War Cry 18 November

Long-drawn success as Mickey celebrates 95 years

WAR CRY

18 November 2023 50p/60c

Chain reaction Celebrities vote against each other as Romesh Ranganathan presents The Weakest Link

‘It’s good for men to speak about their fears’

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 7654

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 MUSEUMS, it would appear, are as popular as ever. Every year, millions of people visit sites across the country, with many institutions saying that the numbers of UK-based visitors are back to pre-pandemic levels.

In this week’s War Cry, we feature a Faith Museum that recently opened at the former residence of the bishops of Durham. However, as Jonathan Ruffer, the man behind the project, explains, putting it together was not straightforward.

‘A museum is somewhere that you go in order to gawp at stuff,’ he tells us. ‘But the raw material of faith is largely made up of things that you can’t gawp at. You can’t see God. You can’t see faith. The only thing that you’ve got that you can gawp at are the objects.’

Consequently, the objects on display have been selected to give a glimpse of the faith of the original owners or users through history.

They show how those people’s faith was lived out.

Today it is still possible to witness the actions that people take because of their belief. In this week’s issue we report on the support given by members of The Salvation Army to people whose lives were disrupted by recent flooding. They opened one of their centres in Hastings to provide food and shelter.

The people who offered that help were motivated by their Christian faith, which encourages them to care for others, particularly those who are in need. It’s the same motivation that is behind The Salvation Army’s Big Toy Appeal, which aims to provide Christmas gifts to children who might otherwise not receive any. This week we report on the support that the high street retailer The Entertainer is giving to the appeal.

Motivated by its Christian ethos, The Salvation Army has sought to show God’s love and concern for everyone since it was founded in 1865. And that is something it plans to continue doing in the years that lie ahead.

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

Out of the question Who will be voted off as the weakest link?

6

‘Expressive emotions are seen as feminine’ Why men need to look after their mental health

8

Displays of belief Museum shows how faith in Britain has developed

13 Taking to Mickey Ninety-five years of love for Disney’s mouse REGULARS

4

Team Talk and War Cry World

14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: BBC STUDIOS/ALAN PEEBLES

No chain of fools

BBC STUDIOS/ALAN PEEBLES

Romesh Ranganathan hosts ‘The Weakest Link’

Game show tests competitors’ general knowledge TV preview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

‘Y

OU are the weakest link, goodbye.’

The catchphrase marked daytime and primetime television for many years, coming from the lips of presenter Anne Robinson after a contestant had been voted off the BBC game show The Weakest Link.

In 2021, almost 10 years after its initial run ended, the show was revived with celebrity contestants and a new host, Romesh Ranganathan. Today (Saturday 18 November) the third series of the revival begins, with members of the EastEnders cast attempting to show off their knowledge.

The aim of the game is to be the last person standing and win the money that has been banked during the show. To earn that money for their chosen charity, contestants take turns in answering general knowledge questions within a time limit.

To make the most money, they need to create a chain of nine correct answers.

But before being asked their question, a contestant can choose to bank the money already accumulated during the round.

And the chain will start again. One wrong answer will break the chain and lose the money.

After each round, the contestants cast their votes on who they consider was the weakest link. Whoever receives the most votes is eliminated. They leave with nothing.

During a voting round in today’s show, one Walford resident admits to the others that she’d got some answers wrong and lost money. In response, Romesh jokingly tells her that ‘reminding people of what you’ve done is not the sharpest strategy’.

In the game of life, most people don’t want to remind others or be reminded of their past or present weaknesses. It is a sure-fire way to eliminate any sense of confidence or to feel the judgement of others.

Instead many of us try to prove our value and strength by accumulating more money or material things, by being successful in our careers or even by having the happiest family we possibly can. We want to appear strong, not weak – but that’s not always possible.

As humans, we are sometimes weak.

We mess up, we let others down and there will almost always be somebody who is smarter, richer and stronger than us.

