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
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 7531
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 UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN 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
INFO 2 • WAR CRY • 26 June 2021
EDITOR From the editor’s desk
THE restrictions we have experienced since March 2020 have had an impact on people’s behaviour. We have become aware of the need to give others space in public places. We have become accustomed to wearing masks and washing our hands more frequently. Other changes came about through people adapting to changes in lifestyle. For example, according to the Publishers Association, ‘many people rediscovered their love of reading last year’. In this week’s War Cry, we speak to the authors of three new books. In Chosen, Giles Fraser describes some of the struggles he experienced as he went through a ‘crisis of identity’ and how that improved his understanding of the relationship between Jews and Christians. In Miles to Go Before I Sleep, Claire Gilbert shares a moving collection of letters that reveal her feelings as she underwent chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant for incurable cancer. Both authors are Christians and both turned to their faith during difficult periods. In her interview, Claire describes how she ‘clung on to God’ during her ‘awful times’. But God is not just for times of crisis and disaster. Christians believe that he is involved in every aspect of their lives – including times of fun. That is reflected in Patrick Forbes’s book A Roomful of Elephants. Patrick is an ordained minister of religion, and for more than 40 years his ministry of spreading the Christian message included performances as a clown. ‘My faith informs my humour, and my humour informs what I think about my faith,’ he tells us, adding: ‘Humour helps stories to happen and faith to be understood.’ Whether we are going through a time of great joy or deep sorrow, it is good to understand that we can invite God to be with us and that he wants to share in all our experiences.
FEATURES
CONTENTS
What is The Salvation Army?
3
So long
Abba about to celebrate 1,000 weeks on the
album chart
5
‘My cancer is not a source of bitterness’
Author on living with an incurable illness
8
Not just clowning around
Priest sees the funny side of faith
10 Who did I think I was?
Clergyman’s discoveries in a crisis of identity
REGULARS
4
War Cry World
12
Team Talk
13
Faces of Faith
14
Puzzles
15
War Cry Kitchen
5
10
Front-page picture: UNITED ARCHIVES GMBH/ALAMY
15