War Cry 16 November 2019

SINCE

1879

16 November 2019 20p/25c

S YEAARRCRY 140 W THE OF

NOVEL WAY TO EXPRESS BELIEF How faith shaped the work of some female authors

‘I GAVE BIRTH AT 31 WEEKS’ The shock of going into labour early

DON’T CARE LESS FOR YOURSELF Why we need to look after ourselves

Battle of the planets

EARTH IS UNDER FIRE IN TV’S THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

What is The Salvation Army?

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR CRY • 16 November 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 FOR the past 20 years, November has been National Novel Writing Month. Since 1999, thousands of people have taken up the challenge of writing 50,000 words of a novel during the 30 days.

Although the initiative is known as a national month, the internet community behind it supports writers across the world and claims that books such as Water for Elephants and Fangirl began as rough drafts during it.

The idea of writing a book appeals to many people from all walks of life – there is a school of thought that says everyone has at least one book within them.

In this week’s War Cry we speak with Alison Shell, co-editor of a book that explores how Christianity shaped the writings of 13 women who certainly had at least one book in them. The writers featured in Anglican Women Novelists include crime writers P. D. James and Dorothy L. Sayers and 19th-century novelist Charlotte Brontë, whose faith, according to Alison, is ‘woven through’ her books. Alison says: ‘Religion was surpassingly important for so many women.’

The Christian faith was also important to Claire Brine when she gave birth to her daughter two months early. In this week’s issue, the War Cry’s assistant editor describes the care she received from church leaders and Christian friends, particularly in the weeks after she had given birth.

Claire says she could ‘see the love of God’ through the practical and emotional support that they gave her during a challenging time.

Of course, in the same way that many great books have been written by people who do not profess a faith, it is not only Christians who can care and help others through tough times.

All of us are able to do or say something that supports or encourages someone we know who is in need. And, in doing so, we may be able to help write a positive new chapter in their life.

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 7449

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Claire Brine Staff Writer: 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 Tel: 0845 634 0101

Contents

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

Cosmic conflicts The TV adaptation of The War of the Worlds begins

5

Take care The importance of looking after yourself

6

6 Ladies-in-writing

How faith influenced some female authors 8

Special delivery The joys and challenges of premature babies

REGULARS 4

News and Media

12

Browsing the Bible

13

Now, There’s a Thought!

14 Puzzles 15

War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: BBC/©Mammoth Screen

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15

BBC/Mammoth Screen

16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • TELEVISION 3

Earth invaders Could hostile Martians be the the least of a couple’s problems? asks Sarah Olowofoyeku

E

NEMIES from another world launch their attack on an unsuspecting corner of planet Earth in BBC One’s The War of the Worlds tomorrow (Sunday 17 November). As the alien invasion causes chaos across Edwardian England, young couple George and Amy, who have attempted to defy social norms, must also deal with their own personal problems.

The three-part series, an adaptation of the sci-fi novel by H. G. Wells, begins with George (Rafe Spall) and Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson), newly arrived in Woking, visiting their neighbour, astronomer and scientist Ogilvy (Robert Carlyle), who has invited them to study the planets with him.

Excitedly, he shows them the unusual pillar of smoke he has spotted emerging from the edge of Mars, which he believes could be a volcanic eruption. To welcome them to the neighbourhood, he gives them a picture of the phenomenon. Taken aback by the gesture, Amy responds to Ogilvy by saying: ‘We’re pariahs, George and I.’ She doesn’t reveal what she and George have done, but the glances from other neighbours as the couple go about their everyday lives

suggest that they know and that the disapproval is widespread.

Some days later, amid news reports of an unprecedented attack by Russia, the whole neighbourhood is alarmed when they hear an explosion and find that a giant spherical object has landed in the woods. Having spoken to Ogilvy previously, Amy wonders whether it has come from Mars.

Uncertainty fills the air as no one

Feeling alienated might be a familiar experience knows what the new arrival could be.

After more explosions, it is clear that the incidents are not freak accidents.

They may be attacks.

George, who works as a journalist, travels to London to pitch the story to his editor, who is not as enthusiastic as he’d hoped. But his seeming indifference is perhaps due to something other than a lack of interest in the strange incidents.