We try to prove our strength

EastEnder Kellie Bright on the show

The key to success is embracing our weaknesses and knowing that there is a reliable source of ultimate strength. One Bible writer records Jesus saying to him: ‘My power is strongest when you are weak’ (2 Corinthians 12:9 Contemporary English Version).

When we accept that we are weaker than we would like to be, it allows us to trust more in the divine power that Jesus offers to us. When we realise that we have got things wrong or that we are on a losing streak in life, we can be assured that Jesus will empower us to cope with our circumstances.

If we link up with him, we can say hello to a life of strength, even in our weakest moments.

18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 3

Team talk TEAM WA

talk ‘ TALK’ j Dolly sees the light

Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters FOR her first rock’n’roll album, Dolly Parton has ‘called on the greats’, says the Hollywood Reporter website. On Rockstar – released on Friday (17 November) – the winner of 10 Grammy awards has teamed up with the likes of Sting and Elton John to rework hits such as ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’. For a singer best known for her country style, Dolly’s dive into another genre seems a bold move – but one she is greatly excited about.

As well as telling the magazine interviewer about how it felt to become a ‘rock star at 77’, Dolly opened up about other parts of her life, including her faith in God. I was particularly interested to learn about her views on forgiveness.

‘Even when you’re proven guilty, if God can forgive you, so can I,’ she said. ‘If God can forgive you, we all should forgive one another.’

Later, she referred to her faith again when she revealed that she looks for God in everyone she encounters.

‘I try to find the God-light in everybody and everybody shines,’ she said. ‘We’re all pieces of God and we all have that little God-light inside us. Some don’t get to let it shine. If I don’t see it first out, I’d go searching. That’s how I accept everybody because I know that we’re all pieces of God.’ It’s not every day that the behaviour of a music star prompts me to take a look at my own faith and consider areas where I can do better.

But I think Dolly makes a good point.

If I believe that God made humankind in his own image (which is what the Bible says), then God is present in everyone I meet.

Therefore – even if I struggle to like certain individuals at times – I need to do my best to show them love. I need to accept them, just as he does.

When we treat those around us with kindness, tolerance and respect, the world becomes a brighter place for us all to be. Rock on!

God is present in everyone I meet

Team talk 4 • WAR CRY • 18 November 2023

Toy shop support for present appeal HIGH street toy retailer The Entertainer has teamed up with The Salvation Army to collect Christmas presents for children who need them most.

Until Saturday 25 November customers can support the Big Toy Appeal by picking up an extra toy in store to donate at the till or by adding a £5 donation to their basket online.

For every toy that is donated, the toy shop will donate another.

Gary and Catherine Grant, founders of The Entertainer, released a statement saying: ‘In partnering with The Salvation Army, we are enabling generosity amongst our staff, our customers and our communities, so that families can be supported in a very real and practical way during these times of extreme financial hardship.’

Each year The Salvation Army provides presents and food to thousands of families and individuals who struggle financially.

Tony Daniels, director of community services for the church and charity, commented: ‘Clearly, our Big Toy Appeal is needed more than ever and will allow us to bring Christmas joy and support to families who need it most right now.’

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

B salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

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WnRLD BBC/JAMES STACK

Real-life chaplain acts to help with TV drama ACTRESS Siobhan Finneran, who plays a prison chaplain in the BBC1 crime drama Time, says that she had a ‘brilliant’ conversation with a real-life women’s prison chaplain before filming the series, which is now available on iPlayer.

‘She said a great thing to me which just stayed with me,’ recalls Siobhan (pictured). ‘She said: “You will never be more needed than working in a prison.” I think that this is probably the reason why a lot of people who work in prisons keep going back, because they know they are helping at least one person. I found her humbling to speak to because she had a real understanding of people’s mental health and people’s way through life, and that it’s not always easy.’

