Make a change for Great Big Green Week
WAR CRY
And on that farm…
Visitors flock to see livestock on Open Farm Sunday
‘Our ice cream serves up social justice’
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.
From the editor’s desk
A trek out to the countryside could be the order of the day this weekend. As we report in this week’s War Cry, sites across the UK are taking part in Open Farm Sunday, inviting members of the public to visit and learn more about life on the land.
A dramatic crime wave has hit TV and streaming platforms. Whether it’s the cosy feel of clerics solving mysteries or the gritty storylines of inner-city murders investigated by detectives battling their own demons, viewers can’t seem to get enough of whodunnits. In this week’s War Cry new series of ITV1 police drama Unforgotten, where Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sinéad Keenan have more cases to solve.
Now that we have entered June – the first month of summer –many of us will be hoping for more of the sunshine we had at times in May so that we can enjoy the season’s open-air events and activities.
Perhaps the popularity of these crime dramas is explained by the satisfaction that viewers gain from seeing wrongs put right and the guilty brought to justice. Often the shows’ wrong’uns are bad to the core and have deliberately chosen to follow a life of crime.
Editor: Andrew Stone, Major
Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow
Staff Writer: Emily Bright
Staff Writer: Claire Brine
Staff Writer: Ewan Hall
Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk
Graphic Designer: 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
Your local Salvation Army centre
However, according to people who work with offenders, the reality is often far more complex. After becoming a prison chaplain, the Rev Tracy Sickel quickly realised that various factors played a part in women becoming inmates.
Spending time in the great outdoors is a lovely way to make the most of the days of good weather. However, the reliability of the weather and the state of the natural world are topics that are being greatly impacted by climate change. In this week’s issue we report on the Great Big Green Week, a campaign in which 130 organisations, including The Salvation Army, are encouraging us to tackle climate change and protect nature by taking individual actions.
‘I sat down with women in their induction interviews on their first day in prison,’ she tells us, ‘and it was the same things I was hearing continually: lack of self-esteem, abusive relationships, trauma, unforgiveness and addictions. Often they were victims themselves.’
Another popular element of the summer is ice cream. And this week we find out about a company that specialises in it.
As well as producing ice cream, Just-Ice supports survivors of modern slavery by creating employment opportunities for them.
While Tracy never dismissed the implications of the women’s crimes, some years ago she grew disheartened at seeing women returning to prison after their release. So she established a Christian charity, Imago Dei, to support them once they had completed their sentence.
As well as offering practical help, Tracy wants to show the women how a relationship with God can help them.
‘Our business model has always been to provide support, employment, empowerment and encouragement for people that have had exploitation in their background,’ says Sally Murray, who set up Just-Ice with her husband, Gav.
Sally also explains that her Christian faith motivates her to do what she can to help others.
‘We work with people of all faiths and none in prisons,’ she says. ‘We build relationships, placing value on the women and helping them see themselves as the Lord sees them... We then allow the Lord to step in and do what only he can do – transform lives.’
God’s offer to transform lives is for us all, no matter who we are or what we have done. If we allow him space in our heart, we’ll detect changes in our character that we couldn’t have possibly imagined.
‘Jesus is so ingrained in me that I wouldn’t know how to exist without him,’ she says. ‘While I can’t solve the issue of why God allows suffering, I can solve the issue of what he wants me to do in the midst of it.’
INFO INFO
Creatures great and small
Open Farm Sunday event has grown in popularity
Feature by Emily Bright
Here’s a seed of a good idea. Tomorrow (8 June) farms across the country are offering visitors a baa-rilliant day out as they open their gates for Open Farm Sunday. The aim of the day is to highlight everything that farmers do in producing food and nurturing the environment for the next generation.
Once inside the farm, members of the public will have the opportunity to get a good look at various breeds of cattle and sheep, as well as learn more about crops and the machinery used to harvest them.
Hadleigh Farm in Essex is one of the sites inviting people to peer behind the scenes and find out more about farming and the countryside. The Salvation Army-run farm will give visitors the chance to explore the work of its rare breeds centre, which is home to various kinds of pigs, sheep and other animals.
