War Cry 21 May 2022

‘We needed to get food into Ukraine urgently’

WAR CRY

21 May 2022 50p

Talking hypothetically Comedians explore surreal scenarios in TV game show

Mums meet to share tea and empathy

From the editor’s desk

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.

WHETHER or not truth – as the saying goes – is the first casualty of war, the truth is that people are surely the foremost casualties. People die. People are bereaved. People lose their whole way of life.

When the Ukraine-Russia conflict broke out, the international leader of The Salvation Army, General Brian Peddle, urged people to ‘pray for faith and courage for every Christian’ living in the region, emphasising that The Salvation Army’s service to God ‘transcends national identity and crosses international borders without prejudice or discrimination’. He asked that there would be prayers ‘for the safety of those who are fleeing and for those who are already displaced’ and for ‘adequate hospitality from neighbour countries’.

In an interview in this week’s War Cry, a member of The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Services gives a glimpse into how the church and charity has responded to the crisis.

In the early days of the conflict, Captain Matthew Beatty travelled to the Polish-Ukrainian border, where he met some of the people fleeing. To help Salvation Army centres offer an adequate welcome, his team supplied cash vouchers that could be handed out to refugees as they started to rebuild their lives.

He had another task: to get initial supplies into Lviv so that the Salvation Army church in the city could distribute food and other essentials to people there and farther afield. Not without difficulty, it was a task that succeeded.

Other shipments of humanitarian aid followed.

‘The Salvation Army in Lviv is based in an apartment, and people go there for help,’ says Matthew, who has remained in contact with the church.

‘It has been handing out food and other stuff while the sirens have been going off and the town is smouldering from cruise missiles.’

On whatever side of whatever border, and in sometimes dark situations, The Salvation Army the War read is aiming to care for those in need, because it Cr ve y ’ u believes in the truth that God’s love endures and encompasses all people.

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 7577

When yo

Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN

CONTENTS

Tel: 0845 634 0101 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Mal Davies

FEATURES

3 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

Situations comedy Hypothetical explores the absurd

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Plot development A guide round a church garden

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Ukraine

Help for people fleeing and staying

INFO

10 Maternal truths

Black mums connect to share

Your local Salvation Army centre

their experiences

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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

REGULARS 4

War Cry World

12 Team Talk 13 Now, There’s a Thought!

14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: UKTV/SIMON WEBB

James Acaster and Josh Widdicombe present ‘Hypothetical’

UKTV

Imagine that!

Comedians find fun in hypothetical scenarios TV feature by Claire Brine

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IGHT cubic metres of brie and a selection of waterproof spoons are just some of the pretend prizes up for grabs in comedy panel show Hypothetical, which continues on Dave next Wednesday (25 May).

In the opening episode of the latest series this week, presenters Josh Widdicombe and James Acaster were back doing what they do best: posing absurd hypothetical situations to two teams of comedians, asking them to consider how they would approach each scenario.

In the ‘What would you do?’ round, the comedians put forward their ideas

Richard Ayoade discusses football

as to how they would convince Gareth Southgate to let them ‘play in goal for a bit’ as England faced Brazil in the World Cup final. Maisie Adam got the ball rolling by explaining that she would knock on the door of the England manager, then dive on top of him in an attempt to demonstrate her ability at making dramatic saves.

Richard Ayoade opted for a more strategic approach, stating that he would build a rapport with the players before asking if he could try his hand in goal.

The competition was tough but, after some improvisation of the hypothetical scenes, the presenters awarded Richard the maximum points, believing that his idea had the edge.

In next week’s episode, the bizarre competition rounds continue. In ‘James’s wish list’, the presenter says he has always wanted to see Fiona Bruce wearing a T-shirt with his face on it as she hosts Question Time. He asks Dara Ó Briain, Ninia Benjamin, Phil Wang and Roisin Conaty how they would make that happen.

More quick thinking is required by the teams in a rapid-fire round. In seconds, the comedians must come up with responses to hypothetical situations, such as: If a giant moth attacks London, how do

you save the day?