‘You cannot expect to do what you’ve done and have no consequences – you’re lucky to have a job at all,’ he says to George.

George and Amy’s actions have jeopardised his career and forced both of them out of the city. Their decisions have resulted in their becoming outcasts.

Feeling alienated is an experience that may be familiar to many of us.

Perhaps we have been rejected by family for doing something that they did not like. Maybe our lifestyle choices have made us feel that we are not accepted in certain places.

We may have done something which has had serious consequences, and be struggling to move forward. It can seem as though our mistakes are the defining part of our story.

The Bible is filled with reports of people who made terrible mistakes but were not rejected by God. And nothing has changed. No matter what we have done, God will accept us.

One figure who made his fair share of mistakes but experienced forgiveness wrote: ‘God holds nothing against you’ (Psalms 32:2 The Message).

His experience can be ours.

There is no uncertainty about the forgiveness and acceptance that God wants to offer us. If we choose to put our confidence in him, we can discover his love – which is out of this world.

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019

Art depicts arrival of hope in hard times A RESIDENT of a Salvation Army centre for people experiencing homelessness had a work of art displayed at the Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival.

The collage created by Benjamin Lynch, who became a resident at the town’s James Lee House in June, features a photograph of the moon, which he took by attaching his camera to a telescope. Imposed on top is a tree, made out of wood, from which a rope hangs, to symbolise the hard times of his life, and a cut-out photo he took of birds, to represent the arrival of hope.

Debbie Lyon, art therapy teacher at James Lee House, said: ‘Art can be used as a distraction for many. It is a fantastic way to allow people to feel relaxed and explore themselves outside of their comfort zone, forgetting for a moment about their troubles.

‘What Benjamin has done, by using his experiences, is to express feelings and thoughts that words perhaps can’t.’

James Lee House offers 54 beds for men over the age of 18, provides training and workshops and helps them find employment and long-term accommodation.

Art therapy teacher Debbie Lyon and resident Benjamin Lynch

Church must ‘provide sanctuary for climate refugees’

Pensioner on the front line to remember the fallen

CHRISTIANS should prepare for an influx of climate refugees, the Church of England’s environmental advisory group has warned.

An environmental paper, sent to church leaders, declares a state of ‘climate crisis’, calling on churches to ‘provide sanctuary in extreme weather events and for climate refugees from within and outside of the UK’.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, says in the statement: ‘It becomes ever clearer that climate change is the greatest challenge that we and future generations face. It’s our sacred duty to protect the natural world we’ve so generously been given, as well as our neighbours around the world who will be the first and worst affected. Without swift, decisive action the consequences of climate change will be devastating.’

A PENSIONER from Chelsea says that he is the first person to walk the 610-mile Western Front Way through First World War battlefields, reported the Church Times.

Alan Rutter, 71, was inspired by his Christian faith to take the journey, which, for him, had a spiritual dimension.

‘God enabled me and God provided for me,’ he said. ‘I learnt to humble myself, because I never knew what the day would bring.’

A former regular with the Middlesex Regiment, Alan carried a 40kg bag for 46 days, often sleeping in the open, from the Channel port of Dunkirk to Pfetterhouse on the French border with Switzerland and Germany.

He said that making the journey was a way of expressing ‘his admiration and thanks’ to those who had died in the First World War. Through his walk, he raised more than £6,000 for the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the charity War Child.

n

Mail has unveiled new Christmas nSixROYAL stamps which depict the story of Jesus’ birth. stamps chart the biblical account of the

MATTHEW MURPHY/OLIVER ROSSER

WHOOPI GOLDBERG will reappear as Deloris van Cartier in Sister Act at the Apollo in Hammersmith next summer.

The Academy award-winning actress first played the role of the lounge singer in the 1992 film of the same name.

In the film Deloris goes into protective custody after witnessing a murder and is disguised as a nun. Hidden in a convent, she finds unlikely friends in a group of other sisters through the power of song.

In the West End show based on the movie, Whoopi Goldberg will be joined by Jennifer Saunders in the role of Mother Superior.

