War Cry 19 October 2019

SINCE

1879

19 October 2019 20p/25c

S YEAARRCRY 140 W THE OF

FAMILY VALUES ALL ITS MEMBERS The important role of adoptive parents

‘IT WAS MY WORST NIGHTMARE COME TRUE’ One woman’s experience of the pain of stillbirth

A BIG STEP FORWARD Athlete learns to walk again after breaking his neck

It’s raining again

GENE KELLY CLASSIC RETURNS TO THE SILVER SCREEN

What is The Salvation Army?

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR CRY • 19 October 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 MORE than half of all parents in the UK would love their family to spend more time together. That’s according to a survey commissioned by Cadbury Heroes, with 54 per cent of mums and dads hankering to spend more time with their children.

Many of them have taken an interest in their offspring’s favourite activity in an attempt to connect with them. Concerned parents are putting this disconnection down to children spending all evening on their phones rather than with their family.

The concept of family occupies an important place within our society. A fully functioning family unit is still regarded as the best environment in which to bring up children.

In this week’s War Cry two parents talk about their experiences of family in two separate articles.

Emma Rutland candidly recounts the difficulties she faced when she was pregnant and how she had times when she doubted God because of the ‘senselessness’ she saw in a child being conceived, only for the pregnancy to end in a stillbirth.

However, Emma also explains how, despite her questioning of him, she learnt to ‘lean into God’ in her loss and describes how ‘God has helped me get through it’.

Tomorrow (Sunday 20 October) is the final day of this year’s National Adoption Week, and in our second family-themed article, Krish Kandiah talks about his experiences of fostering and adopting children.

‘People should not have a rose-tinted picture of fostering or adoption,’ he says, as he explains that some children in need of a family have had a traumatic start in life. However, he is motivated to act because he wants the children who come to him and his wife to know that they are ‘unconditionally loved’.

Every family, no matter how it is made up, functions best when there is that unconditional love and good interaction between its members – it’s something that children as well as their parents would do well to remember.

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 7445

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 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

Contents FEATURES 3 Weathering the storms

Problems need to be sounded out in Singin’ in the Rain 5

‘People cheered when I stood up’ How one man overcame paralysis

8

‘My miscarriage really rocked me’ The pain of wanting to be a mother

10

Family matters Author on the joys and challenges of fostering and adoption

REGULARS 4

News and media

12

Browsing the Bible

13

Faces of Faith

14 Puzzles 15

War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: Courtesy of BFI – Warner Bros

5

8

15

Courtesy of BFI – Warner Bros

19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • FILM 3 Gene Kelly takes part in a musical number

Sound judgment S

ingin’ in the Rain fans are basking in a glorious feeling of nostalgia, happy again after the 1952 musical returned to selected UK cinemas yesterday (Friday 18 October).

In the film, adulation is pouring in for silent movie star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and his on-screen love interest at the premiere of their latest blockbuster hit The Royal Rascal. Don proudly reflects on his success, having ascended the acting ladder from an on-set stuntman to Hollywood heart-throb. As he leaves the screening he is mobbed by fans.

Looking to get away, he jumps into the first vehicle he sees, which is driven by budding actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). She takes him down a few pegs, declaring her honest opinion that his work is repetitive and he’s simply a ‘shadow on film’.

Don is taken aback by her criticism, having previously heard nothing but praise for his work. Surrounded by flattery, he turns to his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) to seek out an authentic second opinion about whether his films are any good.

While facing this crisis of confidence, Don is confronted by the soaring popularity of talking pictures, which seek to usurp his silent movies in the nation’s hearts. Caving into public

Prepare to be soaked in song as a classic thunders back to cinemas, writes Emily Bright flattery. But as we can sometimes quickly realise, it’s often more important to hear the truth than simply be told what we want to hear.

Throughout the generations, people have sought truth from many different places. Millions have turned to the Bible, which Christians believe reveals the truth of God’s love for us.

