War Cry 28 May 2022

Big Brother contestant’s journey from diary room to pulpit

WAR CRY

28 May 2022 50p

Flower power Chelsea Flower Show aims to help visitors blossom

When Abba sang with The Salvation Army

From the editor’s desk

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.

MORE than 50 years ago, four singers in Sweden took a chance on recording a song about a War Cry seller.

It proved to be a good move – the record reached No 1 in the Swedish charts. At the time, the quartet didn’t have their name. Today, however, Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid are known across the world as one of the biggest names in music history – Abba.

Yesterday (Friday 27 May), at the purpose-built Abba Arena, the group’s first show in four decades took place – to the joy of thousands of fans who are looking forward to packing the venue over the coming months.

And the first song they recorded together was about a member of The Salvation Army. In this week’s War Cry, Major Bert Åberg tells us about that song and the time that they sang it at a Salvation Army event.

The role model for the song was said to be a man in Björn’s home town of Västervik ‘who was there selling the War Cry and collecting every day,’ Bert says. ‘In the song it seems that the singer has an affection for the old man, and that the man had a message that spoke to him.’

The War Cry was first published in London in 1879 and has continued to be sold ever since, with sister titles appearing in countries around the world. Week in and week out, members and friends of The Salvation Army distribute the magazine, helping to pass on the good news of God’s love.

As a magazine, we are indebted to our ‘heralds’ who tell people about the positive impact that the Christian faith can have on them and their communities. We believe it is still a message that can speak to people and change lives for good.

If you’ve not done so already, as you read through the pages of this issue, take a moment to ad the War C consider the difference God can make to your e re ry v ’ life if you allow him to lay all his love on you. u

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.

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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

CONTENTS

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 Mal Davies

FEATURES 3

In full bloom Everything in the garden’s lovely at the Chelsea Flower Show

Published weekly by The Salvation Army © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 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 CKN Print, Northampton, on sustainably sourced paper

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for the 21st century How did it all start?

Abba’s early links with The Salvation Army 8

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Story branches out Enid Blyton classic is reimagined

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INFO Your local Salvation Army centre

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‘The experience of a lifetime’ Glyn Wise looks back on his time in the Big Brother house REGULARS

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War Cry World

12 Team Talk 13 Keys of the Kingdom 14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: RHS/GEORGI MABEE

RHS/LUKE MACGREGOR

Growing hopes Garden encourages people to see a path beyond despair Feature by Sarah Olowofoyeku

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HE event is in full bloom. Visitors to this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which began on Tuesday (24 May), have been enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of its carefully curated spaces.

Of the 39 gardens on display, 4 come under a new category, All About Plants, which celebrates the many powers of plants. Each of the All About Plants gardens has been designed to draw attention to a UK charity and to demonstrate the

A design for the Mothers for Mothers Garden

positive effect plants can have on industry, community and people’s mental health.

One such garden is the Mothers for Mothers ‘This Too Shall Pass’ Garden, which shows the mental health journey that some mothers take in pregnancy and early parenthood. A fractured pathway through the garden, surrounded initially by muted planting but moving on to a joyful feminine palette, depicts the road from perinatal mental illness to recovery.

In the garden, the pure blue hues of Anchusa azurea ‘Loddon Royalist’ symbolises low mood, the apricot Rosa ‘The Lark Ascending’ gives the feminine feel, the tangerine-toned Verbascum ‘Clementine’ shows joy, and the pink and apricot ruffled Iris ‘Wondrous’ has been planted to depict colour returning to life.

The garden is raising awareness of the Bristolbased charity Mothers for Mothers, which helps mums who develop perinatal mental illness to survive. Its CEO, Maria Viner, says the theme of the garden is ‘hope and reassurance’.

She wants women who struggle during or after pregnancy to know that support and understanding are available.

For others, she says, ‘we hope that the message of hope will translate

across whatever their own personal circumstances may be – that if you can find the courage to reach out, there are often others who understand and who have walked the same path who can offer companionship, support and compassion without judgement.’

When we are going through tough times in our lives, we can find that reaching out to others for support is beneficial. But it can be a scary thing to do and, as Maria says, takes courage.

