War Cry 4 November

Architect sketches out prayer wall design

WAR CRY

4 November 2023 50p/60c

In the balance

Accountant’s future is uncertain in crime drama’s finale

Russell Watson on singing in sacred buildings

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.

WAR CRY Issue No 7652

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Staff Writer: Claire Brine Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight

From the editor’s desk TENOR Russell Watson is visiting cathedrals, churches and other sacred buildings on his current UK tour and, in an interview in this issue of the War Cry, he points out the inspiration he gains from them.

‘It’s exhilarating when you’re singing these great big songs that were predominantly designed for locations like the ones that I’m performing in,’ he explains, referring to the sacred arias and hymns in his repertoire.

As well as drawing inspiration from church buildings, Russell talks about drawing on another Christian tradition. When he went through a period of serious ill health, he did ‘a lot of praying’. He says: ‘I was praying that I would get through it for the people I feel need me, my daughters in particular.’

Prayer also played an important part in Simon Williams’s discovery of a new kind of life after he had spent years in a cycle of drug addiction, remorse and despair. He sought out a priest who prayed with him. Over the next few weeks his life ‘completely changed’.

The practice of praying has always loomed large in the lives of Christians.

It still does, which is why a 52m-high monument, the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, is being constructed on the outskirts of Birmingham.

Each of its million bricks will represent an answered prayer, whether a recent one sent in by a member of the public or one known from history.

Prayer retains the fascination even of people who do not profess a faith; and it partly remains a mystery to many people with a faith. Do some prayers go unanswered? Why should we pray? What can it change?

Paul Bulkeley, the founder of the architects business that has designed the monument, gives us an insight into its looping design – and into the nature of prayer.

‘The Möbius strip gathers you in, brings you into its embrace, but as you go round the loop, it lifts your eyes heavenward,’ he says. ‘You automatically come out of it seeing the world the opposite way you did.’

When you’ve read the War Cry, why not pass it on ➔ ➔ ➔

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 Founder: William Booth General: Lyndon Buckingham Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn Published weekly by The Salvation Army © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.

Printed by CKN Print, Northampton, on sustainably sourced paper

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INFO 15 Your local Salvation Army centre

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CONTENTS FEATURES

3

Payback time TV drama reaches finale

6

Russell Watson Tenor on performing and praying

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‘My whole life changed’ Leaving drugs behind

10 For I know the plans…

Architect’s faith project 13 A little bit of politics UK Parliament Week raises awareness REGULARS

4

Team Talk and War Cry World

14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: ITV

ITV

Lexie Noble has to decide whether she will give information to DCI Adam Guthrie

More money, more problems Financial crime drama comes to a close TV preview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

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EXIE NOBLE’S world has come crashing down. She had been enjoying a peaceful family life in Edinburgh, but since her husband was brutally murdered, she has had to deal with not only the shock of his death, but also the discovery that he was involved in some shady dealings.

In the final episode of Payback, which is scheduled to be broadcast on ITV1 on Wednesday (8 November), Lexie takes the biggest of risks to secure the safety of her children.

Over the weeks, Lexie (Morven Christie) has become caught up in a criminal world.

Her husband, Jared, was working as an accountant for Cal Morris (Peter Mullan), the head of a big crime family, but he was also double-crossing him – and is responsible for a missing £28 million of his money.

With Jared gone, Lexie, also an accountant, has had to face Cal’s fury and work to make amends for what her husband had done. And she has become a part of the police investigation into Cal. During the final episode, Lexie is finally off the hook as the prime suspect in her

husband’s murder. However, investigator DCI Adam Guthrie (Derek Riddell) is using her for intelligence. There are no guarantees that he’ll keep his end of the agreement to grant her protection in the future, so when she finds out some vital information, she has to decide if she will hand it over.

Lexie has constantly been faced with choices. Side with the police? Do what Cal asks of her? And each choice has potentially grave consequences. It has seemed as though she is at the mercy of others far more powerful than her, but she has been managing to use her own smarts to remain in control and do what she feels is right.