It’s important to One Bible writer explains that by encountering the depths of God’s love, hear the truth we can receive ultimate fulfilment. He says: ‘This is how much God loved the the studios. Together, they navigate the world: He gave his Son, his one and new world of talking pictures and fall in only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing love. in him, anyone can have a whole and When the premiere of The Duelling lasting life’ (John 3:16 The Message).

Cavalier finally arrives, it is panned If we root our lives in God’s love, we by the critics and Don is worried that are putting down firm foundations in an his career will be destroyed. He turns unshakeable truth that God wants us to Kathy and Cosmo for consolation, to enjoy a whole and lasting life. who see things as they actually are.

God wants to flood our lives with Together, they work to resurrect the his support, whatever circumstances film by integrating tap-dancing and we may face. Whether it’s our first or singing numbers. fifty-first take in life, God is still willing Like Don, we may want people to to take an active role, if we let him in on make a song and dance out of our the scene. achievements, or seek out praise or demand, the studio that he works for decides to take action and start filming its latest project, The Duelling Cavalier, in sound, and chaos ensues.

As he embarks on this new challenge, Don reunites with Kathy, who is now a cinematic chorus girl at

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR CRY • 19 October 2019

Number of British modern slavery victims increases DEMAND for The Salvation Army’s anti-trafficking services has soared by 58 per cent among British nationals, according to a report published by the church and charity.

Between July 2018 and June 2019, 136 British nationals sought support from The Salvation Army’s network of safe houses and outreach workers, becoming the fifth most common nationality to rely on the organisation’s specialist services.

Ninety-six were victims of forced labour, which included being

made to sell drugs or carry out manual labour in sectors such as farming. Up to thirty of the victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation, nine were trapped in domestic servitude and one person’s experience was uncategorised due to its complexity.

Major Kathy Betteridge, The Salvation Army’s director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery, said: ‘Our report shows that gangs target vulnerable people, often with mental health issues, to act as drug runners or to move cash. However, people are also being forced to work as slaves in places like farms, car washes and even nail bars.

TEMPORARY tattoos are now on sale as part of The Salvation Army’s ‘We are able to offer safe houses new anti-trafficking campaign #WeAreNotForSale. and outreach support services for The special edition tattoos created by the church and charity are designed victims.

Referrals to these services are to underline how people should not be bought and sold like a commodity. up by 21 per cent on last year.’

Proceeds from the tattoos will go towards The Salvation Army’s work with In total, 2,251 people spanning victims of modern slavery.

99 nationalities utilised the church Tattoos are available for and charity’s services within the same purchase online via the 12-month period, as the number of organisation’s, from its charity modern slavery victims rose for the shops or from its churches and eighth year running. community centres.

n

The Salvation Army was awarded the official government contract for providing antitrafficking services for England and Wales in 2011. Since then, it has helped more than 8,000 victims of modern slavery.

Salvation Army provides practical support for Hurricane Dorian survivors VICTIMS of Hurricane Dorian are continuing to receive support from The Salvation Army.

The church and charity’s international emergency services team are working in partnership with local Salvationists and volunteers in the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau, and in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama.

The Salvation Army’s Freeport church is distributing cleaning supplies, hygiene items, baby supplies, water, food and clothes (pictured, left). It is also offering door-to-door visits in a bid to provide emotional and practical support.

In the Abaco Islands, The Salvation Army is working with non-governmental organisations and local authorities to distribute food, water and hygiene items.

The bulk of relief supplies are being transported through World Food Programmechartered vessels and stored in Marsh Harbour in preparation for the return of the hurricane’s evacuees.

More than 1,500 people are living in shelters in Nassau, while at least 3,000 are living with host families throughout the islands.

MEMBERS of the clergy are ‘blessed’ n with lower car insurance premiums than other occupations, according to data

compiled by a comparison website.

Average insurance premiums for religious ministers stand at £751, a cheaper rate than for accountants, lawyers, dentists, doctors and financial advisers.

The research is based on more than 60,000 car insurance quotes spanning 15 professions. The data was collected by car insurance comparison website quotezone.co.uk.

