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War Cry THE

Est 1879 No 7007

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS

2 April 2011

salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

Illusionist Chris Gidney talks showbiz Page 8

20p/25c

YOUR LIFE IN

HIS

James Nesbitt as Gabriel Monroe

HANDS LIFE-AND-DEATH situations are everyday occurrences for gifted neurosurgeon Gabriel Monroe.

He knows he’s good at what he does.

But he also knows that a slip of the scalpel can have catastrophic consequences such as permanent brain damage or paralysis. The success or failure of each delicate procedure depends on his making the right decisions – and knowing when nature has to be allowed to take its course.

That’s the backdrop to ITV1’s hospital drama series Monroe, which focuses on the lives of staff and patients at St Matthew’s

Turn to page 3

ITV

TV SURGEON IS A CUT ABOVE writes ROSEMARY DAWSON

2

NEWS

The War Cry 2 April 2011

PA

POOR COUNTRIES TO BE PROTECTED

‘Vulture fund’ law is to become permanent

PA photo of destruction in Sendai

THE Government has said that an Act protecting poor countries from ‘vulture funds’ is to become a permanent law.

The Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Act was passed last year, but with a 12-month ‘sunset clause’ which was set to expire in June.

TEAMS SUPPLY FOOD IN QUAKE ZONE The legislation was designed to stop SALVATION Army teams in Japan have continued to investment companies provide vital supplies of food and water to people in buying the defaulted Sendai and Yabuki-cho who have been affected by the debts of poor countries

I

Destruction in Sendai

earthquake and tsunami. Both areas are near Fukushima but outside the exclusion zone which was set up round its nuclear power plant.

cheaply and then taking the countries to court to recover their full value. It was introduced as a Private Member’s Bill by Labour MP Andrew Gwynne and was supported by Jubilee Debt Campaign, a coalition, including Christian organisations, which demands the cancellation of unpayable, unjust debt.

In the House of Commons, Exchequer Secretary David Gauke responded to a question from Mr Gwynne by saying that the law ‘will be put on a permanent footing’.

PHILIP HALCROW

COE PRAISES SALVATION ARMY CONTRIBUTION

Trainees keep Olympic spirit on course SEBASTIAN COE helped trainees at a Salvation Army employment centre to put the finishing touches to a viewing area when he visited the newly completed mountain bike venue for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The trainees from Hadleigh Employment Training Centre, which teaches skills and aids the personal development of people with special needs, showed Lord Coe the information stand they had created for the mountain bike course. The course is on farmland owned by The Salvation Army.

Lord Coe, chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, joined the trainees in putting the last spades of soil round its base.

The stand was produced in the carpentry department of the training centre at the request of the Olympic organisers.

Making his first visit to the mountain bike venue, Lord Coe told The War Cry that the contribution of the Salvation Army trainees to the venue was the kind of community participation that was ‘absolutely central to why we NICE PAD? bid for the Olympics’. He said: ‘The real importance in the bid p16 was to engage communities and people of all abilities to be a part of the Games.’

Anthony Houchin, one of the trainees who worked on the information board, explained that it HOW took about three weeks to make.

He said: ‘I am very pleased with FORGIVENESS how it turned out.’

PLAYS OUT Another trainee who made the p4 board, Terry Jeffrey, said: ‘It’s exciting to see it in place. It’s been good to come out and see it now

THIS ISSUE:

PLUS

MEDIA/COMMENT p6

GARDENING p7

PUZZLES p12

Lord Coe looks at the information board with trainee Zoe Chapman

that it’s done.’

As well as carpentry, the Salvation Army complex trains people in skills such as plastering, brickwork, painting and decorating, IT, catering and horticulture.

Shelley Carter, the manager of the employment training centre,

INNER LIFE p13

said: ‘Initially it was just another job for the trainees, until today when they’ve been able to come and see it in situ and be part of this superb occasion.

‘I’m always proud of the trainees and the items they produce.’

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

p14

RECIPES p15

2 April 2011 The War Cry

3

He’s good at helping other people sort out their lives, but his own is a mess From page 1 Hospital, where Monroe (James Nesbitt) is teamed with anaesthetist Dr Lawrence Shepherd (Tom Riley).

‘The brain contains our unique humanity,’ Monroe tells his students. ‘It’s the complicated part of us that contains our personality.’

Monroe is on top of his game at work. He is empathetic with patients and their relatives.