Doing the right thing is an integral part of Payback, says executive producer Jed Mercurio.

‘It’s about a character who faces choices.’

Which is likely to be a relatable theme. After all, many if not all of us face choices.

Sometimes those choices are made more difficult because of our circumstances or because of the choices that others have made. It can be overwhelming to feel that everything is in our hands and that a wrong decision

Lexie has constantly been faced with choices

Crime boss Cal Morris wants to get back what was taken from him could mean that our world or somebody else’s world becomes a whole lot bleaker.

But some people have been able to take the pressure off themselves. They have sided with someone who is truly in control and can guide them.

Countless people who have put their trust in God have testified to the positive effect it has had on them. Back in Bible times one such person wrote: ‘The Lord is good and … will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him’ (Psalm 25:8 and 9 The Living Bible).

God can help us to make good choices when we don’t know what to do. He will teach us how to make things right if we find ourselves – or land ourselves – in trouble. He can show us how to respond to the difficult, distressing or destructive situations we encounter so that the world becomes better rather than worse.

Anyone can enjoy such guidance. So will we trust him?

The choice is ours.

4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 3

Team talk TEAM WA

talk ‘ TALK’ j From niche to new audiences

Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters ‘IT is delightful, and rather reassuring,’ said Daily Telegraph columnist Jane Shilling, ‘that pursuits discarded by one generation as hopelessly outmoded are finding an enthusiastic younger following through that most ephemeral of outlets, social media.’

According to Jane, hobbies that used to be ‘fairly niche’, such as growing giant vegetables, have lately ‘undergone a glorious renaissance’, thanks to sites such as TikTok. At the Malvern Show earlier this year, eight Guinness World Records were broken in the national giant vegetables championship, ‘where marrows weighing as much as a grown man loomed over 3st cabbages’.

But it’s ‘not just preposterous produce that has found a following on social media channels’, Jane pointed out. A young generation of classical musicians, including organist Anna Lapwood, has ‘found a new audience’ on YouTube and TikTok, which this year ‘launched a collaboration with the BBC Proms’.

Calligraphy, too, is a pastime that has become the subject of ‘numerous social media posts’ among 20 to 30-year-olds.

While I’ve yet to jump on the bandwagon for growing giant veg, I’m not surprised to hear that a number of ‘lost hobbies’ are growing in popularity among younger generations. Trends come, then go, then often come back again. And the reason certain trends keep cropping up is because there is something within them that connects with us.

They have a long-lasting appeal.

Throughout history, the phenomenon of following Jesus has ebbed and flowed in terms of popularity. In a particular place at a particular time, being a Christian may be seen as cool. At another time or place, it is anything but – and Christians have found it hard to express their beliefs for fear of being misunderstood.

But, whatever the cultural trends and the media platforms of the day, the stories about Jesus – who he was and what he did – have continued to create a sense of excitement. Many people connect with them.

The God who was revealed to us by Jesus has loved us since the beginning and still does. It’s a truth that inspires generation after generation.

Certain trends keep cropping up

Team talk 4 • WAR CRY • 4 November 2023

Salvation Army to halve carbon by 2030 THE Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland is planning to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and cut them by 90 per cent by 2040, by which time it aims to have achieved its target of net zero carbon emissions.

The church and charity is initially focusing on decarbonising its buildings, vehicles and supply chains. It has begun installing solar panel systems, and is running a trial of replacing existing lights with LEDs. Already all its non-domestic properties use green electricity.

The leader of The Salvation Army in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Commissioner Anthony Cotterill, says: ‘The need to reduce carbon emissions to avert climate catastrophe is a call we must answer now. The personal price that will be shouldered by those who are most vulnerable if we do not cannot be ignored.

‘As a church, two of our mission priorities are to “care for creation” and to “seek justice and reconciliation”. These go hand in hand with conversations around climate change.’

Campaigners point out that the extreme events associated with climate change – such as rising sea levels, floods and droughts – will disproportionately affect the poorest communities around the world.