Nativity, featuring scenes such as the angel Gabriel telling Mary that she is expecting a child, the journey of the Magi, the shepherds watching their flock and the birth of Jesus in a stable.

The stamps were created by paper artists Hari and Deepti.

16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 5

n

A WOMAN who fell into a river in north Devon was rescued by two Street Pastors who used a roadworks sign as a stretcher.

The North Devon Gazette reported that when police were called to Bideford Quay in the early hours of the morning, they found a woman who was submerged in water and thick mud and in a state of hypothermia. Sergeant Dave Thubron attended the scene and was about to call the coastguard when a handful of Bideford Street Pastors arrived with a roadworks sign, which they used as a rescue aid.

‘It worked really well – we carried the person up to the top of the steps to the ambulance,’ he said. ‘It was quick thinking by the Street Pastors. They were the key to the whole thing.’

The woman, who was in her twenties, was later admitted to hospital.

Street Pastors are Christian volunteers who carry out nighttime patrols to look after, listen to and support members of the public in a bid to show God’s love. They receive training on how to protect vulnerable people and respond to difficult situations.

A NUN who has worked in death row n prison ministry in Singapore for about 40 years has described her role as the ‘greatest

privilege’, the BBC reports.

Since 1981, Sister Gerard Fernandez has voluntarily offered emotional support to death row inmates at Changi Prison, even walking with 18 of them to the gallows.

The prison detains some of the country’s most serious criminal offenders.

‘Every person is worth more than the worst they have done,’ said Sister Gerard. ‘Everyone deserves a death with dignity.’

CARING IS

CARING Healthy living is promoted in awareness week, writes Sarah Olowofoyeku

AKE good care of yourself, you belong to me,’ crooned Frank ‘T Sinatra, following his instruction with the tip to ‘eat an apple every day’. It’s similar to the advice given as part of Self-Care Week, which

begins on Monday (18 November).

During the week, the NHS is encouraging people to be aware of the ways they can help themselves care for minor and common ailments, live with lifelong illnesses and learn about healthcare services. It is also focusing on lifestyle choices that contribute to good physical health and mental well-being.

Taking care of ourselves physically may be brushing our teeth or exercising regularly. Mental self-care could include taking a break or going outside.

Smartphone users can download apps that encourage mindfulness or offer health advice. Healthcare information can All of us can struggle also be found on the NHS website.

When it comes to mental health, Jan with looking after Thompson of The Salvation Army’s counselling service says that self-care ourselves is ‘about taking time to bring balance into your life between the things that are weighty and the fun, lighter things.

‘We can go on a walk, listen to music, cuddle the cat or our children. Part of good self-care is protecting our personal time, knowing our limits and knowing when to say no.’

All of us can struggle with looking after ourselves, whether in our physical or mental health. We may not know how, or life can get so difficult that we forget to take the time to care for our own needs.

Christians are not immune to such problems. But many have found a helpful example in the person of Jesus.

‘He’s our model,’ says Jan. ‘If you read the Bible, he clearly demonstrates the need for rhythm and taking time for himself.

‘People want to thrive in their ordinary lives. And that’s the invitation Jesus gives us.’

Jesus said of those who would follow him: ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’ (John 10:10 New International Version).

The best thing we can do for ourselves is turn to Jesus and follow his advice. When we do, we can experience a full and satisfying life, knowing that, along the way, he will take good care of us too.

6 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019

Chapter and KAROLINA URBANIAK

ALISON SHELL, co-editor of a new book on women novelists, tells Emily Bright how Christianity shaped their work

Shutterstock.com

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ICTORIAN novelist Charlotte Brontë and 20th-century crime writers Dorothy L. Sayers and P. D. James have enthralled readers for decades.

They may span different genres and eras of literature, but they have one crucial thing in common: their Christian – and, in particular, Anglican – faith.

The three writers are not the only female authors to share this link, and Alison Shell, a professor of English at University College London, and Judith Maltby, a reader in church history at Oxford University, were interested to discover how Anglicanism influenced female writers.

They have edited Anglican Women Novelists, a collection of studies into 13 such authors.