But it’s a different story at home, where the stresses of neurosurgery have taken their toll on his personal life. His wife has left him. She can’t forgive him for finding comfort in a brief affair after their teenage daughter died on the operating table from a brain tumour.

Monroe finds himself alone in a house full of memories he doesn’t want to face up to.

Neither is he ready to sell the home that he shared with his daughter. He’s good at helping other people sort out their lives, but his own is a mess.

Monroe’s traumatic experience of bereavement gives him an insightful bedside manner and the ability to understand people’s feelings. He doesn’t hold back from telling them the truth – good or bad – and tries to give hope to those whose quality of life depends on the skill of his hands.

When speaking about patients he advises relatives: ‘Just tell them that you love them. It’s what they need to get through this.’ And

God understands how we feel, because he has been through suffering and pain

Gabriel Monroe (James Nesbitt) with anaesthetist Lawrence Shepherd (Tom Riley)

ITV

when surgery is successful, he acknowledges their profuse gratitude by saying: ‘I’m good at this.’

When our life isn’t in the best shape – when it’s downright difficult, depressing and lonely – we can recall that God is good at his job too. He understands how we feel, because he has been through suffering and pain.

Since the world began, God has never stopped telling humankind that he loves them.

And he demonstrated it by keeping a centuries-old promise, and sending his Son, Jesus, to die in our place on the cross.

One of Jesus’ followers recognised the depth of God’s love when he said: ‘God showed his love by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him’ (1 John 4:9 Good News Bible).

Knowing that God loves us can be the starting point to getting through life’s difficulties.

It won’t make our problems magically disappear, but it will make a difference to how we cope with them.

Are we willing to put our life into his hands?

4 The War Cry 2 April 2011

TOM UNDERWOOD asked people to tell him about their experiences of violence. Among those he listened to were Brighton bomber Pat Magee and Holocaust survivor Steven Frank. Then he questioned his interviewees on their views of forgiveness.

He turned their responses into the play, After Violence

Actors Peter Bray and Adetomiwa Edun read through a scene before the play’s performance

I

CAME up with the idea for my play after reading Desmond Tutu’s book No Future Without Forgiveness. I feel that it is easy for people to have a superficial understanding of forgiveness and not quite understand the complexities of it. I wanted to consider the subject further through creating a piece of theatre.

PHILIP HALCROW

I chose to present my play in the style of verbatim theatre – that is, I recorded interviews with people and transcribed their responses. Then I edited the words, leaving me with a complete play. It was performed at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in London last month.

Tom Underwood

I asked some victims of apartheid: ‘What do you think forgiveness is?’

To begin with I spoke with anyone who would talk to me. I spoke to a guy who was left disabled after a hit-and-run car accident. Then I contacted charities such as the Forgiveness Project. They helped me find more people to talk to. I visited Northern Ireland and spoke to people

2 April 2011 The War Cry

5

takes a look at the act of about their experiences of Bloody Sunday. I went to South Africa and listened as people told me about what happened to them during apartheid.

I

remember attending a meeting of the Khulumani Support Group in South Africa. The group exists for victims of gross human rights abuses during apartheid. I asked the members: ‘What do you think forgiveness is?’

There was silence. I asked again.

Eventually, one woman put up her hand and told me that her son had disappeared and that she never found out what happened to him.

She started to weep, then she wailed and shouted. Soon almost everyone in the room put up their hands, reporting similar stories. They asked how they could possibly forgive, because in many ways their situations hadn’t changed.

They still lived in poverty.

After several conversations, I became aware that people have different ideas about forgiveness and what it means.

Their answers made me refine my own.

I began to see forgiveness as a spectrum of responses.

To begin with, forgiveness may mean that a person simply does not take revenge on someone who has wronged them. After a while they may be able to let go of feelings of hatred and bitterness. Only towards the end of the process they may be able to say: ‘I wish that person well.’

I see forgiveness as an ongoing journey rather than a one-off event.

I want my play to address the misconceptions that people may have about forgiveness. Some believe that if they forgive someone, they are ignoring or excusing evil, but I don’t see it that way.

By saying ‘I forgive you’, a person is acknowledging that something has gone wrong.

Forgiveness is an ongoing journey rather than a one-off event

Sometimes forgiveness includes reconciliation, but that is not always possible. If a woman is in an abusive relationship with her husband and leaves him, she may feel able to forgive him – but if she remains in danger, it is not a good idea to go back into that situation.

