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.
Editor: Andrew Stone, Major
Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow
Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku
Staff
Staff
Emily Bright
Claire Brine
Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk
Graphic
Mark Knight
Graphic Designer: Natalie Adkins
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
Founders: William and Catherine Booth
International leaders:
General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham
Territorial leaders: Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main
Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn
The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in
When Joy Carroll Wallis, one of the first women to be ordained as a Church of England priest, received a phone call from Richard Curtis saying that he wanted her help to write a sitcom about a woman vicar, she was initially wary.
In an interview in this week’s issue, she tells us that she was concerned that the show would mock women clergy. But the man behind Blackadder and Mr Bean explained that he wanted his comedy to demonstrate to a sometimes sceptical public that women vicars were a good idea. Convinced, Joy became an unofficial adviser to The Vicar of Dibley, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month.
In her advisory role, Joy met with Dawn French, who played the title character.
‘Dawn asked me why a young woman like me wanted to be a priest,’ Joy recalls. ‘She said: “Shouldn’t you be out clubbing and having fun?” I replied that sometimes I did go clubbing, and that faith and fun weren’t opposed to one another.’
Joy is right – becoming a Christian doesn’t necessitate removing fun from life. People of faith are still able to enjoy going out, taking part in sports or watching the latest comedy on TV. But faith also doesn’t mean that a person becomes blind to the harsher side of life and doesn’t notice when other people are struggling or being mistreated.
That’s why The Salvation Army looks to find ways to support people who are suffering, including those who are subjected to domestic abuse. In this week’s issue we speak with members of The Salvation Army’s Family Ministries Department, who tell us how leaders and congregations are being trained on how to identify and support people who are facing abuse. It is difficult but vital work that offers people an escape from suffering and shows them how God can help them to rebuild their lives.
INFO INFO
Your local Salvation Army centre
Under wraps
Former couple reunite under unexpected circumstances and keep their history a secret
Successful businesswoman Avery (Lindsay Lohan) is taking a break from work for the holidays. Invited to spend the festive period with her boyfriend’s family, her one task – as the rom-com Our Little Secret begins – is to make a good impression on his mum.
Meanwhile Logan (Ian Harding), the childhood sweetheart she left behind 10 years ago to pursue her career, is also heading to his partner’s family to celebrate Christmas together for the first time. He’s confident that they’ll like him, though he is harbouring some insecurities about his work in the construction industry.
Avery and Logan turn up at their in-laws, and they quickly realise that a peaceful Christmas might not be on the table – the people they are dating are brother and sister.
The pair haven’t seen each other since Avery moved away, soon after the death of her mother. An argument before her departure meant that they hadn’t spoken in all that time either.
When they reunite, however, there’s
no bad blood, but they do decide to keep their history a secret from the Morgan family – and they have to work together to keep it hidden.
On top of that, they make a pact to help each other out. Logan has been offered a business proposal by a family friend of the Morgans. But he’s in over his head, so he says to Avery: ‘Help me do this proposal, and I will help you become Morgan family material.’
Spending time together reveals words left unsaid between the pair over the years. Avery finds out that Logan was even more hurt than he let on when she left. He felt that she had turned her back on him because of the pain she was feeling in her grief.
‘It didn’t feel like you were just going to do a job,’ Logan says. ‘It felt like you were running away from everything that reminded you of your mother.’ He believes: ‘Your past is what makes you you, the people that care about you understand that.’
It’s not much of a secret that when our past holds painful memories, it can
be easy for us to try to bury it all and not deal with it. But the past will always catch up with us if we don’t confront it.
No person is exempt from a difficult history. Pain can come from bereavement, break-ups or a broken home. And, while the past doesn’t define us, the way we process our past pain can determine whether we are able to make peace with it and forge a path for our future.
Such work can be challenging, but for people whose Christmas celebrations centre on the baby in a manger, born to bring peace to all, there is the offer of help through the hardest of times.
