War Cry 23 March

WAR CRY

In with a shout

Bill Nighy drama reflects real-life goals of Homeless World Cup

Chocolate café serves its community

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.

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

1 Champion Park

London

SE5 8FJ

Tel: 0845 634 0101

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

Founder: William Booth

General: Lyndon Buckingham

Territorial leaders:

Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main

Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn

Your local Salvation Army centre

ASK people to imagine going to church and most would probably picture sitting in pews, listening to a member of the clergy speak and joining in with the occasional hymn.

But in some places going to church is a very different experience. For example, the Salvation Army church in Whittlesey runs as an art studio, where people in the community can take part in arts and crafts activities to help improve their wellbeing.

In an interview in this week’s War Cry, church leader Major Lorraine Chaundy tells us that ‘church is a community of people who care and grow together’.

Lorraine has noticed transformations in the lives of the people who go to the church. Although The Salvation Army does not hold a traditional Sunday service in Whittlesey, she is certain that it is still a church, explaining that the art studio is a space where people ‘get a chance to care’.

She says: ‘Jesus’ life teaches us so much of how to live, how to accept people and meet them where they are at, and how to share life with them.’

Also following the example of Jesus is Linda Barrie from York, who runs a hot chocolate café that provides employment and training to people experiencing homelessness, ex-offenders and recovering addicts. In this issue, Linda explains how the welfare of her staff and customers is important to her and how her faith is the driving force behind all that she does.

‘For me,’ she says, ‘Chocolate & Co is a form of worship.’

The way that Christians worship is not limited to the traditional idea of sitting in a pew for an hour or so on a Sunday morning. While structured services do play an important part in their lives, there is more to being a follower of Jesus.

The work that Lorraine and Linda do reflects the loving nature of Jesus and his concern and care for all people – whether or not they’re in a church service on a Sunday morning.

INFO INFO

GAME OF TWO HALVES

THE atmosphere is electric. Crowds cheer as the football commentator excitedly covers a match. But, as the camera pans down from the London skyline in the opening shots of The Beautiful Game – released on Netflix on Friday (29 March) – it transpires that commentator Vinny Walker (Micheal Ward) is just watching kids playing football in a park.

When the ball is kicked towards him, Vinny hijacks the game to show off his skills. What he doesn’t know is that he’s playing in front of retired football agent Mal Bradley (Bill Nighy), who invites him to join a five-aside men’s team that he is coaching.

Mal explains that the team are about to represent England. The twist is that the competition they’re taking part in is the Homeless World Cup in Rome.

Vinny quickly recoils, his pride hurt by the assumption that he qualifies for the squad.

Homeless World Cup football story tackles the topic of second chances

preview by Emily Bright

that’s recovering from addiction, finding a sense of identity in their adopted nationality or simply trying to restore their pride. The Homeless World Cup provides an opportunity for a second chance, which Vinny can shoot for if he learns how to put his past behind him and become a team player.

One person who knows what the real Homeless World Cup is all about is Mark Atkinson, who took part in the tournament in Cardiff in 2019.

If I’m struggling, they’re always there

The truth is that his life has fallen apart: he is in fact homeless, having lived in his car for a few months. He is also struggling to find enough work, but is trying to keep up appearances when he sees his daughter, Evie.

After a change of heart, Vinny joins the team as their striker. As the tournament progresses, it’s clear that each player has their own challenges and goals – whether

Having played football at The Salvation Army’s Ty Gobaith Lifehouse – which offers supported accommodation to people experiencing homelessness – he represented Wales as its goalkeeper.

‘It was amazing. I enjoyed all of it,’ he tells the War Cry. ‘And with it being in my home city as well, it made it that bit more special.

‘Football got me mixing with people again. I still chat to people or message people from there, so relationships that were built are still going on. If it weren’t for the Homeless World Cup, I’d probably be a lot further back in my process of dealing with people.’

Mark is grateful for the support of

another team too: The Salvation Army staff at Ty Gobaith.

‘If I’m struggling with anything, they’re always there and I can pop into the centre and speak to them,’ he says. ‘I’ve been out of the hostel now for three and a half years, and they’re still part of my support network.’

With the help it gives to people experiencing homelessness across the UK and Republic of Ireland, The Salvation Army’s goal – motivated by the Christian faith – is not only to provide housing, but also to assist people in finding employment, getting free of debt and recovering from addiction or mental health problems.

It’s a practical demonstration of the belief that, with God, giving people a second chance can end with the right result.