Hadleigh Farm has been taking part in Open Farm Sunday since 2018. Last year the event was its busiest yet, with more than 1,500 people in attendance.
Visitors were invited to handle hedgehogs and guinea pigs at the rare breeds centre, admire tractor displays and take part in craft activities, such as making seed pots out of egg boxes. They could also watch a sheep shearer get 45 ewes shorn for the summer.
Drawing visitors from far and wide, Open Farm Sunday provides Hadleigh with the perfect opportunity to teach
people about farming life, a vocation that has shaped food cultivation and world culture for centuries.
A text written thousands of years ago also used farming as a tool to teach anyone who was willing to listen.
In the Bible, there are frequent references to growing crops, harvests and animals, which are used as metaphors and allegories to explain what a relationship with God can look like.
One of the best-known passages that includes a farming reference is a poem which says: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength’ (Psalm 23:1–3 New Living Translation).
The writer – who was once a shepherd himself – used the metaphor to show God’s devotion and care for people. He found contentment in his relationship with God, who gave him the strength to face each day. He also knew that God would give him a sense of peace when he needed it the most.
Sometimes ploughing on through life
Visitors enjoying Open Farm Sunday at Hadleigh last year
is exhausting and we need help. The good news is that we can find a source of unconditional love and support in that same God.
God offers us all the opportunity to be in a relationship with him, promising to guide us through good times and bad. He also invites us to find rest in his presence and enjoy the supernatural peace he provides.
If we put our trust in him, he will help us not just to survive but to thrive.
Hadleigh Farm staff with one of their four-footed residents
A friendly word of advice
Sarah Olowofoyeku gives her take on a story that has caught the attention of War Cry reporters
Friendship is on the wane, suggested Helen Coffey in a lifestyle article in The Independent.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Helen’s visit to a longevity doctor – a visit that included questions about her social circle, because research had shown that close relationships help to delay mental and physical decline, and that chronic loneliness can have a similar risk to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Friendships
So it’s troubling that one in five Brits says their social circle has shrunk in the past three years, in what Helen is calling ‘the great friendship recession’. Although we are more connected through messaging platforms and social media apps than we have ever been, it seems we are more disconnected in terms of the quality of real relationships.
are worth the investment
Helen quoted friendship expert Anna Goldfarb’s comments on how growing independence, enabled by tech, has had an impact. We no longer need to reach out to friends or neighbours for practical reasons, such as moving house or borrowing sugar. ‘We’ve outsourced a lot of those tasks now,’ Anna says. ‘You can just hire an Uber. You can have Amazon send you sugar. You don’t need to rely on your community for the things you need to get by.’
She says that another contributing factor is that – amid work, family life and maintaining a home – there are many competing options for what to do with our spare time, and friendship is a low priority.
‘You can binge watch a show. You can stream anything you want, options which require so little of you,’ she says. Friendships on the other hand require ‘a lot of effort and intention’.
But I believe that friendships are worth the investment, because they are essential to our humanity. When God created human beings, he said it is not good for them to be utterly alone.
It means that our need for others isn’t a defect; it’s part of our design. If we do have friendships, it’s good for us to put effort into them, even when it’s hard – and if we don’t have friends, it’s good to pursue people we can love and who can love us.
God cares about friendships and will show us how we can make them, if we ask.
talk talk Team talk Team talk ‘ ’ j TEA M TALK
Actor puts faith in new role
‘Faith is a huge part of my life,’ said David Oyelowo when he was interviewed for Radio Times magazine about his role in the Apple TV+ comedy series Government Cheese
In response to a question about the faith of his character, Hampton Chambers – a former prisoner who seeks God in his efforts to reform – the actor said: ‘What I like ... is that it’s not proselytising – almost everyone can relate to having a difficult circumstance and wanting a sign that they’re on the right track.
‘Hampton has his epiphany after starting a conversation with God, but that doesn’t mean his day-to-day or spiritual challenges go away.’