While each new scenario is designed to get the comedians’ creative juices flowing, there are moments when they find it difficult to think on the spot. Sometimes they start coming up with an answer, only to realise later that they don’t know where they are going with it. When they get in a muddle, they do their best to laugh it off.

It’s just a game show, after all.

But in real – rather than hypothetical – situations it’s not so easy to keep your cool. When we feel out of our depth, facing confusing or unpredictable circumstances, it can be stressful and unnerving. We may try to keep moving forward, determined to wing it as best we can, but sometimes we just have no idea how to make sense of what is in front of us.

In such moments, faith can be a reliable anchor. We may not know what the future holds or where we are going to end up, but Christians have found that a belief in God and the reality of his love can steady them, whatever situations they find themselves in.

One Bible writer summed up his confidence in God during his times of uncertainty when he prayed: ‘You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence’ (Psalm 16:11 New Living Translation).

When we don’t know what to do or where we are going, God is always willing to guide us. Not just hypothetically, but really.

In real situations it’s not so easy

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A NEW film has been released on video-hosting websites to boost awareness about The Salvation Army’s work to help survivors of modern slavery.

In the short documentary, a modern slavery survivor shares his story of exploitation and the support he received from The Salvation Army after he was rescued. The video includes contributions from a first responder, a specialist support worker, a referral team member, a service manager and a volunteer driver (pictured).

The Salvation Army has held the government’s modern slavery victim care contract for England and Wales since 2011.

Major Kathy Betteridge, director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery for The Salvation Army, says of the film: ‘Survivors of modern slavery may have to engage with staff in lots of different organisations – places like local authorities, government departments and law enforcement agencies. We hope that this film will help other professionals gain a deeper understanding of the people whose lives have been devastated by modern slavery, so they become equipped to help these vulnerable people move on with their lives.’

THE land in churchyards is some of the most biodiverse in the UK, wrote Alexander Turner in The Guardian.

The freelance photographer and writer has been exploring schemes that aim to maximise biodiversity in churchyards.

One is the Churches Count on Nature Scheme, launched in 2021 by the Church of England, Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, Caring for God’s Acre and the Church in Wales. It encouraged people to observe and record the various species in their churchyards over a week.

Helen Stephens, of A Rocha, said: ‘At one church in Ham, southwest London, in the middle of a housing estate, on not much land, they counted 100 species of plants in one small patch of grass, including a fairly rare bee orchid.’

Do you have a Pop-up pods ‘make a difference’ to rough sleepers story to share? THE Salvation Army is trialling a pop-up health issues, offending history or addiction – a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk @TheWarCryUK TheWarCryUK

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accommodation scheme for rough sleepers in Sheffield.

The scheme has two sleeping pods, which include a bed, chemical toilet and charging facilities. The pods, created by accomodation charity Amazing Grace Spaces, are designed for people who have been sleeping on the streets and who – because of complex needs such as mental

may struggle in hostel-style accommodation.

Salvation Army service manager Andy Parkinson says: ‘In just a couple of months, we have seen a real difference in the clients who have been placed in them. They are more engaged with mental health and housing services. One has now been offered a flat, and the other has been referred into long-term supported housing.’

Barber helps out in style

Kalvin receives a free haircut from Jaza

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RESIDENTS at a Salvation Army centre for people experiencing homelessness in Blackburn are receiving free haircuts thanks to a local barber.

Trainee barber Jaza Ahmed is visiting Bramwell House Lifehouse once a month to provide haircuts and beard tidying for residents who are about to attend job interviews and housing meetings or reunite with family members.

Many residents have already used the service, and there are plans to extend the offer to others who are experiencing homelessness in Blackburn.

Jaza says: ‘A haircut can be seen as a luxury, with many people struggling financially, and mentally, to actually have the funds and the confidence to get one. Giving people a sense of pride without their having to find the money to do so was an important aspect for me.’

Resident Kalvin says that usually ‘it’s tough to budget a haircut’ but that Jaza’s barbering ‘really does make me feel better, putting me in a positive mood and helping me to realise that I matter’.