When Jesus was born, he was given an additional name – Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’. He came to be with humanity and, while on Earth, he faced pain and suffering, so that he could help us in our own pain and suffering.
Whatever the season, that help is available to us all. We just need to invite God into our lives – so that we can ake peace with the past, find support for the present and discover a hope for the future.
Film preview: Our Little Secret Netflix from 27 November
By Sarah Olowofoyeku
Avery (second from left) bumps into her ex, Logan (right), at Christmas
Schools in for chaplains
Question time
Claire Brine gives her take on a story that has caught the attention of War Cry reporters
When The Observer featured a bunch of celebrities sharing the ‘best advice’ they’d ever been given, I read with interest.
‘Get up and get on with it’ was the unashamedly blunt offering from Michael Caine, explaining that it’s an approach which ‘works for everything in life’, including applying for a job and getting in shape.
A slightly softer delivery came from Mo Farah, whose tip to be ‘willing to adapt’ highlighted the positives of being open to new cultures, languages and ideas.
I want
God to fix everything
But the words that caused me to reflect the most came from Mary Portas, the TV presenter and retail expert. She explained that, for years, she tried to control all aspects of her life in the hope of finding security. But then she read the words of poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who wrote: ‘Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.’
Such a perspective shifted Mary’s view on the world.
‘Embracing the flux and uncertainty of life is living,’ she said. ‘The point is to live everything. The pain, the uncertainty, the letting life happen.’
As a person who likes to plan ahead and be in control, I must admit that I find Mary’s advice hard to heed. But I think she makes a good point. And it’s certainly one that I believe I should be applying to my life as a Christian.
Looking back, I can see that I’ve been through times when my life hasn’t been full of neatly tied-up answers. There are periods when everything feels a bit complicated, and I want God to fix everything and make it easy for me.
But at those times, perhaps I should consider another perspective. Perhaps there’s a sacredness to be found in the uncertainty, in the questions, in the not-knowing. After all, it’s when I feel apprehensive about what tomorrow brings that God is able to help me learn courage and patience. And it’s when I’m frustrated at the lack of clarity in my life that God can teach me how to trust him.
Maybe, if I can learn to love the questions, I’ll end up finding some answers that I wasn’t even looking for.
WAR talk talk Team talk Team talk ‘
An increasing number of non-faith schools are hiring chaplains to offer emotional support to students, reported BBC News.
According to the story on the BBC’s website, the Centre for Chaplaincy in Education has attributed the rise to the pressures felt by young people after the Covid-19 pandemic and to the impact on them of social media.
In 2014 the number of chaplains appointed in UK schools was 200, and in 2022 the figure increased to 900.
Evie, who benefits from the chaplaincy scheme at her school in Norfolk, said: ‘It’s really nice to have someone who is not a teacher or a parent that you can just go to and talk to about whatever is on your mind.’
She had struggled with the transition to high school and the amount of work, on top of the regular trips she makes to hospital for a medical condition. She said she was managing much better at school thanks to the support of her chaplain, the Rev Keith Rengert.
WAR CRY
No time like the present for toy appeal
Toyshop chain The Entertainer and The Salvation Army are running their annual Big Toy Appeal to give Christmas presents to underprivileged children.
The toy retailer encourages customers to donate an extra item when they buy in-store and online, and it matches each donation with one of its own. The toys are then distributed to struggling families by the church and charity, ensuring that children who might otherwise go without a gift will have something to unwrap on Christmas Day. This year’s appeal runs until 30 November.
Since 2018 the Big Toy Appeal has provided more than 100,000 gifts.
Tony Daniels, director of The Salvation Army’s community services, said: ‘We have been overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of The Entertainer and its customers who, over the last six years, have supported our campaign to bring joy to children at Christmas who would otherwise go without.
‘No child should feel the sadness of not receiving a gift on Christmas Day just because their parents can’t afford life’s basics. The Big Toy Appeal is needed more than ever.’
