War Cry 2 Feb 2019

2 February 2019 20p/25c

REVOLUTIONARY DRAMA WINS FANS What makes Les Mis so popular?

‘I FELL APART ON LIVE TV’ Presenter describes the impact of clinical depression

PLAYING AGAINST TYPE COMEDY ACTRESS MELISSA McCARTHY IS AN AUTHOR TURNED FORGER IN NEW FILM

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

What is The Salvation Army?

The Salvation Army is a church and charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in over 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church

From the editor’s desk THERE’S one day more before viewers get to see the final instalment of BBC One’s Les Misérables.

Initially there was some consternation that this adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel did not contain the songs from the musical that has been running in the West End for more than 30 years. But tomorrow evening (Sunday 3 February), millions will be watching the concluding episode, even though many of them are familiar with how it all ends.

In this week’s War Cry actress Anna McGaharan, who is appearing in the West End musical, talks about the appeal of the story that has forgiveness and grace at its heart.

But around those central pillars are storylines of greed, cruelty, deception and closely guarded secrets. The TV series has particularly highlighted the tensions that arise between Jean Valjean and his ward Cosette because of the secrets he has kept from her about his past.

Talking about our past is not always easy, particularly if it involves remembering experiences that were painful, either physically or emotionally.

But in this issue of the War Cry two women do just that. F. A. Cole describes her personal experience of female genital mutilation and her campaign to help girls at risk of suffering the same abuse.

Meanwhile, presenter Sheila Walsh recalls breaking down in tears on a live television show as she struggled to cope with clinical depression. Sheila’s interview coincides with Time to Talk Day (Thursday 7 February), which encourages us to talk about mental health – a problem that affects one in four people yet is rarely discussed.

Sheila wants to change that reticence, because of the risks of not talking. ‘Within our culture we want to put on a good face, but it’s costing people their lives,’ she says.

It is understandable that we don’t always want to discuss our struggles of today or the past. But often, it’s good to talk.

What is the War Cry? The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.

WAR CRY Issue No 7408

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Stephen Pearson Assistant Editor: Claire Brine Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston War Cry office: 020 7367 4900 Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN

Contents

Tel: 0845 634 0101 Helpline: 020 7367 4888 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@sp-s.co.uk Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Secretary for Communications: Lieut-Colonel David Kelly

Published weekly by The Salvation Army ©The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity.

The charity number in England and Wales is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.

Printed by Walstead Grange Ltd, Southwick, on sustainably sourced paper

Your local Salvation Army centre

FEATURES 3

Not in the write Struggling author turns to crime in new film

5

Wireless sets the pace Slow radio returns

6

‘My pain can empower others’ FGM survivor speaks out

8

TV breakdown Presenter’s struggle with clinical depression

10 Up the revolution!

Actress explains the continuing popularity of Les Misérables

6

8

REGULARS 4

News and media

12

Browsing the Bible

13 Expressions 14 Puzzles 15

What’s cooking?

Front-page picture: Twentieth Century Fox

15

Twentieth Century Fox

2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • FILM 3 Lee teams up with her friend Jack to sell her forgeries

FORGE OF NATURE

Linda McTurk sees an author turn to a life of crime

WRITER is at her wits’ end. Once A a bestselling author, the 51-yearold, who lives alone in New York City,

is months behind on her rent. When her beloved cat becomes sick and she can’t afford the veterinary bill, she begins to forge literary letters by prominent writers.

Released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 1 February), Can You Ever Forgive Me? is based on the real-life story of Lee Israel. It depicts her struggling to come to terms with life after she loses her job because of her insensitive comments to colleagues. Urgently requiring cash, Lee (Melissa McCarthy) asks her literary agent for a monetary advance so that she can pay her rent and help her cat.

Her agent bluntly rejects her request, telling her: ‘Nobody is going to pay for the writer Lee Israel right now.’

In her efforts to pay her bills, Lee begins to impersonate esteemed writers such as Dorothy Parker. She is soon typing up literary letters, using a variety of typewriters and paper types. Aided by her friend Jack (Richard E. Grant), she sells her forgeries for hundreds of dollars.

For a time, her deception seems to

work flawlessly. But when one of her letters is revealed as fake, Lee is in trouble with the police.