The most important thing is that people are always safe.

I am a Christian. I also find the concept of forgiveness incredibly difficult.

Thank God I haven’t been through the same horrible situations as my interviewees, but I have certainly been hurt by people. It is hard to forgive.

That’s why I try to look to Jesus as my example. He had a message to get across to people but he didn’t convey it through violent coercion. He was peaceful.

F

orgiveness is necessary in everyday life as well as in bigger situations.

Couples are unlikely to get very far in their marriage if they are not prepared to forgive each other.

The act of forgiveness is also good for a person’s health. People who hold on to resentment often end up having higher blood pressure or strained relationships with others.

Through my play, I want to show audiences that there is an option available to them other than continuing the cycle of violence. Quite Actor Robert Benfield often today’s films are about reads the words of revenge, such as the Oscarvictims of violence, including nominated True Grit. People Holocaust watching it may see that revenge survivor is wrong, but no alternative action is Steven Frank shown. I wanted to portray the notion and Iraq hostage of forgiveness as another very Norman Kember achievable possibility.

G Tom was talking to Claire Brine

MEDIA

6 The War Cry 2 April 2011

Premier

Comment

Soap saints?

THE War Cry stands corrected.

Addressing the subject of the 2011 Census question about faith, the Comment in the 19 March issue (‘Sense us’) argued that the way the media portrays Christianity and Christians does not suggest respect.

Choir is on station’s wavelength

Benedictines go online with retreat

PREMIER Christian Radio has formed a gospel choir. Thirtyfour singers have been put together after passing auditions. The choir will sing at events staged by Premier.

A NUN spoke on Radio 4’s Midweek about her community’s decision to offer retreats online.

Dame Catherine of the Benedictine Nuns of Holy Trinity Monastery, East Hendred, told presenter Libby Purves: ‘We’re a small community and we don’t have a great deal of money, but hospitality and welcoming people is a very important value in the Rule of St Benedict …

We haven’t got the I A STUDY using census data shows that religion may accommodation but we become extinct in nine secular democracies, reports the BBC can do something News website. A team of researchers took census data online, because with stretching back as far as a century from countries whose very busy lives, people censuses questioned people’s religion. The study showed a can’t always get away.’ steady rise in those claiming no religious affiliation.

When asked about whether people can I RESEARCHERS claim that saying a genuinely make retreats prayer may be the best way to stop via email and Skype, feeling angry, reported the Daily Dame Catherine insistExpress. ed that online retreats According to the paper, a were not just quick, study has shown that praying undemanding doses of for someone in trouble spirituality. reduces aggression. The ‘We can only provide study went on to say that the angry person does not need some of the circumto be particularly religious stances [of a retreat],’ for their prayer to help, she said, ‘but you’ve got because they find the act of to make the retreat, praying calming. you’ve got to be committed.’

Is religion out for the count?

IN THE PRESS

RADIO

While the supporting statement ‘drama dialogues are punctuated with profanities’ went unchallenged, War Cry readers have been swift to question the assertion that ‘no TV soap has a feet-on-the-ground, doing-their-best Christian’.

One reader writes: ‘In Coronation Street, Emily Bishop has always claimed to be a Christian and does her best to live as one.’

Emily does indeed take her faith seriously. When, for example, she discovered that lodger Ed killed her first husband Ernest, she struggled but eventually forgave him.

Then, points out another reader, there’s EastEnder Dot Branning: ‘She has always been a sound Christian. She applies her faith when confronting neighbours and quotes relevant Scripture – chapter and verse – when scolding or advising. She is honest, trustworthy, dependable, loving, forgiving and utterly trusting God.’ Dot is also known as a gossiping, chain-smoking, hypochondriac worrier, so does this make her a bad person?

A bigger question, though, than ‘What image do TV scriptwriters have of Christians?’ is: ‘What is a Christian?’

Spouting the Bible, praying, going to church, giving up things for Lent, being a good Samaritan and ‘doing the Christian thing’ do not make a person a Christian.

Being a Christian is based on repentance and faith. It is about acknowledging our sin and turning from it. It is about trusting in Jesus Christ as the only one who can save us from the spiritual death our sin deserves.

It is about having a life-enhancing relationship with the risen Jesus.

From this relationship comes a lifestyle. From belief grows behaviour.