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Areas of growth MEL ZULU, head gardener of a church in Hackney, east London, explains how her team is cultivating community through an orchard, walled garden and beehives Interview by Emily Bright

B Mel Zulu

EEKEEPING and cultivating an orchard and a walled garden in the grounds of an 18th-century church sounds like the remit of an ancient rural village. So it may come as a surprise to learn that this is taking place in the urban heart of east London. St John at Hackney, one of five sites run by church network Saint, does all of the above.

Four years ago, St John at Hackney decided to form a partnership with national charity the Orchard Project, which helps to create and restore community orchards. Two years later, Mel Zulu joined as the church’s head gardener. The initiative blossomed during the early months of the pandemic, and weekly work started on maintaining a walled garden in the church grounds.

‘When I joined in August 2020, one of the things you could still do was garden,’ Mel tells me when we meet in the church grounds on an overcast afternoon.

‘Because we were allowed to meet one other person outside, the garden team started with having one-to-one sessions with people. Then restrictions relaxed to allow up to six people to meet outside. We had people from the congregation joining, but others who live locally also found out about us and joined in.’

Gardening brought a welcome source of normality to many, as Mel explains.

‘There were a lot of people who were either furloughed or who had flexible working hours. They said it was lovely to have an activity as part of a regular routine, where you could spend one or two hours working on something, then step back and see what you’d achieved.

‘There wasn’t much you could do during the lockdowns, but gardening gave people a

Gardening gave people a sense of accomplishment

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A ‘Cercis siliquastrum’ tree in the walled garden

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From page 5 sense of accomplishment. Each session, you could see how, inch by inch, you were making an impact in the space.’

She says that gardening had the added benefit of bringing people together.

‘Community and friendship have been built within the team, which includes people who wouldn’t ordinarily have met each other.

‘Gardening also slows you down and is very mindful.

I’ve found that when you’re gardening with somebody, you’re able to have long and deep conversations. It started off as something for people to do in the pandemic and then it grew from there. A desire for connection was met within that space.’

The walled garden draws in a wide variety of people. It has a playground, which attracts many young families, but is also a place for people to stop on their lunch breaks, and for teenagers to visit after school. It has proved to be a point of connection for people living in a transient city.

Elsewhere in the church grounds, the orchard is now bearing fruit from the hard work of the gardening team, with trees growing plums, quince, figs, crab apples, wild pears, cherries, and black and

Community and friendship have been built

The orchard is home to plum trees 6 • WAR CRY • 21 May 2022

St John at Hackney has its own beehives on the church roof white mulberries. Many of the trees in the orchard were planted three months ago in partnership with the Tree Musketeers, a group of volunteers who plant trees around Hackney.

Last November, as part of a conference at St John, the church used the garden spaces to highlight various activities, including apple-picking and jammaking. The gardening initiative has also expanded to another Saint site, St Luke’s Homerton, where the community have begun growing rhubarb,

beetroot, strawberries, potatoes and onions.

Gardening has crossed over with other elements of the Hackney church’s outreach work, including its Lighthouse initiative, a drop-in for vulnerable people who need extra support. As part of Lighthouse, the church trialled a structured introduction to a gardening course – a move that had a significant impact on one attendee.

‘One Lighthouse guest showed up and became excited by the workbook we used,’ Mel recalls. ‘She later told me that her son, through using the workbook, got impassioned to look into landscape architecture. He’d never thought of that before. What she’d learnt inspired her and her son.’

Alongside its orchard and walled garden, St John at Hackney diversified into beekeeping about four years ago, placing hives on the roof of the building.

‘Our rector is inspired by bees, and the fact that if you were to get rid of all the bees in the world, you would notice,’ Mel explains.

‘We work with an amazing beekeeper. I’m looking forward to taking a team up to see the beekeeping area to learn more about it.’