‘Your occupation has the potential to say something about your risk appetite and your driving style,’ explained quotezone.co.uk founder Greg Wilson.

CHRISTIAN luggage company Madlug n has teamed up with a shipping company to distribute bags to children in care.

For every piece of luggage purchased, Madlug donates a bag to a child in care.

Belfast-based company My Baggage will now also provide shipping for bags delivered to councils across the UK. Madlug was launched in Northern Ireland by former youth pastor Dave Linton (pictured) in 2016, and since then has donated more than 10,000 bags to children across the UK.

19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 5 Reconstructed picture/Used with permission, Zondervan ©2019

‘It was as if someone had just turned off the power in my body’ In a week that includes World Spine Day (16 October), which raises awareness of spinal conditions, CHRIS NORTON tells Emily Bright how he overcame paralysis from the neck down to walk his wife down the aisle ISTIMING his tackle by a split second M during a college American football game, Chris Norton smashed his head

into a player’s legs. In that instant, he was unable to move any muscle below his neck. ‘I tried to get up, but I couldn’t and I didn’t know why,’ Chris remembers.

Thinking that a trapped nerve had triggered a temporary loss of sensation, he convinced himself that he would be okay. But as the minutes ticked by and he still couldn’t move, he became increasingly fearful. ‘It was as if someone had just turned off the power in my body. I kept thinking it would come back on, but it never did,’ he tells me.

Surrounded by doctors from his college in Decorah, Iowa, and later by paramedics, Chris was bombarded with medical questions about which muscles he could move. Every minute that elapsed felt like an hour. He was cut out of his helmet, placed in a neck brace

and strapped on to a stretcher. Swept into a waiting ambulance, Chris was transported to the nearby Winneshiek hospital, before being helicoptered to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

As he stared up at the roof of the helicopter, feeling frightened and overwhelmed with questions, he realised that he was struggling to breathe. He wheezed for help, but the medics couldn’t hear him. Composing himself, he focused on inhaling and exhaling until his breathing returned to normal.

After Chris had undergone a series of x-rays, an MRI and a spinal operation for a broken neck, his surgeon delivered a devastating diagnosis: there was only a 3 per cent chance that he would ever feel anything below his neck again.

On that day, 16 October 2010, his entire future was thrown into doubt. He says: ‘I was

Turn to page 6

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Chris Norton was paralysed while playing in an American football game

Reconstructed picture/Used with permission, Zondervan ©2019

6 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 19 October 2019

From page 5 in shock, questioning my own reality, thinking: “Is this my life? Is this really happening?”’

‘This sense of urgency and panic started building inside of me. I was determined that I would not be in that 97 per cent. And so I set out to do whatever I could to be part of that 3 per cent.’

During his time of crisis, Chris turned to his Christian faith to sustain him. ‘God had always been kind of there, and on the bench if I needed him,’ he reflects.

‘But after my accident, I felt lost and scared and was forced to be completely

This sense of urgency and panic started building inside of me dependent on God. My life was turned upside down but when I turned to him, God gave me hope and helped me to keep moving forward.’

Chris began his rehabilitation by nodding his head for hours. It was the only movement he could make. A breakthrough followed when he regained movement in his left shoulder, allowing him to sit a little upright in a wheelchair. But the spinal cord injury caused irregularities in his blood pressure, triggering sensations of nausea and light-headedness as he sat up in his chair. He continued regardless,

determined to push himself as much as he could during his rehabilitation. ‘I tried to stay in my chair every day for just a little bit longer each time,’ Chris recalls.

His efforts paid off in a remarkable way.

‘Around the five to six-week mark, on Thanksgiving Day, I wiggled my left big toe, he says. ‘That was a sign that my legs were starting to activate, with the muscles firing, and I was determined to walk again.’

With renewed resolve, he sought to rebuild his life, starting with an ambitious aim. He explains: ‘When I returned to college in 2011, I set the goal that I wanted to walk up on stage at my college graduation’.

While he was working towards his goal, he met Emily. She was inspired by his goal and suggested that he try a gym called Barwis Methods, which is based in Michigan and specialises in helping people recover from injuries and neuromuscular disorders.