We may be worried about how other people will react, what they will think of us and whether they will ever see us in the same way again – and then we may even be uncertain whether the help we’re offered is actually going to do any good. Sometimes our worries about who to turn to can become a problem in itself.

But there is someone whose help we can always count on, who’s guidance we can always trust and who knows us so well that nothing can shock him or stop him from loving us.

People who turn to God find him to be what they need. One Bible writer described his experience with the words: ‘I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me; he freed me from all my fears’ (Psalm 34:4 Good News Bible).

With God, we can all find companionship, support, compassion and love. If we put our trust in him, we can have a growing realisation of his love for us – a love that will help us to flourish, whatever challenges we may face.

The theme of the garden is ‘hope and reassurance’

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Sandwiches, shelter and spiritual care for Ukrainians THE Salvation Army has rallied across Europe to provide support to Ukraine and its refugees.

In the Ukrainian city of Lviv, it is providing drinking water, hot meals, sandwiches, hot drinks and non-food items to displaced people. To the east, in Dnipro, it has been distributing sweet pies and pieces of survival equipment – supplied by the Red Cross – among displaced people at the train station each day.

In Switzerland, the church and charity has helped more than 1,000 refugees in partnership with the country’s federal asylum centres and is running four short-term shelters alongside an initial reception centre.

In addition, it has delivered 52 pallets of relief supplies to Hungary, where more than 500,000 refugees have crossed the border.

In Moldova, the Salvation Army church in Ungheni has made 90 private rooms available for refugees and is providing clothing, food, laundry services and emotional and spiritual care.

The Salvation Army’s emergency team in Romania has offered asylum seekers help in completing documents at the Siret refugee camp, and provided emotional support for family reunifications.

In Denmark and France, refugees are receiving food and hygiene items and activities are being run for children.

One Salvation Army church in Berlin welcomed 20 Ukrainian refugees in a single night. They have received accommodation, meals, laundry services, hygiene kits and spiritual and emotional support.

The Salvation Army is also working in Latvia to supply refugees with food, clean water and bedding, in Lithuania to provide supermarket vouchers and in Greece, where it has distributed mobile phone SIM cards.

Salvationists hand out hygiene items at the border between Ukraine and Romania, and (below) provide information about a shelter to refugees arriving in Moldova

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AN exhibition of knitted Bible characters is touring UK churches.

The Northern Echo reported that the display, which depicts more than 30 stories from the Bible, was created by St George’s United Reformed Church in Hartlepool. Stories featured include those of Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 and the Last Supper.

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IN an interview for The Times, Jenny Agutter reflected on what she has learnt about faith from playing an Anglican nun in BBC One’s Call the Midwife.

The actress – who plays Sister Julienne in the series – told the paper that she was brought up as a Catholic and that, although she no longer is, ‘it has been interesting playing somebody who is guided entirely by their faith’.

She explained: ‘Sister Julienne has taught me a great deal about responsibility, respect, acceptance, tolerance, patience. At least I’m trying to learn these things.’

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

Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree gets a modern makeover

B salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

Feature by Emily Bright

Plague promise play back after Covid delay

F you climb to the top branch of the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a ladder into strange new lands featuring dreams, toys, magic medicines and the power to do what you want. The imaginary world of the Faraway Tree, originally created by Enid Blyton, is set to be reawakened for a new generation by Jacqueline Wilson.

The Tracy Beaker author decided to write this reimagining because the original stories were a childhood favourite for her – as they have been for many other children since the first book in the series was published in 1939. Over the decades, young readers have been transported by the adventures of siblings Beth, Joe and Frannie and their cousin Rick.

They have read how the children make friends with fairy Silky, Moonface and the clattering, endearingly accident-prone Saucepan Man, and how, together, they explore uncharted lands of opportunity.

In The Magic Faraway Tree: A New Adventure, which was published on Thursday (26 May), new characters Milo, Mia and Birdy stumble across the enchanted wood with its whispering leaves and Magic Faraway Tree. They join Silky, Moonface and others to discover new realms such as the Land of the Unicorns. However, danger lurks in the Land of Dragons, and they’ll need Moonface’s magic to save them.

While the Magic Faraway Tree ultimately resides in children’s imaginations, grown-ups have to navigate very real strange experiences – and not all of them are welcome. We may face bereavement, debt, health problems and family dysfunction. Sometimes we need some tried and tested wisdom to help us find a way forward.