Vinny (Michael Ward) plays as England’s striker at the Homeless World Cup

Film

NETFLIX

Vinny and his coach Mal

‘ ’

j TEA M TALK

Mums seek connection after tragedy

Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

WEEKS after teenager Scarlett Jenkinson was sentenced to 22 years in prison for murdering 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, the mothers of the girls met in person to gain an understanding of each other’s experiences.

In February last year, Scarlett and her friend Eddie Ratcliffe stabbed Brianna to death in an offence that the court believed was motivated by their hatred for transgender people.

According to a report on the Sky News website, Brianna’s mother, Esther, said that a ‘positive and respectful’ meeting had taken place this month with Scarlett’s mother.

Afterwards Esther told BBC Breakfast host Sally Nugent that she was keen to see Scarlett’s mother because she ‘wanted to understand her perspective’. She found herself empathising with Scarlett’s mother, explaining that she understood how ‘difficult it is being a parent to a teenager’ surrounded by modern pressures.

Reflecting on Scarlett’s attack on Brianna, Esther said: ‘What has happened has impacted their family massively, just the same as it has impacted mine. What they’ve gone through is terrible as well.’

Both have been cut off from a daughter

While I’m unable to understand the depth of the pain that Esther is going through as a bereaved mum, I am full of admiration for her strength and courage in agreeing to meet the parent of her daughter’s killer. Her ability then to empathise with a fellow mother astounds me, because it points to a compassion that many others would perhaps struggle to show.

But what strikes me most about the meeting is the reminder that it’s impossible to reduce crimes to a ‘simple story’ of good people and evil people. They are also about hurt and broken people. When Esther looked into the eyes of Scarlett’s mother, she found that there was more to connect them than to separate them. Both have been cut off from a daughter they love. Both women have been through – are going through – hell.

In devastating circumstances that are beyond our control, the knowledge that life will never be the same again can be crushing. If we face such times, it may be tempting to look for someone to blame for that pain. But if we, like Esther, can find it within ourselves to choose compassion over hatred, and connection over division, we could be one step closer to finding peace.

Team talk Team talk

WAR talk talk

Praise for new work on Bible’s first book

THE former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has praised a new close reading of the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Reading Genesis by Pulitzer prizewinning novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson was described in Dr Williams’s review on The Telegraph website as a ‘brilliantly fresh reading of familiar stories’.

He said that ‘Robinson shows with great clarity’ how, unlike its contemporaries, Genesis tells stories not about gods but about a ‘divine presence encountered by human agents’.

He explained: ‘They show a God who makes the universe simply because he wishes to make something that is good and that causes delight. Human beings are there not to serve God’s supposed needs but to respond to this good world and find their place within it as active and responsible witnesses to the fact of its goodness… While the gods of other ancient cultures demand sacrifices to keep them fed and happy, the God of Genesis needs nothing.’

Do you have a story to share?

WAR CRYWn

Faith brings Raye of hope

RAYE – who earlier this month won a record six Brit awards – told the Radio 4 programme Woman’s Hour that her Christian faith helped her through a difficult period in her life when she had turned to drink and drugs.

Reflecting on how she found a way through her struggles, the singer, who was raised in a churchgoing family, told presenter Emma Barnett that her faith enabled her to ‘pray it away’.

She said: ‘I think everyone in this world has to find their own coping mechanisms. Some people meditate, some people go to the mosque. For me, it is just praying, and that has been able to give me peace. I don’t honestly know how I would have made it without finding that inner healing.

‘I also had a lot of things I needed to forgive and let go. A lot of things that could have made me really bitter and really ugly, and, at one point, really lose myself. So I’m just really grateful that I have that.’

nFORMER England goalkeeper David James called into The Salvation Army in Wisbech. The Liverpool, Watford and West Ham footballer donated food and spent time chatting with staff and volunteers at the Cambridgeshire church, which runs a drop-in and hot food service for people experiencing homelessness.

Jon Pearce, who is on the church leadership team, said: ‘David was interested in the work The Salvation Army does with our local community and suggested some good ideas which got us thinking about other kinds of ministry.’

Every little helps with neonatal support

NEONATAL units across England will receive packs of premature baby clothing thanks to a partnership between The Salvation Army and Tesco.

Tesco is donating 23,000 packs of clothes – including sleepsuits, bodysuits, hats and scratch mitts – which The Salvation Army’s trading arm SATCoL will deliver to 157 hospitals.

