War Cry 7 September

SINCE

1879

7 September 2019 20p/25c

S YEAARRCRY 140 W THE OF

GIVE US A CLUE Investigating the Agatha Christie festival

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

MISSING LINK What’s the truth in TV drama A Confession?

Scheme helps people sleeping rough in Glasgow

All part of the service KATE BOTTLEY ON WHY SHE SWITCHED OVER TO BROADCASTING

What is The Salvation Army?

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019

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

From the editor’s desk THIS year marks 80 years of Dorothy following the yellow brick road in the company of a scarecrow, lion and tin man as they go off to see a wonderful wizard. It was in 1939 that The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, was released.

In the film, Dorothy wanted the mysterious wizard to send her back to her home. However – and watch out for the spoilers here – the wizard turned out to be a fraud. But Dorothy’s wish was magically granted when she tapped the heels of her ruby slippers together three times and repeated the phrase, ‘There’s no place like home.’

While Dorothy’s adventures belong in the world of fiction, the concept of there being nowhere like home is one to which people of all ages and backgrounds can relate.

But what happens if someone has no place like a home because they are sleeping rough or are sofa-surfing with friends?

That was the situation in which Adam found himself after he had to give up his job for medical reasons. As he tells us in this week’s War Cry, it initially felt like ‘a valid lifestyle choice’. But increasing mental health problems resulted in him having a breakdown.

‘I ended up becoming homeless and I didn’t have the wherewithal to sort out my own accommodation,’ he says.

After sleeping rough in Glasgow, Adam received help from The Salvation Army as part of the Housing First scheme in the city.

Because of that engagement, Adam still receives the support he needs, but it is now in his own home and he has hope for the future.

Adam is one of thousands of people helped by The Salvation Army every year. And that help comes, not in the form of a magic wand to make everything better, but in practical and caring ways, recognising that the person in need has the potential to turn their life around.

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.

SINCE 1879

140 YEARS

OF THE WAR CRY Issue No 7439

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Claire Brine Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight 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@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Secretary for Communications: Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant

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 Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper

Your local Salvation Army centre

FEATURES 3

Look and learn The search for a missing daughter uncovers hidden truths in TV drama

5

Writing wrongs Agatha Christie fans celebrate the author’s work

6

Home helps Scheme provides people with a place to live

8

More TV vicar?

The Rev Kate Bottley on her broadcasting career

REGULARS 4

News and media

12

Browsing the Bible

13

Out of the Mouth of Babes

14 Puzzles 15

What’s cooking?

Front-page picture: BBC/LEIGH KEILY

6

8

15

7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • TELEVISION 3

ITV

Truth be told?

A

PHONE call shattered a peaceful afternoon at a countryside hotel for Elaine O’Callaghan (Siobhan Finneran). It was her son, Liam, giving her the shocking news that her 22-year-old daughter Sian was missing, having not returned home after a night out clubbing. The Wiltshire-based family continue their anxious wait for information in the second episode of ITV’s detective drama A Confession, scheduled to be broadcast on Monday (9 September).

The six-part series, which is based on real events, follows Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher (Martin Freeman) as he oversees the

Emily Bright sees families desperate to discover the fate of their missing loved ones in crime drama A Confession

missing persons investigation, relentlessly pursuing leads to discover the truth about what has happened to Sian.

He scours CCTV footage and orders cell-site analysis of her mobile phone signal, leading him to the Savernake Forest near Swindon. He launches a full-scale search operation and the family desperately appeal to the public for information about her disappearance.

Meanwhile, Elaine’s neighbour Karen Edwards (Imelda Staunton), whose own daughter Becky disappeared eight years before, watches the investigation unfold on the local news.

It evokes painful memories for her, and renews her fears that something awful has happened to Becky.

It can be hard to find truths on which we can rely

Steve Fulcher launches a missing persons investigation and (top) is joined by the O’Callaghan family

The lives of the two mothers become intertwined as both are crippled by the terror of what could have happened to their children. They simply want answers.

Fulcher seeks to allay the fears of Sian’s family by taking extreme measures in his investigation, even breaching police protocol. He realises that the family need to be put out of their misery and to know the truth, regardless of what it is. They have become imprisoned by their worst fears. His pursuit of answers leads him to put his career and reputation on the line.