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

B salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

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WnRLD SPORTIMAGE LTD/ALAMY

TV soccer host analyses life question SIMON THOMAS will be among the four guests taking part in webinar series Questions of Our Time run by the Christian Evidence Society in November.

The host of Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports will answer the question ‘How can we live after death?’ in a free-to-view conversation hosted by former editor of the War Cry and vice-chair of Christian Evidence, Nigel Bovey.

Other speakers in the series are Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who will discuss ‘Who is my neighbour?’, looking at discrimination, immigration and faith; Sir Gary Streeter MP, whose question is ‘How endangered is democracy?’; and Lord Dannatt, former head of the British Army, who will give his personal views on war, peace and faith in answer to the question ‘War, what is it good for?’

The discussions will be held online across the four Tuesday evenings in November, and spaces can be booked via Eventbrite.

More modern slavery survivors supported THE number of people being supported by The Salvation Army’s modern slavery services has increased in every region of England and Wales.

In a new report, The Salvation Army – which holds the UK government’s modern slavery victim care contract across the two countries – says that last year it rescued and supported 3,533 people through its safe houses and outreach services, marking a 5 per cent increase on the previous year.

Of the referrals, 58 per cent were exploited for labour, having been forced to work in factories, building sites or farms for little or no pay; 19 per cent had experienced sexual exploitation; and 15 per cent were victims of criminal exploitation such as being forced to sell drugs.

More than 100 nationalities were caught up in modern slavery, with British people being the second most common group requiring help.

The Salvation Army has held the government’s modern slavery victim care contract since 2011. Since then, alongside its partners, it has helped more than 21,000 survivors access medical care, counselling, legal advice and a safe place to stay.

FedEx delivers vehicle to help emergency work GLOBAL delivery company FedEx has presented The Salvation Army with a new emergency response vehicle, providing a boost to its fleet in the southeast of England.

The church and charity uses such vehicles to provide refreshment and pastoral care to emergency services attending incidents.

The new vehicle will operate across Kent and Sussex, where The Salvation Army has previously provided 20,000 meals to NHS staff during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, responded to an earthquake in Folkestone and supported lorry drivers stranded by disruption at the ports and Eurotunnel.

Bus aims to be just the ticket

Holly Alberici on board Stuff on the Bus

CANVEY Island residents struggling with the cost of living are being invited to jump on board a bus that has been turned into a mobile supermarket by The Salvation Army. Stuff on the Bus offers food at discounted prices to any customers who pay an annual £5 sign-on fee.

In addition to the supermarket on the bottom deck of the bus, the top deck contains a mobile banking unit, where staff help people with IT skills so that they can access services online, and a Salvation Army Employment Plus station, which aims to equip people with the skills to enter the job market.

The service – funded by The Salvation Army, Essex County Council and anti-hunger charity Feeding Britain – visits various locations in the town on Tuesdays and Fridays. A personal shopper service is available for disabled customers.

Commenting that the bus will provide a nonjudgemental and welcoming environment, Holly Alberici, pioneer community leader of The Salvation Army on Canvey Island, said: ‘We are hoping to fill the gap between food bank and supermarket. People can jump on board and get what they need.’

4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 5

Top tenor Singer RUSSELL WATSON reveals how cathedrals inspire his performances, who he prays for and how his faith sustained him during a period of ill health Interview by Emily Bright

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INNER of four Classical Brit awards Russell Watson is no stranger to the spotlight. Not only has he scored a Top 10 single (‘Someone Like You’ with Faye Tozer in 2002) and had nine Top 10 albums, but he has also performed for royalty, Pope John Paul II and former US president George W Bush. The tenor has shared stages with Pavarotti, Lionel Richie and Paul McCartney. As a boy, he could never have imagined that one day he would be singing with one of his favourite pop stars.

‘When I was a kid, I loved the Beatles,’ he recalls. ‘I’d often sit in my bedroom with my pal, and we’d jam along. We had a music book of 101 Beatles songs that we would go through over and over again.

‘Then, 20 years later I’m on stage at the Nobel peace prize ceremony in Oslo, singing with Paul McCartney. And it’s like, “What?!”’