For more information visit thetoyshop.com/big-toy-appeal
Support after Spanish floods
Taking aid into the city of Valencia
The Salvation Army has been supporting flood-hit communities in eastern Spain after a year’s worth of rain fell in the space of a few hours.
When floods swept through towns in the province of Valencia, killing more than 200 people and leaving thousands of others trapped or missing, teams from the Salvation Army churches in Dénia and Alicante began delivering aid in collaboration with Dénia City Council. From the church’s open buildings, Salvation Army leaders, members and volunteers distributed clothing, water and food to people in need.
To help victims who were unable to return home as a result of excessive mud and piled-up cars blocking the streets, The Salvation Army provided essential items, including 500 litres of water, wellington boots, tools to remove mud from homes, medicines, personal hygiene products, items for children and babies, 80 litres of bleach and one tonne of non-perishable food.
Fitness instructor Mr Motivator spoke about his experiences of church in an interview in The Guardian
The 71-year-old, whose fitness career began in the early ’90s with appearances on GMTV, now reaches a younger audience through social media platforms, where he has almost 150,000 followers. He told journalist Rich Pelley that when he was growing up his family was very religious.
‘Every Sunday I’d have to put on my Sunday best,’ he said. ‘Church is the foundation stone for who I am. It teaches the importance of belief. It puts standards in place that I’ve maintained my whole life.’
Taking a seat to end violence
Monday (25 November) marks the start of UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, and on those days, through the Red Chair Project, red chairs will be set up across the UK to symbolise women who have been killed. The Salvation Army is one of many organisations taking part in the initiative, and year-round it is committed to supporting survivors of all kinds of domestic abuse
Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku
To take a stand against gender-based violence, people across the country will be setting up chairs. It’s an initiative run by Restored, a Christian charity that raises awareness of domestic abuse, supports survivors and equips the Church to do the same. The campaign begins on Monday (25 November), the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the first day of the UN Women campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Every year many organisations support Restored’s Red Chair Project to raise awareness of gender-based violence, which can be a form of domestic abuse. One of them is The Salvation Army.
Deborah Juster, assistant director of the church and charity’s Family Ministries Department, explains: ‘The project is about the simple act of reserving an empty red chair in a public place. It serves as a reminder of the women who’ve been killed through gender-based violence, representing those women who should still be with us today. A sign put up next to the chair highlights the issue and asks people to think of and remember the women. The project can also pique interest in people about other ways they can take a stand.’
A number of Salvation Army churches and centres will be setting up red chairs in their buildings. While the campaign lasts for 16 days, The Salvation Army is in partnership with Restored to engage in work that is longer-term.
After reading a report which suggested that incidents of domestic abuse were as prevalent inside the Church as they were outside of it, Major David Betteridge, the director of The Salvation Army’s Family Ministries Department, wanted to do more about it.
Deborah Juster
David Betteridge
‘Apart from the training that we receive about safeguarding, there wasn’t any particular ongoing training for churches and leaders,’ he says. ‘We wanted to face the issue and think about getting our own house in order, so we inaugurated a steering group, and what emerged was the partnership with Restored, and the opportunity to join them in supporting and promoting the Beacon Church initiative, which offers training for leaders and congregations.’
Salvation Army churches in Ballymoney, Limavady, Sale and Stroud, among others, are registered as Restored Beacon Churches.
‘The training helps church leaders to understand domestic abuse and how it might affect people in their congregation – both those who are victims and those who are perpetrators,’ says David. ‘It helps them understand the theology of the issue, and ensure that Scripture is interpreted correctly and not weaponised or used to support any kind of genderbased violence, which it has been historically.
‘The training is also offered to the
whole church, so that everybody in the congregation is encouraged to respond to the issue appropriately, supporting people who have felt confident to make a disclosure.’
David admits that the Church has not always got it right when it comes to supporting people who have faced domestic abuse – which can be physical, emotional, financial and psychological – and acknowledges that some perpetrators can be found in churches.