Desperate to make sense of her life, she says to a girlfriend: ‘There’s just supposed to be something more than this.’

We can sometimes want to live someone else’s life In playing Lee, Melissa McCarthy shows there is more to herself as well.

The actress is better known for her comedy roles as outgoing, largerthan-life women. Lee is anything but outgoing. She appears to be most at ease when she can hide in the background, behind her words about someone else’s life. She is constantly questioning how much she means to people.

Reflecting on the film, Melissa says: ‘There are so many people in the world who just want to be seen for who they are. They want to know their time on

this planet meant something and they meant something to someone.’

Many of us can relate to that. We want to be known and loved. We want to live meaningful lives. We want to know that we matter to someone. But when life gets tough, we can sometimes want to live someone else’s life rather than our own. We doubt that who we are is truly enough.

When life feels overwhelming, Christians take comfort in their belief that God values people for who they are. They believe that he knows every aspect of us and yet loves us the same. They trust the words of Jesus when he said: ‘What is the price of five sparrows – two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.

And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows’ (Luke 12:6, 7 New Living Translation).

Although we may not find every chapter of our lives easy to manage, God promises to care for us even in our darkest moments. His love for us can make a genuine difference.

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

Archbishop reflects on success of worldwide prayer initiative THE Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has reflected on the success of the prayer initiative Thy Kingdom Come as it approaches its third anniversary.

Since it began in May 2016, the evangelistic prayer week has drawn together more than a million Christians from tens of denominations and 114 countries to pray for the spread of the gospel.

In an interview with Premier Christian Radio, the archbishop (pictured) said that the initiative is supported by members of the Methodist, Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox and Pentecostal churches.

‘It’s very unusual for something like Thy Kingdom Come to gather

Church’s employment support money at risk

churches together on such a global basis,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it’s unique, I think it’s biblical. It started by looking at what the disciples did between the Ascension and Pentecost. During that time they prayed and the Spirit came.

‘It’s got no deeper rationale than the command of Jesus. We’re praying for the Spirit of God, because it’s the Spirit of God that brings people to Christ, not human beings.’

The archbishop urged Christians to take part this year, adding: ‘Pray every day, many times if you can, and let’s see what God by his Spirit in the grace of Jesus Christ can do.’

Thy Kingdom Come is scheduled to take place between 30 May and 9 June.

THE Welsh first minister has praised the ‘exemplary’ work n of The Salvation Army’s Wrexham church in alleviating homelessness through its community care hub.

Mark Drakeford attended a drop-in session at the hub to see first-hand the social care, health and welfare services that it provides.

‘The multiagency approach here, with everyone available in one place to provide vital advice and support, is exemplary,’ he said, adding that the Welsh government pledged to invest £54,000 in the project.

Now supporting more than 100 people, the community care hub was launched in 2016 by Wrexham Salvation Army community manager Karen Edwards, GP Karen Sankey, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and homelessness charity The Wallich.

MORE than half of The Salvation Army’s employment support funding could be at risk after 2020, according to an analysis carried out by the church and charity.

Up to 60 per cent of The Salvation Army’s UK Employment Plus programme is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), but there have been no guarantees that UK funds will continue to be ringfenced for the same support programmes after 2020.

The Salvation Army uses ESF grants to support anyone in the community who is seeking work, whether or not they are claiming out-of-work benefits.

‘The concern is there could be a group of already vulnerable people who will no longer be able to access the specialist, ongoing support that programmes financed through the ESF provide,’ said Salvation Army policy analyst Annie Dell.

Ms Dell said that any change could particularly affect ‘those who are out A CHURCH of Scotland minister has said the Ministry of Defence is of work and not claiming out-of-work being ‘insensitive’ to the families of people killed in the 1994 RAF benefits, who struggle to access national Chinook helicopter crash by raising the possibility that the incident’s employment support delivered by records may be destroyed.

Jobcentre Plus.’

Retired minister the Rev Roddy McNidder, who in 1994 led a She continued: ‘Uncertainty around memorial service for victims of the crash, said that destroying the records the future of this funding will make it would mean that the true cause of the crash may never be revealed. difficult to plan the support The Salvation On 2 June 1994, 29 people died when the helicopter crashed into a Army delivers every year to thousands hill in the Mull of Kintyre in southwestern Scotland. Pilots Jonathan of individuals.’