The pursuit of truth is something with which many people can identify.

Relationships and the quality of lives can be put at risk when we encounter lies, betrayals and deceit. It can be hard to know who to trust and where we can find truths on which we can rely.

In the Bible, God’s Son, Jesus, explains that we can all find truth in our lives and that, if we do, it will have a dramatic effect. He says: ‘If you hold to my teaching … you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:31 and 32 New International Version).

Jesus invites us to discover the truth about God: that he can bind up our broken hearts, and provide guidance in our darkest hours. All we have to do is turn to him. He will walk us through all that we face, including painful experiences and challenges that we feel we cannot overcome.

God loves us no matter what we have been through. That’s a truth worth seeking out.

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019 PA

More protection needed in the rainforests

Fire sweeps through the Amazon last month

CHRISTIAN charities were among the n signatories to a statement highlighting the need for further assistance to be given to

THE indigenous communities living within the Amazon rainforest must be protected as part of the UK government’s efforts to tackle deforestation, says Christian Aid. After Boris Johnson announced the government would invest £10 million of additional funding in Brazil to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest, which has been ravaged by recent fires, Emma Donlan of Christian Aid commented that the money should be ‘spent in a way that both fully supports the people of the Amazon and fully involves them in the process. The process must be led by the very people who are most affected.’

She said that Christian Aid’s partners and environmental rights defenders across the Amazon ‘often face intimidation and threats for speaking out to protect the rainforest and the rights of those who live there’.

disabilities and serious medical conditions struggle to access essential services.

The organisations called for the Rohingya refugees. establishment of Sixty-one non-governmental organisations, an environment including Christian Aid and World Vision, where Rohingya highlighted the dependence on humanitarian people are aid of Rohingya refugees living in camps in protected and Bangladesh. have access to Despite the Bangladeshi government education, skills improving camp conditions, increasing training and preparations for monsoons and working to livelihoods. prevent disease outbreaks, living conditions More than in Cox’s Bazar remain poor, the statement 740,000 people explained. were forced to AN organ pipe has been It added that refugee women and girls flee from Burma restored to its home in York faced gender-based violence and restricted in 2017 after Minster 50 years after it was freedom of movement, while those living with mass atrocities. stolen by German tourists.

Klaus Weber from northwest Germany wrote to staff, asking if they would like the 16-inch D sharp organ pipe returned.

He told the Church Times that he visited York Minster as part of a road trip with five other men in 1969, when the BAT faeces will no longer drop on a Leicestershire church’s organ was being refurbished. congregation, thanks to a national project, the BBC reports.

Klaus explained that the pipes All Saints Church in Braunston-in-Rutland received a share ‘were lined up. Georg took of £3.8 million of National Lottery Heritage Fund money one small pipe. We couldn’t designed to reduce the impact bats have on buildings across stop him.’ Later, Klaus took the UK. the pipe from Georg to save The church hosts 500 bats, which cannot be removed as it from being thrown away or they are a protected species. Before the work was completed, seized by customs, and he bat waste took an hour to clean up before each service. But the kept it. church has been able to fill the gaps in its ceiling to prevent faeces and urine leaking through.

A spokeswoman for York The funding is also helping about 100 other churches where Minster said: ‘Unfortunately, it bats roost. Rosemary Riddell from the Bats in Churches procan’t go back in the organ; it ject said that the work at All Saints Church ‘has enabled us to will go into the collection with … roll out solutions to other churches similar to Braunston’. a note.’

Stolen organ pipe returned after 50 years

National initiative solves bats in the belfry problem

7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 5

Once upon a crime

THE descendant of a preacher n who toured America as part of an 18th-century Christian revival movement has called for his body to be returned to England, The Times reports.

George Whitefield’s greatgreat-niece, Vicki Kenderdine, claims that his burial at a church in Massachusetts was against his wishes. She wants him to be reburied next to his wife and child in Gloucester.

George, who was born in Gloucestershire in 1714, preached during the Great Awakening, a movement which revived religious enthusiasm across the British colonies. He was known for his theatrical and charismatic style, preaching to Native Americans, slaves and common people.