Reflecting on playing the character of nun Marie-Louise in the programme, Siobhan says: ‘She’s supportive and doesn’t judge any of them. She offers a little bit of help when she can, and hopefully encourages them to tell their stories because she understands that in some way this may go towards them healing.’

Warm Welcome campaign about ‘kindness and community’ CHURCHES, community centres, cafés and other buildings have opened their doors for the winter again as part of the Warm Welcome campaign.

The campaign – which offers people who are struggling with the cost of living a place to keep warm – has been backed by the Archbishop of York.

In a video message, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell said: ‘Sadly, what began as a cost of living crisis has simply become the new normal for so many people. Millions of people will look ahead to this winter with fear and anxiety, wondering how they are going to cope with high living costs.

That is why I am proud to endorse the Warm Welcome campaign this winter.

‘But a warm welcome isn’t only about the temperature. It is about kindness and community, giving people the chance to be seen and known, to belong and to be part of something. It is about celebrating the God-given value and dignity of every single person, finding hope and community together.’

Flood victims find shelter and food at Salvation Army A FLOOD-HIT community in Hastings received emergency support from The Salvation Army.

The town experienced major flooding for the second time this year, forcing some residents to leave their homes.

Lieutenant Debbie-Anne Hogarth opened the church and charity’s Hastings Citadel hall and offered food and a warm space for the emergency services, council workers and utilities representatives.

Debbie and her team also fed and clothed residents and helped Hastings Borough Council to rehouse 15 families.

Food is prepared for residents and responders

18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 5

Unfilled Unfilled with with Singer-songwriter ROCKY NTI has co-written a book about facing fears. Ahead of International Men’s Day on Sunday 19 November, he talks about the importance of men embracing their emotions, the man he describes as the blueprint for doing so, and the ways in which he has learnt to face his own fears Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

‘W

Rocky Nti

6 • WAR CRY • 18 November 2023

E can’t be fearless, but we can fear less,’ says Rocky Nti, London-based singer-songwriter, storyteller and co-author of a new book about confronting fear.

While Rocky and his co-author, youth evangelist Dan Blythe, did not set out to make Facing Fear 365 gender-specific, he says they found themselves to be rare in being ‘two men who have talked so vulnerably about fear’.

Rocky says: ‘In a culture where men – for a billion reasons – are not really encouraged or given permission to experience the spectrum of emotions that are available for humanity, it’s good for us to be intentional in speaking about fear.’

Tomorrow (Sunday 19 November) is International Men’s Day, which, as well as celebrating men’s positive contributions to society, raises awareness of the struggles that men face, including poor mental health.

‘In my experience of being a man,’ says Rocky, ‘there is this lie that we have to keep going at all costs, build a family, get a job – and we’re not given permission to experience more expressive emotions, because it’s seen as feminine or not showing strength.

‘But there is an amazing example in Jesus Christ. He experienced everything it was to be a human. He was terrified,

hungry, tired, sad, betrayed, and yet in all those things knew no sin, which means that he was not separate from God. Jesus gives us the blueprint of what it means to be human. He gives us as men permission to experience the full spectrum of emotions.’

Facing Fear 365 is made up of 365 short passages, providing a thought for every day of the year, in a style of religious book known as a devotional, designed for people to read at the start or the end of their day. Each of the passages, written by either Rocky or Dan, begins with a Bible reference.

‘Dan and I are not the first people to have asked the question of how we face fear,’ Rocky says. ‘We stand on the backs of men and women throughout thousands of years of the faith tradition who have asked. So when it comes to those Scriptures, we explore how they relate to something that we experience in our lives. And that’s what we’ve shared in every day’s devotion. Every seventh day, there’s a rest day, giving people time to process what they’ve read.

‘We hope it’s a tool for people to live a life that embraces perfect peace and that it gives them courage to confront what they are going to face that day. Not many

LIBRARY PICTURE POSED BY MODEL

fear fear

of us can go to a monastery and just pray, so reading the devotional can bring a moment of that stillness in the middle of people’s busy lives.’