One enduring source of wisdom is a book filled with real-life stories of God guiding people when they needed it most. The Bible shows how he gave them strength to face challenges, comfort in difficult times and direction so that they got through troubles. It records how he assured people who needed help that he would let them know: ‘This is the way; walk in it’ (Isaiah 30:21 New International Version).

Whatever problems we encounter, we can experience God’s guidance to help us get through them.

It’s an opportunity truly worth exploring.

They explore lands of opportunity

PICTORIAL PRESS/ALAMY

JEFF MORGAN/ALAMY

THE Oberammergau Passion play, which originated from a communal vow to God by villagers in the Bavarian Alps, has returned after being delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, reported The Guardian.

Having been pushed back two years because of the outbreak of coronavirus, the play began its 103-performance run earlier this month. The village tradition to put on the Passion play started in 1633, when the residents of Oberammergau pledged to God that they would stage a play every decade if they were spared more deaths from the plague.

‘The last time we had to delay was 100 years ago, due to the Spanish flu, as well as deaths and injuries from the First World War, after which it was rescheduled for 1922,’ said director Christian Stückl.

‘Pandemics and the Passion play have a certain tradition.’

The Guardian described how each production – which depicts the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – is a community effort.

Almost every one of the village’s 5,200 residents plays a part, and the participation of many families goes back centuries.

Frederik Mayet, who is playing Jesus alternately with another actor, will appear on stage this year with his children. His family first took part in the play in 1890.

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HACHETTE CHILDREN’S GROUP

Tree-mendous children’s classic reimagined

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Enid Blyton 28 May 2022 • WAR CRY • 5

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC As Abba’s Voyage concerts begin in London, two witnesses to a lower-profile performance 51 years ago describe how they heard the four future members of the group sing together at a Salvation Army youth event

Bert Åberg and Marie Willermark

Feature by Philip Halcrow

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BAILLIE WALSH

OOKING for a place to go where they play the right music, Abba fans are heading for a new venue in east London. Yesterday (Friday 27 May) a different kind of concert series began at the purpose-built Abba Arena.

The shows are the newly reunited group’s first in four decades and follow on from their album Voyage, which went straight to No 1 when it was released last November.

A lot has changed for the group since they last took to the stage in the

Abba reunited to record ‘Voyage’

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UK in 1979 – this time Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid will be represented by digital avatars as they perform hits backed live by physical musicians.

Even more has changed since one lessfanfared performance in 1971, when they were yet to have won Eurovision or achieved the first of their nine UK No 1 singles. They still did not even have their name.

The previous year had included the moment when the four future members of Abba recorded together for the first time.

Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson had begun writing and recording together as a duo. In the course of making one song, ‘Hej Gamle Man!’, they decided to bring in their partners, Agnetha and Anni-Frid, to supply backing vocals. When it was released – still simply under the names of Björn and Benny – it went to No 1 in Sweden.

The song – whose title means ‘Hello Old Man!’ – was about a man from The Salvation Army.

Bert Åberg, now a Salvation Army major, was aware of the song at the time of its release. He explains that the Swedish lyrics describe a Salvation Army member – ‘a friendly old man’ – who in the long tradition of War Cry sellers and collectors stands ‘in the city square every day’.

‘It is said that the role model for the song was a Salvationist in Vӓstervik, Björn’s home town, who was there selling the War Cry and collecting every day, so he became like an icon,’ says Bert. ‘In the song it seems that the singer has an affection for the old man, and that the man had a message that spoke to him.’

Bert not only heard the song played on the radio, but also witnessed the four future members of Abba performing it at a Salvation Army event in the Gothenburg Concert Hall.

‘It was a national youth

FRÄLSNINGSARMÉNS ARKIV

Anni-Frid, Benny, Agnetha and Björn on stage at The Salvation Army youth event in Gothenburg in 1971

performance came about.

‘The Salvation Army’s national youth secretary in Sweden at the time, Sven Nilsson, had heard the song and he was curious about it. So he decided to phone Björn.

‘He told me: “I just looked up the number in the book and phoned him. His father answered, and I said: ‘I want to speak to Björn. I’m from The Salvation Army.’ And his father put Björn on the phone.”’