When he died in 1770, his funeral service took place in London and featured the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley.

The Old South Presbyterian Church in Newburyport insists that it was Whitefield’s dying wish to be buried in its crypt and asserts that it has no authority to exhume his body.

Festivalgoers make a case for Agatha Christie, writes Sarah Olowofoyeku T’S no crime to celebrate the creator of Poirot and Miss Marple, and on Ijust Thursday (12 September), thousands of people will gather in Torbay to do that. The annual International Agatha Christie Festival runs for four

PA

Shutterstock

days, ending on the author’s birthday – 15 September.

Agatha Christie wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play, The Mousetrap. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. And festivalgoers will be travelling from all over the world to the area where the crime writer lived. Once there, they will explore her life and works through exhibitions, talks, games, film and dance.

Festival director James Tyson explains that many people taking part in the programme – whether they are writers, musicians or visual artists – have been influenced by Christie.

‘She had a gift for storytelling,’ he says. ‘And she used straightforward, simple language to communicate the complex human emotions, questions and indecisions that people across all walks of life can experience.’

Perhaps that’s a clue to why she has so many readers. Whoever the author, we can find it comforting to read words that express how we feel, especially when we are going through difficult times. It serves as a reminder that we are not alone.

By outlining the ultimate true story of someone walking in our shoes, one writer gave everyone a reason to find comfort.

He told how Jesus, God’s Son, came into

It’s comforting to read words that express how we feel

Agatha Christie

the world and came to know the full human experience, joyful and sad.

He wrote that, resisting the temptations to which we fall victim, Jesus has ‘sympathy for our weaknesses’, understands even the worst of our crimes and offers those who turn to him the opportunity to ‘find mercy and grace to help us when we need it most’ (Hebrews 4:15 and 16 The Voice).

The writer’s message is that when we are wrestling with complexities, Jesus can enable us to plot a way through; and that when we mess up, he offers us forgiveness.

Will we investigate those claims for ourselves?

6 FEATURE • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019

Housing gives room for Andrew Stone hears how The Salvation Army is helping people in Glasgow to get off the streets and into homes of their own

T

hope

HE teenage years can often seem bewildering. It is not always easy to make the move from child to adult, with all the physical and emotional changes that process brings. Sometimes the situations we encounter as a teenager will affect us for the rest of our lives – particularly if they are traumatic.

When Adam was 13 years old he was hit by a truck. He suffered an inverse fracture to his skull and was in a coma for three days. After regaining consciousness, he was confined to a wheelchair and had to learn to walk again.

The accident also changed his personality.

‘I was much quieter before the accident, very introverted,’ he says. ‘Teachers started reporting to my mum, “It’s great. He’s like a whole new guy – he’s engaging.”’

But this change in Adam was not so positive for his family. He began falling out and fighting with his sisters, and describes himself as a ‘nightmare’.

Through occupational therapy Adam learnt that he had been living with dyspraxia, a co-ordination disorder, for many years.

But after the accident he developed new mental health concerns.

He began self-harming by stubbing cigarettes out on his body and cutting himself. He found it difficult to control his Adam found himself homeless

impulses, causing him to have trouble with substances and to drink excessively.

Despite these challenges, Adam still graduated from university and found employment with Police Scotland, before being medically retired because of his poor mental health. After retirement, life continued to have its challenges.

‘I didn’t have any serious accommodation,’ he says. ‘I was relying

I would not shower for months and would just lie in bed on friends and their sofas. It felt like a valid lifestyle choice at the time.’

But Adam’s mental health problems increased and eventually ‘took charge’, resulting in his experiencing a breakdown.

‘I would not shower for months and would just lie in bed, refusing to engage,’ he remembers. ‘I ended up becoming homeless and I didn’t have the wherewithal to sort out my own accommodation.’

However, Adam was told about Housing First, a new service that provides accommodation and intensive support to people with recurring experiences of rough sleeping in Glasgow.

The scheme’s manager Helen Murdoch

7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 7

Adam with his support worker Dianne Kerr explains: ‘Housing First takes people out their tenancy we want them to feel that, of homelessness and straight into their whatever happens, we’re right there,’ says own home, without going through different Helen. levels of supported accommodation.’