Kirk Bradley, head of corporate partnerships at SATCoL, said: ‘We are happy to be supporting Tesco to deliver these muchneeded items of clothing to the NHS neonatal units, which are saving young lives.’

Christian service recognised

THE Queen will be distributing the Royal Maundy gifts on behalf of the King at Worcester Cathedral on Thursday (28 March).

Ceremonial coins will be presented to 75 men and 75 women from around the country, in recognition of their exemplary Christian service to church and community over many years.

The number of men and women receiving the Maundy Money is equivalent to the monarch’s age.

The word ‘maundy’ comes from the Latin word, meaning ‘commandment’. It was on Maundy Thursday, the day before Jesus was crucified, that he gave his disciples the new commandment: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’

PA IMAGES/ALAMY

JAMIE BELLINGER/ALAMY

Reframing

church

‘KNOWING there was no congregation left didn’t scare me at all,’ says Lorraine Chaundy, who in August 2022 was appointed to work at The Salvation Army in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, where the church building lay empty. Now the church is running as an art studio, where people in the community take part in arts and crafts activities, and courses in skills such as landscape painting. The studio also runs creative sessions for particular groups, such as drug recovery and school interventions.

Lorraine explains how she decided to reframe the idea of church in Whittlesey.

‘I thought a blank canvas was marvellous,’ she says. ‘I spent the first few months tidying cupboards and freshening up the paint, as well as praying.

‘After hearing research from The Salvation Army’s headquarters for this area, doing my own research and meeting people in the community, it was obvious to me that I needed to try something to do with wellbeing here. One of the statistics I found was that Whittlesey was well above national average for hospitalisations

through self-harm, across all people and all ages.

‘I felt led to start doing arts and crafts for wellbeing and see what happened. There is scientific evidence that creativity – arts and crafts, music – helps wellbeing. It takes anxiety away and gives good endorphins.

Just over a year ago, Whittlesey Salvation Army was an empty church building. Major LORRAINE CHAUNDY was appointed to work in the town in the summer of 2022 and she decided to give the place a paint job, in more ways than one

Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

‘In a prayer time, I came up with a logo for the space. Then I created a piece of art with some wood, to display the word “create”. I wanted this church to be somewhere people could come and be creative, and do arts and crafts, which I can teach.

‘And, as God is our creator and he made us in his image and his likeness, then we are supposed to create.’

Soon after drawing up the idea to turn the church into a space for art, Lorraine –who worked as a graphic designer before becoming a leader in The Salvation Army

The Studio runs arts and crafts activities throughout the week

– advertised on social media and invited people she had met in the small town to a re-opening day on 1 December 2022 at the church building, which she had called The Studio.

Over time, a number of people began to attend The Studio to take part in the activities that Lorraine put on. Today a weekly programme of events take place in the building, including courses for more advanced art skills run by guest

Lorraine Chaundy

art teachers.

‘I started off with arts and crafts dropins,’ Lorraine says. ‘Then I was asked by someone employed by the NHS to do a specific provision for people in Whittlesey recovering from addictions. I also have a group that a lot of adults with learning needs come to with their carers. There is a craft I organise for them, or they can bring their own.

‘On Thursdays I run groups for preschool age children called Little Sparks, to either make music or do arts and crafts. Then I’ve got a group of schoolchildren who come in during the day – children who are struggling with anxiety or on the special educational needs register – to do art journaling or

another activity.’

Each of the groups Lorraine runs is either free or very low-cost, making them accessible for all in the community. Although Whittlesey Salvation Army does not hold a Sunday service, The Studio is still ‘church’, Lorraine says, and it is a space where ‘you get a chance to care’.

People are learning to care for each other

‘Our activities run in small groups or one-toone. In those small groups, amazing things are happening, conversations, people sharing stuff. There are often people in tears. We have a quiet room, where there is space to go and chill out. There are little communities building, who are learning to care for each other, because they come to programmes

regularly. If church is a community of people who care and grow together, then that’s what’s happening.’

Over the months, Lorraine has noticed transformations in the lives of the people walking through the church doors.

‘The first time one man tried to attend a recovery session he couldn’t make it in the door, he was so anxious,’ she says. ‘The following week, he made it in, and he hasn’t looked back since. He is recovering from a drug addiction and has a lot of difficult physical symptoms that he’s dealing with.