Russell is currently taking to stages again in the more usual context of a UK tour.

Many of the venues have been sacred buildings, such as cathedrals, and Russell is convinced that

Russell Watson

6 • WAR CRY • 4 November 2023

these help his performance.

‘The songs that I sing lend themselves to these types of locations. The big classical numbers are the obvious example. And then, of course, the sacred arias, “Ave Maria” and “Panis Angelicus”.

Even the great hymns, such as, “Abide with Me” and “How Great Thou Art!”, all lend themselves well. It’s exhilarating when you’re singing these great big songs that were predominantly designed for locations like the ones that I’m performing in.

‘There are times when I’m singing the high notes of “Sancta Maria”, looking

up at the stained-glass windows as night-time is dropping. If you can’t gain inspiration from that, you’re never going to gain inspiration from anything. It does, in many respects, draw out that spiritual sense.’

The sense of the spiritual is something that Russell is familiar with as a Christian who doesn’t shy away from talking about Jesus.

‘He is an inspirational figure,’ he says.

‘The imagery of him in the likes of the cathedrals and churches always makes me feel a sense of sadness to know what he went through. But I think more than anything, Jesus for me represents God

When I was ill, I did a lot of praying

and Heaven.’

Russell’s faith is rooted in his everyday reality and experiences. He instinctively prays when he has ‘seen other people in turmoil’.

He says: ‘That’s where I feel I draw more on my faith. I found out recently that an old friend had passed away.

Immediately, I began to pray for his wife.

It was something I naturally did.’

He believes that his faith ‘has operated in phases’, adding: ‘There are points in life where you wonder, “Why me?”, or you’re in difficult times, saying, “Where are you?

I need you now.” During some of the more difficult times with ill health, I’ve drawn more on my faith and prayed more.’

One such time was in 2006, when Russell was diagnosed with a brain tumour. While his treatment was successful, a year later he discovered he had a second brain tumour. Then, after he went to bed one night, the tumour haemorrhaged in what he describes as a ‘near-death experience’.

He says: ‘I didn’t wake up the next morning and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. When I was ill, I did a lot of praying for myself, but mainly I was praying that I would get through it for the people I feel need me, my daughters in particular.’

The experience transformed Russell’s perspective on life.

‘I have a different list of priorities in my life now. As a result of that, my relationship with my family, my friends, my kids, everything has improved.’

While Russell’s career has brought acclaim and wealth, he says that they are not the most important things to him.

‘I’m happy with what I have. I think that Christian belief is a good way of life.

I try to live by the Christian philosophies of giving everyone a chance, treating everybody equally and giving to others who are more in need.’

l For more information visit russellwatson.com

4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 7

‘Drugs led to prison, but someone was looking after me’ SIMON WILLIAMS was addicted to drugs and caught up in criminal activity, resulting in a prison sentence and feelings of despair. He describes the key moments in his life that helped him eventually find freedom Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

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VER the years, Simon Williams found himself in a number of tricky situations. There was the time that he came face to face with the Jordanian army after he had drunkenly crossed a minefield. There was the journey he made through Egypt, using a stolen credit card to get by. And then there was the moment when he found himself beginning a prison sentence for dealing drugs.

Simon’s childhood had been troubled because his father drank heavily. When he grew up and a failed relationship left him with further scars, he developed a drug addiction to help him cope.

‘I never got on much with alcohol, but I just loved cannabis,’ he says. ‘That was my drug of choice. It seemed fun. I enjoyed the buzz, and all my friends were doing it. I know now that I was trying to tranquillise myself from my past.’

Simon managed to emerge from most of his escapades almost scot-free.

People around him said it was as though somebody was looking out for him.

‘At the time I believed in coincidence and fate, but I wasn’t ever thinking too much further than the moment at hand,’ he says. ‘It wasn’t until I got to Norwich prison and looked back that I thought

Simon Williams 8 • WAR CRY • 4 November 2023

there must be a God, that there was someone looking after me.

‘I began to go to chapel, and things were making sense. I started believing in God, and I got baptised 10 months later.’