It has been specialist support worker One of the providers of the service Dianne Kerr who has been there to help is The Salvation Army, which works in Adam get his life back on track. partnership with other charities and ‘I have a good relationship working agencies. In Glasgow it is supporting 28 with Adam,’ Dianne says. ‘We’re straight, individuals in their homes, ensuring honest and upfront.’ that they are registered at ‘Dianne helps to keep me their new address, have right,’ Adam agrees. ‘She signed up to a GP and checks in with me to see have their utilities in where my head’s at. place.

‘Housing First Beyond such deals with you as practical help, a person. They’re the Salvation not dealing with Army staff the miasma of provide records around emotional you – they’re support. dealing with They look to you, and that’s see how the really positive.’ individual can Helen says: reconnect with ‘Every week, their community we’re moving by identifying people into their interests and tenancies and matching those with seeing people’s lives opportunities within being transformed.’ the area.

Those transformations Helen Murdoch ‘When they move into can take time. Adam now

Every week, we’re moving people into tenancies has his own home, but he is still being supported to help him deal with the issues his past has created within him.

However, because of The Salvation Army’s work through Housing First, Adam is now able to have more hope for the future. One of his aims is to reach a level of stability with his mental health that will allow him to complete a masters in creative writing.

He has also attended baking classes, but one of Adam’s other main interests is the performing arts.

‘I used to be in a band called Blister Pack, and I really enjoyed performing,’ he says. ‘I want to go back and perform again. I want performance to be part of my life.’

Helen is convinced that the positivity experienced by Adam and others in the Housing First scheme is down to their having a place to call home and the endeavours of their support workers.

‘When they move in, most people can’t believe it’s their house,’ she says. ‘They’re putting their key in their own front door, which right away is an amazing, positive experience.’ l See more of Adam’s story at youtube.com/salvationarmyvideo

8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019

THINKING INSIDE THE BOX The Rev KATE BOTTLEY tells Emily Bright how she went from parish priest to BBC presenter

A

BBC/LEIGH KEILY

FTER solemnly declaring a couple married, a Nottinghamshire vicar raises her hands skyward. Suddenly, she busts out some moves to ‘Everybody Dance Now’ as part of a flash mob. Channelling her inner disco fever, she sashays down the aisle before making a graceful departure with the bride and groom. It’s not exactly a conventional marriage ceremony. But then again, the Rev Kate Bottley isn’t a conventional vicar.

The original YouTube video of that wedding went viral, with more than nine million hits. Producers of Channel 4’s reality TV series Gogglebox wasted no time in calling Kate to ask if she’d feature on their programme, which she did from 2014 until 2016.

Kate delights in subverting Christian stereotypes. ‘As Christians, we all know we’re normal people who happen to believe in God. But, it strikes nonChristians as unusual when you go out dancing, watch telly or do what everyone else does.

I love it

7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9

Channel 4 Television/JUDE EDGINTON

Kate and her husband, Graham, appeared on Channel 4’s ‘Gogglebox’ when we pop up in unexpected places.’

Even when she was ordained as a priest ten years ago, Kate sensed that her ministry wouldn’t take a straightforward path.

‘People might prefer me to be a “priesty” priest,’ she says, ‘all quiet and reflective, reading books in my study and praying all day. It was never going to be that for me. It takes all sorts to make a world, and it takes all sorts to make a church.’

Her desire to challenge conventional ideas of church led her to pen a confessional piece in the Radio Times in September 2014, in which she

I like to think of myself as the Bridget Jones of ‘Songs of Praise’

revealed that she ‘couldn’t stand Songs of Praise’ and likened the programme to a ‘piece of soggy quiche’. So how exactly did she become one of its presenters?

‘It was just God laughing at me really,’ she muses. ‘After I wrote this rather scathing article, Songs of Praise phoned me up and said: “OK, we’re soggy quiche are we? Why don’t you come and have a chat with us if you think you could do so much better?”’

She chuckles: ‘I’m going to start bad-mouthing other programmes on the BBC to see if they’ll let me present those.’