The church’s ethos draws on the fact that bees don’t flourish by staying in the hive but by pollinating plants in the surrounding area, creating blossom, flowers and fruit wherever they go and

enhancing the environment in which they live. In the same way, St John at Hackney aims to bring life to its community and help it flourish. In 2020, the fruits of its efforts paid off as it launched its own-label honey.

Mel says that her involvement at St John at Hackney helps her to connect with her Christian faith.

‘The beauty of nature is a reflection of God’s hand at work,’ she says. ‘It’s his creativity in the creation that he made for us to enjoy. We can see from the earliest Scriptures that this is our gift to look after.

‘And when you spend time in nature, it does feel like you can strip back things, your mind can settle and you have space to reflect. That helps me and others in our team to connect with God.’ Mel first properly connected with the gospel just before she went off to university.

‘I was raised in a Christian home, yet as a teenager I just wasn’t interested,’ she remembers.

‘But when I was 18, as I was reading the Bible with someone, I understood what Jesus dying on the cross meant.

‘I understood the depths of his sacrifice, and that affected me – that Jesus would choose to die for me. The Bible spoke in a way that I hadn’t been able to understand before.’

Through the ups and downs of her life, her faith has evolved. ‘I feel that recently, God is wanting to show himself more as my refuge,’ she says. ‘I’ve been reading the Psalms, and so often they speak about how if you take your refuge in God, you’ll be blessed and protected and you’ll have peace.

‘I remember that Jesus is a safe place, a steady rock and a foundation for my life.

I know that I can trust in him when I don’t have the answers or when I don’t feel enough. I have faith that he’ll hold things together.’

The walled garden has a sensory border filled with flowers

The beauty of nature is a reflection of God

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‘Food has been handed out as Lviv smoulders’ The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Services have been working to help people caught up in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Team member Captain MATTHEW BEATTY explains how the church and charity has been supporting people who have fled Ukraine and those still in the country Interview by Philip Halcrow

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HE Army without guns was already in Ukraine when the fighting began. The Salvation Army has been at work in the country for almost three decades. And as Russian forces moved across the border, the international Salvation Army mobilised its emergency services team to send food and other vital supplies so that the church and charity’s personnel in cities such as Lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv could continue to serve their communities.

In March, Captain Matthew Beatty, a US Salvationist appointed to The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Services, headed for the Polish-Ukrainian border.

‘We were tasked with getting stuff into Lviv, because at the time I think the stats were that only 13 per cent of stores were open throughout Ukraine,’ he says, after returning from the region to the team’s base in London.

‘The Salvation Army in Lviv was in dire need, so we needed to figure out a way to get supplies in there really quick.

‘At the time there was allegedly a neutral zone between Poland and Ukraine, where we were hoping to meet the officer from the Lviv Salvation Army. We were going to transfer supplies to him, but when we got to the border, the neutral zone no longer existed. We didn’t have authorisation from The Salvation Army to go into Ukraine, so we had to wait at the border.

‘In the end, we found another NGO that had a

Captain Matthew Beatty

half-empty truck. We were able to throw our supplies on it and send a message to the Lviv Salvation Army officer – who doesn’t speak English – that they were now on a white truck coming through and he had to find it.

‘Despite the crazy odds, he and the van found each other. There must have been a little godly intervention.’

The first shipment that Matthew’s team sent to Lviv was, he admits, more haphazardly assembled than those that have been going in since. ‘It was just random food and supplies – it was thrown together so quick, because it simply needed to be done urgently,’ he says.

Subsequently, the emergency services team have tried to fulfil a list of requested items, which have included generators, stoves, heaters, tents (with no green or brown markings that might lead to their

We needed to get supplies in there really quick

8 • WAR CRY • 21 May 2022

People pick up essential items from The Salvation Army’s church in Lviv

being mistaken for military equipment) and sleeping bags.

The deliveries have been taken into Ukraine by a major shipping service that works in partnership with The Salvation Army.

After receiving essential items, The Salvation Army in Lviv distributes them to people in need in the city and sends them on so that centres in other parts of the country can serve their communities.