David also reflected in the interview on his film career, commenting on the ‘spiritual calling’ he felt to play Martin Luther King in the Oscar-nominated film Selma
On the subject of pursuing different creative projects, he said: ‘I’ve definitely been guilty of trying to force something when it’s not the right time. My own faith has been a huge component in helping me let go when it’s the healthy thing to do.’
David Oyelowo
Newly appointed to the House of Lords, RUSSELL ROOK tells how his Christian beliefs and Salvation Army upbringing influence him to serve those considered to be the least in society
Interview by Claire Brine
cohesion and social integration, reflecting on the value he found in The Salvation Army’s ethos to serve individuals considered by wider society as ‘the last, the lost and the least’.
‘I worked for the Army for 18 years on a range of mission, community and youth projects,’ he explains, ‘and during that time I learnt that if you want to transform disadvantaged communities, you need to engage with politics. There are systemic problems in place that you can’t simply put right by planting a church or establishing a good youth project, as brilliant as these things are.
‘From about 2005 onwards, I found myself becoming increasingly drawn to politics. In 2012, I started volunteering as a parliamentary aide to Baroness Sherlock.
Then I was seconded to the office of the leader of the opposition as a faith and civil society adviser. I worked briefly under Ed Miliband, then more recently with Keir Starmer’s team. For me, the big question is how we help politicians to recognise the power of faith and harness it to bring about change that isn’t achievable in any other way.’
When Christians show up, we need to be good news
B
y accepting a seat in the House of Lords, Russell recognised a golden opportunity to wield such influence. Members of the Lords are required to work
together to amend the laws made by MPs in the House of Commons.
‘A large part of life in the Lords is scrutiny,’ says Russell. ‘Most laws have their genesis in the House of Commons, and the House of Lords is a revising chamber. The house combines wisdom and expertise from every corner of our country and every sector in society.
‘Our job is to look at proposed legislation and ask: “Has the government understood the full implications of these laws for different parts of our communities and country?” A lot of our time is spent amending legislation so that it works better for people.
‘A key aspect of the House of Lords is its unique make-up. Currently, there’s no majority for any party, so members need to build alliances and collaborate to improve legislation.
‘That kind of “working together” suits me. I’m a founding partner of the Good Faith Partnership, and we work with organisations and leaders from all kinds of sectors, backgrounds, faiths, cultures and political parties to try to solve really difficult problems. As our former colleague Jo Cox MP never tired of pointing out, we have so much more in common than we have that divides us.’
Whatever political issues Russell is asked to address in parliament, his Christian faith is at the heart of his work and decision-making. He couldn’t imagine facing life without it.
‘Christian faith, for me, is a bit like the glasses I wear on my nose – I see everything through this lens,’ he explains. ‘I’ve always found it difficult to say what role my faith plays in politics, because my faith plays a part in everything I do. I don’t engage it just for a time, then disengage when it’s not convenient.
‘In terms of my Salvation Army background, caring for the last, the lost and the least is hugely important. I can’t talk about my faith without thinking about the most disadvantaged and neglected people in our communities and the wider world. So, when the government makes laws and policies, I will always
Russell and wife Charlotte after his swearing-in as a member of the House of Lords
ask: “How does this resonate with what I believe – and how will this impact those I am called to speak up for?”’
He’s not alone. Russell explains that there are many Christians working in parliament, as well as people of different faiths, who are striving to make the world a better place. He believes their influence is invaluable.
‘The TV drama series The West Wing is the home of a great political motto and catchphrase: “The decisions are made by the people who show up.” And I think that’s true,’ says Russell. ‘Sometimes I meet people who say that they aren’t interested in politics – but the reality is that politics plays a huge part in all our lives.
‘It affects the schools our children go to, our health service, our pay cheques, our bin collections. These are all political issues that people are very much concerned with. So the question is not whether politics makes a difference in our lives, but more
how we can make a difference in politics.
‘I don’t deny that politics is in a bit of a state at the moment – and we need to do better. But we can either respond to our politicians by disengaging, saying that we don’t care about certain issues (even though we do), or we can find a way to “show up” and help make the decisions that can make our world better.
‘And when Christians show up, we need to be different. We need to be good news. We need to show love and compassion. We need to show up in such a way that shines light into darkness.’