Kate enjoys getting stuck in and seeking out a story.

‘I like to think of myself as the Bridget Jones of Songs of Praise,’ she says.

Her favourite piece of filming so far was on the spirituality of swimming, when she dived into 7C open water at a swimming club, much to the surprise of the camera crew, who had doubted that she’d do it. She enjoyed, too, meeting Michael Eavis, the man who founded Glastonbury Festival.

She admitted on camera that she was ‘totally fangirling’.

She also relishes episodes where Songs of Praise ‘takes risks’. Kate cites an example from before her era, when the programme covered people of faith within the Calais migrant camp. ‘We’re increasingly trying to reflect where faith is now rather than where faith might have been 50 years ago. I’m proud when we do those kinds of stories,’ Kate explains.

Three and a half years ago, Kate decided to take a risk herself by pursuing a career in broadcasting. At the time, she was a full-time priest responsible for three parishes as well as working three days a week as a chaplain at a further education college.

After appearing on Gogglebox, she had received other broadcasting offers, one of which led to her appearing on BBC One documentary In the Footsteps of Judas, which was aired in March 2016. ‘My media work was sort of ticking over,’ she recalls, ‘and I started to think that perhaps it was

Turn to page 10

➥

10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019

From page 9 going to be part of my vocation.

‘I’m not super spiritual, but I think when God has told me stuff, it has been really clear. It’s not an audible voice; it’s just this kind of itch that can’t be scratched.’

After much prayer and lots of conversations with loved ones, she decided to leave behind the financial security of her position even though she still had a family to support.

Finn the police dog was my favourite guest. He barked on cue ‘It was a massive decision to leave full-time parish paid ministry, with its house, pension and sick pay, to go freelance. Looking back on it, I wonder: “What on earth were we thinking?”

‘But I’m a big believer that if it’s your vocation, then you should go ahead and trust that the bungee cord of Jesus will

catch you. Whenever I’ve had that sense of God speaking in my life, I’ve thought: “I’ll just see how far I can take it.” And now I’ve ended up with a dog collar and a Radio 2 breakfast show!’

Kate has certainly landed on her feet, co-presenting Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday and appearing on Pause for Thought on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.

Her big break in radio came when she covered for Diane Louise Jordan on Radio 2’s Sunday Hour in 2017.

‘I had a blast. I used to go up to Manchester every couple of weeks, write the script and record two or three shows at a time,’ Kate remembers.

When Radio 2 reshuffled its schedule and Good Morning Sunday presenter Clare Balding decided to move on, it opened up a space for a new presenting partnership. Radio 2 called Kate’s agent, asking if she’d like to co-host Good Morning Sunday in an extended three-hour slot from 6 am with football presenter Jason Mohammad.

‘I thought: “I’ll give it a year.” We’re

now 18 months in, and I love it. We get 2.4 million listening to the show on a Sunday morning, and when I do Pause for Thought on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on Radio 2, there are around 8 million people listening to that. That’s mad. I get to tell 8 million people that God loves them.’

Good Morning Sunday has interviewed an array of humans since Kate joined the show, but in her opinion, it was a canine that took the biscuit. ‘I think Finn the police dog, who was on Britain’s Got Talent, was my favourite guest. He barked on cue.’

few years on from her flash mob, she A still loves the chance to dance. ‘One week Bollywood dancers taught us some moves. I’m not sure how that worked on the radio, but I had a great time!’

Indeed, Kate appears to be open to most broadcasting opportunities. She

BBC/Shine TV Ltd

Kate appeared on ‘Celebrity MasterChef’ in 2017

7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11 BBC/LEIGH KEILY

People think I’m a show-off, but I’m showing off for Jesus

Kate and Jason Mohammad co-present Radio 2’s ‘Good Morning Sunday’

has featured on The One Show, been quizzed on 8 Out of 10 Cats and Celebrity Mastermind, cooked up culinary delights on Celebrity MasterChef and embarked on a trek for BBC Two documentary Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago.

However, there will always be a handful of notable exceptions, including I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here. ‘Let’s just say that a kangaroo’s unmentionables belong on a kangaroo and not in my mouth,’ she says. ‘I’m not good at camping either.’