We can all be part of the solution
‘I’ve seen a sign outside a church that says, “This church is for sinners only”. It was a recognition that, just because we go to church or call ourselves Christians, we aren’t exempt from the temptations that come to anyone, and we aren’t more perfect in any way. We are all flawed human beings. The Church is there to help us live lives that honour God and honour each other, and that
doesn’t happen overnight.’
Deborah says that God cares about the problem too.
‘The Bible tells us that God is always on the side of the oppressed and the victimised – and, with The Salvation Army wanting to be God’s representatives, that’s where we stand too. But we also understand that perpetrators are broken people, who need God’s love, God’s forgiveness and God’s redemption.’
The Salvation Army is keen to engage as many people as possible in its work.
‘There is a real power in the whole of The Salvation Army getting trained and equipped, standing against and being very clear about our position on domestic abuse,’ says Deborah. ‘There is real power in getting people thinking about creative ways they can respond and join in with The Salvation Army’s response.’
David adds: ‘We don’t all have to be experts, but we can all be effective in being part of the solution.’
l For more information visit restored-uk.org
Bless you for watching...
Joy Carroll Wallis
In the early 1990s, Joy Carroll Wallis received an unexpected phone call from screenwriter Richard Curtis. The brains behind Blackadder, Mr Bean and a yet-tobe-released Four Weddings and a Funeral, explained that he had written the first episode of a TV comedy about a woman vicar, but had come to the realisation that he didn’t know enough about the subject. So he asked Joy, who was due to become one of the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England, for help.
After Richard managed to convince her that his aim with the sitcom was to champion women clergy rather than ridicule them, Joy became the show’s ‘unofficial adviser’. And by November 1994 – just six months after Joy’s ordination ceremony – millions of households across the UK were welcoming the Rev Geraldine Granger and The Vicar of Dibley into their lives.
‘For the first series, I was quite hands-on with the show as I was reading scripts and spending time with the actors,’ says Joy, who today lives in Washington DC, but speaks to me during a trip to the UK to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her ordination.
‘I remember going on set a few times, so I got to know the cast and crew quite a bit. Today I’m still good friends with Dawn French, who played Geraldine, and we meet up as much as a transatlantic friendship allows us to.’
To mark 30 years of The Vicar of Dibley, JOY CARROLL WALLIS – one of the first women to be ordained as a Church of England priest –reflects on the popularity of the series and the role she played behind the scenes
Interview by Claire Brine
The Rev Geraldine Granger (Dawn French) was supported by her verger, Alice (Emma Chambers)
Though 30 years have passed since its debut, The Vicar of Dibley remains one of the UK’s best-loved comedy series, providing countless laugh-outloud moments, including scenes in which Geraldine jumps into a waistdeep puddle, delivers Easter eggs while dressed as the Easter bunny, and eats multiple Christmas dinners at the homes of her parishioners.
‘I think great comedy is where individuals recognise themselves (or people they know) in the characters,’ says Joy. ‘It’s about familiarity. In the UK, every neighbourhood has a church – it’s just part of our culture. And the characters in The Vicar of Dibley are funny because they’re known to us. People think that they know an Alice Tinker or a Jim Trott, who says “No, no, no ... yes”. The show hones in on things that are real. That’s the genius of it.
‘I also think that Dawn, as Geraldine, is much loved. She plays this long-suffering saint who has to put up with everyone. But Geraldine is also very human. She’s addicted to chocolate and falls in love with handsome men all over the place. She tells naughty jokes. I could imagine viewers at home saying: “If we had a woman vicar like that, I’d go to church!”’
Though there are about 6,000 women
priests serving in the Church of England today, the first women to be ordained in the denomination back in 1994 made headline news. Joy remembers how some people were vehemently opposed to the idea of women priests, while others argued that the move was long overdue.
Richard Curtis wanted to support women priests
‘Richard
Curtis wanted to help the public see that women priests were a good idea,’ says Joy. ‘He has spoken before about how he saw a woman conducting a friend’s wedding once, and it just seemed so natural to him. He said that it’s often mothers who are most interested in their children’s love lives, so for women to conduct weddings struck him as the right thing to do.