Though Russell considers it an honour to take his seat in the House of Lords, he admits that it has all come as a bit of a surprise. After years spent working for The Salvation Army, he felt called by God to the priesthood. It was a move that he imagined would take him away from politics.
‘I never made a plan to be in politics,’ he says. ‘But I made a decision at the age
of 18 to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and year after year, I’ve tried to follow him. I’ve not always been successful, and I am sure that there are times when I could have been more faithful, but I’ve kept going.
‘The key to discipleship for me is sometimes found in the Johnnie Walker slogan, “Keep walking”. As a disciple, I’ve kept walking, and this is where I have ended up.’
And now that he is in the Lords, Russell is keen to help parliament recognise the value of faith and to utilise it to bring about change.
‘Faith – and people of faith – affect everything,’ he says. ‘There really are few parts of government where faith isn’t relevant and doesn’t have a role to play.
‘What’s more, as a Christian, I think that following Jesus is the most attractive life on offer. I only hope and pray that occasionally others might glimpse a bit of that in all of us who claim to follow him.’
THE INSIDE SCOOP
SALLY MURRAY explains why she and her husband Gav set up an ice-cream business to support modern slavery survivors
Interview by Emily Bright
If you found yourself having to buy a gift for a newly ordained minister, there are certain items that might seem appropriate. A Bible, perhaps. Maybe a book of prayers. Or an item of clerical clothing. Sally Murray’s husband received a completely different gift on his ordination: an ice-cream maker.
‘His best mate bought it for him on the
premise that Gav had enough Bibles, and so an ice-cream maker would be far more beneficial,’ explains Sally, co-founder of Just-Ice. ‘It was the best present ever.’
Little did the couple know that this machine would prompt a whole new business idea.
‘Gav began making homemade ice cream and got really good at it,’ explains
Sally. ‘We have three children, and every birthday he would come up with a new flavour.
‘One day Gav was in our kitchen serving ice cream, after we’d been to a coffee shop to celebrate one of our son’s birthdays. Gav said: “If I had a shop, it would be an ice-cream shop, not a coffee shop. We’d do it for social justice.”
‘I said: “You could call it Just-Ice.”
‘I am a pragmatist, but my husband is a pioneer. For me, it was a throwaway comment. To Gav, it was: “Great, we’ll start an ice-cream business, it’s going to be called Just-Ice and we’re going to employ people who have been exploited through modern slavery.”’
I thought: ‘Well, of course we’re not going to give up our jobs’
To Sally, this seemed unrealistic. At the time, Gav was a Baptist minister, leading a church in Morden, southwest London.
‘I thought: “Well, of course we’re not going to give up our jobs and start an ice-cream business. The house we live in comes with Gav’s job, we’re in an expensive part of London and we’ve got three teenagers in school.’
But, six months after their initial conversation, the couple began their adventure into the ice-cream business.
‘We started Just-Ice alongside our jobs. I was a physio, he was a vicar,’ says Sally. ‘We bought a two-litre commercial icecream maker and started supplying school fairs.’
For Sally, the new venture seemed daunting.
‘Gav always had more faith than me,’ she
The couple serve ice cream at events out of a converted horsebox named Rosa, after civil rights activist Rosa Parks
explains. ‘I like things more tangible.’
But then, one day, she received some unexpected encouragement.
‘In the physio clinic where I worked,’ she recalls, ‘I had a lady who had come back to see me after putting her neck out.
‘The lady said: “It’s ages since I’ve seen you. What’s going on in your world?”
‘I told her the story of our ice-cream company. She said: “Wow. Who’s doing your intellectual property?” I’m like: “One, what is intellectual property? And two, I don’t have anybody.”’
that it was bought by Danone, a yogurt company that her firm represented.
The lawyer had a meeting already scheduled with Danone, so Sally and Gav wrote a letter to the company, outlining their vision for the name and asking whether they could use it.