As Celebrity MasterChef returned to our screens this week, it’s worth noting that Kate was a semi-finalist back in 2017. ‘I did enjoy being part of it, though it’s really pressured.

‘My high point was when John Torode looked me in the eye and said: “You can cook.” And I went: “Whaaat?” Being on telly, people think you must be confident.

But actually we’re all faking it, so for John Torode to say, “You can cook”, I felt like I’d won MasterChef.

‘The other brilliant thing is they let me keep my apron. When people come around for dinner, I put it on and go: “I’ll just rustle something up.”’

Critics may pan her for indulging in the TV limelight, but she explains that it’s not about her. ‘People think I’m just doing it because I’m a show-off, but I’m showing off for Jesus. This is about God’s glory, not mine.’

Although she sees broadcasting as an important part of her vocation, she takes it with a healthy pinch of realism. ‘Do I think anyone’s going to fall on their knees in front of Celebrity MasterChef and give their life to Jesus? No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. Did you see my trifle? It was dreadful! But I do think it might help them feel a little warmer about faith.’

She says that television coverage of Christians such as her and the Rev Richard Coles has helped make the faith more recognisable and approachable.

‘People see us on telly and ask us about things. We can be signposting points for people, by finding them a number for a bereavement counsellor or their local church.’

Kate adds that she wants to make the most of every media opportunity.

‘There will be times where I get it spectacularly wrong, but I’m willing to get it wrong, because God uses every single bit of us. It’s about finding out who God is calling you to authentically be, and having a go at it.

‘I believe that one day I will stand before God, and he will say to me: “What did you do in my name?” I want to be able to say: “Sit yourself down, because it was quite a ride.”’

12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Moira, who is in hospital for a heart operation.

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

Nahum SSYRIA was an enemy of God’s A chosen people of Israel. Previously, God had sent a prophet, Jonah, who had reluctantly warned the Assyrian capital of Nineveh (present-day Mosul, Iraq) about God’s impending judgment on its wickedness.

God spared the city because the people repented (see Jonah 3:10). But they had soon gone back to their evil ways. In 722BC, the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, dispersing its ten tribes.

It is time for God to speak again, and Nahum does what Jonah did 100 years earlier.

Somewhere between the fall of the Egyptian city of Thebes in 664BC (Nahum 3:8–10) and the Babylonian destruction of Nineveh in 612BC, Nahum passes on God’s message.

God is not happy. And for good reason: Assyrians repaid his mercy by wiping a large part of his people from the Earth.

Nahum does not hold back. God is jealous, avenging, wrathful, powerful, determined, indignant and angry (1:2–6).

But God is not capricious. He works on the

Key verse ‘The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble’ (Nahum 1:7 New International Version)

principle of actions and consequences. God’s judgment is a function of justice, not of temper.

Characteristically, God’s prophet presents the divine charge sheet. Nineveh is a

God’s judgment is a function of justice, not of temper ‘city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder’ (3:1). Assyria is bloodthirsty in battle, leaving ‘many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number’ (3:3) and enslaves foreign nations through witchcraft (3:4).

Little wonder that God says twice: ‘I am against you’ (2:13 and 3:5). Nahum outlines the manner of divine retribution.

God will destroy the Assyrians’ idols, temples and families (1:14). Nineveh will be destroyed by a flood (1:8). Invaders will attack (2:1) and lay siege (3:14). People will be cut down by fire and sword (3:15). The city’s treasures will be plundered (2:9).

The seemingly invincible Assyrian Empire will be wiped out, and the world will rejoice (3:19). No longer will the southern kingdom of Judah face the threat of invasion. For her, God is a deliverer, peace-bringer (1:15) and refuge in times of trouble (1:7).

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7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • EXPRESSIONS 13

Rosemary Dawson on the life lessons she has learnt from her grandchildren

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder OUR-year-old Evie’s favourite activity is playing with her princess dolls in F their beautiful dresses. They all have long, flowing blonde hair – rather like Evie’s on the rare occasions she allows the tangles to be brushed out.

QUICK QUIZ 1. How many black keys are on an 88-key piano?