‘I gave it a try and loved it,’ he says. ‘It was a great workout. I decided to move up there and train full-time to give me the best chance to walk across the stage at my graduation.’

As that graduation in May 2015 approached, Chris grew increasingly apprehensive.

‘I trained about four and a half years for one moment, one walk across the stage.

I was nervous going into it, knowing how

hard I’d worked and how much time I’d put into it, and didn’t know what reception I’d get from the audience.’

But as Emily helped him out of his wheelchair and across the stage, he

Chris participated in rehab sessions

19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 7

Our worst moments can be the source of our greatest gifts hands, and that no matter what happened, I still had Emily. The wedding walk was successful, and that felt amazing.’

Their day was reported on by People magazine, with its video receiving more than 900,000 hits on YouTube.

Seeking to encourage other people to overcome the odds, Chris became a professional motivational speaker.

He says: ‘Since college, it Chris and Emily practising the graduation walk has been my life mission to help people stand up to the challenges they’re facing. received an overwhelmingly supportive Because of my message and my past, response. ‘People started cheering and people are encouraged to take on their clapping and everyone stood up. As I own personal obstacles.’ accepted my diploma, I looked out and He has also set up the Chris Norton saw everyone in the room was crying.

Foundation, which raises funds for That’s when it hit me, how emotional and equipment and facilities to support the powerful that moment was.’ rehabilitation of people with spinal cord His college graduation was all the more injuries and neuromuscular disabilities. memorable because he’d proposed to The non-profit organisation has raised Emily the night before. As their wedding nearly $1 million to date. approached in 2018, he set himself a new Chris and Emily felt inspired to share target. their experiences, and wrote a memoir, ‘I wanted to walk Emily seven yards The Seven Longest Yards, which was down the aisle, side by side. I did published earlier this year. The book everything in my power to make it chronicles Chris’s rehabilitation, Emily’s successful, but knew that it was in God’s experiences of depression, and their

decision to foster 17 children and adopt five girls.

Looking back on his life, Chris tells me: ‘My accident definitely strengthened my faith. It made me reflect on how grateful I was to live 18 years able-bodied, and to have my family, community and my God. ‘When Emily and I put God at the centre it transformed our relationship, her mental health and our lives together.’

Chris hopes that by sharing their story, they will be able to help other people through their own struggles. ‘We want people to know that we’re not meant to do everything on our own. We need to depend on God and others. It’s okay to seek help and be vulnerable.

‘We also wanted to show the real moments when we pushed past our fears and doubts, to encourage other people to keep on going and choose hope. Our worst moments can be the source of our greatest gifts.’ l The Seven Longest Yards is published

by Zondervan

All pictures used with permission, Zondervan ©2019

Chris and Emily on their wedding day in April 2018

8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 19 October 2019

‘My baby’s heart stopped; it seemed senseless’ EMMA RUTLAND talks to Sarah Olowofoyeku about the pain she went through in wanting to become a mother

Emma Rutland Y the time she was 21, Emma B Rutland was happily married, hopeful about the future and looking forward

to starting a family. She was delighted when she fell pregnant but her joy turned to devastation when a 12-week scan revealed that the baby had not developed.

When she lost that baby, Emma, who had been a Christian since childhood, began to question God’s love and goodness. She decided it would be easier to decide that God didn’t exist. But she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and eventually attended a church course where she was able to ask questions, express disappointment and rediscover who God was.

‘The miscarriage made me lose my faith,’ she says, ‘but once I got my head around this different-shaped God, I was in a good space.’

While finding God again, she also became pregnant for a second time. And she gave birth to a baby girl, Zoe. ‘It was idyllic; one of the happiest times of my life,’ she says.

Life was looking up when Emma fell pregnant for a third time. But by the 32nd week she had not felt any movement from the baby she and her husband had named Daniel. Concerned, she went to the hospital and was told that a heartbeat could not be detected.

‘It was my worst nightmare come true,’ she remembers. ‘This sinking sick feeling arrived. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.’