Bert reflects: ‘I think just three years later it would have been impossible to do that.

‘I asked Sven if there was any money involved in getting them to play. He said: “I don’t remember any other than

We were rather proud that these four musicians visited us

that they were eager to have their travel expenses covered.”’

Fifty-one years on, there seem to be only a few slightly hazy digitised archive pictures of the event, with Salvationists in uniform detectable on stage behind Frida, Benny, Agnetha and Björn.

‘When they were on stage, they were so humble and down to earth,’ remembers Bert.

Marie followed their career keenly afterwards. ‘They played and sang good pop music. I was proud to hear their songs everywhere,’ she says.

Three years after standing with them on stage in Gothenburg, she was on a gap year in England when Abba made headlines by winning the Eurovision Song Contest.

They were about to embark on a new stage in their musical voyage.

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STUFISH ENTERTAINMENT ARCHITECTS

event, and I was 20 at the time,’ he says. ‘I was playing in a youth band and there was a string band and a youth choir – a choir of five or six girls who were behind Björn and Benny and Frida and Agnetha. And the future members of Abba – who had only just been put together and didn’t even have a name yet – were singing “Hej Gamle Man!”, which many of us had heard on the radio, because it was top of the charts.’

Marie Willermark, who went on to become the leader of The Salvation Army in Sweden, was one of the young women providing accompaniment.

‘I was part of the string band group singing along in the chorus,’ she says.

She recalls that there was a great deal of warmth for the special guest performers.

‘Their song was a great hit and everyone could sing along,’ she says. ‘We were rather proud that these four musicians – who were already famous – visited us and sang about a Salvationist.

‘Standing on the stage behind Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida, we were a bit giggly and felt that this was a special moment.’

Forty years later, while working on the editorial team of The Salvation Army in Sweden, Bert looked into how the

REALITY CATCHES UP WITH BIG BROTHER GLYN WISE reflects on what it was like to be part of one of the UK’s biggest reality TV shows – and how he got his life back after the fame Interview by Claire Brine

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E strode into the house, dressed like a Baywatch lifeguard. He made up a song when he found himself ‘cooking an egg for the very first time (ah-ooo, ah-ooo)’. He danced like a majorette, consumed a liquidised roast lamb dinner and broke the rules by climbing on the roof. This, for former housemate Glyn Wise, was Big Brother.

‘It was the experience of a lifetime,’ says Glyn, who, in 2006, was the runnerup to Pete Bennett in the Channel 4 reality TV series. ‘I was an 18-year-old schoolboy from Snowdonia, wanting to do something big with my life. I was a massive Big Brother fan. The idea of going on the show had always appealed to me, so I prayed that I’d get in.’

His prayers were answered. After making it through nine rounds of auditions, Glyn ended up spending a total of 93 days in the house, with his antics watched by millions of people at home. But before we get carried away with discussing all things Big Brother, our conversation turns to the subject of faith – because the next ‘something big’ that Glyn hopes to do with his life is join the priesthood.

‘Honestly, I feel it’s what God wants me to do,’ he tells me over the phone. ‘God has always had his hand on my life and now I want to use the platform I have to share the good news. The jigsaw pieces are finally coming together.’

Since October last year, Glyn has been working as a pastoral assistant at a church in Camden, north London. By shadowing the resident priest at St Michael’s, he hopes to get a better idea of his own

Glyn Wise

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STAR PA IMAGES/ALAMY

calling and what church leadership involves.

‘So far I’ve been working on the streets with homeless people and sex workers, helping to lead Sunday school and preaching a few sermons,’ he says. ‘I love it all and get so much from it. One of my most recent sermons was based on The Apprentice, and I’ve also delivered a sermon with a Eurovision theme. I learnt from a pastor in China about trying to make the gospel as relevant to people as possible. It’s about bringing the Bible into 2022, getting a congregation interested in what you’ve got to say, and giving them something to think about when they go home.’

In September, Glyn plans to start full-time ministry training with the Church in Wales. If all goes smoothly, he will be ordained as a priest in 2025. But after that, he admits, he has no idea what the future holds.