‘He described himself as being in a very difficult headspace, but that week we were making art journals, and he said the process of putting together the

Turn to page 8 f

A piece of artwork made by Lorraine that represents the vision of The Studio

From page 7

journal was mindful, something that took away his anxiety and that our building was somewhere to come to get out of the house and not think.

The space has been transformative

‘Another lady who had had cancer three times came to one of the courses. She found the place so peaceful, and would speak of how it made her emotional to be here and feel cared for. She talked to us once about how she was struggling to imagine herself back at work and about some of her fears. Then we had everyone on the table talking about some of their fears and where their peace and hope comes from. When she left the course to go back to work, she felt so different. I thought that was incredible.’

Lorraine also tells the story of a woman with severe learning disabilities who attends The Studio every Wednesday.

‘Her mother told me that since she has been coming, she is different and seems to have more confidence. The woman herself said to me recently, “I looked at somebody in the eye the other day.”

That may seem like a little thing, but it’s awesome, because she finds it really hard to look at people in the eye. So this space has been transformative for her.’

Lorraine’s work is motivated by her faith in Jesus, whose death and resurrection will be celebrated by Christians all over the world next weekend.

Throughout this week, she will be hosting a series of art journaling events to mark the Last Supper, Jesus’ death and his resurrection, using Scripture, and a family fun day

on Easter Monday at Whittlesey to help people engage with the Easter story.

‘It’s a miraculous story,’ she says. ‘Through the different activities around the room, I’ll do an activity that explains what it means to us today. Which is that it’s God’s huge rescue plan.

‘Jesus’ life teaches us so much of how to live, how to accept people and meet them where they are at, and how

The quiet room, where people can take time out to reflect or pray

A mosaic made during The Studio’s re-opening day

Drink it in

LINDA BARRIE talks about her hot chocolate café, which is providing a rich source of community for employees and customers

Interview by Emily Bright

MUM Linda Barrie began her chocolate career in her kitchen, when she wanted to create a hot chocolate for her two lactose-intolerant daughters. Back in 2006 there weren’t many options available, so she came up with her own.

‘I would make a dark hot chocolate, with soya milk and unrefined sugar,’ says Linda. ‘And I felt there was a business idea in it. I got started at home in the kitchen, and it progressed from there.’

Linda’s next step was making chocolate stirrers that melted in warm milk to create an instant drink.

‘I had bought a box of chocolate, an instruction manual and a machine,’ she says. ‘I could make 18 hot chocolate stirrers in this tiny machine I’d bought. A company ordered 60 the first week, and they rang up the second week, saying: “Can we increase that to 600, please?”’

Linda called her newly founded company Choc Affair, which expanded into a factory in York. She began producing

Linda Barrie

From page 9

handmade artisan chocolates, using sustainably sourced cocoa.

Linda also offered employment to individuals connected to her church. At the church group she attended, she met and befriended two people who were both in addiction recovery. It became clear that working at the factory was beneficial for them.

‘They felt good about themselves, their self-esteem was stronger,’ Linda recalls. ‘The addiction was always there in the background. It never went away, but being busy, active, and purposeful helped them. Then Covid hit.’

a chocolate-loving community extended far beyond that. She wanted to provide more employment and training to people experiencing homelessness, ex-offenders and recovering addicts. Two years after setting up the pod she opened the café, Chocolate & Co, which she runs with Mariah.

It’s about loving people well

The pandemic took its toll on both of them, and they died from drug overdoses in 2020 and 2021. Linda was determined to honour their memory.

‘While they’d been with us at the factory, we’d talked to them separately about creating this new chocolate brand, which would be about employing people struggling with addiction or a criminal record,’ she says. ‘They both loved the idea. Once we lost them both, we felt we had no choice but to get on and do it.’

In September 2021, with the backing of the board of trustees and along with her daughter Mariah, Linda set up a mobile drinks pod, which employed one or two people at a time. But her vision for

Chocolate & Co receives referrals from hostels, probation services and a women’s prison. The team have also built relationships with people who are living on the streets, and they often call in and volunteer.

The welfare of staff is at the heart of the company’s ethos.

‘It’s about loving people well,’ Linda explains. ‘For example, one of the young men who worked for us was having a bad weekend. I said: “You know where I am every Sunday morning. If you want to pitch up to church, pitch up.” For three or four weeks now he has attended church.

‘He has also gone into a 12-week recovery programme, because, while the cocaine addiction was managed and he was doing well with that, he was very reliant on weed. He knew that he had to get help.

