlled and with others. ‘sound in faith’ (2:2). They are to be an example to younger men, encouraging them also to be self-controlled as well as sound of speech (2:6–8). Older women are to be reverent in their behaviour, not engaging in appeared that ‘The grace of God has slander or addicted to drink (2:3). ople’ (Titus 2:11 offers salvation to all pe They should be role models for on) younger women (2:4). New International Versi

Believers must respect the rule of law and live peaceably

Key verse

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 • 21 March 2020

Name Address

EXPRESSIONS

Now, there’s a thought!

I’m not asking, I’m telling you

quick quiz 1

Which Tottenham Hotspur player is also the captain of the England national football team?

What is the name of the fictional London borough where EastEnders is set?

Which river flows underneath the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales?

Name the Russian chemist who invented the periodic table.

Which female tennis player holds the record of the longest span of time for appearing in Grand Slam singles finals?

Rock band Lindisfarne sang about fog on which river?

a ANSWERS

Everyone else may be doing it, but you’re not

by Jacqui Wright

Maybe my mother did know best CAN still remember one evening looking out from my bedroom window Istreet. when I was a young child and seeing my friends playing happily in the I longed to join them, but my mother had said it was time for me to be in bed. Enraged at my mother, I thought: ‘When I have children of my own, I will never make them do the things I had to do!’ My own children would smile if they could hear me say that. They would think that I did exactly the same thing to them. As children, some of us may have heard the words ‘I’m not asking, I’m telling you’ or ‘Everyone else may be doing it, but you’re not!’ While the words we heard may have seemed harsh to us once, when we become mothers or fathers ourselves, or simply grow older, we come to understand that parents usually give instructions that they know will be beneficial to their children. Tomorrow on Mother’s Day (Sunday 22 March), many of us will be celebrating the influence of mothers – or others who played a nurturing role in our lives – and remembering the ways they gave us a shoulder to cry on, encouragement and, yes, instructions. Like a caring parent, God shows how much he cares for humankind by giving instructions that are for our good. In the Bible he says that we should love our neighbour. We should forgive one another. And we should make sure that no one in our community is left hopeless. But as well as practical advice, he offers us a listening ear. He reassures those who put their trust in him: ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you’ (Isaiah 43:5 New International Version). Life is rarely child’s play, but whatever we are going through, we can know that nothing need separate us from God’s care.

They gave us a shoulder to cry on

1. Harry Kane. 2. Walford. 3. River Dee. 4. Dmitri Mendeleev. 5. Serena Williams. 6. The Tyne.

21 March 2020 • WAR cry •13

PUZZLES

QUICK CROSSWORD QUICK CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1. Injure (4) 3. At a great distance (3) 5. Slightly hot (4) 7. Unusual, exciting experience (9) 9. Confront (4) 10. Also (4) 11. Bedlinen item (5) 14. Redden (5) 15. Great confusion (5) 17. Sky blue (5) 18. Attire (3-2) 19. Bury (5) 20. Go in (5) 23. Happy (4) 25. Worry (4) 27. Ridiculous (9) 28. Thaw (4)

HONEYCOMB

8. 11. 12. 13. 14. 16. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

29. Conclude (3) 30. Shout (4)

DOWN 1. Fifty per cent (4) 2. Manufactured (4) 3. New (5) 4. Knot again (5) 5. Become misshapen (4) 6. Muddle (4) 7. Judicial discharge (9)

SUDOKU

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

HONEYCOMB 2

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

ALLITERATION ANAPAEST

ANAPHORA

ASSONANCE

BLANK VERSE CAESURA DACTYL

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Harm. 3. Far. 5. Warm. 7. Adventure. 9. Face. 10. Plus. 11. Sheet. 14. Blush. 15. Havoc. 17. Azure. 18. Get-up. 19. Inter. 20. Enter. 23. Glad. 25. Fret. 27. Ludicrous. 28. Melt. 29. End. 30. Yell. DOWN: 1. Half. 2. Made. 3. Fresh. 4. Retie. 5. Warp. 6. Mess. 7. Acquittal. 8. Elevators. 11. Shape. 12. Erupt.13. Their. 14. Bog. 16. Car. 21. Noise. 22. Erred. 23. Glum. 24. Duct. 25. Fury. 26. Till. HONEYCOMB 1. Refund. 2. Puddle. 3. Midday. 4. Forbid. 5. Albert. 6. Lumbar.

ENJAMBMENT

HEROIC COUPLET

IAMBIC PENTAMETER METAPHOR

ONOMATOPOEIA QUATRAIN REFRAIN

RHYME SCHEME SIMILE

SYLLABIC VERSE

5 8

2 8

TROCHEE

3 9 2 5 8 7 4 1 6

6 7 8 2 5 4 1 3 9

1 3 4 9 7 6 2 8 5

9 2 5 8 3 1 6 4 7

2 4 3 7 6 5 8 9 1

8 5 1 3 4 9 7 6 2

7 6 9 1 2 8 3 5 4

SUDOKU SOLUTION

14 • War Cry • 21 March 2020

Wordsearch

Answers

Wordsearch Wordsearch Wordsearch Wordsearch Wordsearch Wordsearch Wordsearch

1. Pay back money 2. Pool of rainwater 3. Noon 4. Order not to do 5. Einstein’s forename 6. Relating to the lower back

Lifts (9) Mould (5) Burst (5) Belonging to them (5) Marshy area (3) Automobile (3) Sound (5) Strayed (5) Crestfallen (4) Cable tube (4) Rage (4) Money drawer (4)

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these words associated with poetry

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

7 8

RECIPES

Eggs and guacamole on toast ½ red onion, roughly chopped 1 red chilli, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, sliced 2tbsp fresh coriander (including stalks), chopped 1 ripe avocado, stoned, peeled and cubed 2tbsp lime juice Salt Chilli powder 2 large British Lion eggs 2 slices sourdough bread, toasted Serves

Muesli and berry egg wrap 2 large British Lion eggs 25g low-sugar muesli ½ tsp ground cinnamon Sunflower oil 75g mixed raspberries and blueberries 3tbsp fat-free Greek yoghurt Honey, to serve

To make the guacamole, grind the onion, chilli, garlic and coriander in a mortar and pestle until it makes a thick paste. Place the avocado and lime juice in a bowl. Use a whisk to break up the avocado. Gradually add in the onion paste. Season with salt and chilli powder, to taste. Set aside. Bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat until the bubbling stops. Swirl the water gently, then break in the eggs one at a time and poach them for 4 minutes. Spread the guacamole on the slices of toast, then use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs and place on top of the toast.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the British Egg Information Service website eggrecipes.co.uk

Beat the eggs with the muesli and cinnamon in a bowl. Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick frying pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat. Use a spatula to push the cooked egg into the centre of the pan and allow the runny egg to fill the space. Repeat until no more runny egg is left. Once the base is golden, transfer the ‘omelette’ to a plate. Scatter over the berries and top with yoghurt. Fold over and serve drizzled with honey.

Serves

21 March 2020 • WAR cry •15

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He careS for those who trust in him Nahum 1:7 (New International Version)