‘I’ll go wherever I’m called,’ he says. ‘I don’t know where I’ll end up, or even if I’ll stay in this country. But I want to be a priest who can reach everyone, whether they already attend church or have never heard of Jesus. I’d like my church to be a place

that prayer was important. I used to pray a lot when I was bullied at school, asking God to make everything OK. I always found God to be a God of love – someone to look after you like a father, brother and friend.’

By the time Glyn reached his teens, he had one recurring prayer on his mind – to get into the Big Brother house.

‘Growing up in Snowdonia, there didn’t feel like many opportunities for me apart from leaving school to work in tourism,’ he says. ‘Life seemed predictable with A levels, university, then a job. I wanted so much more than that, and I felt like Big Brother was the answer.

‘My first audition for the show was on 18 February 2006. I had nine auditions altogether, Glyn leaves the ‘Big Brother’ house including three with mental health professionals to ensure I was stable enough to go into the house. At the beginning of May, I got where everyone feels welcome.’ the phone call saying I’d been selected, While the thought of a future ministry then a few days later I was sent to Belgium, is exciting for him, Glyn where I lived in hiding for two weeks before reflects on how faith has the show started. I wasn’t allowed to read played an important role newspapers, have a phone or even wear in his life since childhood. a watch. The whole Big Brother thing was Brought up in a Christian very secretive. family, he was a regular ‘The next time I was in the UK, I was attender at Sunday school. getting out of the car in my lifeguard shorts ‘I had all these “aunties” at church and they taught me everything,’ he says.

‘I learnt all the songs. I always knew Turn to page 10 f

I lived in hiding for two weeks

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From page 9 knowing where we were going, then I stepped out on to a red carpet with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.

People were shouting out my name.

‘My life became like a whirlwind. I did some modelling for Calvin Klein, featured in Heat magazine, went on the Charlotte Church TV show and got paid £2,000 an hour just for walking into a club. There was constant champagne and free entry to places. The problem was, I got a bit of a big head.’

Much as he enjoyed the partying lifestyle, Glyn knew deep down that he didn’t want to live it for ever. One day in a club, as he looked round at his new celebrity friends, he found himself thinking that this lifestyle wasn’t real.

‘I had started to feel a bit lost,’ he says.

‘So I decided to go to uni and find some friends who were my own age again. I enjoyed getting my life back.’

At Cardiff University, Glyn began

I prayed in bed, under the covers

JEFF MOORE/ALAMY

and being booed as I walked into the house.’

Glyn’s stint on Big Brother proved a lifechanging experience. For three months, he lived with a group of strangers in a specially constructed house, cut off from the outside world. Every move he made was filmed by television cameras, the highlights being broadcast to the nation.

Under the watchful eye of Big Brother, the housemates spent their days eating, sleeping, sunbathing and completing random tasks, all the while hoping to avoid eviction.

‘The highlight of the show was doing the tasks,’ Glyn says. ‘We were doing fun stuff constantly. When else am I going to be a majorette, a chef, a morris dancer or a robot? I have amazing memories of all that.

‘The worst time, for me, was the first week, when we’d all just arrived in the house. Some of the housemates were really big characters and they’d all been to London. I was 18, straight out of school and from Snowdonia. I couldn’t contribute to any of the conversations. I didn’t know how to. So in bed, under the covers, I prayed that people would get along with me.’

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lyn didn’t want anybody in the house to know he was a Christian.

‘I wanted to fit in and look cool,’ he says. ‘I prayed under the covers because I felt ashamed. It’s embarrassing for me to admit that now. My faith was on the backburner, as I turned to God only in my hour of need, rather than every day.

I prayed that I’d start to relax and that things would get better.

‘Over the next few weeks, the dynamics in the house changed, and I felt as though the other housemates got to know me. I don’t know if they really wanted me around or not, but people needed alliances. We all started being able to read the room and guess who would be up for eviction next. I tried to be friends with everybody, because then I knew that I could ride out this competition to the final.

Being in Big Brother was a bit like playing a chess game.’

Glyn’s strategy to keep his head down and be the nice guy paid off. After finishing the competition in second place, it was time to rejoin the outside world. But what he encountered was a shock to the system.

‘All of a sudden I was being invited to clubs and film premieres,’ he says. ‘I remember being in a car one day, not Glyn attends a film premiere, along with his ‘Big Brother’ housemates Lisa (left) and Imogen

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At St Michael’s Church in Camden

studying Welsh and Spanish. He also took some time out to join the badminton, athletics and tennis clubs – and the Christian Union.