Christians are not perfect. They just try to follow the one who is. On and off the box.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

2 April 2011 The War Cry

Pulmonaria covers the ground

by LEE

SENIOR

THE common and easyto-grow pulmonaria is a member of the forget-menot clan. It is flowering now and looks great under a canopy of young tree foliage. Also known as lungwort, pulmonarias make fine ground cover plants because of their tendency to spread. This also helps to keep weeds at bay.

Damp semi-shade suits them best. Lift and divide the established clumps every three to four years to retain plant vigour and good health. They are easy to grow from root cuttings any time now, if you do need to replace

FORGET US NOT: pulmonaria in flower

your stock. The young flower buds are prone to attack by sparrows and this is a common cause of non-flowering.

Make a start on the veg PARSNIP and early varieties of carrot seed can be sown now in prepared seed drills. Before sowing, mix carrot seed with dry sharp sand. This will help to ensure a more even seed distribution along the row. To grow good carrots the soil needs to be loamy and free of large stones and of any added fresh manure. If you can’t provide soil of this type, carrots will grow very successfully in deep containers or barrels filled with multipurpose compost.

Mix parsnip seed with fast-growing radish seed to help mark the spot where the slower-growing parsnips are situated. Parsnip seed is notoriously slow to germinate, often taking three to four weeks, depending on the temperature. The radishes will need to be pulled almost before the parsnips start to grow, so this method utilises ground efficiently.

Runner and French beans can be sown now in the greenhouse or on the windowsill for hardening off and planting out at the end of next month. WELL These plants are particularly tender DRILLED: and should be protected from the risk carrots can be of any frost. sown this month

and don’t forget…

Wildlife If you are u your gard sing pesticides or w e any residu n, take extreme ca eedkiller in re not to le e get near is harmful t y to fish and our pond, because try to min imise the wildlife. Better sti it ll, usage of c your gard e h predators n. Instead encoura emicals in g s and bees uch as birds, frogs e natural to visit yo , hoverflie u s way to do r this is to g patch. The easiest plants, cre row a wid a small patc ting diverse habita e range of ts. Leave h wild wit a h wildflowe rs so that long grass and fr escape th e sun and ogs and toads can hide from predators .

Hardy annuals

Hardy ann u sown outs als can be ide now. T provide in hey e eye-catch xpensive ing colour will brighte that garden. M n up any ixed pack ets of annuals c a cheaply fr n be bought o garden re m a good tailer.

LEE SENIOR

7

8 The War Cry 2 April 2011

Christian entertainers are my business

Chris on stage with assistant Samara Stanton

MARTIN SIMPSON

2 April 2011 The War Cry

9

Chris with assistant Katherine Mansi on his illusion tour

‘I

NEARLY killed Elaine Paige when she was playing Evita in the West End,’ confesses Chris Gidney, who was working backstage on the production. ‘By accident I cued a truck too early, it hit a piece of scenery, which in turn made a door fall over. It missed her by inches.

Fortunately, she forgave me.’

Chris Gidney has known plenty of drama in his life. Not only has he spent 12 years working backstage on productions in London’s West End, but he has also worked as a floor manager on Blue Peter, played small roles in television dramas such as Poirot and The Bill, and performed as an illusionist.

‘I first went on stage when I was nine years old,’ he remembers. ‘My dad was a magician, and we performed as a double act. I dressed up as a little girl with pigtails and painted my teeth black; when my dad called for a volunteer I used to run onto the stage and mess up his act. We called it the Great Catastrophe.

‘Today my speciality is variety. I’ve worked on cruise ships, and during the summer I often perform my illusion act in theatres across the country.

I have also set up my own production company called That’s Entertainment Productions. I put together a show containing different types of variety act, and each summer performers take it on tour.’

It was back in the late 1970s that Chris decided to make showbusiness his career. He briefly entertained the notion of being a teacher, but then he got accepted on a technical theatre course at the Mountview Theatre School in London.

‘I am a Christian, and I was keen to find out what God wanted me to do with my life,’ says Chris. ‘So I prayed that God would open the right doors. Then I got into Mountview. I felt it was where he wanted me to be.

‘I knew that I wanted a career in the performance world, because I’ve got a

Illusionist CHRIS GIDNEY tells Claire Brine how he acted on his faith to form a support group for Christians in showbusiness

Chris Gidney

I arrived to work on the show a week after someone had killed themselves backstage

passion for people. I love finding out about them, being with them, talking to them. And what better area to work in than acting – an activity which explores people and how they function.’