‘After attending that wedding, Richard got a bee in his bonnet about women priests and wanted to support them. I guess he saw that women could bring a more pastoral, softer side to church ministry than men.’
It was then that Richard came up
with the idea to write a comedy about women vicars. As part of his research, he attended the General Synod, the governing body of the Church of England, responsible for making decisions regarding church policy and doctrine. Joy, who was a deacon in south London at the time, was a member.
‘There was a lot of press interest in women clergy back then, with journalists following us around and looking for stories about “vicars in knickers”,’ she remembers. ‘I had an answer machine at home and it was full of messages from journalists wanting me to phone them back. I didn’t return any of their calls.
‘But one day I was listening to my messages, and my friend said to me:
Turn to page 10 f
‘The Vicar of Dibley’ is celebrating its 30th anniversary
Richard Curtis
From page 9
“You’ve got a message from Richard Curtis here!” I said: “Yeah – who’s that?” I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know who he was. But when my friend explained a bit more, I felt that I should call him back.’
When they spoke over the phone, Richard outlined to Joy his idea for the series. She took some convincing that it would work.
‘I was a bit wary at first,’ she explains. ‘I thought: “What is all this about?” I didn’t want to be part of a show that was going to mock women priests. But Richard explained that Geraldine wasn’t going to be the character that viewers would poke fun at. She was not the victim of ridicule. Making The Vicar of Dibley with a positive message about women priests was a real mission for him.’
After agreeing to help Richard, Joy invited him and Dawn to her home so they could learn a little more about her life in the Church of England. They had a lot of questions.
‘Dawn asked me why a young woman like me wanted to be a priest,’ Joy recalls. ‘She said: “Shouldn’t you be out clubbing and having fun?” I replied that sometimes I did go clubbing, and that faith and fun weren’t opposed to one another.
‘A while later, Dawn shadowed me when I conducted a funeral, so she could see the sort of things I did in my role. She posed as the page turner for the organist, so no one at the funeral knew she was there. And that was good, because we
felt it would have been disrespectful otherwise.
‘The more I got to know Dawn, the more we talked about Christianity. She’s very open to Christians and the faith. Our conversations about spiritual matters have continued over the years.’
Richard’s questions for Joy in those early meetings took a slightly different angle. He wanted to uncover the depth of Geraldine’s faith and how she would go about putting it into practice.
Faith has to affect how we treat people
‘He asked me: “What’s your message? Everyone has a message that comes out in their sermons again and again. What’s yours?” So I replied that, for me, faith without works is dead. Faith has to affect how we treat people, the way we vote, how we try to make a difference in the world. And a lot of the first episodes of The Vicar of Dibley came out of those conversations.
‘There’s a political episode in which Geraldine stands up for the people in her community who have no voice and fights for the village to have a bus service. I love that one because it gets across the social justice side of Christianity.
Joy and Dawn became friends while making the series
‘I also like the episode where she replaces the church’s stained-glass window with clear glass, because she has donated all the funds to a charity that’s working with starving children.’
After supplying Richard with content for his scripts, Joy was invited to attend the Vicar of Dibley set. She remembers watching the cast and crew shoot the
The cast of ‘The
episode in which Geraldine holds a church service for the villagers’ animals.
‘I was in one of the caravans with the writers, just before filming began,’ she says. ‘They were going over the script and, as we were reading it through, I noticed a mistake. There was a prayer in which Geraldine says: “O Lord, who rode into Bethlehem on the back of a donkey...”, and I spoke up to say: “No, Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem, not Bethlehem.”
‘It was an easy mistake to make, but they thanked me for correcting them because they knew they would get bags of mail if it had been wrong on TV.