Tapper and Richard Cook were blamed, but the ruling was overturned in a review in 2011.

‘The news that the MoD may consider the destruction of the records pertaining to the crash of RAF Chinook ZD576 on the Mull of Kintyre as the 25th anniversary of that heartbreaking trauma approaches is of grave THE BBC World Service programme concern,’ Mr McNidder said.

Heart and Soul tomorrow (Sunday ‘The timing of this review is very insensitive and indeed intrusive 3 February 9.30 am) visits America to to families and colleagues of those who died, and one must ask why discover the role faith plays in fighting record the need to destroy such a valuable historical record is even being levels of opioid overdose deaths. Reporting considered.’ from Louisville, Kentucky, it examines the The Ministry of Defence said that the records, which were closed daily struggle of addicts who are clinging in 1995 and 1996, ‘will be reviewed for release or alternative disposal to their faith and explores what role religion this year’. could play in facilitating a culture change within the US.

‘Insensitive’ Ministry of Defence criticised by church minister

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2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • RADIO 5

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RADIO 4’s File on 4 programme on Tuesday 22 January highlighted the work of The Salvation Army in sheltering survivors of modern slavery. Reporter Paul Kenyon visited one of the safe houses run

by The Salvation Army, where he spoke to domestic worker Ola about her escape from traffickers.

Nightclub to undergo conversion THE Church of England is converting a former nightclub in Bradford into a church.

Located in the heart of the city, the new church will be equipped with its own gym and café.

The church project is part of a £35 million investment in the Church of England’s Renewal and Reform programme, which seeks to reach tens of thousands of people across city centres, estates and rural areas.

Renewal and Reform programme director Debbie Clinton said: ‘From a church in a nightclub area to weekday congregations and a social media pastor, the Church of England is not afraid to try something new to ensure it continues to serve every community in the country.’

THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SLOW BUSINESS Radio 3 has a soft spot for listeners who want to take time out from the frenzy, writes Philip Halcrow QUIET revolution has been taking place on Radio 3. Late last year the A BBC station began to set aside a regular Slow Radio slot. The latenight broadcasts of gentle sounds are now a monthly fixture and are being PA

PA IMAGE NOT FOR WEB

Wreckage from the crashed helicopter in 1994

collected with similar programmes on the BBC Sounds app.

So far, Slow Radio has allowed listeners to hear the ticking and chiming of timepieces at Upton Hall; it has taken them into the Kalahari desert, where they could hear sand grains moving over the dunes; and last month, it enabled them to accompany cattle being led out to graze in Co Clare.

The slot returns next Friday (8 February) with recordings of the serene landscape of Snowdonia and readings of works by poets from the region.

Radio 3 controller Alan Davey says the regular slow radio broadcasts are ‘part of a deliberate effort to help people escape the frenzy of everyday life’.

There’s no getting away from the reality that many people’s everyday life can feel frenzied. Even The monks said some of the station’s slow radio offerings have acknowledged it. prayer was not an Guiding listeners among the clocks, Dawn Barnes escape into fantasy of Upton Hall reflected on time pressures and said: ‘I’m always running against time.’

But in another series of podcasts recorded at a Benedictine monastery, the monks insisted that if prayer involved stepping aside from the frenzy, it was not an escape from reality into fantasy. Instead it was about ‘putting yourself in the silence’, finding God ‘where you are’ – quirks, faults and all – and ‘being aware that there’s someone with you and someone who loves you’.

They said that to be open to God, ‘you have to be able to slow down’ and ‘just be before God’.

The monks’ words echo the experiences of other people through the centuries. Written way back in time, the Bible advises: ‘Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him’ (Psalm 37:7 New International Version).

Countless people subscribe to those words. And, setting aside time so that they can listen out for God, they have discovered that, however messy and confused their lives are, there is someone who loves them – still.

6 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

‘I share my FGM experience to empower others’ Ahead of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on Wednesday (6 February), F. A. COLE describes to Sarah Olowofoyeku her experiences of a secret society that uses FGM to prepare young girls for womanhood and how she is campaigning on behalf of other girls against this abuse What was your experience of female genital mutilation (FGM) as a young girl?