Although his baptism marked an important point in the development of his faith, Simon acknowledges that he was yet to grasp the implications of Christianity fully.

He explains: ‘I remember that when I got baptised, the chaplain asked me, “What have you got to confess?”

There I was, in prison for dealing drugs, but my answer to his question was that I might have stolen a pencil when I was younger. I thought I was a good boy and wasn’t doing anything too bad.’

After being released, Simon stopped dealing drugs, but he still used them.

His addiction had an adverse effect on his relationship with his wife and young children. He also began to believe that Christianity wasn’t working for him, so he searched for meaning elsewhere.

He visited Thailand to explore Buddhism and India to listen to the Dalai Lama, but neither provided him with any sense of fulfilment. He felt he needed

to go back to church. He did, but he continued to struggle with drug addiction.

‘I recommitted my life to God, but I was still in a cycle of addiction, repenting, confessing and going to church.

‘I started taking cocaine and over the next few years my addiction got heavier and heavier. It reached the point where my wife was about to leave me. I was in a club one night, feeling suicidal and that I couldn’t go on. I went home and from the pit of my stomach I cried out to God, saying, “Please save me from this.”’

The next morning Simon met with a Christian man who had been mentoring him. His life was finally to change for good.

‘The guy said he felt that I needed deliverance from oppression,’ he explains.

‘Over the next couple of weeks, I got a real sense of my sin. I wrote down everything that I’d done wrong, and it was a lot more than taking a pencil at school.’

Simon went to church, and a priest prayed with him that he would be free of the evil influences that were harming him and would instead be filled with God’s Spirit.

‘My whole life completely changed

I wrote down everything that I’d done wrong

then. Nothing major happened in the sense that I didn’t feel any physical manifestations. But I gave up smoking within three weeks, and my cocaine addiction fell away. My wife also became a Christian through the change in me.’

Since experiencing his transformation, Simon has gone on to lead courses that help people find true freedom through Jesus. He has recently written a book about his experiences, A Second Chance, and he has returned to prison to speak about his faith and the difference that it has made to him.

‘I go into prisons to show people that Jesus Christ is real and there is a hope and a future for them,’ he says. ‘There’s no sin too deep. I’ve worked with people who have done the most heinous of crimes, but God can forgive us all if we repent, no matter what we have done.’

l A Second Chance is published by Authentic Media

4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 9

DESIGN FOR LIFE PAUL BULKELEY, founder of Snug Architects, reveals what laid the foundations for his career and why he proposed a loop shape for a monument to prayer Interview by Emily Bright

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NABLE to get on the housing ladder, newly qualified architect Paul Bulkeley decided to build his own house. But his dream took on a whole new dimension when he secured planning permission to build two onebedroomed town houses on a 10m x 10m site in Winchester. The development became an important part of his life.

He designed it as a bachelor, moved in as a married man and moved out with the addition of a baby. And in the middle of it all he established his own architecture business.

Snug Architects, now based in Southampton, tends to work on urban housing such as apartments, though it has also been engaged in more unconventional projects, such as building beach huts in Milford-on-Sea. Running a business often comes with built-in stress. But Paul takes heart from his faith.

‘The single most important blessing you can ask for is that you will not worry

about tomorrow, because today has enough worries of its own,’ he says.

‘I have been able to live pretty much in accordance with that, rooted in a fundamental sense of “I know God to be good, and I know he blesses my life.”’

The son of missionaries, Paul grew up on the banks of the River Congo surrounded by rainforest, and he says that his sense ‘of the faith adventure began from year dot’. While at school in London, he attended an event featuring US preacher Billy Graham, during which Paul made a ‘particularly significant commitment’ to follow Jesus.

Paul decided to study architecture at university, but by the time he had finished his first degree, he was feeling uncertain about his future. He was passionate

I grew in confidence that I could do this

Paul Bulkeley

about the subject but realised it was stressful, and he wasn’t sure about the underlying reason why he was pursuing it.

Then, during a placement year, everything changed for him.

He says: ‘I blossomed and grew in confidence that I could do this job.