Emma struggled with how ‘senseless’ the

situation seemed. ‘I asked God to show me it wasn’t senseless to create this baby until he was fully formed and able to enter the world as a human being, only for his heart to stop beating,’ she says.

‘I didn’t know what the sense was in that.

But I knew that this world couldn’t give me the answers. The answers lay beyond me, so I found myself in church the following Sunday.’

Emma gained support from her church family and from her faith. She soon

I was thinking about how I could take myself out of the world became pregnant again, but that ended with another miscarriage.

‘It really rocked me,’ she admits.

‘I thought: “I can’t carry on, I can’t do this life; it’s too hard and too painful.” I was thinking about how I could take myself out of the world, because I didn’t want to be here any more.

Emma carried Daniel to 32 weeks before his heart stopped

19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9

The Rutland Family

An image of a rainbow came into my mind

Emma and her family

‘But then someone from church, who had lost her husband when she had two small children, invited me over. She listened to me and then shared some of her story and how she had managed to lean into God in her loss. The conversation planted hope back into my life.

Seven months later, I was pregnant again.

‘Throughout the pregnancy I was scared.

When I lost Daniel, the hospital found that I had a blood disorder. They believed my blood clotted and stopped the oxygen from getting to him. I was told to come in as soon as I found out I was pregnant.

‘The staff were brilliant, but obviously that didn’t stop me being scared. I was still

questioning God, so I said to him: “If you do exist, can you give me a guarantee that my baby is not going to die, because I’m really scared.”’

Emma believed that she received that promise from God through a Bible verse somebody shared with her. She chose to hold on to it and was encouraged for some months.

‘But,’ she says, ‘at about 33 weeks, I started to get scared again. I said: “I know it’s a bit demanding, but I need another promise, God!” An image of a rainbow came into my mind, which I understood as the sign of a promise of never again. So I asked God to give me a rainbow to promise me that I was not going to miscarry again.

‘A few moments later, my daughter walked into the room with a baby book in her hand, and on this book was a rainbow. It was amazing. Peace washed over me, and I felt excitement, joy and hope. Every single week until Georgia was born, I saw a rainbow in the sky.’

The rainbows also appeared during her next

pregnancy with her daughter, Jasmine, and were again a source of comfort and reassurance that God was with her.

Emma has detailed her experiences of pregnancy in her book, Stretched. She also describes some of the other painful and difficult parts of her life as a mother, as well as the joys that she has experienced and the faith which has helped her to keep going.

‘The journey has drawn me onto my knees in prayer,’ she tells me. ‘And God has helped me get through it.

‘The book is one of hope. It’s to help people going through difficult times know that God can meet them where they are. The message is that God does love you and he does care about you, and there is hope.

‘You might not see answers straightaway.

Sometimes it is a case of just having to get on with it, but God is present in that and he can give you strength and help you to get through it.’

l Stretched is published by Authentic Media

10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 19 October 2019

ADOPTING A NEW LIFE

Kr ish Kandiah

To mark National Adoption Week (14-20 October), KRISH KANDIAH, founder and director of the adoption and fostering charity Home for Good, talks to Linda McTurk about his personal story of caring for children in need ORE than a decade ago, Krish M Kandiah and his wife welcomed their first foster-child, a newborn

baby, into their family home. The couple were not new to parenting, having already had three children born to them, but the child placed into their arms by the state required special care.

For the baby girl who had arrived in the Kandiah household, a permanent home with her birth family was not an option – but a home with another family might be. As she began to settle with her foster-family, her social worker asked Krish and his wife to consider permanently adopting her. But the request came at an unexpected time for the couple.

‘Emotionally and psychologically it didn’t appear to be a great time to adopt a child,’ Krish admits. ‘I was in the middle of a difficult workplace situation and my mother had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer.’

Despite their personal challenges, the couple decided to go ahead and adopt.

Krish has fond memories of the day in court when their foster-child legally became their daughter. She was only a toddler at the time.

‘We were nervous and all dressed up, ready for anything,’ he remembers.