Growing up in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, I knew nothing about FGM or the Bondo Society. Having my clitoris forcefully amputated at the age of 11 by a strange woman, I discovered the hidden lies about the Bondo Society. The pain was indescribable. I couldn’t make sense of what was happening to me. All I can say is it’s a pain I will never forget – no matter how hard I try.

I shared the gruesome details of what happened to me with a friend who didn’t undergo FGM. I had been sworn to secrecy and told if I ever shared any of the society’s secrets with ‘non-members’, I would die.

Being the rebellious child I was, I told Violet in class and went home anticipating death.

The betrayal of Papa and my stepmother left large holes in my soul which are yet to be completely healed. The anger I felt drove me into an abyss of psychotic and suicidal thoughts – I dreamt of murdering everyone involved, including my father. For years I was haunted by my thoughts and the actions of those women.

How did your family and community respond? Did they believe it was the right thing to do?

Even though my father was loved and respected by people in his neighbourhood, the community didn’t play any part in raising his children. I strongly believe Papa

was manipulated by my stepmother into having me and my older sister undergo FGM. Later Papa must have thought it was not the right thing to do, because he had regrets. Had I been raised in a village or province, maybe the community would have played a role in my upbringing, but growing up in the city of Freetown and with the type of parents I had, outside involvement was non-existent.

I’m happy to step on toes if it will protect girls Why did you decide to speak out against FGM and what challenges have you had to overcome to do so?

I decided to speak up about my experience to educate parts of the world where people may not be familiar with the practice, to bring awareness to the issue and to be a voice for sister survivors who are haunted by this dark practice but haven’t yet the courage to speak out.

I have been labelled by some a ‘racist’ and ‘sell-out’ because of my advocacy work, especially with certain lawmakers.

This actually gives me great joy because it tells me that people are listening and that I’m stepping on some toes. I’m happy to step on toes if it will protect girls.

What do you do and what have you been able to achieve through your activism?

I have worked with legislators on bills that would criminalise FGM in their states. Through Global Woman PEACE Foundation, for which I’m on the board of directors, I provide training on the dangers of FGM to law enforcement and school nurses.

I organise an annual workshop called Take Back The Power for young girls.

It has been held in Freetown every May since 2015 and covers a variety of issues such as rape, FGM and low self-esteem. I have also set up my own FAC Foundation, which provides hygiene products to these young girls and school supplies for those who cannot afford them. It also pays tuition for a few students – two of whom are in universities.

Because of my advocacy work, a few survivors are now hearing about reconstructive surgery and reaching out for advice. Young girls in my country of birth who would have welcomed the idea of genital mutilation are now backing out because they’ve been equipped with tools that are helping them make wise decisions.

Creating a community of support, love and sisterhood for survivors is one of my biggest accomplishments. It is vital that we create a safe space where we talk and share stories freely, not afraid of being judged.

2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 7

I thank God for giving me strength to endure FGM On your website you refer to your faith in God. Have you felt angry with God over what has happened to you and others?

I questioned God but have never projected anger at him. I actually thank him for giving me strength to endure FGM, rape and other forms of violence.

Had I not survived these, I wouldn’t have a platform from which lives are being transformed by God. What role has your faith played in your healing and your activism?

Had it not been for the mercy, grace and love of Christ, I would still be bitter and angry at everyone who played a role in my clitoris being forcefully amputated.

For years I battled with unforgiveness and wished death – the most horrendous type – on everyone involved. However, when I became born again and invited Christ into my life, he replaced all that filth with forgiveness and love. Have I forgiven? Yes. Will I ever forget? No. If I forget the impact FGM has had on my life, my enduring it would be in vain because I would be of no use to those who are waiting to hear my story and those hoping someone would tell their story on their behalf.

I choose to remember that night in August 1984 so that others can be empowered by my pain. l For more information visit facole.org

8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

‘I fell apart on live television and thought my life was over’

Sheila Walsh

Next Thursday (7 February) is Time to Talk Day, which encourages people to talk about mental health. Ahead of the day, singer and television presenter SHEILA WALSH talks to Linda McTurk about her clinical depression

‘O

NE morning while interviewing a guest on live television, I started to cry and couldn’t stop,’ recalls Scottish-born Sheila Walsh, whose US TV shows are watched by millions of people. ‘My guest didn’t answer my first question, but instead turned the tables on me and asked how I was doing. She said it with a look of kindness in her eyes, but because I wasn’t expecting it, I couldn’t put my wall up. So I fell apart.