Rocky acknowledges that, as well as being busy, life can be scary.

‘We haven’t built a world that allows everyone to thrive,’ he says. ‘You only have to switch on the news right now to see there’s a lot going on. Jesus told his disciples that he gave them his teachings so that they may have perfect peace. He said: “In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous, be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy; I have overcome the world.”’

Such words, Rocky explains, mean that, even when people feel unable to cope with their fears, they can still access hope through Jesus. He says: ‘You do not need to be in a position of strength to have hope. You can be at the bottom of the well and still have hope.’

He offers another practical way men can try to address their fears, and describes his own experience of doing so.

‘When I first moved down to London, I was sleeping on my auntie’s sofa, working in a stockroom, trying to make it as a singer-songwriter. My card got

I’ve built a pattern of facing fear

declined in McDonald’s too many times, and I developed a fear about looking at my bank account. The way I describe it is that I threw the “snakes” in the cupboard, shut the door and would never open it.

‘But it got to a point where I knew I needed to address this cupboard full of snakes, because it wasn’t healthy, so I decided that every week, I was going to open all my banking apps and look at how much money I had, accepting that it was going to be really hard for me. And now, it’s not as scary for me, because I’ve built a pattern of facing it.’

He recommends that people – men or women – write down what fear or ‘snakes’ they might have mentally locked away in cupboards and begin to consider how they might confront them.

All of this, he says, ‘is not to completely eradicate the feeling of fear from our lives, because that isn’t possible. But we can live lives less dominated by fear.’

l Facing Fear 365 is published

by SPCK

18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 7

Show of faith THE AUCKLAND PROJECT

Hallelujah! A Faith Museum has been opened at a castle-turnedvisitor attraction in County Durham.

The founder of the Auckland Project JONATHAN RUFFER describes how he wanted to tell the story of the religions that have been practised in Britain – and what they say about humans’ search to make sense of their place in the world Interview by Philip Halcrow

Jonathan Ruffer

K

EEN to regenerate an area of the country close to his heart, City investor and art collector Jonathan Ruffer was thinking about buying a set of Spanish masterpieces that were hanging in the castle at Bishop Auckland. ‘I thought that if I acquired the pictures,’ he says, ‘it would send out a message about the regenerative work I was planning. But then Neil MacGregor, who at the time was director of the British Museum, told me that if I wanted to be effective in the long term, I couldn’t ignore the built heritage of a place. He persuaded me to buy the home of the pictures as well as the pictures themselves. So I bought the castle.’

Since acquiring the former residence of the bishops of Durham, Jonathan has helped to turn it into a visitor attraction.

He is the founder of the Auckland Project, which offers visitors not only a Spanish

8 • WAR CRY • 18 November 2023

gallery – housing the Francisco de Zurbarán masterpieces that attracted his attention – and a gallery of art by coalmining communities in the North East but also, since its opening last month, a Faith Museum.

The museum about faith had long been in Jonathan’s plans for the Auckland Project, whose origins can be traced back to his decision to go on a Christian retreat.

He expected the retreat would give him just a routine spiritual ‘wash and brush-up’, but instead he was ‘confronted’ with the thought that he ‘ought to be working with the voiceless’. He left the retreat saying that he would carry out regeneration work in the northeast of England, where he had grown up.

He says that initially he was not sure where he was to make this new

investment of time, energy and money.

‘Looking back, I can see that Bishop Auckland was a brilliant place to end up, because it is the natural commercial hub of County Durham. If you look at the North East as a whole, it has not really had its fair share of the lollipops, and County Durham has really struggled since its preeminence in the days when coal was king.

‘I try to pretend that it was my astute judgement which realised that Bishop Auckland was the place to be, but the primary reason for going there was the set of Spanish masterpieces.’

Reparing and restoring the historic building to turn it into a visitor attraction, Jonathan saw its potential as the venue for a museum exploring faith.