Sally and Gav Murray
The woman revealed that she was an intellectual property lawyer and offered to do a pro bono search to see if anyone else had bought the rights to the name Just-Ice. When the lawyer returned, she had good news and bad news. The bad news was that a corporation had already taken the name. The good news was
‘Danone gave us the name,’ Sally remembers jubilantly. ‘I had first treated this lady 10 years previously. I thought: “If God can line that up, then I need to trust him.” The whole time I’d treated her, I’d got to know her as a good friend but did not know what she did. Then suddenly, the month that we decided to start the business, she reappeared.’
For Sally, supporting modern slavery survivors and faith have gone hand in hand since she heard a speaker talk about the subject at an event in 2007.
From page 9
‘He talked about how exploitation was happening in the UK,’ she says. ‘It broke my heart. He was talking about it happening to children who were a similar age to my own at the time. I realised that combatting this was going to be my life’s work.’
Sally says that the subject seemed to ‘fit in’ with a Bible verse that she tries to live by, which says: ‘Speak up for those that have no voice and ensure justice for the oppressed.’
But as the couple embarked on their new business venture, their faith was tested when they felt that God was telling them to move to Derby after 20 years of living in London. It meant leaving behind their church, community and friends. Sally thought it was ‘the most ridiculous idea’.
Despite their apprehension at moving somewhere new, Gav and Sally took the leap of faith. And it wasn’t long before they discovered why God had prompted them to move to Derby.
‘We joined a church called St Werburgh’s in the city centre,’ says
Sally. ‘We’d only been there three weeks, and the minister said to us: “Tell us your story.” We stood up and said: “We’re starting an ice-cream business.”
Our ice-cream trike is named after William Wilberforce
‘After the service, a guy came up to us and he said: “I love what you’re doing. God has really blessed my business. I would like to bless yours. I make ice-cream trikes.”’
Sally laughs.
‘I was like: “Of course you do!” He made us the lovely Wilber, our purple ice-cream trike named after William Wilberforce.’
With the help of a few volunteers from their church and equipped with the trike bearing the name of the campaigner against the transatlantic slave trade, Sally and Gav set about building their JustIce business. They began selling their
ice cream from a stall at Derby’s indoor market hall.
‘Wilber was basically the reason we stayed afloat,’ says Sally. ‘We could go to the market hall and do small fairs and weddings. It also meant that we could go out and advertise what we did.’
A year later, a charity in Derby called Rebuild – which supports modern slavery survivors – got in touch to say that one of its women was ready for work and asked if Just-Ice could provide her with employment. So in March 2019, Just-Ice employed its first modern slavery survivor.
In 2021, Derby’s market hall closed down and Just-Ice moved to a grade II listed building known as the Bakehouse on the edge of Darley Park, where the business continued to manufacture ice cream.
Then two years ago, a woman from Poynton, south Manchester, contacted Sally and Gav. She had heard about the ethos of Just-Ice and wanted to sell their ice cream at her café. Since then, Just-Ice has focused its efforts on supplying the
café, which in turn has employed eight or nine modern slavery survivors.
Today, Sally and Gav work alongside two other people in the Bakehouse kitchen, one of whom is a modern slavery survivor. Although Just-Ice sells its ice cream to passers-by through its building’s sash window, about 30 per cent of its revenue comes from catering at events such as weddings and fairs.
Sally elaborates on how Just-Ice helps modern slavery survivors.
‘Our business model has always been to provide support, employment, empowerment and encouragement for people that have had exploitation in their background. It’s got to be bespoke, trauma-informed support, because every person that has come has needed something slightly different.
‘They need money, so we pay them a salary. They also need skills so that they have the potential of one day leaving us for a regular, full-time job.
‘We put everybody through food hygiene and allergens courses. We pay for and coach people through other food
industry courses as well, such as ones on baking, ice-cream making and – if they want to – customer service in front of house.’
Just-Ice provides assistance in other areas too.
‘One of our employees had to move house, but the one she was given was in a horrendous condition,’ recalls Sally. ‘So we took a team of people to help. Church is fantastic for community – you can always drum up people who are happy to paint or clear a garden.
‘We provided another modern slavery survivor with a mentor, because she had a young child and wasn’t sure about the schooling system in this country. A friend of mine, who had a child just a couple of years older, talked her through the system. We have had others who have needed help with budgeting and finances.’