‘It was a nightmare. My guest was embarrassed, the studio audience was embarrassed. Eventually they just cut to a commercial break. I took my microphone off, walked out of the studio and locked myself in my dressing room. As far as I was concerned, my life was over.’

In 1992, Sheila was making a name for herself as a host on Christian television programmes when she suffered a mental breakdown. Today she is a co-host of another Christian programme, Life Today, which is aired in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. But her career started much earlier, at the age of 19, when she toured Europe as a vocalist for a Christian band.

She moved into television work and presented The Rock Gospel Show on BBC One from 1984 to 1987. Then she was invited to become a co-host on US-based talk show The 700 Club.

In the morning I was on live television, but by that night I was on suicide watch

career Sheila during her singing

But in 1992, her life caught up with her.

She could no longer bury trauma that she experienced as a child.

After her breakdown, Sheila took herself to a psychiatric hospital. She stayed at the hospital for a month, where she was diagnosed with severe clinical depression.

‘During my first night at the hospital, the staff members told me that someone would check on me every 15 minutes during the night,’ Sheila recalls. ‘I remembered thinking: this morning I was on live television, but tonight I am on suicide watch. The contrast was so stark.

‘Then, at three o’clock in the morning, I believe that I had an encounter with an angel.

He looked like an off-duty doctor. He came into my room and handed me a little soft-toy lamb. Then, as he was leaving the room, he

2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9

said to me: “Sheila, the shepherd knows where to find you.” After that, I never saw him again.’

The encounter with the stranger had a profound impact on Sheila and helped her to reconcile her Christian faith with the past trauma she had experienced.

When Sheila was very young, her father experienced a massive brain injury and became physically violent towards her. He was later taken to a maximum security psychiatric ward, before he took his life when Sheila was only five years old.

‘I had based my whole relationship with God on me being perfect,’ Sheila explains, ‘because my thinking was: if my own father who loved me could seem to hate me in the end, then God could too. So I needed to be perfect. But in this place, where I felt that God and everyone was disappointed in me, this message came – that God knows where I am and he knows where to find me.

‘I dreaded all my life that I would end up hospitalised like my father, yet it was only there that I discovered that God’s love for me wasn’t based Sheila being interviewed on a recent episode of ‘The 700 Club Canada’ on anything I brought to the table. It was based on the finished work of Jesus Christ.’ be having in our churches and communities Sheila’s mental wellbeing has significantly people will realise at the moment is a very open discussion on improved since her first diagnosis. But she that God loves mental health.’ is still convinced of the need to eradicate the them the way A prolific author, Sheila hopes to provide stigma of mental illness. they are right ‘Within our culture we want to put on a good encouragement to people who are struggling now, and that with their mental health through her latest face, but it’s costing people their lives,’ Sheila they can come to says. ‘People don’t have to be ashamed. To this book, It’s Okay Not to be Okay. In it, she gives him just as they day, I still take medication every morning with advice on how faith can help people. are.’

‘The Lord taught me to move on in my life a prayer of thanksgiving that God has provided l It’s Okay Not to be Okay is and not just stay stuck,’ Sheila says. ‘I hope that kind of help for those of us who need it. I that, through showing everything I learnt, think the most important conversation we can published by Baker Books

10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

19th-century novel is still on song SARAH OLOWOFOYEKU

As Les Misérables comes to an end on BBC One tomorrow (Sunday 3 February), ANNA McGAHARAN, a member of the cast in the West End musical version, tells Sarah Olowofoyeku about the story’s eternal themes

B

ARRICADES symbolise the fight for freedom in the final episode of the BBC One adaptation of Les Misérables tomorrow. The six-part drama has been telling the stories of the Thénardiers, Fantine, Cosette, Javert and Jean Valjean – men and women living in 19th-century Paris and caught up in the inequalities of the day.

Based on the novel by French author Victor Hugo, the BBC’s version stars Dominic West and David Oyelowo. But it is only one of numerous retellings of the story. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway starred as Jean Valjean and Fantine in the 2012 Hollywood version of the West End musical, which was first performed in 1985 at the Barbican Centre.