‘Without working here, he says he would have never made that decision. He feels he has got the strength and the support network around him now to be

Mariah serves customers at Chocolate & Co’s café in York

able to do that. That allows him to look at

Linda is keen that the café is open to all, even to those who may not necessarily be able to pay for a drink or food. She sees it as a place of refuge not only for its staff, but also its customers. In good times and bad, anyone can go there for support.

‘We needed to develop a place where if someone was having a bad day, they could come and have a cup of coffee or a cup of tea, even if they weren’t working,’ she says.

‘We have a “pay it forward” board, which is proving popular. People give the money for a meal. Then those who need a meal come in and

‘We get a lot of guys who come in on a weekly basis for a hot meal, a friendly chat and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.’

Linda says that the café, which is now ‘entrenched in the community’, has been a source of comfort to customers. It provides a constant in

‘One of our guys who came in for a “pay it forward” said today: “It’s like no matter what state of mind I’m in as I come up to the café – if I’m depressed,

angry, raging – it’s like I walk through a net when I walk through the door, and it all gets left outside.”’

The Chocolate & Co staff take a hands-on approach to helping such people who walk into the café.

‘We’ve got Tony, who’s on our wellbeing and outreach team,’ Linda says. ‘Guys come in to do a drop-in with him, to talk through how they’re feeling.

a logical business idea, and he has provided.

We have a ‘pay it forward’ board

‘We’ve had an accommodation crisis this week with somebody who has been here pretty much all day every day for the last three days while we’re trying to help support him with other organisations in York. That way, they know where to find him, they can liaise with him, there’s a phone he can speak on.’

Linda sees her belief in God as a driving force behind the business, adding that her faith is an expression of love.

‘For me,’ she says, ‘Chocolate & Co is a form of worship, because what God pours in, you want to pour out.’

And, while running the café, she has found God to be faithful.

‘He gave us strength. Chocolate & Co was a step of faith because we felt this was a heart thing as opposed to

‘It feels as if God winks as he provides the little things, and says: “I’ve got you girls. Keep doing what you’re doing.” There are little things like how when the “pay it forward” board empties, suddenly, quite a few of our customers will top it up again.

‘Like grant funding that has come in against the odds. Like the provision of the people that are walking through the door, the volunteers, the relationships. He is one step ahead of us, all the way.’

Linda adds that her faith provides a sense of surety, rather than the anxiety she has experienced in the past.

‘I have far more of a sense of peace, which is phenomenal,’ she says. ‘The practical risks haven’t gone away, but you know that you’re in the palm of God’s hand.’

Staying faithful to its original recipe, Chocolate & Co remains determined to give people a fresh start, a concept that lies at the heart of Linda’s Christian faith.

‘I mess up,’ says Linda. ‘I need grace every minute of every day. I don’t know where I’d be without my faith. Life is hard, and people get beaten down and ground down, so we’re all about second, third, fourth, fifth chances.’

Chocolate & Co provides its employees with a fresh start

Linda also runs Choc Affair, a company which produces artisan chocolates

THE War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances, for publication. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk or to War Cry, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.

jBecoming 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

Andrew Stone looks at the Lord’s Prayer

Hands together, eyes closed For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory

AT the Cop28 climate summit held at the end of last year, nearly 200 countries agreed to a deal that called on the world to transition away from fossil fuels in order to avert the worst effects of climate change.

It was the first time such an agreement had been struck, but critics said that it did not go far enough to ensure that the world does not warm by more than 1.5C from its pre-industrial level.

While the issues surrounding climate change provoke argument and debate, there is no doubt that concerns about global warming mean many people think that greener policies are the way forward. We are thinking more about the sources of our power.

Sometimes we may feel weak

The Lord’s Prayer tells us that in God’s Kingdom all the power comes from him. And there is no harm to be had in receiving our inner strength from God. If we accept God’s power in our lives, we will find that it enables us to work for the good of ourselves and others. Sometimes we may feel weak or insignificant. But, with God, anything is possible as we become people who are more loving and caring.

Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever.

Amen

To receive basic reading about Christianity and information about The Salvation Army, complete this coupon and send it to

aThe early Christian preacher Paul had God’s power in him. He was able to use it to live an extraordinary life, telling people about Jesus and performing miracles.

Paul wrote that God ‘is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us’ (Ephesians 3:20 New International Version). God offers everyone who follows him that same power. He will help us be a force for good in the world.

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

QUICK QUIZ

Which 1969 David Bowie song features the fictional character Major Tom?