‘Our social workers looked a bit nervous too. Then the judge came in and told us that this was his favourite part of the job because normally he sent people away to prison, but here he was making

a family.

Afterwards, the kids went up to the judge’s bench and tapped the gavel – it was great.’

Today Krish and his wife have seven

Despite challenges, the couple decided to adopt children: three from birth, one adopted and three foster-children. Along with his responsibilities at home, Krish is also the founder and director of Home for Good,

19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11

Even the traumatic parts of our lives can be woven into a bigger tapestry

a charity which encourages people to consider adopting and fostering children.

Krish was motivated to help children in need by the experiences of his extended family. Krish’s mother and her two sisters, who were all mixed race children living in India, were rejected by their wider family after their father died in the Second World War. All three sisters were put into different orphanages. Krish says the experience scarred his mother.

Like Krish’s mother and her sisters, children placed into care can sometimes

carry painful stories from their past.

‘People should not have a rosetinted picture of fostering or adoption,’ Krish explains. ‘There are often extreme circumstances that bring children into care. such as severe neglect or physical violence.’

Even though some fostered and adopted children have a traumatic family history, Krish believes that there is still hope to be found in their stories – a conviction that stems from his Christian faith.

‘There is a part of the Bible where it talks about God bringing beauty out of brokenness and that he can turn our mourning into dancing,’ he says.

‘I find that helpful because it is not erasing the pain and trauma, but it is also recognising that there is a bigger story that God is working out. Even the traumatic parts of our lives can be woven into a bigger tapestry.’

It has been more than a decade since Krish and his wife legally adopted their daughter. As she gets older, Krish hopes that they have made a positive difference in her life.

‘I want her to know that she is unconditionally loved,’ he says.

‘Children with early trauma sometimes have ongoing life challenges and that’s

normal and to be expected, but I hope through the ups and downs of life that she knows we are always going to be her parents.’

While there have been many things that Krish has tried to teach his adopted daughter, she has also taught him a lot.

He outlines some of the insights he has learnt from her in his book, The Greatest Secret.

‘My adopted daughter saved my Christian faith,’ Krish explains. ‘She helped me encounter God at a whole new level. It was through the experience of adoption that I came to a fresh realisation of the love of God. ‘The Bible talks about God lavishing his love on us, that he has unfailing grace and compassion towards us and that it is relentless. He knows about our trauma and is incredibly sympathetic to what we have gone through.

‘God is willing to pursue us not just to rescue us or to forgive us, but to adopt us. God is the best adoptive Father we could ever hope for and he wants to include us permanently in his family.’

l The Greatest Secret is published

by Hodder & Stoughton

12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 19 October 2019

Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Alan, who has cancer; and for Thomas, who is seriously ill 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

Between the Testaments HE latest external date reference in T the Old Testament – ‘the 20th year of King Artaxerxes’ (Nehemiah 2:1 New

International Version) – is circa 445BC. In the New Testament, the earliest contemporary time stamp is ‘in the time of Herod King of Judea’ (Luke 1:5).

Herod ruled when Jesus was born and his reign is traditionally calculated as beginning in 37BC. The 400 or so years between the two Testaments are sometimes known as ‘the silent centuries’. God, though, was far from inactive.

By the end of the Old Testament, the people of Judah have been released from Babylonian captivity by the newly dominant world power, Persia.

In 332BC, Alexander the Great defeated Persia, and Judah came under Macedonian rule. After Alexander died in 323BC, his kingdom was split and Judah passed to the control of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria.

When Syrian King Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes) instigated a pogrom against all things Jewish, including murder and the desecration of the Temple, a resistance campaign followed.

The Maccabean Revolt (167–160BC) was led by the priest Mattathias and, later, his son Judas Maccabeus removed the occupiers from Judah.

An account of the times is found in the books known as 1 and 2 Maccabees. Early on, the writer records: ‘We have been rescued by God from great danger, we give him great thanks for championing our cause against the king’ (2 Maccabees 1:11 New Jerusalem Bible).