The writer of the BBC’s adaptation, Andrew Davies, says that the story is ‘about the haves and have-nots of the world, and has a lot of contemporary resonance’. But it would not be so well loved if it did not offer something more to its audiences. In its portrayals of the oppressed, the downtrodden, the powerless or – as ‘les misérables’ is

Anna in her dressing room at the Queen’s Theatre translated – ‘the wretched’, it tells not only of suffering but also redemption.

Anna McGaharan, a London-based actress who is part of the cast of Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre in the West End, understands the draw of the story.

Les Mis, Anna tells me, is the production for which every person from drama school auditions. She had been auditioning for about seven years, and finally landed a role a year and a half ago.

The production is in its 34th year in the West End, but this run of the show will be the last in its current version. ‘The building needs repair, so the show is getting a big makeover,’ Anna says.

Though the set and the script may be changing, the heart of the story will remain the same. ‘There is so much hope in Les Mis,’ says Anna. ‘The words in the final song are: “Will you join in our crusade?/

There is so much hope in ‘Les Mis’ Who will be strong and stand with me?/ Somewhere beyond the barricade/ Is there a world you long to see?” People are so uncertain about what’s going on,

2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11 BBC/Lookout Point/MITCH JENKINS

The BBC adaptation of ‘Les Misérables’ ends tomorrow night especially now with Brexit. So it gives that sense of hope.’

There is another element that Anna believes makes it timeless. ‘It is a story about forgiveness and grace,’ she says.

‘That’s one of the main reasons it’s so relevant and why people love it.

Anna finds parallels between Victor Hugo’s story and the themes of another ageless tale – the Bible, and the gospel message at the heart of it. ‘There’s so much theology in the show!’ she says. ‘It’s beautiful.’

Anna describes how, after serving a gruelling 19-year prison sentence, Valjean is released and attempts to return to civilian life. He is shunned by everyone in the village, except for a bishop who welcomes him in.

But when Valjean abuses the bishop’s kindness by stealing his silver and running away, he is shown a different response from that which society had shown him before.

‘Instead of acknowledging his stealing,

Jean Valjean is shown forgiveness and uses that to better himself the bishop bestows on him another gift,’ explains Anna. ‘He withholds the judgment and punishment that Valjean should receive and instead takes the cost himself – losing the precious and expensive pieces of silver.

‘This is the same as God’s forgiveness.

We can come to him, just as we are, with everything we have messed up, and instead of having to pay a price, we receive his forgiveness and his grace.

‘Jean Valjean is shown forgiveness and grace and he uses that to better himself and be this wonderful man, to become mayor, and to help impoverished mother Fantine and her daughter Cosette.

‘Then he extends this same grace to police officer Javert, offering him an escape from the barricade. But, unlike Valjean, Javert is crippled by the fact

that he doesn’t deserve this grace.’

Anna herself has experienced the forgiveness and grace that is on offer through Jesus, and she has a faith that influences her life. She believes that her voice has been given to her as a gift and that she honours it through using it in the theatre industry. She also describes God’s grace as a ‘gift’, adding that ‘there is nothing we can do to earn it. God loves us in our mess.’

Anna believes that the love that God offers to people is the same type of love that Jean Valjean extends to Fantine and Cosette. ‘He doesn’t have to care for them,’ says Anna, ‘But he makes it his life mission to take Cosette on.

‘The story shows the hope of forgiveness – how it can change someone’s life.’

12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Richie, who is concerned about his court appearance and finding his daughter.

The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their ­circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.

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.

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

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures

Numbers HILE heading from Egypt to the W promised land of Canaan, Moses takes a census of all men of fighting

strength. The headcount is conducted according to the tribes that trace their ancestry to the 12 sons of Jacob. From each tribe, a leader is chosen. The total fighting force is some 603,000 (chapter 1).

From the tribe of Levi, Aaron and his sons are chosen to be the priests (chapter 3) and priests’ helpers (chapter 4).

Moses sends 12 men to Canaan on a reconnaissance mission. On their return to the desert, they report that their intended destination flows with ‘milk and honey’ (13:27).

Hearing that such fertile territory is guarded, the community, which has already moaned about Moses’ leadership and the daily food provisions, rebels (chapter 14).