‘We live in a world where faith is difficult to talk about and yet it’s something that

The evidences are all around in society

HARRIET WHITEHEAD

you can’t get away from,’ he says. ‘It is as though the world ignores the element of faith, and yet the evidences of faith are all around us in society – particularly European society, which is based on Christianity. It seemed to me that it was worth taking the bull by the horns and doing in the bishops’ palace what would be difficult to do elsewhere.

‘The ambivalence of the building helped, because it has been a place that has proclaimed the importance of faith for a thousand years, and yet – the chapel apart – it’s not explicitly religious.

So people could well say, “I think a Faith Museum is a terrible idea”, but they couldn’t say, “Why on earth would you want a Faith Museum in the bishops’ palace at Auckland?”’

Although he looked on the Faith Museum as ‘one thing we would certainly do’, Jonathan became aware of challenges.

A tenor horn and bonnet in a Salvation Army display at the museum

‘Before she joined us,’ he says, ‘one of our team worked in the Marconi telegraph museum. In my eyes, faith is a more comprehensively interesting subject than the Marconi telegraph, yet there was a Marconi telegraph museum before there was a Faith Museum. But I quickly worked out why there aren’t any other faith museums in the world.

‘A museum is somewhere that you go in order to gawp at stuff. But the raw material of faith is largely made up of things that you can’t gawp at. You can’t see God. You can’t see faith. The only

thing that you’ve got that you can gawp at are the objects.’

The objects and works of art – displayed in a 14th-century wing of the castle and a new building – give glimpses of how people across history have sought to describe and live out the invisible and intangible.

Jonathan highlights how the museum is displaying an example of a bonnet from the early days of The Salvation Army, when its members were sometimes the

Turn to page 10 f

18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 9

JEFF VEITCH/DURHAM UNIVERSITY

From page 9

County Durham was the cradle of Christianity in England

A third-century ring engraved with Christian symbols PRIVATE COLLECTION

subject of physical as well as verbal attacks.

‘It was clearly designed like a police officer’s hat, so that you didn’t end up with a cracked skull if you were hit over the head by people who didn’t think a great deal of what you were saying.

‘It’s an incredibly eloquent item. It’s about something much more than the sort of headwear that religious people happened to be wearing in the 19th century. It tells you about the bravery and the spirit of the early Salvation Army.’

Other objects date from much earlier.

‘We’ve got Roman pagan altars and some fascinating prehistoric items which clearly show that faith was bubbling away before the beginning of time. But the objects that I most like are the personal ones.

‘There is a Roman fort half a mile away from the museum, and one of the things found on that site was what I think is the earliest Christian artefact to have been found in England. It’s a ring that is engraved with secret Christian symbols from the time: an anchor and two fish. In the days before the Emperor Constantine, being a Christian in the Roman Empire was quite dangerous. By wearing the ring, a Christian would be able to show their faith to a fellow believer, who would recognise the symbols, while preserving their anonymity.

‘The ring is from about AD260 – it’s nearly twice as old as a lot of the early Christian objects you see. County Durham was the cradle of Christianity in England, and the ring helps you understand just how deep that history is.’

Another object on display gives an insight into the later era when activists were trying to reform the Church: an original copy of the English translation of the New Testament made by William Tyndale, who believed that all ordinary people should have access to the Bible in their mother tongue.

‘The Tyndale Bible is an astonishingly rare thing,’ says Jonathan, ‘which is poignant when you think of how many of them were printed and the danger you were in if you were found in possession of one.’

The Auckland Project is aiming to add to its collection another item illustrating those dangerous and complex times.

It is campaigning to buy a tapestry currently in Spain, St Paul Directing the Burning of the Heathen Books, which was commissioned by Henry VIII during the years when he was breaking from Rome and yet organising burnings of Tyndale’s translation.