Athlete Laura Kenny has five Olympic gold medals in which sport?

Which savoury spread is advertised with the slogan ‘You either love it or hate it’?

What does the Scottish Gaelic phrase ‘mòran taing’ mean in English?

Which search engine was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin?

In which year was the Festival of Britain held?

Strangely enough

When unexplainable events happen in a small town, its residents don’t want to know

TV preview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

HAVE strange things happened? Probably nothing like this. A perilous blizzard, a dismembered stag and a missing girl are all found within the space of 24 hours in the small northern town of Chadder Vale. But in the new dark comedy thriller Passenger, which begins on ITV1 and ITVX tomorrow (Sunday 24 March), viewers will see that its residents don’t want to delve into the mystery too much.

But, detective Riya Ajunwa (Wunmi Mosaku), a former Met officer, has been in Chadder Vale for five years and frankly has found herself quite bored with its petty crime. So when mysterious events start occurring, she – unlike the other townsfolk – is drawn to the details like a moth to a flame.

It’s not all as simple as it seems

Arriving at the crime scene in the middle of a forest, where the only clues are a sticky substance on the deceased deer and a nearby abandoned car, Riya suspects that something strange is afoot.

Fellow officer Ali (Ella Bruccoleri) is happy to jot down the first explanation they come up with and call it a day. But Riya insists it’s not all as simple as it seems. They must keep probing.

‘We’ve got the bigger picture to consider,’ she says.

Haven’t we all. Sometimes it can be difficult to consider the bigger picture. It’s easier to see the details in front of us and jump to a conclusion. But some things are worth further investigation.

Perhaps in a world where strange and scary events take place, it might be easy to conclude that no one cares. But countless people have looked into the details of the Christian faith and found that there is a loving God at the centre of it, who cares for the world and made a plan to rescue it.

God sent his Son, Jesus, to live among us, then to die and be raised to life, having paid the ultimate penalty for the wrongs we have all done. Jesus said: ‘I have come to save the world’ (John 12:47 New Living Translation).

All people can be saved from themselves and have the promise of one day experiencing a world with no suffering. We just need to investigate faith for ourselves.

Detective Riya is determined to solve the mysterious cases

PUZZLES

Quick

ACROSS

1. Unmasked (7)

5. Opened wide (5)

7. Funeral procession (7)

8. Shock (5)

10. Disposition (4)

11. Mutinied (8)

13. Hatred (6)

14. Pastoral (6)

17. Etched (8)

19. Alone (4)

21. Taunt (5)

22. Coach (7)

23. Dictatorial (5)

24. Bishopric (7)

DOWN

2. Act (7)

3. Hut (4)

4. Fuel (6)

5. Elegant (8)

6. Pontifical (5)

7. Capable (9)

9. Ridiculous (9)

12. Campaign plan (8)

CROSSWORD

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

15. Bother (7)

16. See (6)

18. Turf (5)

20. Unfasten (4)

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

MAKES 4

Spinach and egg burgers

INGREDIENTS

Butter, for greasing

Oil

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. Grease a 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tin with butter and place it on a metal baking sheet.

MAKES 2

250g potatoes, peeled and grated

80g spinach, roughly chopped

4 spring onions, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the grated potatoes over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, until they are tender. Add the spinach, spring onions and garlic. Increase the heat and continue to cook until the spinach leaves are wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Remove the pan from the heat and season the potato mixture well with salt and pepper and, if using, chilli. Crack the eggs into a large jug, then beat with a whisk or fork. Add the potato mixture and stir well. Divide the mixture between the holes in the greased tin and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the burgers are

Sunny egg, tomato and pepper pizzas

INGREDIENTS

Oil, for greasing 6tbsp tomato pasta sauce

8 pitted green or black olives, roughly chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 wholemeal tortilla wraps

2 British Lion eggs

50g grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese mix

1 yellow pepper, cut into sticks

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas Mark 7. Lightly oil a baking tray large enough to hold 2 tortillas. Place the pasta sauce in a bowl and stir in the olives and tomatoes.

Pour half the sauce over a tortilla, then use a spoon to spread it to the edges, leaving a 3cm border. Create a hollow in the centre of the sauce and crack in an egg. Scatter half the cheese around the egg, covering the sauce, then place pepper sticks around the egg. Repeat with the second tortilla.

Bake both tortillas in the oven for 6-8 minutes or until the egg has set. Leave to cool slightly before serving.