– 2. The Old English word ‘mona’ refers to what astronomical body?

3. The island of Tahiti is located in which ocean?

4. Which 15th-century Italian artist painted the mural The Last Supper?

5. Who played Stan Laurel in the film Stan & Ollie?

6. What is the maximum total a player can score in a tenpin bowling game?

The other day, after playing with her dolls and watching some princess-type cartoons, Evie spent some time admiring herself in the bedroom mirror. She must have been pleased with what she saw, because she shouted out very loudly: ‘I am beautiful!’ (As indeed her proud granny can confirm she is.)

You can always rely on big brother Samuel to have an opinion. ‘Yes, you are,’ he admitted somewhat grudgingly, ‘but your clothes are always messy.’

And he’s right. Evie can never wear the same clothes two days running. Somehow she manages to get herself covered in food, chocolate or paint.

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but I hope that when she is older, Evie will learn that real beauty comes from the character and personality within.

New Testament writer Peter had something to say on the subject: ‘Don’t focus on decorating your exterior by doing your hair or putting on fancy jewellery or wearing fashionable clothes; let your adornment be what’s inside – the real you, the lasting beauty of a gracious and quiet spirit, in which God delights’ (1 Peter 3:3 and 4 The Voice).

And, Evie – try not to be so messy!

BOOK REVIEW Poverty Safari Darren McGarvey Picador

Twitter: @TheWarCryUK

RAP recording artist and newspaper columnist Darren McGarvey has channelled his anger at poverty into an insightful testament of deprivation in Britain today. Having grown up in an impoverished area on the south side of Glasgow, Darren is a first-hand expert.

In a couple of hundred pages, he gives a thorough picture of what poverty looks and feels like – and the devastating ways it can affect a person mentally, emotionally and physically. His personal narratives, interspersed with facts about the reality of deprivation, provide a perspective that is not often heard from the political left or right.

Rather than believing that any one political system could eliminate the problem of poverty, Darren argues that positive, substantial change in society starts with ourselves.

Winner of the Orwell Book Prize 2018, Poverty Safari shows how deprivation is a deep-rooted, complex problem that affects us all.

Facebook.com/TheWarCryUK

Linda McTurk

ANSWERS 1. Thirty-six. 2. The moon. 3. The Pacific.

4. Leonardo da Vinci. 5. Steve Coogan. 6. Three hundred.

CBAD a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk B www.salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

14 PUZZLES • WAR CRY • 7 September 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1.

5.

7.

8.

Fast train (7) Student (5) Depraved (7) Cook by dry heat (5) 10. Coarse file (4) 11. Introduction (8) 13. Edify (6) 14. Niche (6) 17. Dismissed severely (8)

19. Just (4) 21. Armistice (5) 22. Akin (7) 23. Dupe (5) 24. Attempted (7) DOWN 2. Sunshade (7) 3. Case for needles (4) 4. Lampoon (6)

5. Side by side (8) 6. Crash (5) 7. Fat (9) 9. Cherished (9) 12. Wealthy (8) 15. Precisely (7) 16. Funeral car (6) 18. Feather (5) 20. Alack (4)

SUDOKU

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

HONEYCOMB Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number 1. Produced by a flower 2. In a position of agreement 3. Set in advance 4. Numerical symbol 5. Meal eaten with the fingers 6. Item of sportswear

ANSWERS

WORDSEARCH

HONEYCOMB 1 Pollen. 2 Onside. 3 Preset.

4 Figure. 5 Buffet. 6 Shorts.

AVALANCHE BLIZZARD CLOUDY DROUGHT FOG HAIL HUMID HURRICANE LIGHTNING MONSOON RAIN SANDSTORM SUNNY THUNDERSTORM TORNADO TYPHOON WILDFIRE WINDY

9

5

2

6

1

3

7

4

8

8

1

7

4

9

2

3

5

6

4

3

6

5

8

7

1

9

2

7

9

8

1

5

4

2

6

3

1

2

3

9

7

6

5

8

4

6

4

5

2

3

8

9

7

1

3

7

4

8

2

9

6

1

5

2

8

1

7

6

5

4

3

9

5

6

9

3

4

1

8

2

7

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these words associated with the weather