‘We’d often get together for pizza and pop, which was a lot of fun,’ he says. ‘But we also learnt about the Bible, how to apply it to our lives and how to treat others in a way that we would want to be treated.

‘Going back to church brought me a lot of stability. I felt like I was part of a loving family where everyone looks out for one another. It was such a nice environment to be in.’

After graduation, Glyn became a teacher of Welsh and English in a secondary school in Aberdare, before heading back to Cardiff University to work as a lecturer. In 2017, he moved to China for three years to teach English.

‘That’s when my faith deepened,’ he says. ‘Some teachers at the school where I was working asked me if I wanted to go to their church. On Mondays I’d go to Bible study and on Tuesdays I’d go to the men’s group. I also joined the choir, even though I have the voice of a cat.

‘During my time in China, I learnt that God was always with me, in every situation. Even when things were going badly, I knew that I was in his company.

Through prayer, I really felt his power.’

Glyn also became increasingly inspired by the teachings of Jesus.

‘Jesus was a man of the people – friends with tax collectors and prostitutes – and wanted to share with everybody the good news about the love of God and eternal life,’ he says. ‘In the Bible, Jesus says: “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find.” How much light would we have in our lives, if we all did that?’

In early 2020, shortly before the outbreak of coronavirus in China, Glyn returned home to the UK. He started helping at a church food bank, where people asked him if he’d ever thought about being a priest.

‘It had been on my mind for a while, but I don’t think I had the confidence at first,’ he says. ‘Now that I’m 34, I’ve got experience behind me and I know how to deal with people a bit better. I don’t care

what people think of me in the way that I used to.

‘In fact, when I go out for dinner these days with my old Big Brother housemates, Richard and Lea, I’ll pray with them.

‘Ever since I started throwing myself more into my faith, I feel fearless. I know that God is always with me, bringing me joy and love. And I couldn’t be more thankful to him for everything he has given me.’

28 May 2022 • WAR CRY • 11

Prayerlink 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, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.

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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.

talk ‘ ’ Team talk TEAM TALK We need to talk about faith Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

TO mark the release of their new album Red Green Blue last week, brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson went on the Happy Place podcast, where they talked to presenter Fearne Cotton about the value of faith in their career.

Fearne asked the Mmmboppers – who found fame as teenagers with their band, Hanson – how they had cultivated such a strong ‘sense of self’ while working in the music industry. The brothers replied that a Christian faith was crucial because it gave them ‘a spiritual grounding’.

Fearne was impressed, interested and – she admitted – ‘almost jealous’.

‘I didn’t grow up with any particular doctrine or religion in the household,’ she explained. ‘It’s something I’m deeply interested in… I’ve really dug deep into it in the last five years.’

Like Fearne, many people are fascinated by faith It’s good to and look to religion to find answers to some of life’s big discuss who questions. Recently I was interested to read an interview in The Times with the creators of Glorify, a free Christian God is app which has 2.5 million users. Backed by the likes of Michael Bublé and James Corden, the non-denominational app offers users the opportunity to listen to Bible passages and to meditations that are inspired by hymns.

The co-creator of Glorify, Henry Costa, said that until recently Christianity ‘had a real stigma’ and was difficult to promote. But things are shifting. ‘A lot more people are willing to talk about their faith,’ he said.

His business partner, Ed Beccle, added that since the onset of the pandemic, ‘there is a greater search for meaning’.

Whether people find a Christian faith or not, I’m encouraged to learn that many of them are open to exploring it. It’s good to discuss who God is, his role in the world and what his Son, Jesus, means to us. When we dare to ask the difficult questions, we stand a chance of finding meaningful answers.

Jesus said: ‘Seek and you will find’ (Matthew 7:7 New International Version).

If we want to know more about faith and experience its power, the best way to start is by looking for it.

Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen

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War Cry 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN

Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army

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Contact details of a Salvation Army minister Name Address Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • WAR CRY • 28 May 2022

Q

QUICK QUIZ 1

2

Who wrote the book Lessons in Chemistry about a female chemist in the 1960s who becomes the star of a cooking show?

A

4

5

6

Who plays intelligence officer Ewen Montagu in the new film Operation Mincemeat?