A modern work of art – ‘The Crucifixion’, 1990, by Roger Wagner 10 • WAR CRY • 18 November 2023

JEWISH MUSEUM LONDON

THE FAITH MUSEUM

A ‘yad’, used for reading from the Torah

Christianity, however, is not the only religion represented at the Faith Museum.

‘For the first five and a half thousand years, Christianity doesn’t arise,’ says Jonathan, ‘and for the past seventy years we’ve increasingly lived in a diverse world, and so Christian objects are much less to the fore.’

Even between those periods, other faiths make appearances in the displays – sometimes surprisingly, says Jonathan.

‘We’ve got the first edition of the Quran printed in England, which was in Cromwell’s day.

You would have thought that if ever there was somebody who’d be stamping on the face of that sort of talk, it would be the Puritans – but there it is: the Quran.’

Visitors to the museum can also see an 18th-century silver ‘yad’ – a pointer used

by Jews to follow the text when reading from a Torah scroll – which is on loan from

Lord Headley’s Islamic prayer beads

the Jewish Museum London, and a set of prayer beads owned by Lord Headley, who in the early 20th century converted to Islam and completed a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The variety of objects fulfils Jonathan’s vision for the Faith Museum, which, as well as enabling visitors to gawp, invites them to reflect on three questions: ‘Where do I belong?’ ‘How do I live?’ and ‘Am I alone?’

Jonathan does not view the museum as being an institution that is full of Christian art and artefacts but that also lets other religions ‘have their turn’.

He explains: ‘I see the whole thing as a reflection of this overall sense of something. What is it that we respond to when it comes to faith? The answer is that it’s something bigger than ourselves.

Man is not designed to look straight at God

‘It seems a wrong way of looking at faith to say that Christianity is right and everything else is wrong.

‘We’re full of great art at the Auckland Project, and the way I think of it is that, as a Christian, I believe in the God of the Old and New Testaments. To me, that being is like the sun. But if you try to look at the sun directly, you burn your eyeballs out.

Man is not designed to be able to look straight at God. ‘Certainly great art is like the light of the moon – the moon has a gentleness, a caressing quality that pleads with you to respond to it. Yet we know that the moon hasn’t got its own light – the moon is reflective of the sun’s light.

‘The crucial thing is that people respond to those elements of God that are within themselves.

‘My God is the Christian God, but I just want people to become the best that they can possibly be.’

18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 11

Now, ther

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’.

j

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.

a thou NOW, THERE’S A THOUGHT!

by Jim Burns

A question of control ‘ALL the world’s a stage,/ And all the men and women merely players,’ says the melancholic nobleman Jaques in Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. His words suggest that we are all destined to play a variety of assigned roles throughout our lives.

However, in one recent Netflix film called Choose Love, the destiny of the characters has been in each viewer’s hands. And not as a result of just one decision made towards the end of the film, but because of a series of decisions that viewers are invited to make throughout. The interactive romcom gives them the opportunity to decide whether recording engineer Cami will end up making sweet music with rock star Rex, will reprise her relationship with her first love Jack or will keep plodding on with her long-term boyfriend Paul. The choices viewers make on their screens determine Cami’s future.

Some people have the idea that God applies the same principle to those who believe in him – that becoming a Christian means they will no longer be free to make their own choices in life. They are under the impression that they will be handing control over to him, that he will take over their life like a puppet master.

But that’s the exact opposite of how God operates. He could have made humankind and programmed us to love and obey him, but we would have simply been robots living in a world without trouble – and we know that you don’t get genuine love from someone by forcing them to love you.

God left the decision to us, hoping that we would choose to turn to him of our own free will. Yet he did make the first move towards us. The Bible says: ‘We love him, because he first loved us’ (1 John 4:19 King James Bible).

Because God loved us, he sent his Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our mistakes so that we could have a relationship with him. If we accept his offer of forgiveness, we can enjoy God’s guidance – not his control – and a life of knowing his love.

The decision about our future is in our hands. Will we choose love?

