What is The Salvation Army?
The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity seeking to share the good news of Jesus and nurture committed followers of him. We also serve people without discrimination, care for creation and seek justice and reconciliation. We offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK. Go to salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church to find your nearest centre.
What is the War Cry?
The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.
WAR CRY
Issue No 7624
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
Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn
IT would be impossible for most parents to imagine anything worse than the death of one of their children. Thirty years ago that was the reality that faced Neville and Doreen Lawrence when their son, Stephen, was murdered in a racially motivated crime in southeast London.
The obvious distress of Stephen’s family was made worse by the police investigation into the killing, which was later found by an official report to be incompetent and marred by ‘institutional racism and a failure of leadership’. The Lawrence family have never been the same since.
‘There were five of us,’ Neville says in an article in this week’s War Cry, ‘my wife and three children. And all of a sudden, I was left with two children and a wife. Then after that, I was left by myself, with nobody to talk to.’
But, despite the unimaginable pain and distress Neville has experienced, he has found a way to receive support and some comfort.
‘You can’t begin to heal until you’ve accepted what has happened,’ he says, ‘and you also have to try to find a way to continue to be you. That’s one of the reasons why I decided I had to put myself in the church, for the church to help me cope.’
In the feature Neville also explains how his faith has enabled him to forgive the people who murdered his son – something he knows he could not have done without God.
He tells us, ‘If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d accepted Christianity and the things you should do, maybe I would be doing things differently,’ adding, ‘I pray every day and every night for strength.’
If someone becomes a Christian, it does not mean that they will never have to face bad things happening to them. But with their faith can come a way to deal with those situations and the strength to carry on.
Whatever we face right now, God is able to help.