These books, found in the Greek (Septuagint) and Catholic versions of the Old

The years between the Testaments are known as ‘the silent centuries’ Testament, provide eyewitness accounts of the persecution of the Jews and their consequent struggle for independence.

For most of the next 100 years, the Hasmonean dynasty – the last independent Jewish kingdom – reigns.

In 64BC, Rome takes over from the fading Hasmoneans. In 37BC, Rome appoints the Edomite Herod as a vassal king to rule from Jerusalem.

It is to King Herod that the Magi travel, asking for the location of the birthplace of a new ‘king of the Jews’ (Matthew 2:1 and 2).

And a whole new testament begins.

"

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19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • EXPRESSIONS 13

FACES OF FAITH ROBERT CRICK from Chartham Hatch on keeping watch aboard a submarine, workplace values and what makes Green Book a good film

What’s your typical day?

It varies from an 11-hour shift looking after my one-year-old grandson; to a few hours on two allotment plots; to serving as a clerk and sitting with education boards and appeal panels on admissions and exclusions to schools and academies. These days are a far cry from 30 years ago when I was watch-keeping in a Polaris submarine.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

For some time I did wonder whether I should be a fulltime Salvation Army officer – but I ended up being a Royal Navy officer. After that, I worked as a bursar for two secondary schools.

What makes you feel like a grown-up now?

I’m not sure I can remember what it feels like to be grown down – but I know I am grown-up when I spend time with my grandson and wider family.

QUICK QUIZ 1. Who had a No 1 hit in 1958 with the song ‘Jailhouse Rock’?

2. What does a palaeontologist study?

What was the last film you saw?

Green Book, with Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. It told the story of an Italian-American driver and an AfricanAmerican pianist in 1960s America. Each character’s preconceptions were challenged, and the exploration of race, social mores and expectations made for a good movie.

How did you become a Christian?

After nearly two years in the Royal Navy, I was challenged when I read David Wilkerson’s book The Cross and the Switchblade about his Christian ministry among violent gang members on the streets of New York. I had been brought up going to The Salvation Army, but it was at that point, aged 18, that I realised that the heart of the gospel was love rather than duty.

I came to know Christians who served in the military all over the world and whose motivation was the love of God.

What’s good about being a Christian?

The deep sense that God is with me, which I have had from early on in my life. Jesus promises that we will have ‘life in abundance’, and that is what I have.

3. In which country is the Appalachian Trail?

4. Which football club was formerly known as Newton Heath LYR? 5. Who played Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher in the TV crime drama A Confession?

6. What does the Italian word ‘prego’ mean?

ANSWERS

How does faith influence your life?

It dawned on me early in life that if my Christian faith was not relevant in the workplace, God was not really relevant to me.

Ideas of justice and fairness are key and shape my approach to whatever work and responsibilities I have.

What one question would you ask God? Why am I still scared of water even though I can swim?

1. Elvis Presley. 2 Fossils. 3. The United States.

4. Manchester United. 5. Martin Freeman. 6. You’re welcome.

14 PUZZLES • WAR CRY • 19 October 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Repel (7) 5. Strikes with foot (5) 7. Contempt (7) 8. Traded (5) 10. Insult (4) 11. Prisoner (8) 13. Vim (6) 14. System (6) 17. Marine mammal (8) 19. Against (4) 21. Jewish teacher (5) 22. Wife of the Bible’s King David (7) 23. Short song (5)

HONEYCOMB Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number 1. Plastic cup 2. Return to 3. Fastened 4. Member of the crow family 5. Drink made with crushed ice 6. Kitchen appliance

WORDSEARCH

ANSWERS HONEYCOMB 1 Beaker. 2 Revert. 3 Secure.

4 Magpie. 5 Frappé. 6 Cooker.

AIN’T NOBODY HOME BEAUTICIAN BLUES BLUE SHADOWS CHAINS AND THINGS HELP THE POOR HUMMINGBIRD PHILADELPHIA ROCK ME BABY SO EXCITED

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Repulse. 5 Kicks. 7 Disdain.