9

5

2

6

1

3

7

4

8

W E Z K G A V A 8 1 L 7 A N C H E M Z Q A 4 9 2 3 5 6 B Z D M J I Y I D A F M W Q W Z Y L 4 3 6 5 8 7 1 9 2 E K R M V T G M S X M C D Z D N B E 7 9I L Q K N T M V 8 1 5 4 2 6I Z L 3 A P A S W H A G J Z A T I Y J M T P V F L Q S D O 1 2 3 9 7 6 5 8 4 G F Z N T G N O K N J O P Z E Z O A 6 4 5 2 3 8 X 9 F 7T I 1 V N J I D K Y N D W S H H L L N L S Z S U L Y T Z F B Z S L U K 3 7 4 8 2 9 6 1 5 G H B T O L S Z L B B Z M N X K F G 2 8 1 7 6 5 4 3 9 U S U O T D Z L N U Y A Z R Z N T Y H G N R V O R E 5 6 T U D V 9 3 4 X E 1 8 J M D U 2 7 R J O M R L R D P F P X C T L V F T P B G I C I O N I O O X H H H T M E Q Q O C F T C I A M Z G V F Z I U P F Y A D D D U A Y D U O L C S F C A H S L Q E A Z R N O O H P Y T X M G P I F M R O T S R E D N U H T W T Z W G Q F I Y B D X G A Z J D V B K Y

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Express. 5 Pupil.

7 Corrupt. 8 Roast. 10 Rasp.

11 Prologue. 13 Uplift. 14 Recess.

17 Expelled. 19 Fair. 21 Truce.

22 Related. 23 Cheat. 24 Essayed.

DOWN: 2 Parasol. 3 Etui. 4 Satire.

5 Parallel. 6 Prang. 7 Corpulent.

9 Treasured. 12 Affluent. 15 Exactly.

16 Hearse. 18 Plume. 20 Alas.

6

5

8

2

7

3

4

6

2

1

9

7

3

4

1

8

5

9

6

5

8

2

9 1 4 5 3 8 6 7 2

3 7 8 2 9 1 5 4 6

4 6 2 3 7 5 8 9 1

1 5 9 8 6 4 7 2 3

8 4 6 9 5 2 1 3 7

2 3 1 7 8 6 9 5 4

7 9 5 1 4 3 2 6 8

SUDOKU SOLUTION

9 1

3 7

4 6

1 5

8 4

2 3

7 9

7 September 2019 • WAR CRY • WHAT’S COOKING? 15

Love Lamb Week, a campaign to support British Lamb, runs until today (Saturday 7 September). So why not try these recipes

Autumn lamb pasty 1tbsp water 450g lean lamb neck fillet, cubed 1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely diced 1 eating apple, peeled, cored and diced SERVES

6

1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped

Freshly chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

1tsp garlic purée

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

SERVES

4

2tbsp milk

To make the filling, place the lamb in a bowl and add the apples, red onion and potato. Stir together well.

Crumble in the stock cube, then add the water, tarragon and seasoning and mix thoroughly.

450g lean lamb leg, cubed

100g cauliflower florets

1 small egg, beaten

1 lamb stock cube

Natural yoghurt, to garnish

6 small new potatoes, halved

450g shortcrust pastry

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.

1tbsp oil

420g jar prepared rogan josh sauce

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

1 small potato, peeled and finely diced

Lamb rogan josh 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped

1tbsp fresh tarragon

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and brown the lamb with the onions and garlic for 4 minutes.

Add the sauce and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Stir in the vegetables and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and season. Garnish with the yoghurt and coriander.

Serve with cooked basmati rice and naan bread.

Divide the shortcrust pastry into 6 pieces and roll into balls. Roll out each ball on a floured surface and cut out 18cm circles, using a small saucer as a guide. Divide the filling between the circles, placing it in the centre of each.

Mix the egg and milk together in a small bowl to make egg wash and brush it on the edges of each pastry circle. Fold each circle together to close the pastry and crimp the edges to give a neat finish.

Place the pastries on a greased baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for 1 hour.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board website simplybeefandlamb.co.uk

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