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
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 7509
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 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 Editor-in-Chief: Major Mal Davies 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, Wales and Northern Ireland 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
INFO 2 • WAR CRY • 23 January 2021
EDITOR From From the editor’s desk
AS the United States enters a new era after four years of President Trump, this week’s War Cry has a distinctly transatlantic flavour to it. We feature the BBC’s New York correspondent, Nick Bryant. In his interview he speaks about the dramatic impact Covid-19 has had on the city he now lives in. ‘I never thought I’d see New York in the state that it’s in,’ he tells us. ‘The most energetic city in the world was in a coma-like state, and it still is.’ Nick also speaks about the way that the presidency of Donald Trump has affected the whole country and reflects on his British childhood and the positive influence growing up as a member of The Salvation Army had on him. American rapper Lecrae also talks about his childhood in this week’s War Cry. Sadly, his experiences as a boy were not positive. Before his tenth birthday, he was sexually abused by a relative and physically abused by his mother’s boyfriend. As an adult, this led to him self-medicating with pills for depression as he struggled to keep his marriage afloat. Lecrae found, though, that the Christian faith helped him to move on from his problems and to forgive those who had abused him. ‘You realise your own imperfections and that God is still gracious to you, so you want to be gracious to other people,’ he tells us as he goes on to explain about the hope that his faith gave him. ‘If you have that hope, you can move forward,’ he says. Millions of other Christians found that same hope when they decided to follow Jesus. As a result, their lives were changed and they were able to move on and discover a new life for themselves. The hope that Jesus offers is available to everyone. We all have the opportunity to start a new era in our lives, if we’ll turn to him.
FEATURES
CONTENTS
What is The Salvation Army?
3
It’s a cover up!
The Masked Singer keeps viewers guessing
5
Compliments of the season
A day set aside for encouraging others
6
Life all rapped up
Music star has found restoration
8
Disunited States of America?
BBC reporter on the divisions in the US
REGULARS
12
Team Talk
13
Keys to the Kingdom
14 Puzzles 15
War Cry Kitchen
6
8
Front-page picture: ITV
15