‘The Salvation Army in Lviv is based in an apartment, and people go there for help,’ says Matthew, who remains in contact with the church. ‘It has been handing out food and other stuff while the sirens have been going off and the town is smouldering from cruise missiles.’

As well as sending vital food and hygiene supplies into Ukraine, Matthew has been helping people who are fleeing the country and arriving in Poland.

The Polish reception centres for refugees were well run and already well stocked with food, he says, so The Salvation Army began to help in a different way.

‘Ukrainians coming into Poland could get a one-time cash payment through the UN refugee agency before getting on the Polish social system,’ he explains.

‘We picked up that the first payment was quick, but the second could take a couple of months, so there was a gap in between where people needed money if they perhaps had not yet found a job or moved on to another country in Europe. So we have provided cash vouchers.

At the Polish-Ukrainian border Matthew helps load up supplies bound for Lviv ‘In the initial project, we supplied four Salvation Army centres with $20,000 in cash vouchers that they could hand out to people, giving them the dignity to buy what they wanted when they needed it.’

Hygiene items have also been handed to Polish Salvation Army centres to distribute to refugees.

But Matthew adds that Salvation Army personnel are going to be ready to meet more than physical needs.

‘All NGOs are focusing on trauma and emotional care – and for The Salvation Army it’s spiritual care too,’ he says. ‘We were there in the week when there were 150,000 people crossing the border into Poland. We went to a reception centre and if we smiled at a kid, they’d look away.

‘There’s going to be a heavy need for emotional and spiritual care for everybody.’

There’s going to be a need for emotional care

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Mums create communi-tea To mark Maternal Mental Health Month, TINUKE AWE talks about Mums and Tea, the initiative she started to help mothers get together and share their experiences Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

Tinuke Awe

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S the first in her close-knit group of friends to be expecting a baby, Tinuke Awe did a lot of research about motherhood. She found a recurring theme of mums feeling lonely and isolated. Wanting to do more than ensure she didn’t feel that way, she decided to start an initiative to help other mums.

She explains why becoming a mum can have such an impact on mental health.

‘Motherhood is a beautiful rollercoaster.

When you have your child, it can be allconsuming and you can lose your identity.

Every day, you’re learning and you’ve got this little human you’re in charge of. And it’s your baby’s first time for everything too. Then you have the hormones. All of that can lead to isolation and depression – especially if you are not taught to talk about your feelings.’

Four years ago, Tinuke set up a community for black mothers in London, Mums and Tea, where people could talk

10 • WAR CRY • 21 May 2022

about what they were going through.

‘We did events such as going to cafés together. I wanted to get away from clinical, stuffy children’s spaces,’ she explains. ‘I wanted people to feel like they were going out to a nice place and having nice food – we wanted mums to be excited to leave the house.

‘The importance of having mummy friends is second to none,’ she adds.

‘It’s useful to have people who are on maternity leave at the same time as you, people you can bounce questions off, like, “This is happening to my baby, is it happening to yours?” or “Do you want to come out for a coffee? I just need to leave the house.”

‘As well as saying come and make a mummy friend, we invited some health professionals to our sessions – we had a sleep specialist, a potty training specialist

and we did a first-aid session. So it had a social element, but we also wanted to add value.

‘There were also a few meetings where we’d leave the babies at home, because it’s necessary for mums to spend time away from their children and recognise that they are a person outside of being a parent.’

When the first Covid-19 lockdown was introduced in 2020, Mums and Tea had to adapt and move online.

‘We did Zoom meetings, where we’d have 50 to 60 women who would go into breakout rooms and speak among themselves. At the height of the pandemic, when no one was going out or doing anything, it was really needed.

‘There is also an online platform called the Mums and Tea Communi-Tea, which is like an upgraded version of a WhatsApp

It is important to identify with someone who shares your background

Mums and Tea organises meet-ups in various locations, including parks

spirit

group chat, where people can post a status or questions. It’s another safe space for black mums to connect.’

It was important for Tinuke to create a space specifically for black mothers.