So I went back to university to study architecture further.

‘During the second degree, I felt affirmed, and I attribute that to a sense of God’s blessing. By the time I had finished the course, there was a different level of conviction and confidence about what I was doing.’

Paul felt a similar sense of conviction when, in 2016, he pitched for a high-profile building project, the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer.

With construction scheduled to start next year on the outskirts of Birmingham, the Eternal Wall will be 52m high, more than twice the height of the Angel of the North.

It will feature one million bricks on which answered prayers – submitted by members of the public – will be digitally projected. Up to 500,000 people each year are expected to see the structure as they travel by car, train and plane, and it is estimated that a further 200,000 people will visit the site.

‘I felt a clear sense of connection with the brief, Snug Architects built 119 beach huts in Milford-on-Sea

10 • WAR CRY • 4 November 2023

SNUG ARCHITECTS

Paul’s architectural design for the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer

and it was rare to see one so aligned with my faith,’ reflects Paul. ‘The brief was simply to create a wall with a million bricks, but it couldn’t be something that has explicitly Christian symbolism.

I prayed about it and then felt inspired to cut out a piece of card, twisted it and formed a Möbius strip. Conceptually, it’s simple, but incredibly robust. You change the size, scale and the parameters on the project, and still it holds true.’

Paul believes that the shape – a continuously looping surface without beginning or end and with a 180-degree

twist – holds spiritual significance too.

‘The Möbius strip,’ he explains, ‘gathers you in, brings you into its embrace, but as you go round the loop, it lifts your eyes heavenward.

It represents the cycle of prayer, because as you move through life, stuff happens and then you get to a point where you look heavenward and offer up your prayers.

‘I like the fact that once you go through the twist, you automatically come out of

it seeing the world the opposite way you did. Poetically, it represents something of the nature of prayer.’

Paul was also keen to illustrate in the design that the practice of prayer continues to be a living, breathing reality for people.

‘It was important to me that the monument wasn’t some sort of static archive, almost like a mausoleum to something that happened in the past. We used this phrase “a living wall”, something that would keep flowing.

‘The individual stories, testimonies and prayers are mapped electronically on to the surface, but they’re not in a fixed position. Effectively it is like a canvas, on which different narratives can be created.

‘Someone can come and ask to see prayers about cancer, and all the prayers about cancer could then be distributed on to the surface. There is a dynamism between the technology and the monument.’

Paul believes that part of the beauty of the project is its accessibility.

‘The Eternal Wall is not a religious building or a church,’ he says. ‘It is a piece of art, and one of the powerful things about art is that it allows people to connect with deeper things in a different, less explicit way. I hope that people will connect with God in that place and have a deeper encounter with him.’

The Möbius strip represents the cycle of prayer

l For more information visit eternalwall.org.uk Paul’s first housing development 4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 11

KEYS OF

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’.

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THE KINGDOM

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

The $64,000 question 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

AS Jesus finishes preaching one day, a young man comes to him with a question, but has no idea that Jesus will catch him out in his answer.

The young man, who is described as having ‘great wealth’ (Matthew 19:22 New International Version), asks Jesus what he must do ‘to get eternal life’ (19:16).

Jesus gives him a credit check, ‘If you want to enter life, keep the commandments’ (19:17) and then reels off five of the Ten Commandments plus the instruction to ‘love your neighbour’. The man says that he keeps them.

Then the man asks: ‘What do I still lack?’ (19:20). Effectively, the rich man is asking: ‘Where am I poor?’

Jesus tells him: If you want a perfect score, give away your riches and follow me. Unable to credit it, the man walks away at a loss. Some translations of the passage describe the man as ‘sad’. This is something of an understatement – the word used in the original Greek text signifies ‘intensive grief’.

Jesus comments: ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God’ (19:24).

It is easy to think that it is a person’s weaknesses that bar them from being eligible for the Kingdom of Heaven. This encounter, however, shows that personal strengths can be a barrier to the Kingdom.

Jesus was testing the man’s attitude. Where was his treasure? Where was his heart?

