The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered 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 more than 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
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 7515
Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Staff Writer: Claire Brine Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101 Helpline: 020 7367 4888 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Mal Davies 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, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. Printed by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper
Your local Salvation Army centre
INFO 2 • WAR CRY • 6 March 2021
EDITOR From the editor’s desk
ON 19 March 1911, more than a million people took part in rallies in various countries, calling for women’s right to work, vote and receive training. A lot has changed around the world since the first International Women’s Day. In the UK, for example, suffrage arrived – for some – in 1918, and today women are entering higher education in greater numbers than men. Even more has changed since the times described by Elaine Storkey in Women in a Patriarchal World, one of two books featured in this week’s War Cry that highlight contributions made to the world by women, famous or anonymous. In an interview to mark International Women’s Day on Monday (8 March), Elaine talks about her study of ‘women in the Bible who faced particular challenges because of the male-dominant societies that they lived in’. She says: ‘On the whole, women were expected to be subordinate. I wanted to find women who broke the mould.’ She points out how women confronted rulers and showed that they were intellectually engaged. She thinks it significant that, at a time when women’s testimony did not always carry independent weight in court, the Bible candidly says that women were the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. Women heralded that world-changing event, and women inspired by it have continued to bring about change. Biographer Jane Robinson tells us how one such figure, Victorian social reformer Josephine Butler, drew on her Christian faith as she campaigned to stop human trafficking and to give girls access to higher education. Josephine’s faith, says Jane, ‘gave her a lot of confidence and kept her going. As she went forwards and broke new ground, she felt God was there, beckoning her.’ The world still needs to change. Famous or anonymous, we are all invited to play a part in making the world better for people of all genders and nationalities – but also to discover that, if we put our trust in God as we move into our future, he will give us the confidence and strength to keep going.
CONTENTS
What is The Salvation Army?
FEATURES 3
Class struggle High-school movie tells anti-sexism story
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‘We need to talk about it’ Challenging the taboo around endometriosis
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Not just a man’s world Theologian explores God’s ‘gutsy women’
10 Victorian’s values Biographer on the life of Josephine Butler REGULARS 12
Team Talk
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Keys of the Kingdom
14 Puzzles 15
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War Cry Kitchen
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Front-page picture: COLLEEN HAYES/NETFLIX ©2020
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