God made the first move towards us

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

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen

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Name

Address

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 • 18 November 2023

Mouse party Mickey celebrates his 95th birthday Feature by Emily Bright DISNEY/ALAMY

QUICK QUIZ 1 2 3 4 5 6

Springboks is the nickname of which national rugby union team?

Who offered his Water-Lilies series of paintings to the French nation after the First World War as a ‘monument to peace’?

On which date will British Summer Time begin in 2024?

Girl group Little Mix were formed during which TV music competition?

Which comedian has written Unruly, a book about England’s monarchs?

Who plays DI Ruth Calder in the TV detective drama Shetland?

ANSWERS

Mickey Mouse in the 1928 film ‘Steamboat Willie’

H

IS creator faced many challenges in getting him on to the big screen. But nowadays if you think of Disney, you may well picture Mickey Mouse. And today (Saturday 18 November) marks the 95th anniversary of Mickey Mouse’s first cinematic outing in Steamboat Willie – which was also one of the first animations to feature synchronised music and sound effects.

Before striking out on his own, Walt Disney had invented Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. But he soon experienced the ruthless side of the film industry when the studio he worked for told him that it retained the rights to his cartoon character and reallocated his team to work elsewhere.

Unhappy, Walt left his job at the studio and, with his friend Ub Iwerks, went back to the drawing board.

Different animals were tried and discarded. But then inspiration struck in the form of a rodent: Mickey Mouse.

After further challenges, Steamboat Willie was finally released and Mickey Mouse was on his way to becoming the loved character he is today.

We may be able to relate to Walt’s experience of the difficulties and disappointments of trying to start again after a setback. Sometimes it can seem impossible to do, but there is a reason to hope.

The Bible is full of true stories about people who experienced confusion, disappointment and loss when their world fell apart. Yet, with God’s help, they had the strength to start afresh.

In one passage, God is recorded as giving this encouragement: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!’

(Isaiah 43:18 and 19 New International Version).

God’s promise to draw up a new way forward in our lives is as true today as it was then. Life may not be plain sailing, but, if we let him, he can set us back on the right course.

There is a reason to hope

18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 13

1. South Africa. 2. Claude Monet. 3. Sunday 31 March.

4. The X Factor. 5. David Mitchell. 6. Ashley Jensen.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Dictatorial (5) 4. Tendon (5) 8. Perform (3) 9. Type of poetry (5) 10. Bequeath (5) 11. Pig (3) 12. Boast unpleasantly (5) 13. Stonework (7) 16. Flight of steps (6) 19. Scold (6) 23. Blow up (7) 26. Bring upon oneself (5) 28. Rodent (3) 29. Oval fruit (5) 30. Over (5) 31. Douse (3) 32. Swill (5) 33. Rash (5)

DOWN 2. Braking system (5) 3. Sailor (7) 4. Mark of shame (6) 5. Requirements (5) 6. Broaden (5) 7. Disorderly (5) 9. Nigerian city (5)

SUDOKU

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

2

7 3 4 8

9 7 9 7 1 8 2 6 2 1 5 9 6 8 3 1 9 3 5 2 4 5 3 2 8 21. Eagle’s nest (5) 22. Ridicule (6) 23. Black wood (5) 24. Before (5) 25. Sea (5) 27. Angry (5)