If the man had done as Jesus asked, he would not have been buying his way into Heaven. Treasure in Heaven is a different currency from treasure on Earth.

The only exchange rate is to hand over everything to God – not only one’s sins, failings and weaknesses but also one’s strengths, abilities and achievements.

In the story, the man’s wealth was monetary. There are other kinds of riches – talents – that either serve selfish ambition or serve the Kingdom of Heaven.

Where was the man’s heart?

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

Or email your name and postal address to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • WAR CRY • 4 November 2023

Hear!

Hear!

QUICK QUIZ 1

What vegetable is featured in the poem ‘Valentine’ by Carol Ann Duffy?

2

In the Bible, who are the sisters of Lazarus?

3

Which Disney animation features a young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a man to enlist in the army?

4

Who was British prime minister during the Falklands conflict?

5

According to the nursery rhyme, what did the crooked man find upon the crooked stile?

6

Europe and the US compete for the Solheim Cup in which sport?

ANSWERS

Parliament Week aims to get a message across Feature by Emily Bright

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RDER, order! It’s time to discuss UK Parliament Week, which starts on Monday (6 November). By getting the message out to schools, youth groups and organisations, the people behind the annual week aim to raise awareness about what parliament is, what it does and how everyone can engage with it.

For those who don’t know their ‘act’ from their ‘bill’, the Parliament Week website offers a jargon buster document. Visitors can also go on a virtual tour of the Houses of Parliament.

Organisers are suggesting ways in which schools or community groups can run activities to increase understanding of the political process, including holding debates to discuss issues, organising mock votes and arranging meetings with MPs or councillors. Last year, 1.1 million people took part in more than 10,000 such activities.

One organisation well versed in taking part in the democratic process is The Salvation Army, which has its own public affairs team. It seeks to work in partnership with those in power to tackle issues such as modern slavery, poverty and refugee resettlement.

Major Nick Coke, the church and charity’s leader for justice and reconciliation, believes that The Salvation Army is ‘called to make a difference in the world’, and points out that politics is one of the ways in which decisions are made about how societies are run.

He says: ‘As Christians, and as a church walking alongside some of the most marginalised people, we need to be having a voice around the table with decision-makers. Politics is a fantastic place to make change and influence things.’

The Salvation Army is driven to engage in politics and speak up for the marginalised by the teachings of the Bible, which time after time urge people to take action to help the most vulnerable in society. One of its writers encourages people to ‘speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice’ (Proverbs 31:9 New Living Translation).

Behind such passages in the Bible is an essential truth: that God cares for all people, however wider society views them.

It’s a message that gets The Salvation Army’s vote.

We need to be having a voice

4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 13

1. An onion. 2. Mary and Martha. 3. Mulan.

4. Margaret Thatcher. 5. A crooked sixpence. 6. Golf.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Get better (7) 5. Oarsman (5) 7. Signal by hand (7) 8. Swivel (5) 10. Enthusiastic (4) 11. Sleeplessness (8) 13. Appear (6) 14. Shriek (6) 17. Give sorrow (8) 19. Dispatched (4) 21. Herd of cattle (5) 22. Severe (7) 23. Foundation (5) 24. Feared (7)

DOWN 2. Recreation (7) 3. Responsibility (4) 4. Watching (6) 5. Upbraid (8) 6. Interweaved (5) 7. Cemetery (9) 9. Deeply shocking (9) 12. Repulsiveness (8) 15. Thrown out (7)

SUDOKU

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

7 1 9

3 2

2

9 4 3 6

5 1 6 2

2

8

7 9 1 6

4

6 1 2

W RDSEARCH

5 4 7 1 9 6 3 2 8 3 1 6 7 8 2 9 4 5 2 8 9 4 5 3 1 6 7 Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to 9 find 3 these 8 retro 6 video 7 5games 4 1 2 8 Z 5H W7 9 J Z O T B D P1 D 6Z M4Q 2 A L3D T C Q E B L I J7 T 5G A2U 9 N T1L E 4 T 8S V3 6 Z H S D Z G Y J A L QGMR H C F Q 8 G 9L V1M 3 RK J SDRH O N2E J7 I 6Q U5 4 D O Y O B R E6 P 2A P3 P 5 H L4O Y 9 S 7X I8 1 SGQRCRP E XQZ EUUP J F K 4 D 7I T5G 8 1 R 2E S9 3 D TWB N E Q G H6A R