B

ut people at church questioned Chris’s decision.

Some felt that Christians and the entertainment business did not – and should not – mix.

‘They thought that the theatre was a dodgy place to work in general, but this was especially the case for a Christian,’ says Chris. ‘My dad had received the

same reaction from churchgoers. People thought that his being a magician wasn’t compatible with Christianity. But I believe Christians need to be a light for God in all areas of work.’

When Chris joined the technical crew on the musical Evita, he took the opportunity of putting his faith in the spotlight. But it was under tragic circumstances.

‘I arrived just a week after someone had killed themselves backstage,’ he says. ‘There was a really bad atmosphere in the theatre. I remember thinking: “If I’m a Christian, surely I can make a difference in this place.” I prayed that God would send another

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10 The War Cry 2 April 2011

From page 9 Christian into the show, someone that I could meet and pray with.

‘The next day I went into the dressing room of the leading man. There on his table was a book about the Holy Spirit by the evangelist Billy Graham. My prayer had been answered. We started to meet together to pray, and word soon got round. Before long we had about 30 people – all of whom worked on West End shows – coming to join us. We called ourselves West End Theatre Support. But then we realised the name could be shortened to Wets, so we became Christians In Entertainment (CIE) instead. Twentyeight years later CIE is still going strong.’

People met every week before their evening performances. They talked. They asked questions about faith. They prayed about subjects which affected the entertainment business.

‘There is a lot of unemployment among performers so we used to pray for each other about that,’ says Chris. ‘We prayed for people who had financial worries or those who were lonely because they were away from home. In the theatre performers tend to work closely with someone for a few years, then never see them again, so we’d ask for help regarding disjointed relationships. Sometimes we would walk round the outside of the theatre and pray for the people inside.’

In the early days Chris described CIE as ‘a selfsupport group of people with God in the middle’. But as numbers continued to rise, he found himself wondering about the group’s future.

‘I was considering getting a job on the production of Cats,’ he says. ‘But then I felt I should pour my energy into CIE. So from then on I started to commit more of my time to it.

‘Today I look on CIE as a spiritual meals-on-wheels service. It’s for people who work in showbusiness and can’t get to church regularly. It is designed to help them keep going with their faith.’

CHRISTIANS IN SHOWBIZ (clockwise from right): Wendy Craig, Syd Little and Dana

A

s the founder of CIE, Chris constantly travels up and down the country, holding one-to-one or group meetings with Christians at theatres. He has also established a 24-hour phone helpline so people can ring for advice or ask for prayer.

‘Sometimes people ask for prayer if they have an audition coming up,’ he says. ‘Or maybe they are offered a part and are not sure whether they should accept it. I’ve had phone calls when somebody has said: “I have to play a prostitute or a character

who swears a lot. What should I do?”

‘Personally, I’m all for Christians playing dark roles. Actors are simply portraying characters. In an Easter play, somebody has to play the part of the soldier who nails Jesus to the cross. It doesn’t mean that they would really kill someone.’

Another aspect of CIE’s work is to place Bibles in theatre dressing rooms.

‘I have managed to get Bibles into all the London theatres and the major UK cities. Not many theatres

People say to me: ‘I have to play a prostitute or a character who swears a lot.What should I do?’

have refused me entry. Today even the dressing rooms at Coronation Street have Bibles in them.’

Over the years Chris has met with and supported hundreds of Christians working in showbusiness, including stars such as Cannon and Ball, Wendy Craig and Jimmy Cricket. Later this year he will be working with Syd Little and Songs of Praise presenter Pam Rhodes on a cruise ship.

‘I have put together a holiday for Christians who want to go on a cruise with a spiritual dimension,’ explains Chris. ‘I’ll be performing as an illusion-

2 April 2011 The War Cry 11

The entertainment world can be one of the most lonely, desperate places to work

ist, but I’ve also invited various celebrities to attend as special guests.

Holidaymakers can attend events such as quizzes, shows and interviews and visit locations that are connected to Christianity in some way.’

N

ot only does Chris connect with Christian celebrities through CIE meetings, but he also writes about them.

‘I have put together a book called Reaching For The Stars, which is a collection of prayers by entertainers,’ he says. ‘I also write celebrity biographies and spiritual books.