8 Dealt. 10 Slur. 11 Internee. 13 Energy.

14 Method. 17 Porpoise. 19 Anti. 21 Rabbi.

22 Abigail. 23 Ditty. 24 Decoded.

DOWN: 2 Pasture. 3 Load. 4 El Niño.

5 Kedgeree. 6 Chain. 7 Distemper.

9 Treadmill. 12 Ignominy. 15 Hansard.

16 Asgard. 18 Robot. 20 Zinc.

8

3

1

9 5

SWEET SIXTEEN

4

2

THE B. B. JONES THE JUNGLE

7 6

1

9

7

2

6

THE THRILL IS GONE

5

4

WHO ARE YOU

3

8

YOU PUT IT ON ME

9. Moving platform used for exercise (9) 12. Shame (8) 15. Parliamentary record (7) 16. Dwelling place of Norse gods (6) 18. Automaton (5) 20. Silvery-white metal (4)

24. Translated (7) DOWN 2. Meadow (7) 3. Burden (4) 4. Pacific weather system (2, 4) 5. Breakfast dish of fish and rice (8) 6. Fetter (5) 7. Wall paint (9)

SUDOKU

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

8

3

9

5

2

1

4

7

6

4

5

1

7

9

6

3

8

2

6

2

7

3

4

8

9

1

5

7

9

5

6

8

3

2

4

1

1

6

3

2

7

4

5

9

8

2

4

8

1

5

9

6

3

7

5

7

4

9

1

2

8

6

3

9

1

6

8

3

5

7

2

4

3

8

2

4

6

7

1

5

9

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally 8 3 B. 9B. King 5 songs 2 1 4 7 6 on the grid to find these

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

8

3

1

9

2 6 4 8 3 5 7 1 9

4 8 9 1 2 6 3 7 5

6 3 1 5 7 8 4 9 2

7 5 2 9 4 3 8 6 1

1 7 8 6 5 2 9 3 4

5 2 6 3 9 4 1 8 7

9 4 3 7 8 1 5 2 6

SUDOKU SOLUTION

2 6

4 8

6 3

7 5

1 7

5 2

9 4

19 October 2019 • WAR CRY • WHAT’S COOKING? 15

Aimee Ryan for Wallflower Kitchen

Mushroom and leek pie 1tbsp olive oil 2 medium leeks, trimmed and sliced 3 garlic cloves, minced 500g button mushrooms 1tsp dried mixed herbs Salt and pepper 1tbsp dairy-free butter SERVES

4

2tbsp plain flour 400ml dairy-free milk Pinch ground nutmeg 1 sheet ready-made vegan puff pastry

Creamy pea soup 1tbsp olive oil

1 stick celery, roughly chopped

1 medium white onion, diced

450g frozen peas

2 garlic cloves

50g raw cashews

1 leek, roughly chopped

700ml vegetable stock Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas Mark 6.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and fry for 2 minutes.

Mix in the mushrooms, herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper, and stir for 1 minute. Cover and cook for a further 8 minutes.

To make the sauce, melt the dairyfree butter on a medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the flour and stir until combined. Gradually pour in 350ml dairy-free milk, 1tbsp at a time, and whisk to make a smooth thick mixture. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

Combine the cooked leeks and mushrooms with the sauce and leave to cool completely.

Once cooled, spoon the mixture into a pie dish and top with the puff pastry sheet. Cut off any excess pastry, leaving extra to make the edges. Use a fork to crimp the edges and use a knife to slice a criss-cross pattern on top of the pie. Dip a pastry brush in the remaining dairyfree milk and glaze the top of the pie. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Dairy-free cream

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic, until softened. Add the leek and celery and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in the peas and cashews and add the stock. Season and simmer for 5 minutes.

SERVES

4

Transfer to a blender and mix until smooth. Ladle the soup into 4 serving bowls and top each with a swirl of dairy-free cream, to serve.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Vegan Society website vegansociety.com

GOD WEAVES TOGETHER AND REDEEMS THE THINGS THAT GO HORRIBLY WRONG Sarah Williams