What type of dessert is the frozen Indian dish kulfi?

In imperial weight measurements, how many pounds equate to 10 stone?

What is the surname of the mayor of Springfield in the TV series The Simpsons?

ANSWERS

1. Bonnie Garmus. 2. Top Gun. 3. Colin Firth.

4. Ice cream. 5. 140. 5. Quimby

3

‘Take My Breath Away’ by Berlin was the theme song for which Tom Cruise film?

In this occasional series, Nigel Bovey unlocks the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus speaks to his disciples about in Matthew’s Gospel

The Kingdom of disciples A

S Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of Heaven, he talks about the ‘teachers of the law’ and says that each of them ‘who has become a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old’ (Matthew 13:52 New International Version).

The King James Bible identifies these ‘teachers of the law’ as ‘scribes’, educated men well versed in Jewish written and oral law and its interpretation. Part of the religious aristocracy, they are mentioned throughout the Gospels alongside the Pharisees, the chief priests and elders.

In this brief parable, Jesus uses a word he rarely does – ‘disciple’.

But what is a disciple?

A thesaurus hunt for ‘disciple’ reveals connections with being a ‘follower’, highlighted by words such as ‘adherent’, ‘devotee’, ‘enthusiast’ and ‘fanatic’. Jesus had – and has – many followers, but not all are disciples in the biblical sense. Distinguishing between the two, Jesus says elsewhere that not every one who calls him ‘Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but ‘only the one who does the will of my Father’ (Matthew 7:21).

In the Gospels, the English word ‘disciple’ is used to translate a Greek word derived from a verb meaning ‘to learn’. A disciple, then, is someone who learns from Jesus and applies those lessons to themselves. This involves more than simply tagging along. Being a disciple requires discipline.

Such a person is learning something of value, making discoveries of significance and absorbing lessons that will last. In learning about, and from, Jesus, they discover, uncover and possess spiritual treasure.

Perhaps, though, a surprise of this parable is the identity of the treasure-holders. Some teachers of the law have become disciples.

This is a revelation. Some of the class that Jesus elsewhere lambasts for gross hypocrisy and self-serving piety are, in fact, his pupils.

Another surprise is the indication through the phrase ‘as well’ that the new Kingdom does not destroy or melt down the treasured teaching of the old dispensation of the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Rather, the Kingdom – like Jesus – fulfils it.

Being a disciple requires discipline

28 May 2022 • WAR CRY • 13

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

ACROSS 1. Envious (7) 5. Trivial (5) 7. Rebuke (7) 8. Twitch (5) 10. Spike (4) 11. Mishap (8) 13. Inquisitive (6) 14. Grip (6) 17. Journalist (8) 19. Docile (4) 21. Sag (5) 22. Sorrow (7) 23. Avarice (5) 24. Transmitted (7) DOWN 2. Yearly payment (7) 3. Burden (4) 4. Oration (6) 5. Capable of existing (8) 6. Make fun of (5) 7. Plotted (9) 9. Unrivalled (9) 12. Daring (8) 15. Calamity (7)

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

5

3 6 1

2 9 7 1 4 5 3

1 2 9 3 5 8 2 4 3 1 5 7 8 2 6 7 9 3 1 6 16. Detection device (6) 18. Verify (5) 20. Image of a god (4)

WORDSEARCH

4 9 6 5 7 3 8 2 1 3 7 2 8 6 1 4 5 9 Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find CS Lewis 5 these 8 1 2 4book 9 titles 3 6 7 8 6 7 9 3 2 1 4 5 E S E C A F E V A H EWL L I T T S S 1 Z5W C 9 Q4D 8Z H7O 6H R3 B 2 C CWY U Q P Q R I E A A G R 2I E4F O 3 B6S 1E R5 V 9E D7 A 8 OMH O P S Z S L U Q X F H Y T P E J 7 W1A Q 4 O3Y 5 V D P F ME B Z K T8U 2 R O9 Y 6 I O E I I Z R Q L L U E G E I Q O 6 2 8 7 9 4 5 Z1 R 3 D J N Q R F Z E Z R Q T L H N S B P D 9 L3D 5 T G S D A E C R Z E1H 2 L A6A 7 L Z8 Z 4