M O B HONEYC

Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

1. Book of financial accounts 2. Strong request 3. Narrative song 4. Used to plug a gap 5. Meal eaten outside 6. Rough drawing

I Y VOD TQT A E BDCAOXHS O WW I R H Z S N C L E L G F V E M R J QRGGEDA E I HGA J S AN E S P AQ I ODONKE YKONGB T Q I MB F I B V T RHU J I X S Z S Z YRZ T L A S I J T SCVQ I D A K D E T E D J E P T C M V Q MW F G A L P P E HWY E G I Q Y G D L U V DWU R R T MQ D N N N AMC A P A P Q S C T QWB E Q O R K Z R H Z C N U Z H S T Y R OMS Y D VWB C

ANSWERS 5 3 2 9 1 7 8 6 4

4 1 8 3 6 5 9 2 7

7 6 9 8 4 2 1 3 5

1 7 4 6 2 9 3 5 8

5 6

9 8 5 7 3 1 2 4 6

6 2 3 5 8 4 7 9 1

3 9 1 4 5 8 6 7 2

6 1 2 5

2 4 6 1 7 3 5 8 9

8 5 7 2 9 6 4 1 3

HONEYCOMB 1. Ledger. 2. Demand. 3. Ballad.

4. Filler. 5. Picnic. 6. Sketch.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Improve. 5. Rower. 7. Gesture.

8. Pivot. 10. Avid. 11. Insomnia. 13. Emerge.

14. Scream. 17. Aggrieve. 19. Sent. 21. Drove.

22. Drastic. 23. Basis. 24. Dreaded.

DOWN: 2. Pastime. 3. Onus. 4. Eyeing.

5. Reproach. 6. Woven. 7. Graveyard.

9. Traumatic. 12. Ugliness. 15. Ejected.

16. Evaded. 18. Gloss. 20. Pare.

14 • WAR CRY • 4 November 2023

7 6 5

5 16. Dodged (6) 18. Sheen (5) 20. Peel (4)

7 3

ASTEROIDS CENTIPEDE DONKEY KONG FROGGER GALAXIAN GAUNTLET

MANIC MINER PAC-MAN PAPERBOY PONG SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

SPACE INVADERS STREET FIGHTER SUPER MARIO BROS TETRIS THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

SERVES 2

Potato, leek and cheese soup INGREDIENTS

METHOD

1 large leek, sliced

Set aside a few slices of leek for a garnish, then add the rest to a pan along with the potato and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.

1 large potato, chopped 600ml low-salt vegetable stock 50g half-fat cream cheese Freshly ground black pepper

SERVES 2

Add the cream cheese and season with pepper, to taste. Blend until smooth.

Top with the reserved leek slices, to serve.

Corn chowder with sweet potato croutons INGREDIENTS

METHOD

1 sweet potato, diced

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.

2tsp olive oil 1tsp smoked paprika 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, diced 1 celery stick, thinly sliced 180g frozen sweetcorn White pepper 1tbsp plain flour 250ml reduced-salt vegetable stock

To make the croutons, place the diced sweet potato in a bowl. Drizzle over 1tsp oil and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle with the smoked paprika and stir again, then spread out the cubes on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, to make the chowder, heat the remaining oil in a pan and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, sweetcorn and a pinch of white pepper. Stir for 3 minutes and sprinkle in the flour. Gradually stir in the stock until the chowder thickens.

Cover, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook gently for 5 minutes. Gradually stir in the milk and bring back to a simmer.

Spoon the chowder into bowls. Top with the croutons, chives and a grind of black pepper, to serve.

300ml skimmed milk 1tbsp fresh chives, chopped Freshly ground black pepper Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk 4 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 15

Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less Philip Yancey

WAR CRY