‘I hang on to God by my fingernails all day, every day. I talk to him all the time, when I am in the car, on the train, in the bath. I love praying in the open air or at the theatre. Sometimes I’ll be watching a play and praying for the people onstage.’

Although Chris is a committed Christian, the course of true faith never does run smooth. Throughout his life he has examined other religions.

‘I’ve had to,’ he says. ‘I’ve met lots of people with different faiths, and they ask me why I’m a Christian and why their own religion doesn’t work for me. I tell them that, in my mind, nothing but Christianity makes sense. I admire atheists because I believe they have more faith than I have. To see the seasons change and the flowers grow and to believe those things are a matter of chance takes great faith. My own faith is the size of a mustard seed – but it has always been just enough to get me through.’

Prayer plays a key role in the life of CIE. Earlier this year more than 150 churches across the UK marked Entertainment Sunday by praying for people associated with showbusiness.

‘Onlookers believe the entertainment world is all about fame, fortune, glitz and glamour. But in reality it can be one of the most lonely, desperate places for people to work. They need prayer. But it’s not the most obvious area for congregations to focus on.

‘Back in February CIE held its fifth Entertainment Sunday. The aim was to highlight ways in which people could support entertainers, such

as praying for them when the credits roll up at the end of a television programme. The response we received from churches was very positive.’

And Chris remains positive about the future of CIE. He does not know what is in store for the organisation, but he is happy to improvise.

He says: ‘I don’t ask “What next for CIE?” but I do ask “Who next? Who can CIE support in future days?”

‘Jesus spent his whole life on the road, meeting people, listening to them and encouraging them, and that is what I am trying to do with CIE. I want to continue travelling across the country, providing a service which helps to meet the spiritual needs of people working in showbusiness. My aim is to take faith into a very faithless field of work.’

a prayer book written by the stars I THE War Cry has five copies of Reaching For The Stars to give away to readers who can answer the following question:

Where did Chris Gidney complete his technical theatre course?

Send your answer on a postcard to Christians in Entertainment Competition, The War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN or email your answer to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk with the subject line ‘CIE Competition’. Include your name and address in your entry.

Entries must be received by Monday 11 April. The senders of the first five correct entries drawn will receive a copy of the book. The Editor’s decision is final.

PUZZLEBREAK

12 The War Cry 2 April 2011

SUDOKU

WORDSEARCH Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these UK medical dramas Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9 Solution on page 15

ANGELS BODIES BRAMWELL CARDIAC ARREST CASUALTY

QUICK CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1. Polite (5) 5. Particle (5) 8. Dwelling (5) 9. Motorised bicycle (5) 10. Period (5) 11. Of the moon (5) 12. Three feet (4) 15. Witless (6) 17. Secret store (5) 18. Noisier (6) 20. Undo (4) 25. Molar (5) 26. Farewell (5) 27. Awaken (5) 28. Reminiscent of the past (5) 29. All (5) 30. Cereal plant (5)

ANSWERS

L A T I P S O H L A R E N E G S E

M O N R O E T N I P L S W L E R O

C E Y C S O E P S E A U R E T O U

B A L Y A D O T L A Y O R E H T T

Y O S P U R I D E K O H N O R C N

T A D U E A D A G P R E A O N O S

CHILDREN’S WARD CRASH DOC MARTIN DOCTOR FINLAY DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE DOCTORS

G H L I A R B I N R E H O C N D O

E R E N E L A I A A H T D B D E S

T H E D I S T R I C T N U R S E C

T O S E O F D Y R T A I R A D L I

I L I H N C R I N I T R A M C O D

GENERAL HOSPITAL GETTING ON GREEN WING HOLBY CITY MEDICS MONROE

N B O O C W T O R C H O R W I E E

G Y E N T L I O T E A T T E D B M

O C R A S H A N R C H C A L S O C

N I O T C O L I G S O O O L E T C

S T T D R A W S N E R D L I H C O

D Y R O N O A N G E L S O U E A R

NO ANGELS PEAK PRACTICE THE DISTRICT NURSE THE DOCTORS THE ROYAL THE ROYAL TODAY

HONEYCOMB Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number 1. Cold and unfriendly 2. Female relative 3. Chair for a sovereign 4. Prolonged painful experience DOWN 1. Yield (6) 2. Steam (6) 3. Scoop (5) 4. Discovered (5) 5. Conceal (7) 6. Regain (6) 7. Skinned (6) 13. Fuss (3) 14. Equal (3) 15. Bashful (3) 16. Rage (3) 17. Hundred (7) 18. Find (6) 19. Referee (6) 21. Scrutinise (6) 22. Best (6) 23. Value (5) 24. Hurl (5)

5. Large marine mammal 6. Country whose capital is Moscow

QUICK QUIZ 1. Which supermarket uses the slogan ‘Every little helps’?