They tell Moses that they would rather be in slavery in Egypt. Angry at their attitude,

Key verse

‘For 40 years … you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you’ (Numbers 14:34 New International Version)

God tells them that, because of their rebellion, they will not live to see the promised land. They are condemned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years (14:33).

Harassed by, and frustrated at, his people, Moses disobeys an instruction from God about how to obtain water. As a result, God tells Moses that he will not enter Canaan (20:12).

The journey has reached the eastern side of the Dead Sea, where the Moabite tribe

Harassed by, and frustrated at, his people, Moses disobeys God is worried that newcomers will overwhelm them. Their leader, Balak, asks a holy man, Balaam, to curse them. Four times, Balaam blesses Moses and his community (chapters 22 to 24).

Coexistence has its costs. Some of the men start worshipping the Moabite god, Baal (25:1–3). Through a plague, God punishes those people.

With Canaan in sight, Moses commissions Joshua to succeed him (chapter 27) and makes further plans for religious observance once the Israelites have settled (chapters 28 and 29).

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2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • EXPRESSIONS 13

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N natural science museums across the world there are reconstructions of dinosaur skeletons based on fossils. Yet nowhere in the Bible are dinosaurs mentioned. Of course, the Jurassic period ended millions of years before the Bible was written, but Creation itself took place even further back in time and that is recorded.

There may be no dinosaurs in the Bible, but a number of Old Testament writers mention dragons!

I find it interesting that many cultures have stories of mythical dragons.

In Europe they are frightening creatures, with wings and pointed tails, that breathe fire. In China dragons have many legs and no wings, and most are friendly. Meanwhile, the New Testament uses the metaphor of a dragon to represent evil, something to be resisted and fought at all costs.

However, the Hebrew word tannin, which is used in the Old Testament and translated Then there’s ‘dragons’, could refer to any beasts, and some ‘the great fish’ modern versions translate the word as ‘jackals’.

And then there’s ‘the great fish’ that swallowed that swallowed Jonah. Are we expected to take that literally?

I know some believers say that if the Bible had Jonah said Jonah swallowed the whale, they would believe it, but I have my doubts. Is the story an allegory? Some facts are hard to swallow.

Obviously the Bible writers set down their words within the culture and understanding of their day. I pray God will help me not to lose my sense of awe at the inspiration I experience when reading the Bible, just because of minor misunderstandings or foolish conclusions.

by Peter Mylechreest

BOOK REVIEW The Turn of Midnight Minette Walters Allen & Unwin

CBAD a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk Twitter: @TheWarCryUK Facebook.com/TheWarCryUK

B www.salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

SET in medieval times when the Black Death is killing thousands of people in Britain, The Turn of Midnight follows on from Minette Walters’s previous novel The Last Hours.

The plot centres on the Dorset settlement of Develish. It portrays how the community’s leader, Lady Anne, assisted by her loyal serfs, finds opportunities to build a new way of life for those who survived the plague.

One of the key themes in the novel is the impact such wide-scale and indiscriminate loss of life has on people’s faith, as key characters ask why bad things happen to good people.

Although the book does not look to give any answers to the question, the discussions it contains add an unusual but welcome addition to the storyline and encourage the reader to think more deeply about the issues raised.

Nick Lamb

14 PUZZLES • WAR CRY • 2 February 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD

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

QUICK QUIZ

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Scatter (5) 5. Object (5) 8. Likeness (5) 9. Clear (5) 10. Lawful (5) 11. Barter (5) 12. Memo (4) 15. Allow (6) 17. Shield (5) 18. Trusted adviser (6) 20. Consommé (4) 25. Refuge (5) 26. Passage (5) 27. Hold back (5) 28. Emerge (5) 29. Sedate (5) 30. Oarsman (5)

1. Grave (6) 2. Not long past (6) 3. Breadth (5) 4. Artificial waterway (5) 5. Erased (7) 6. Large bottle (6) 7. Yield (6) 13. Lyric poem (3) 14. Mongrel (3) 15. Snoop (3) 16. Debt document (1, 1, 1) 17. Enterprising (2-5) 18. Quagmire (6) 19. Feeling of sickness (6) 21. Bandit (6) 22. Entreaty (6) 23. Elude (5) 24. Beneath (5)

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1. Who wrote the plays Uncle Vanya and Three Sisters?