14. Paddle (3) 15. Groove (3) 17. Tariff (3) 18. Unwell (3) 20. Monumental inscription (7)

M O B HONEYC Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

2 3 4 5 6 1 8 7 9 6 5 8 9 7 4 2 3 1 9 7 1backwards 3 8 and 2 diagonally 6 4 5 Look up, down, forwards, on the grid to find these museums and galleries 4 9 5 7 2 6 1 8 3 8 W2W L1 F 4P Q5 A Z 9 K6F 7 Z E H C Y S3Z R I B L J B X1H 6 Z C7Z L8 L 3T M9B D 5 L2F 4 K N A T I ON A L R A I LWA Y P P 4 F 9T F8 T R 3 A5R 2 F E N O Z C7N 1 T Z6T W P M O Q S X8E 4I R9F N2 G 5A Z3 F O 7 L1T 6 P I I RWS F T D E R Q T J L T L L 2 X3A O6 Z 1E J7D S 4 A9Q 8 K N T Z Q H5Q A J J A T J O P N D V C Q MW Q I N Z MZNKR SO I V D L BOARH T B X Y SQV I ZCQP A ZD L G L HG F YNP Z I V B FQYNEKQAOH Y RAROPME T NOCR E NRU T QZGTML N L RCRGNRZUS P K H AMKQ J FMS Y S R X J T E F F P F N R OMA N B A T H S S A S G ZK T L L AHSNOEGRUSN F Z WS SQY YQ T H I NK T ANKC P M K B W I H C T A A S Q J E H WW Z

1. Cotton reel 2. Agile 3. Only one 4. Edible shellfish 5. Horse rider 6. Tell

ANSWERS 2 6 9 4 3 1 7 8 5

3 5 7 9 8 6 1 4 2 4 2

4 8 1 5 2 7 6 9 3

5 9 3 7 1 8 4 2 6

6 7 8 2 4 3 9 5 1

1 4 2 6 5 9 8 3 7

8 2 6 1 9 5 3 7 4

7 3 4 8 6 2 5 1 9

9 1 5 3 7 4 2 6 8 8

5 3

HONEYCOMB 1. Bobbin. 2. Nimble. 3. Single.

4. Cockle. 5. Jockey. 6. Inform.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Bossy. 4. Sinew. 8. Act. 9. Lyric.

10. Endow. 11. Hog. 12. Gloat. 13. Masonry.

16. Stairs. 19. Berate. 23. Explode. 26. Incur. 28. Rat. 29. Olive. 30. Above. 31. Dip. 32. Rinse. 33. Hasty.

DOWN: 2. Servo. 3. Yachter. 4. Stigma. 5. Needs.

6. Widen. 7. Rowdy. 9. Lagos. 14. Oar. 15. Rut. 17. Tax. 18. Ill. 20. Epitaph. 21. Eyrie. 22. Deride.

23. Ebony. 24. Prior. 25. Ocean. 27. Cross.

14 • WAR CRY • 18 November 2023

W RDSEARCH

NATIONAL RAILWAY NATURAL HISTORY PALLANT HOUSE PITT RIVERS ROMAN BATHS ROYAL CORNWALL SAATCHI

ST FAGANS NATIONAL SURGEONS’ HALL TATE MODERN THINKTANK TITANIC BELFAST TURNER CONTEMPORARY WALKER

SERVES 2

Vegetable curry with raita

Toast the almonds in a small frying pan over a very low heat, stirring until golden brown. Set aside.

INGREDIENTS 25g flaked almonds

1tbsp curry paste

1tbsp olive oil

10g coriander, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely diced 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 2cm piece ginger, peeled and finely grated 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes

METHOD

4 medium tomatoes, chopped 100g brown basmati rice 120g low-fat plain natural yogurt 1 cucumber, grated

Heat the oil in a large pan with a lid. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until soft, but not browned, for 5 minutes.

Stir in the squash, carrots and parsnip. Cook for a further 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.

Add the curry paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Pour in 200ml boiling water and add half the coriander.

Cover with a lid and simmer for 40 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Uncover, stir the tomatoes through and reduce the heat.

Cook for a further 10 minutes to thicken. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the packet instructions.

2 small carrots, peeled and cut into batons

To make the raita, mix the yogurt and cucumber in a small bowl.

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into batons

Garnish the curry with the toasted almonds and remaining coriander. Serve with the rice and raita.

Recipe reprinted, with permission, from the Vegetarian Society website vegsoc.org 18 November 2023 • WAR CRY • 15

God’s arms are always extended; we are the ones who turn away Philip Yancey

WAR CRY