‘Later, I remember watching Dawn filming the bit where Geraldine welcomes all the animals to church. She greets this man in a leather jacket who has a bulldog wearing a studded collar. She asks the dog’s name. The owner replies, “Satan”, to which Geraldine responds, “Rather brave of him to come at all really!” It was a very funny moment. And it was fun to watch.’
After the first series was a hit with viewers, Richard started work on writing the Easter and Christmas specials. A second series then followed, in 1997, by which time Joy was married to American theologian Jim Wallis and about to move to the States.
‘I wasn’t involved in the show so much
after that,’ she explains. ‘But when they filmed the last episode in 2006, in which Geraldine got married, I was flown over to the UK for the wrap party. Since then, they have ended up filming a few more specials, but I haven’t been part of making those.
‘Every so often, I’m asked to give interviews about Dibley, and sometimes friends in the UK send me little clips if ever they see Dawn or Richard talking on telly about me. They always had such good intentions for the show. I remember that when we were promoting the first series, Dawn said that she wouldn’t do any press interviews unless I was interviewed as well, because she really wanted women priests to have a positive reception by the public. And now, of course, we have women bishops and more and more women in positions of authority in the church.’
Today Joy continues to work in Christian ministry, though her role is no longer that of a Church of England priest. In Washington DC, she spends her days speaking at church events and conferences, and working part-time as a substitute teacher in a primary school. She is also the co-founder of a US music, arts and justice festival called the Wild Goose Festival, and – ever
since her sons started high school – has organised annual mission trips for high school baseball teams to the Dominican Republic.
‘I’m trying to still use my gifts, but this time they are being used outside the institution of the church,’ she explains. ‘I’m finding other communities in which I can channel my faith.’
It’s a faith that remains rooted in God’s love for humankind – a love which both Joy and Geraldine have long believed to be life-changing and have wanted to share with the world.
‘When people watch The Vicar of Dibley, my hope is that they will recognise that everybody is of value,’ Joy says.
‘Everybody is loved by God, just as they are. God is a God of love, inclusivity and acceptance. No questions asked. And if anything goes against that love, it needs to be challenged – and that’s what Geraldine does.’
l The Vicar of Dibley is being shown on U&Gold throughout November. All episodes are also available on demand on Sky, Virgin Media and Now
Vicar of Dibley’
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
Eating fruit and vegetables is good for us – and, according to the Bible, a healthy inner life also includes fruit. In this series Peter Mylechreest takes his pick of nine life-enhancing qualities called ‘the fruit of the Spirit’
Ray had known a disciplined life since boarding school. Later, in sport he appreciated the necessity of rules. His time in the military had reinforced the importance of regulations for the good of all concerned. However, when he returned to Civvy Street he found life difficult without clear boundaries to control him. Subsequently he made bad mistakes and was arrested, spoiling his hitherto exemplary record.
Oscar Wilde wrote: ‘I can resist everything except temptation.’ And that’s true of all people everywhere and throughout the centuries. Some may have enough willpower to avoid some pitfalls, but none are completely free of submitting to the downward pull of harmful choices. All need what Paul, an early Christian teacher, identified as a characteristic of what he called ‘the fruit of the Spirit’: self-control.
Temptations come in various forms – physical, mental, ethical and sexual. Some affect our innermost beings, or souls. Without help, Christians, like everyone else, are bound to fail. But, working in conjunction with God’s Spirit, they can overcome temptations.
By listening to the indwelling Spirit of God, Christians find inner reinforcement. There are still personal choices to be made but, bit by bit, the fruit of God’s Spirit assists them in refusing the wrong and embracing the right.
Self-control is not about suppressing or repressing our instincts and emotional drives. It is a continuous channelling of our energies by co-operating with God. This co-operation can direct our will, check our urges and make sure our choices are God-honouring.
Importantly, the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, not being controlled. Christians do not lose their autonomy. They are still free to decide whether to allow the Spirit of God to prompt and guide them. Depending on their particular personality, he can help them control their thoughts, actions, reactions, tongues or tempers or even their eating, drinking or spending.
And, just as with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness, self-control is good to grow.