3 2005 9 1 with 2 the 5 song 8 4 ‘It’s 6 7 2. Who had a No 1 hit in 1960 and Now or Never’?

4 8 6 7 3 1 9 5 2 3. Who won an Oscar for her portrayal I 8 3 9of 6Queen 7 5Elizabeth 2 1 4 in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love?

1 2 4 9 8 Park?

3 5 7 6 4. In which US state is Grand Canyon National 6 7 sung 5 1 without 4 2 8 9 3 5. What Italian term describes music instrumental accompaniment?

5 4 7 3 2 9 6 8 1 6. Who captained the French football team when they won 2 6 8 5 1 7 3 4 9 the World Cup in 1998?

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PUZZLE ANSWERS

WORDSEARCH Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these philosophers

ADAM SMITH ARISTOTLE AYN RAND BLAISE PASCAL C. S. LEWIS CONFUCIUS DAVID HUME FRANCIS BACON FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE IMMANUEL KANT JOHN DEWEY KARL MARX MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT

PLATO RENÉ DESCARTES SIGMUND FREUD THOMAS AQUINAS VOLTAIRE

Friedrich Nietzsche

N L X N E X T N W W Z V B J T U S C M J A O H X R X T D E X Q X P E S B U C G C C T F H J E L H C U T L F B T A C A S F V V O L T A I R E W T D F W M B Z A E P Q D O F A W P U G A L W K S T O P H B T T C I Y Q I H V U C A I E H M E A V S S X P Y E M I W C R C I Y O L S E I T S K X H C D C O L N N O P M D I R S W W F T L H M N M A H W J E A D A M S M I T H U T F A R C E N O T S L L O W Y R A M C U R F I E E S X A A I B E S G V E S C X K R I R K D L Y Q V B V Z F J R I C G D D U E R F D N U M G I S X V U R Y E W E D N H O J R I L T C O A S U N I M M A N U E L K A N T I A H O Y A R B I T L L E I O Z N A I U J B W R F A T I M M M A M G P D S X

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SUDOKU SOLUTION

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QUICK QUIZ 1. Anton Chekhov. 2. Elvis Presley.

3. Judi Dench. 4. Arizona. 5. A cappella.

6. Didier Deschamps.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Strew. 5 Demur. 8 Image.

9 Lucid. 10 Legal. 11 Trade. 12 Note.

15 Permit. 17 Guard. 18 Mentor. 20 Soup.

25 Haven. 26 Aisle. 27 Delay.

28 Arise. 29 Staid. 30 Rower.

DOWN: 1 Solemn. 2 Recent. 3 Width.

4 Canal. 5 Deleted. 6 Magnum. 7 Relent.

13 Ode. 14 Cur. 15 Pry. 16 IOU. 17 Go-ahead.

18 Morass. 19 Nausea. 21 Outlaw.

22 Prayer. 23 Avoid. 24 Under.

2 February 2019 • WAR CRY • WHAT’S COOKING? 15

Kitchen

Ghanaian red stew 1tbsp olive oil

1 plantain, thinly sliced 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 2.5cm piece root ginger, peeled and grated ½ small red chilli, chopped 200ml passata 100ml reduced salt vegetable stock

Serves

1tsp soft brown sugar 200g can black-eyed beans, drained and rinsed

2

100g brown rice 200g marinated tofu pieces 10g fresh parsley, chopped

Chocolate and mousse

Salt and ground black pepper

clementine

Heat ½ tbsp oil in a large non-stick pan and fry the plantain for 2 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.

2tsp extra virgin coconut oil

Heat the remaining oil in the pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, passata, vegetable stock, sugar and black-eyed beans. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

1 avocado, peeled and stoned 2tbsp cocoa powder 1tbsp honey 1 clementine, peeled and cut into thin slices

Melt the coconut oil by placing it in a small heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water.

Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the packet instructions.

Reserving a couple of clementine slices, put all the other ingredients into a food processor and blend until thick and smooth.

Spoon the mixture into 2 bowls and place in the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours.

Decorate with the remaining slices of clementine to serve.

Serves

2

Stir the tofu and parsley into the stew. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Serve the stew with the plantain and rice.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Vegetarian Society website vegsoc.org

An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered G. K. Chesterton