2. In which English county can you visit Helmingham Hall?

3. Which singer is known as ‘The Voice’?

4. Which is the largest region of Italy?

5. What animal is the cartoon character Stuart Little?

6. Which author’s first names were John Ronald Reuel?

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Civil. 5 Scrap. 8 Abode. 9 Moped.

10 Cycle. 11 Lunar. 12 Yard. 15 Stupid. 17 Cache.

18 Louder. 20 Open. 25 Tooth. 26 Adieu. 27 Rouse.

28 Retro. 29 Every. 30 Wheat.

DOWN: 1 Comply. 2 Vapour. 3 Ladle. 4 Found.

5 Secrete. 6 Recoup. 7 Peeled. 13 Ado. 14 Par. 15 Shy. 16 Ire. 17 Century. 18 Locate. 19 Umpire.

21 Peruse. 22 Nicest. 23 Worth. 24 Throw.

QUICK QUIZ 1 Tesco. 2 Suffolk. 3 Russell Watson. 4 Sicily.

5 Mouse. 6 J. R. R. Tolkien.

HONEYCOMB 1 Frosty. 2 Mother. 3 Throne. 4 Ordeal. 5 Walrus.

6 Russia.

INNER LIFE

2 April 2011 The War Cry 13

Case notes

STEPHEN POXON begins a series looking for – and finding – Jesus in unexpected places

WHERE’S

JESUS

MANY of us might be quite startled if we went to see the doctor and were told we were suffering from a nasty case of nasopharyngitis or viral rhinopharyngitis.

As gruesome as those ailments might sound, we wouldn’t have too much to worry about. The doctor would be describing nothing more threatening than a common cold, the sort of thing most of us experience from time to time.

Illness is part and parcel of ordinary life, so much so that many couples, as they exchange wedding vows, promise to love each other ‘in sickness and in health’.

Medical knowledge is always advancing.

Maybe we take it for granted that a quick trip to the chemist will enable us to find an overthe-counter remedy to some illnesses. Long before such progress was made, a cough or cold wasn’t so easily dealt with as it might be nowadays. The Bible tells a story about a woman in the 1st century who was confined to bed with a fever (see Matthew 8:14, 15).

Jesus visited her and touched her hand, and the fever left her. The miracle itself is remarkable enough, but what is attractive about the account is that Jesus demonstrated care and concern for someone who was unwell.

He was right beside the woman as she battled an uncomfortably high

He was right beside Library pictures posed by models

her as she battled temperature and struggled with pain.

Medical expertise will continue to develop. The love and concern of Jesus, though, will always remain the same.

Not every illness is healed, and some problems are much more serious than others. Throughout every moment of anxiety, though, Jesus himself draws near, offering comfort.

Not only that, he offers to remain close to those who are weak and weary. His strength is available for every minute of every long and lonely night of worry.

God is with us.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

14 The War Cry 2 April 2011

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Emoticons put a face to feelings SEEN any emoticons lately? In case you were wondering, these are not the latest baddies in an episode of Doctor Who. An emoticon is a small picture of a face, created using grammatical characters on a computer keyboard or mobile phone and used to convey a feeling. Often people include emoticons in their more light-hearted emails and text messages.

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The War Cry

The Bible tells us that, no matter what we are feeling, Jesus understands what we are going through. It says that Jesus ‘can help those who are tempted, because he himself was tempted and suffered’ (Hebrews 2:18 Good News Bible).

Knowing that Jesus has been through what we are experiencing today can comfort us. But more than that, Jesus can also help us by listening to our concerns. When we tell him how we feel, we can draw on his peace, rely upon his strength and find acceptance in his love.

One thing is for sure – it feels good to know him.

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Library pictures posed by model

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by JIM BURNS

Emoticons can show that a person is happy, sad, surprised, winking or laughing. On some phones people can even create emoticons suggesting that they are blushing, apologising or crying.