‘It doesn’t mean you can’t foster connections with mums who don’t look like you,’ she says, ‘but it is important to be able to identify with someone who shares your background and who can speak with you about some of the cultural nuances that come with being a black mum raising black children.’

Tinuke uses her social media platform to raise awareness about the ways in which some issues, such as autism and mental health, specifically affect black mothers.

She also runs another initiative – the Five X More campaign, which highlights how black women in the UK have historically been five times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy.

She says: ‘I had my own traumatic experience of giving birth, where I had

late-diagnosed preeclampsia, and I felt that I wasn’t taken seriously when I said I was going into labour. When I spoke to other mums through Mums and Tea and found out that they had similar negative experiences, I felt moved to start something.’

For the past two years, Tinuke and her co-founder, Clo, have been speaking out for black mothers, creating a petition that has led to debate in parliament and appearing on media platforms such as Vogue, The Guardian and Sky News to raise awareness about the inequality and to campaign for change.

The work, she says, is ‘a God-given mission’. As a woman with a Christian faith, Tinuke believes that her advocacy with Five X More and community support

Tinuke and her two children

with Mums and Tea are part of God’s plan and purpose for her life.

‘I had a negative birth experience, but God turned that mess into a message,’ she says. ‘Through my pain, I’ve been able to help other parents not go through that pain, to not feel like they’re alone, to advocate for themselves and to escape depression.’

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Prayerlink YOUR prayers are requested for Martin, who is in prison and concerned about his family; for Colin, who has lost his mother, and for his father, who is feeling very lonely; and for Dawn, who is suffering from tinnitus.

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, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.

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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

talk ‘ ’ Team talk TEAM TALK iPod announcement stopped me in my tracks Sarah Olowofoyeku gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

GROWING up, I would sit and listen to music on the radio with my big sister.

Sometimes she’d leave the room, and I’d have to call her back when her favourite song started playing. There was no rewind on radio in the early ’90s.

I have lived through many technological advances that have altered our way of life, including how we can listen to music.

I can remember selecting which discs I would take on the school trip with me to listen to on my CD player during the coach journey. Then MP3 players arrived, most notably Apple’s iPod, enabling me and millions of others to store countless tracks on one pocket-sized device. So the news that the iPod will be discontinued, more than 20 years after its introduction, feels major.

Although, over the past decade, most of my friends and I have made the transition from owning multiple devices – a music player, a camera, an alarm clock, for example – to having all those functions on a smartphone, the iPod feels like something from a simpler time. While smartphones are convenient, in some ways it was good to have devices that served just one purpose. On seeing the iPod announcement, my friend Nancy said that she still sometimes uses her iPod Classic from 2009 ‘when I want to listen to music but without the distraction of being on my phone’.

Technological advancements profess to simplify our lives. In many ways they do. But I’ve found that they can bring more distractions. Instant messaging, social media and 24/7 news updates make it easy to worry – about world issues, being a good friend and keeping up appearances.

Sometimes, I need to tune out the noise.

Simplicity is something I’ve come to value through my faith. The Bible records a visit that Jesus made to two sisters. One was distracted in the kitchen while the other sat and listened to Jesus talk. Jesus urged the frantic sister to take time out and focus on him and his teaching, which promises a sense of peace.

The message is loud and clear: instead of worrying non-stop or trying to do a thousand things at once, I need to spend time with Jesus – and listen.

I’ve come to value simplicity

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War Cry 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN

Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army

Looking for help?

Contact details of a Salvation Army minister Name Address Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • WAR CRY • 21 May 2022

Competitors climb a greasy pole in Malaysia

Q

QUICK QUIZ 1

Who had a No 1 hit in 1990 with

2

What does the French phrase

the song ‘Unchained Melody’?

‘Je t’aime’ mean?

A 3

Who played Met Police

bomb disposal officer Lana

Washington in the TV series Trigger Point?

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What does the abbreviation

5

In which city was the author

6

What is a series of three strikes

CD-ROM stand for?

Charles Dickens born?

in a row called in tenpin bowling?