Through the book, the two editors were also keen to boost the profile of female authors.

‘Women’s contributions to literature have, until quite recently, been overlooked in a lot of areas,’ Alison says. ‘I also think university academics in general have tended to be a bit suspicious of organised religion, regarding it as patriarchal. But religion was surpassingly important for so many women.

‘Their history tends to be told in terms of an Anglican sisterhood and relationships with the Church from a female point of view.’

Perhaps the most famous author to be featured in Anglican Women Novelists is Charlotte Brontë, who wrote Jane Eyre.

Within the novel, the main character’s belief in God and her encounters with the Church shape her life, from attending a religious boarding school

Alison Shell to seeking sanctuary at the home of clergyman St John Rivers.

In Anglican Women Novelists, the writer of the chapter on Brontë argues that the 19th-century author drew on her own experiences as a vicar’s daughter. She imbued her fiction with church traditions, down to the exact words of a marriage service and lines from the Book of Common Prayer.

‘The day-to-day aspects of Anglicanism were woven through Brontë’s work, as was an overriding sense of providence, which dominates Jane Eyre,’ Alison says.

The day-to-day aspects of Anglicanism were woven through Brontë’s work

Charlotte Brontë

verse Anglican Women Novelists highlights how, through the character of Jane, Charlotte Brontë explores the role unmarried women can play within a church context.

‘Jane is a real feminist heroine in lots of ways,’ Alison explains. ‘St John Rivers recognises her intelligence. He sees her as a terrific colleague, and this is not something that every priest in fiction or real life would have done.’

Other female authors wrote Anglican theology into their work, including Dorothy L. Sayers, who is perhaps best known for her amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, and P. D. James, who wrote the Adam Dalgliesh detective series.

‘Both women were very influential commentators on Anglicanism in their time,’ says Alison. ‘Both were also interested in the literary heritage of Anglicanism, the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible, and were conscious of how that permeated people’s lives. James particularly had a notion that such beautiful prose has a spiritual benefit.’

Sayers took her interest in Anglicanism a step further, publishing her views on God and the Christian faith in her 1941 book The Mind of the Maker. Within the text, she explored how human inventiveness reflected the creativity of God. ‘The Mind of the Maker was forwardlooking in the way that it reflects a very positive and happy notion of a God of creativity, rather than focusing on the inherent flaws of man,’ says Alison.

The novelist also sought to share her views with a wider audience through radio plays. One such play, The Man Born to Be King, told the story of Jesus through colloquial language to appeal to the masses.

‘The Man Born to Be King was very much an evangelical tool of its time,’ says Alison.

‘The idea of making Jesus so real in the context of a radio play was pretty progressive.

‘Radio was a mass medium, and in an age where the media is so fragmented, I think it’s hard to recapture the impact it had when such a big audience was listening.’

Alison adds that the growing genre of detective fiction also provided an opening for Sayers and James to express their faith.

‘It’s no coincidence that people of faith gravitated towards detective fiction in the 20th century at a time when Christianity was not so acceptable.

‘Detective fiction was an outlet for people who were interested in notions of everything working out fairly, which, of course, is essentially a religious notion.

‘So it’s interesting that both authors have quite a fierce notion of justice, presenting a God of justice as well as mercy.

‘James offers a dark vision of the world, and is unsparing at many points about what answers we have to the extremes of human wrongdoing. But I think her answer is that Christian spirituality is something to hold on to.’

l Anglican Women Novelists is published

by T&T Clark

16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 7

NIGEL BOVEY

8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019

A love

labour

of

To mark World Prematurity Day tomorrow (17 November), CLAIRE BRINE tells Sarah Olowofoyeku about the shock of going into labour at seven months and the challenges that followed

A

PPROXIMATELY the size and weight of a coconut, at 31 weeks in the womb, a baby is very active and still growing. The motherto-be has at least six more weeks of nesting to go and will soon be starting antenatal classes. But for first-time mother and War Cry assistant editor Claire Brine, week 31 of her pregnancy was when her baby girl made her entrance into the world last year.

‘After coming home from a full day at work, I had some bleeding,’ says Claire, 36. ‘I phoned my sister to ask what she thought was wrong. She said it was probably okay, but I should get it checked out.’