In turn, Just-Ice has received help with its own finances.
‘God has provided for us like I have never known,’ says Sally. ‘We couldn’t pay salaries one January a couple of years ago. We opened the post and there was a
cheque that covered all the salaries.
‘We were also landed with an £8,000 energy bill because of poor billing. The company told us: “You can take three years to pay it off or pay it off in a lump sum.” At the time, we were converting into a charity, which means you can’t have any debts.
‘Then somebody came to us and said: “I feel God’s telling me that I should give you this amount.” And it was more than £8,000. We paid off the energy bill and two weeks later, we opened as a charity.’
Just-Ice’s charitable status now enables it to apply for grants to cover the salaries of the modern slavery survivors it employs.
Sally’s faith is a driving force not just in her business but in her whole life.
‘Jesus is so ingrained in me that I wouldn’t know how to exist without him,’ she says. ‘It has been like having a constant companion.
‘And while I can’t solve the issue of why God allows suffering, I can solve the issue of what he wants me to do in the midst of it.’
Just-Ice’s trike, Wilber, enabled the company to stay afloat by offering portable catering at events
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, 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
Browsing the Bible
Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book of the Scriptures
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes is the Old Testament’s third book of wisdom offering philosophical insight into issues of the time. The question under consideration is how to find a satisfying life.
The account is narrated by ‘the Teacher’ – the meaning of the word ‘Ecclesiastes’. He is traditionally identified as King Solomon. If the identification is correct, this book is the world view of a man who knows what power, prestige, wealth, pleasure and popularity are like.
The foundational premise is that within everyone there is a deep-seated yearning to find purpose and meaning in life. God has ‘set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end’ (3:11 New International Version).
The reason for such confusion about God is that, although God ‘made everything beautiful’ (3:11), humankind is fallen (7:29) and sinful – no one is righteous (7:20).
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
The Teacher ponders how people try to make sense of, and find satisfaction in, life. He considers some of the ways by which people define themselves – education (1:13), drinking (2:3), sexual pleasure (2:8), career building (2:23), wealth chasing (5:10) and family (6:3) – and, from personal experience, declares them to be ultimately ‘meaningless’.
Life, he says, is short. There is more to life than this world. Death – dust to dust (3:20) – comes to everyone. Ultimate meaning is to be found beyond this life. It is found in the way of wisdom.
Divine wisdom, says the Teacher, is a shelter that ‘preserves those who have it’ (7:12).
Wisdom means there are ultimate moral values. There is wickedness; there is righteousness (7:15). The Teacher observes oppression (4:1), extortion and bribery (7:7). Such actions – all actions – have consequences. God will judge everyone (3:17).
Life’s meaning is found by connecting with the God-placed ‘eternity in the heart’. Throughout the book, the Teacher encourages the reader to stand in awe of God (5:1–7), remember him (12:1) and to ‘fear God and keep his commandments’ (12:13).
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QUICK QUIZ
1 2 3 4 5 6 ANSWERS
In which three Asian countries is the current series of BBC1’s Race Across the World taking place?
Who wrote the novel Conclave?
What is the name of the company that created the AI model ChatGPT?
Which planet in the solar system is known as ‘the red planet’?
Which actor plays a teacher who rescues an orphaned penguin in the film The Penguin Lessons?
Who won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest for Austria?
Swap deal
Campaign promotes changes to protect the planet
Feature by Ewan Hall
The natural world is calling and the UK is answering in the Great Big Green Week, which begins on 7 June. Organised by the Climate Coalition, a network of more than 130 businesses, charities and faith-based groups, the week aims to tackle climate change and protect nature by bringing communities together to take action.
Last year 600,000 people took part in the Great Big Green Week. This year organisers hope even more will show support, with groups big and small putting on events such as tours of wind farms and talks on how to grow your own vegetables.
The theme for the week, Let’s Swap Together for Good, is encouraging people to make changes in their everyday life, such as getting together with neighbours to turn an unloved area of land into one that will attract wildlife or reusing textiles – perhaps by taking part in a clothes swap – rather than throwing them away. Such swaps, say the organisers, will improve communities and send a clear message to decision-makers about the need for better environmental practices.