ANSWERS

NOW, THERE’S A THOUGHT!

by Jim Burns

Going up in the world R

ATHER than a steady climb up the ladder of success, life for a lot of us can seem like a game of snakes and ladders. Just when we think we’re making progress, we land on a snake and we’re back where we started – or worse.

When I was growing up in Scotland, my family would sometimes attend the Marymass Festival in Irvine, where there was a challenge to climb a greasy pole. The pole was sometimes up to 30ft high and, if they reached the top, contestants would win a prize.

It’s a game played in different parts of the world, but the competitors I saw each had their own tactics, including one who filled his pockets with sand so that he could use it to gain more traction. While many competed on their own, some made it a team game and would make progress by standing on each other’s shoulders.

As well as being a tricky form of entertainment, ‘climbing the greasy pole’ has become a metaphor for the difficulty of reaching the pinnacle of a career. It can sometimes be used in a derogatory way, indicating someone who is determined to get ahead, even though they lack ability.

Without the necessary skills, such a person may, instead, simply try to network with the right people, make sure that they and their work look good and even blame others if they get something wrong.

They know that people are most easily judged by what others see.

But that’s not God’s way.

When God was directing the Old Testament prophet Samuel to select a new king for the people of Israel, he said: ‘I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7 Good News Bible).

God is not impressed by whether we are at the top of our field or in a position of leadership. He is more interested in whether we love him and are committed to treating other people well. If we do that, we will find that we will be heading in the right direction.

There was a challenge to climb a greasy pole

21 May 2022 • WAR CRY • 13

1. The Righteous Brothers. 2. I love you.

3. Vicky McClure. 4. Compact disc read-only memory.

5. Portsmouth. 6. A turkey.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Rapid (4) 3. Fluid bag (3) 5. Vagabond (4) 7. Self-acting (9) 9. Grime (4) 10. Elegy (4) 11. Musical drama (5) 14. Die in water (5) 15. Under (5) 17. Braking system (5) 18. Site (5) 19. Open sore (5) 20. Larceny (5) 23. Small rodents (4) 25. Trial (4) 27. Dug out (9) 28. Departed (4) 29. Worthless (3) 30. Toy (4)

DOWN 1. River crossing (4) 2. Tense (4) 3. Bend forward (5) 11.

4. Seat (5) 12.

5. Flog (4) 13.

6. Froth (4) 7. Haughtiness (9) 14.

16.

8. Amassed (9)

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

1

6 9 5 1 8

3 8

6 4 9 3

7 8 6 21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

Beginning of something (5) Weird (5) Concerning (5) Douse (3) Armed conflict (3)

Listened to (5) Deception (5) Post (4) Way out (4) Incline (4) Relate (4)

M O HONEYC B

Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number 1. Underground passage 2. Stringed instrument 3. Receiver of electronic signals 4. Type of coat worn by Paddington Bear 5. Erase from a surface 6. Protein found in wheat

1 2 6 3 5 8 4 7 9

3 9 5 7 1 4 2 8 6

7 8 6

4 7 8 2 6 9 3 1 5

8 5 7 6 4 1 9 2 3

6 1 3 5 9 2 7 4 8

9 4 2 8 3 7 6 5 1

4 5 3 8

7 8 1 9 2 3 5 6 4

2 6 9 4 8 5 1 3 7

5 3 4 1 7 6 8 9 2 2

HONEYCOMB 1. Tunnel. 2. Violin. 3. Aerial.

4. Duffel. 5. Efface. 6. Gluten.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Fast. 3. Sac. 5. Waif. 7. Automatic.

9. Dirt. 10. Poem. 11. Opera. 14. Drown. 15. Below.

17. Servo. 18. Place. 19. Ulcer. 20. Theft. 23. Mice.

25. Test. 27. Excavated. 28. Left. 29. Dud. 30. Doll.

DOWN: 1. Ford. 2. Taut. 3. Stoop. 4. Chair. 5. Whip.