Claire and her partner, Allister, made their way to the hospital about three miles from their home in London.

‘The doctors examined me and told me I was two centimetres dilated,’ she says. ‘But they said not to worry, the baby wasn’t likely to come.’

After an entire evening spent trying to locate her wriggly baby’s heart rate, hospital staff sent Claire home with an instruction to return the following morning to get an injection.

‘I rang my boss to say I’d be coming to work but would be late because I had to

get a jab. At the hospital the next morning, I remember getting what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. I asked if the doctor would look at me because I didn’t feel well. He did and said: “You’re further gone. Let’s take you to the labour ward.

You’ll be having this baby today.”

‘Immediately I burst into tears. I’d come in for an injection, not to have a baby. I was only seven months! I said: “She’s not ready. I’m not ready.”’

Claire was taken to the labour ward and prepared for premature birth. She was

When I took in my situation I prayed one of my most sincere prayers given injections to help the baby’s lungs if she came early and steroids to slow labour down.

‘The steroids halted things in their tracks,’ Claire recalls. ‘I was on gas and air, but my baby wasn’t coming any more.

The doctors still had to monitor me, so I stayed in hospital for the next three days.’

Finally sent home, Claire was to have more trouble, experiencing ‘the worst back pain I’ve ever known’.

She says: ‘The pain was so bad I put my dinner on the floor and ate on all fours. But I felt as though I just needed to use the toilet. I barely slept, and the next morning I started throwing up. I felt awful. So we went back to the hospital.

‘They were wiring me for the monitors and doctors were coming in to check on me.’

Doctors saw that the baby’s heart rate was high and showing no sign of slowing down. They decided the baby needed to be delivered.

Claire remembers lying on the bed and feeling scared as she was prepared for an emergency caesarean section. But amid all the drama, she experienced what she describes as ‘a surprising and striking moment of calm’, at a point when there were no doctors milling around and she was in the hospital room alone.

‘I had time to take in my situation,’ she says. ‘It was then that I prayed one of my most sincere prayers: “Please let me be okay. Please let my baby be okay. Please let everything be okay.”

‘Then in the quietness, I listened to a piece of Salvation Army music on my phone. It included the words, “In the love of Jesus, there is all I need” and a line about finding “perfect rest” in him. I knew

16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9

Emmeline was born weighing 3lb and spent the first month of her life, including Christmas, in hospital these words had brought my dad comfort when he was dying from cancer, so I decided to cling on to them for myself. In my mind, I said: “If I die today, God, it’s okay; you’re going to make sure it’s okay.”’

Hospital staff were soon back in the room and Claire was wheeled to the operating theatre. Still with excruciating back pain, she had to hunch over to receive an injection that hurt so much she felt she could not cope any more.

But, after the injection, which caused her to lose feeling in her legs, she could no

I heard her little cry but I couldn’t hold her longer feel the pain either. Slightly more at ease, she was told she would be having a natural birth and that it was time to deliver.

Staff from the special care baby unit warned the parents-to-be that once the baby was born, she’d be taken to the ward upstairs to be looked after.

The time had come for Claire to deliver her baby. ‘I was told I had to push even though I wouldn’t be able to feel it,’ she explains. ‘So I pushed, then they said “okay, another push”, and my baby girl was out.

‘I heard her little cry, and she was put on my tummy. But I couldn’t feel her or hold her. All I saw was an arm and leg, and then she was whisked away.’

Claire is still sad that she missed sharing those first moments with her baby. ‘I didn’t get to see her for hours,’ she says.

‘Because of the injection I couldn’t walk after giving birth, so I was put to bed.

‘The next morning, with feeling back in my legs, we went to see her. I was nervous because I didn’t know what I was going to see. I hadn’t had that first cuddle and flush of bonding hormones, so I felt I was going to see a baby that didn’t even feel like mine.

‘We walked in, and there she was – this tiny, wriggly, little scrap of a baby in a massive incubator. She was covered in wires and had a huge nappy on. She was dribbling because of all the tubes going in her mouth. And I thought: “Oh my goodness, that’s my baby.” While I was relieved she was there being looked after, it felt like there was a massive barrier between us.’