To receive basic reading about Christianity and information about The Salvation Army, complete this coupon and send it to
Or email your name and postal address to
Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
QUICK QUIZ
1 2 3 4 5 6
Which TV sitcom about pals in New York City was orginally to be called Insomnia Café?
Who played the title role in the 1976 film Rocky?
In which country is Neuschwanstein Castle?
Who wrote the novel Ulysses, about the everyday lives of two men in Dublin?
In physics, what is mass times acceleration?
What were the nicknames of the five Spice Girls?
Richard steps in to help his dad, Ken
FAMILY FRIENDLY?
Father and son have tense relationship in comedy
TV feature: Only Child Fridays BBC1 and iPlayer
By Claire Brine
The phone rings. It’s Dad. And he needs help with – well, just about everything in the new BBC1 comedy series Only Child
As soon as bit-part actor Richard (Greg McHugh) arrives back in his home town of Forres on the Moray coast, he realises just how much his recently widowed dad Ken (Gregor Fisher) is struggling. The house is in a mess. The fridge is full of rotting food. ‘I just don’t think you can carry on like this,’ Richard says.
Ken dismisses Richard’s concerns, explaining that he has ‘a system that works perfectly well’. But Richard isn’t convinced. He knows that his dad is getting older and becoming less able to cope, so he feels it’s best to stick around to offer some friendly support.
However, helping Ken isn’t going to be easy. After a shopping trip goes badly wrong, Richard loses patience.
‘Have you any idea how difficult it is to have a dad like you?’ he shouts.
Feeling hurt, Ken walks away. Richard is left feeling guilty for losing his temper. He wants to put things right with his dad – but he doesn’t know how.
Perhaps it’s a situation that we are familiar with. Even the best of family relationships aren’t perfect. Sometimes we hurt our loved ones –or they hurt us. Sometimes we say or do things that we regret.
When things are difficult with the people closest to us, we can end up feeling despondent, alone and as if no one understands us. But help is at hand. God is a loving Father we can turn to at any time. When we tell him the problems on our mind, he will listen. And when we ask for his help with our relationships, he will show us what steps to take next.
One Bible writer said that, in every situation, God can be relied upon to be ‘compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love’ (Psalm 103:8 New International Version).
Whatever our family situation, God is ready to welcome us into his. If we want to start a relationship with him, the door is always open.
PUZZLES
Agony (7)
Circular (5)
Console (7)
Inebriated (5)
Dry (4)
Fled (8)
Symbols (6)
Part of the eye (6)
Long-distance race (8)
Pitch a tent (4)
Artificial fibre (5)
Feign (7)
Trainee (5)
Protracted (7)
Publicity trick (7)
(4)
(6)
(8)
(5)
Skilled worker (9)
Abducted (9)
Natural propensity (8)
Chilli con carne with guacamole
INGREDIENTS
1tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
675g lean beef mince
150ml hot beef stock
2 x 400g cans cherry or chopped tomatoes
2-3tbsp tomato puree
1tsp dried chilli flakes
1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground coriander
1 fresh bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper
2 x 400g cans red kidney beans, drained
Handful fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish
Rice, to serve
For the guacamole
1 ripe avocado, stoned
1 small red onion, finely chopped
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
2 limes, juice
Salt and ground black pepper
METHOD
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes.
Add the mince and cook for 8-10 minutes, until brown, breaking any chunks with a spoon. Add the stock and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree, chilli flakes, sweet chilli sauce, cumin, coriander and bay leaf. Season well.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add the red kidney beans, stir and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the guacamole, scoop out the flesh of the avocado into a large bowl. Add the onion, coriander and lime juice. Season with the salt and pepper and mash together.
Garnish the chilli with the coriander. Serve with the rice and guacamole on the side.
CREATION MATTERS GOD’S CREATION MATTERS GOD’S CREATION MATTERS GOD’S CREATION MATTERS GOD’S CREATION MATTERS
Deborah Tomkins