Although the craze to send these ‘mood’ pictures is relatively new, the emotions behind the emoticons certainly aren’t. People living hundreds, even thousands, of years ago knew all about the feelings of joy, despair, peace and fear.

The Bible contains stories of people who experienced every emotion under the sun.

Even Jesus – God’s own Son – was not spared from having rollercoaster feelings.

Jesus was tempted. He felt pain. He wept.

He got angry.

He took joy in the company of friends.

He had compassion.

He felt afraid.

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WHAT’S COOKING?

2 April 2011 The War Cry 15

THE MAIN ATTRACTION

Mexican pork Ingredients: 450g lean pork, cubed 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 400g can chopped tomatoes 400g can unsalted and unsweetened red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 300ml stock 2tsp chilli powder 2 red or green chillies (optional)

FOR STARTERS

Bacon, onion and basil muffins Ingredients: 450g plain flour 2tbsp baking powder Pinch of salt 4 eggs 450ml semi-skimmed milk 25g butter 225g dry-cured unsmoked back bacon rashers, trimmed and cut into large pieces 1 small onion, thinly sliced 1 small handful fresh basil, roughly chopped Muffin paper cases Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Beat the eggs together in a separate bowl, then pour in the milk and stir well.

SUDOKU SOLUTION

Put the butter into a hot frying pan and add the bacon and onion. Cook until the onion turns see-through and the bacon is cooked.

Stir the bacon and onion into the flour mixture. Add the basil, followed by the egg and milk mixture.

Using a large spoon, fold the

Red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks Yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks For the topping: 250g frozen potato skins 25g Cheddar cheese, grated

Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Put the pork, onion, garlic, tomatoes, kidney beans, stock, chilli powder and chillies (if required) into a large casserole dish and mix well.

Cover the dish and place in a preheated oven for 90 minutes until the meat is tender.

Remove the casserole from the oven, then stir in the red and yellow peppers.

Place the potato skins on top of the chilli and sprinkle with the cheese.

Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the potato skins are crispy and the cheese has melted.

Remove the chillies before serving. ingredients together until they Serve with corn on are thoroughly combined. the cob, crunchy Place 18 muffin cases in muffin vegetables and any tins. Fill each muffin case with favourite dips. the mixture until it almost reaches the top.

Serves 4 Bake the muffins in a preheated oven for 20–25 minutes until they are well risen and golden.

Makes 18

Recipes reprinted, with kind permission, from the lovepork.co.uk website

TECHNOLOGY R A M CHES ON writes BRUCE TULLOCH

TODAY (Saturday 2 April) is the first anniversary of the launch of Apple’s iPad. But already the device has been overtaken by the UK release last week of its successor, the iPad 2.

Library picture posed by models

The new device has been hailed by Apple boss Steve Jobs, and by millions of technogeeks, as the coolest thing since – well, the last cool must-have thing. But it won’t be many more weeks until shoppers are snapping up the next gadget, such as the Blackberry PlayBook this spring or the Motorola Xoom soon after.

Some people find it hard to remember a time when their lives were not organised by smart hand-held technology. Yet the iPhone is a mere four years old, the Blackberry nine, and the first miniature black box labelled ‘smartphone’ emerged from Ericsson only in 1997.

We have come a long way since April 1973 when the first mobile phone call was made by Motorola executive Martin Cooper.

Not everyone is enamoured by the ‘post-PC’ generation of smart devices designed to take over our lives. One US user compared using the orginal iPad to falling in love with Eva Peron – ‘beautiful, alluring, yes, but high maintenance’.

But there’s no stopping or reversing the headlong rush to the new. Time cannot stand still.

Life has to go forward, not backward. We are all slaves of time.

Yet there is something inside all of us that craves an unchangeable reference point outside ourselves. Something, or someone, to hold on to that can be permanently relied upon.

The Bible prophet and poet Jeremiah lived in a time when everything was changing. His whole world was being destroyed and he was

YOUR LOCAL SALVATION ARMY CENTRE Touch-screen tablets are becoming increasingly popular

tempted to despair. Yet he continued to claim: ‘The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise … The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him’ (Lamentations 3:22–25 Good News Bible).

No change there, then.

The War Cry is printed on paper harvested from sustainable forests and published by The Salvation Army (United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland) on behalf of the General of The Salvation Army.

Printed by Benham Goodhead Print Ltd, Bicester, Oxon. © Linda Bond, General of The Salvation Army, 2011