It was another two days before Claire held her baby – but it was a moment she will never forget.

‘The nurses put her in my arms and, at 3lb, she was the tiniest, lightest thing,’ she

says. ‘She was bundled up in blankets because she had to be kept warm, and I remember looking down at this tiny face, thinking, “This is weird – you’re mine.” It was a really special, lovely moment. But I still felt quite terrified of all that was to come and knowing that she shouldn’t have been here yet.’

Baby Emmeline spent her first month in hospital, which included Christmas Day. ‘It was hard,’ says Claire. ‘We had no family near us. Friends wanted to come, but

Turn to page 10

➥

10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019

Emmeline grew stronger, learning to feed and gaining weight

From page 9 they weren’t allowed in. We were isolated.

Christmas was going on for everyone around us, but not us.’

Another struggle Claire had not anticipated was feeding. Emmeline was born before her sucking reflex had developed.

‘I wanted to breastfeed but couldn’t because Emmeline was too small, and when her sucking reflex came in she had to learn on the bottle. But so my

We had no nappies because who buys nappies two months early? milk supply didn’t dry up, I had to keep expressing. At home, I had to set alarms throughout the night to wake up to pump.

All the while, I didn’t have a baby there that I was pumping for; she was in hospital.

‘Then at the hospital, I’d spend two hours cuddling her before having to pump again. I was pumping milk all the time, I was so tired. She didn’t learn to breastfeed until she was about six weeks old.’

Practically, Claire and Allister weren’t

ready for their baby either. ‘We had no nappies because who buys nappies two months early?’ Claire laughs. ‘The day after Emmeline was born I got a phone call saying I was booked into antenatal classes.’

While there was humour to be found in such moments, the reality of giving birth prematurely did come with some sadness.

‘I missed out on a lot,’ Claire reflects.

‘I went into the hospital one day and the nurses had put a vest on her. I wasn’t the first one to dress her. I wasn’t the first one to change her nappy. I wasn’t there when her belly button fell off.

I didn’t give her the first bath. I never got to have a full-term pregnancy. And in my head, I never even got to do labour properly.’

In spite of the difficulties,

16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11

I am grateful; I thought I’d never have a baby

Allister, Claire and Emmeline

o months Emmeline at tw s th and at ten mon

Claire is full of gratitude for the care Emmeline received in the hospital and that there weren’t many complications. There were also parts of her new life that she was pleasantly surprised by.

‘Nothing can prepare you for how good it feels when milestones are reached,’ she says. ‘And they are milestones that in many other circumstances might not be milestones. When she was no longer in an incubator, I remember thinking: “Wow, my baby’s in a cot!”

And, after 28 days in hospital, the joy of taking her home was all the greater.

‘I also didn’t realise how strong she would be, even when she didn’t look like she was strong. All premature babies are strong, because they’re all fighting.’

About the time Emmeline was born, Claire and Allister were experiencing other challenges, including a family bereavement. It seemed to Claire as though everything was happening at once.

‘I just wondered how much more could

go wrong,’ she says. ‘I probably said: “Thanks a bunch, God, you’re not much help!”’

But help did come for the couple in various ways, including from the leaders of their Salvation Army church, Steve and Bernie.

‘We went to them for Christmas dinner,’ Claire says. ‘They were a support because they lived so close to us. Friends from farther afield came to deliver meals and give me lifts to the hospital, and I’m grateful.

‘I am quite cynical myself, but most of those who helped us are Christians. I can

see the love of God through their faith and their actions.’

Now living near other family members in Devon, Claire reflects: ‘I am grateful for Emmeline too. I thought I’d never have a baby. I thought I was too old, and our home situation wasn’t perfect to start a family. But I had a baby; I’ve got so much love for her, and so much gratitude to have her.

‘She’s mine and Allister’s, but we can’t take all the credit. Many things were out of our control, and my body took care of the pregnancy. So the only way I can direct my gratitude is upwards. I’m grateful to God.’