One of the members of the Climate Coalition is The Salvation Army. It supports the Great Big Green Week as it believes that God has entrusted people with caring for the Earth. That responsibility includes taking action against climate change to lessen the damage that is being done to the planet.
One writer in the Bible explained God’s relationship to the world by saying: ‘The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it’ (Psalm 24:1 New International Version).
The words highlight that God cares deeply for all his creation. And if we choose to follow his guidance – including his instruction to care for the Earth – we won’t just be helping to reduce climate change and preserve nature, but we will also discover a deeper sense of purpose and peace as we grow closer to him.
Robert Harris.
OpenAI.
Mars.
Steve Coogan. 6. JJ.
ACROSS
1. Piece of turf (5)
4. Quick (5)
8. Very warm (3)
9. Emblem (5)
10. Twilled cotton fabric (5)
11. Fleece (3)
12. Tempest (5)
13. Dictionary (7)
16. Wrinkle (6)
19. Bisects (6)
23. Tropical storm (7)
26. Teacher (5)
28. Observe (3)
29. Sow (5)
30. Damp (5)
31. Edge (3)
32. Strained (5)
33. Taut (5)
2. Recording of moving images (5)
3. Flask (7)
4. Steady (6)
5. Forefinger (5)
6. Pick-me-up (5)
7. Female (5)
Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number
1. Agree
9. Fundamental (5)
14. Unwell (3)
15. Raw mineral (3)
17. Beam (3)
18. Entire (3)
20. Try (7)
2. Swoop suddenly to catch prey
3. Debris from a demolished building
4. Person who cuts men’s hair
5. Dull
6. One of the Mr Men
21. Swagger (5)
22. Snuggle (6)
23. Prank (5)
24. Skill (5)
25. Frequently (5)
27. Any object (5)
DESERT ISLAND DISCS FAITH IN SPORT FOOTBALL WEEKLY FULLY SCORED IN OUR TIME PLANET HOPE SUNDAY WORSHIP
QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Divot. 4. Swift. 8. Hot. 9. Badge.
Denim. 11. Rob. 12. Storm. 13. Lexicon.
Crease. 19. Halves. 23. Cyclone. 26. Tutor. 28. See.
Plant. 30. Moist. 31. Lip. 32. Tense. 33. Tight. DOWN: 2. Video. 3. Thermos. 4. Stable. 5. Index. 6. Tonic. 7. Woman. 9. Basic. 14. Ill. 15. Ore. 17. Ray. 18. All. 20. Attempt. 21. Strut. 22. Nestle.
Caper. 24. Craft. 25. Often. 27. Thing. HONEYCOMB
Concur. 2. Pounce. 3. Rubble.
Barber. 5. Dreary. 6. Greedy.
Eggs florentine
INGREDIENTS
12 cherry tomatoes
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5.
2 slices wholemeal bread
200g fresh spinach
Nutmeg, grated, to taste
2 eggs
Place the tomatoes in a roasting tin and cook for 10-15 minutes, then set aside.
Meanwhile, toast the bread and place on 2 serving plates.
Rinse the spinach, tear off the stems and steam for 2-3 minutes, until just wilted. Press to remove excess water, then season with nutmeg. Add the spinach to the toast.
Poach the eggs by cracking each one individually into boiling water in a pan. Cook gently until the whites are set. Lift out with a slotted spoon and place on top of the spinach. Add a sprinkle of paprika on top of the eggs.
Serve with the roasted tomatoes on the side.
Baked avocado eggs
INGREDIENTS
1 ripe avocado
2 medium eggs
Small handful chives, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 slices brown bread, toasted, to serve
1 tomato, halved, to serve
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas Mark 7.
Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone, but leave the skin on. Scoop out a little of the flesh to create a larger hole.
Crack an egg into each avocado half, then top with a few chives and season with pepper.
Place the avocado halves in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the egg white is set and the yolk is still runny.
Once the eggs have cooked, serve the avocado halves with slices of toast and tomato halves.
Acts 20:35 (New International Version)