6. Foam. 7. Arrogance. 8. Collected. 11. Onset.

12. Eerie. 13. About. 14. Dip. 16. War. 21. Heard.

22. Fraud. 23. Mail. 24. Exit. 25. Tend. 26. Tell.

14 • WAR CRY • 21 May 2022

1 9 3 2

1 6

5

4 5 3 8

WORDSEARCH

2

1 3 4 8 6 9 7 2 5 2 9 backwards 7 5 1 and 4 diagonally 8 6 3 Look up, down, forwards, on the grid to find these words associated with emotions 6 5 8 7 3 2 1 9 4 D P Q S Q I 3D Z7C 2 Y T6T Y5 X 8Y T9 D 4 G 1 HY TGQNQY Z VHAA T R TOY 6 W4T M 9 M3Z L2O 8V 7 Y M B Q C O 5R Q1 T N E O S E H S 8Z S4S 9 E N1D A2 S 7V K3Q 5 V 6 G BWL F T U Y H E I Z Q P V X S J 7 X 6M W5H 1 A O H Q I A 4Q R2M 3 L U9X U N 8 R R A Q B L 7R E8P 1 J S2N N B 9 4 J 5H Y6D 3 QE P L YG T HORROR AQQSW 8 N 1R Q4 J 7 Z D P X P I 9Q U6Z 5 J I 3I Q O 2 NO I T CA F S I T DMN X I C Z P A H QZ E Y F EQRQ J T T SUGS I DEQ N A S H HMS T QG RGN T DR L J J G G J E A J TMBME R G QMX B V H H V L J DOVHZ L DX

ANSWERS

2 6 3

ADMIRATION ANGER ANXIETY AWE BOREDOM CONFUSION DISGUST ENVY EXCITEMENT

A Q B P H N K H K

S U F N O C A R D

N F V AWJ E T SQ J I HH L XOR CP XGKA Q MM I E E AU I WV F P I Y X AC T R I AQP A T KQN J

FEAR HAPPINESS HORROR NOSTALGIA SADNESS SATISFACTION SURPRISE SYMPATHY TRIUMPH

Spinach and avocado scramble Ingredients

Method

1 avocado, peeled and stoned

Mash the avocado on a plate and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Salt and ground black pepper

Crack the eggs into a jug, season and add the milk, then beat together with a fork until smooth.

4 medium British Lion eggs

Heat a non-stick frying pan. Add the oil and tomatoes and sauté over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Push them to the side and add the spinach to the centre of the pan. Cook until the leaves are wilted.

2tbsp milk Olive oil 8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved 80g spinach leaves, roughly chopped 2 slices wholemeal seeded bread Mixed seeds, to serve

Push the spinach to the edges of the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over a low heat, stirring the eggs until they are scrambled to your liking.

Once set, remove from the heat and gently fold the eggs together with the tomatoes and spinach. Set aside.

Toast the bread slices, then spread them with the mashed avocado and top with the scrambled eggs. Scatter with seeds and serve immediately.

SERVES

2

Baby's sweet potato and pea frittata Ingredients 125g sweet potato, peeled 1tsp olive oil 2tbsp frozen peas 1 medium British Lion egg Hummus, to serve

Method Coarsely grate the sweet potato into a microwaveable shallow bowl. Stir in the oil and mix well. Cover the bowl with an upturned plate and cook on high for 2 ½ minutes in an 850W microwave or a suitable time in a different microwave, until the sweet potato is tender. Remove the plate, being careful of the heat and steam. Stir in the peas, cover again and cook on high for 1 minute or an equivalent.

Crack the egg into a jug and beat with a fork.

Remove the sweet potato and pea mixture from the microwave and pour the beaten egg into the bowl. Stir well. Microwave on high for 2 ½ minutes or an equivalent until the egg is set in the middle. Allow to cool slightly before slicing into wedges. Serve the wedges, warm or cold, with a dollop of hummus.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the British Egg Information Service website egginfo.co.uk

SERVES

1

21 May 2022 • WAR CRY • 15

Hebrews 13:8 (New International Version)

WAR CRY