12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019

Prayerlink 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

Mark

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

ARK is the shortest of the four gosM pels and, dating from about AD65 to 70, was the first to be written. Some 90 per

cent of the contents of Mark appears in Matthew, and nearly 50 per cent appears in Luke. It is thought that the disciple Peter was the writer’s main source.

Untypically for a biography, Mark’s Gospel contains little information on Jesus’ family background and no narrative of his birth. Instead, the book focuses on the things that Jesus did.

Like a journalist meeting a deadline, the writer records events and reports quotes with minimal personal comment. The repeated use of the word ‘immediately’ reflects the pace and excitement of Jesus’ ministry.

After his baptism and a time in the desert when he prepares himself for his ministry, Jesus calls disciples, casts out demons and an unclean spirit, heals sick people, preaches in synagogues and cleanses a leper, all within chapter one.

Every chapter, until the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in chapter 11, records Jesus performing at least one miracle.

Generally Mark describes these acts with the Greek word ‘dunamis’ which means ‘power’.

These ‘power works’ fall into four categories.

Jesus physically heals a paralysed man (2:1–12), a man with a withered hand (3:1–6), a haemorrhaging woman (5:25–34), a deaf-mute man (7:31–37),

two blind men (8:22–26; 10:46–52) and many others (1:34; 3:10; 6:56).

He casts out demons from a cave-dwelling man (5:1–20) and from two children (7:24–30; 9:14–29).

He controls nature by stilling a storm (4:35–39) and by twice feeding thousands of

The writer records events and reports quotes with minimal personal comment people with a picnic lunch (6:30–44; 8:1–9).

Jesus demonstrates his power over death by raising a dead girl back to life (5:21–43).

Jesus’ own death and resurrection, and the events immediately preceding them, occupy the final third of the gospel.

Scholars debate the authenticity of the final 12 verses of chapter 16. They are absent from the earliest manuscripts. The casual reader might note that many of the events they describe occur either in other gospels or in the Acts of the Apostles.

Key verse

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God has come ne ‘The Kingdom of ’ s! w ve the good ne Repent and belie n) io ternational Vers (Mark 1:15 New In

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

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16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • EXPRESSIONS 13

NOW, THERE’S A THOUGHT!

by Jim Burns

QUICK QUIZ 1. In which modern country is the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh?

2. What type of animal is a black tern?

3. The character Mercutio features in which of Shakespeare’s plays?

4. What band had a No 1 hit in 1981 with the double A-side single ‘The Model/Computer Love’?

5. Who wrote the book Game of Thrones?

6. In what year was the first rugby World Cup tournament held?

ANSWERS 1. Iraq. 2. A bird. 3. Romeo and Juliet.

4. Kraftwerk. 5. George R. R. Martin. 6. 1987.

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

B www.salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

A room with a review is a holiday essential OMING back from a holiday is hard work. First there’s the C unpacking, then there’s the washing and ironing, followed by the checking up on plants that need watering and then the ton of emails to

deal with. And that’s before we do all those online reviews.

How did the airline perform, what was the hotel like, what about the trips we went on or the theme park we visited? The list goes on and on, as we are encouraged to rate and share our experiences for the benefit of other potential travellers.

We may have used such sites ourselves to plan the holiday from which we have just returned.

It is interesting that what we think is a good hotel, for instance, someone else will rate badly. At the end of the day, we have to make up our own mind, based on the views of the majority. But sometimes a sole bad review can cause us to We are all look elsewhere.

One way or another, we are all encouraged to encouraged to become critics. become critics No business is likely to suffer from one bad review. But what about our criticism of friends or family? There’s no doubt that lasting damage can be caused to our relationships by one unguarded or thoughtless comment or the passing on of a piece of gossip when we haven’t checked the facts.

Jesus asked his listeners a good question: ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?’ (Matthew 7:3 New International Version). It may seem an amusing question when phrased in that way, but how many of us are guilty of ignoring our own faults while being quick to point out the faults of others?

We all have flaws. So maybe we should review our behaviour and be more careful before we criticise our loved ones and those we do not know. And rather than highlighting others’ shortcomings, perhaps we can decide to give some positive feedback.

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones Proverbs 14:30 (New International Version)