M O HONEYC B Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number 1. A gentle wind 2. Drive forward 3. Eight pints 4. Monetary unit 5. Writer of a book 6. Epistle

ANSWERS 4 3 5 8 1 2 7 6 9

9 7 8 6 5 4 1 2 3 3

6

6 2 1 7 9 3 4 8 5

5 8 2 9 4 6 3 7 1

7 6 4 3 8 1 5 9 2

3 1 9 2 7 5 8 4 6

7 9 1 6

8 4 3 1 6 9 2 5 7

2 5 6 4 3 7 9 1 8

1 9 7 5 2 8 6 3 4

HONEYCOMB 1. Breeze. 2. Propel. 3. Gallon.

4. Dollar. 5. Author. 6. Letter.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Jealous. 5. Petty. 7. Censure.

8. Spasm. 10. Nail. 11. Accident. 13. Prying.

14. Clutch. 17. Reporter. 19. Tame. 21. Droop.

22. Sadness. 23. Greed. 24. Relayed.

DOWN: 2. Annuity. 3. Onus. 4. Speech.

5. Possible. 6. Tease. 7. Conspired.

9. Matchless. 12. Intrepid. 15. Tragedy.

16. Sensor. 18. Prove. 20. Idyl.

14 • WAR CRY • 28 May 2022

A E R G E H T L G F T

G N F B A X C I Q V C Z T I M T G N L A Q RMS WE Y H H N R T U

C L E S E E C Z O Q E

P E E Q L R N J J H Z

F V V O E T N J Y R K

OQ A P O R A A N Y C T FWD WR Z Y S S S A T H S S U O E A I P S A K O S C Q B D E S I Z QWQ Z R X Y LW

A GRIEF OBSERVED MERE CHRISTIANITY MIRACLES PERELANDRA PRINCE CASPIAN SURPRISED BY JOY THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH

Q P I Z F T R L S R E I E A R D I H C E C P N E R P R N K E J WM

Q C D C T T N I U H H

E G R MBW O H S F J H P ZM A H T I R P N F E SWK Z C B Y Q L

THE FOUR LOVES THE GREAT DIVORCE THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW THE PROBLEM OF PAIN THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS TILL WE HAVE FACES TIMELESS AT HEART

Strawberry chocolate profiteroles Ingredients

Method

50g butter

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.

75g plain flour, sifted

Place the butter in a pan with 150ml water.

Bring to the boil to melt the butter. Remove from the heat. Immediately add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon to get a smooth dough that comes away from the pan. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then vigorously beat in the eggs a little at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy.

2 eggs, beaten For the filling 200ml double cream 1tbsp icing sugar, sifted 150g strawberries, hulled and diced To decorate 100g white chocolate 6 strawberries, halved ½ tsp orange rind, finely grated

Sprinkle a little water on 2 baking trays and use a teaspoon or piping bag to place small portions of the mixture on them.

Bake for 15 minutes until they are puffed up and golden. Remove from the oven and cut a small slit in the base of each profiterole.

Return to the oven for a further 3 minutes.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Whip the cream with the icing sugar into soft peaks and stir in the diced strawberries.

Cut the tops off the profiteroles and fill each one with the cream mixture. Place the tops back on the profiterole bases and pile up on a serving platter.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Dip the halved strawberries in the chocolate and leave to set on greaseproof paper.

Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the profiteroles, then decorate with the chocolate strawberries, to serve.

SERVES

6

Strawberry and feta tart Ingredients 375g sheet puff pastry, at room temperature 200g reduced-fat soft cheese 1tbsp chives, snipped 1tsp lemon zest, finely grated Pepper 125g feta cheese, crumbled 125g strawberries, hulled and sliced

Method Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6.

Unroll the pastry sheet on a baking tray, keeping it on the baking paper from the pack. Score a line 2cm from the edge down each side.

In a bowl, combine the soft cheese, chives and lemon zest with some pepper and spread over the pastry.

Scatter over the feta and strawberries and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and puffed up.

Top with rocket leaves and serve warm.

Rocket leaves

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the British Summer Fruits website lovefreshberries.co.uk Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Vegetarian Society website vegsoc.org

SERVES

6

28 May 2022 • WAR CRY • 15

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer Romans 12:12 (New International Version)

WAR CRY