War Cry 26 February 2022

Why society needs to be wiser about older people

WAR CRY

26 February 2022 50p

Write on cue Cyrano’s disguised love letters cause confusion in film remake of classic story

‘Before George died, he said all fear had gone’

What is The Salvation Army?

From the editor’s desk

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.

IN the world of reality TV, a celebrity getting their lifts wrong on Strictly Come Dancing or a gateau collapsing in The Great British Bake Off can easily qualify as a ‘disaster’ – and it is for the people involved at that particular moment.

The problem with describing a burnt crust or some misplaced footwork as a disaster, however, is what then to call a situation where, for example, a couple who have been married for less than five years and have two small children are told that the husband has stage-four cancer.

That was the unimaginable situation that Louise and George Blyth faced back in 2015. In this week’s War Cry, Louise talks candidly about that time and the years that followed.

‘Nothing can prepare you for a life-altering diagnosis like that,’ she tells us.

‘You know it’s going to change your life but you don’t know how. And you lose all control over what your life previously was.’

Understandably desperate to receive any help she could, Louise, despite not being a Christian, accepted someone’s offer to pray for George. The result was that both she and George experienced God’s presence and his love.

‘I felt I’d been shown such tenderness, kindness, peace and love in such a horrible time,’ Louise says. ‘I also had this realisation that God was real.’

If someone is a Christian, it does not mean that they are immune to the real disasters that can confront us all. Having faith is not a fast-track pass to perfect health, recovery from debt or freedom from the conflicts that can impact important relationships.

Instead, being a Christian means we can face such challenges knowing that we are loved by a God who will allow us to experience his peace and tenderness in the worst of times. And through that experience, we can become aware that God is ad the War C e re ry a reality who is able to make a difference for v ’ u good in our lives.

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 7565

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CONTENTS

The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org

FEATURES

Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Mal Davies

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in Cyrano 5

Old favourites

There’s a chance to re-evaluate on National Old Stuff Day 6

Ageing well

Doctor speaks on recognising people’s

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Hide and speak

The real letter writer stays hidden

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

Your local Salvation Army centre

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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

value as they get older

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‘It was heartbreaking and harrowing’

The shock of a husband’s cancer diagnosis REGULARS 4

War Cry World

12 Team Talk 13 Keys of the Kingdom 14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen

Signed, sealed, delivered

Cyrano writes love letters to a woman for Christian (below), but they reveal his own feelings

Classic letter drama addresses issues of the heart Film preview by Philip Halcrow

‘H

E’S an intelligent, charismatic, witty man,’ says Peter Dinklage of the sword-fighting, word-playing role he has taken on in his new film. ‘Men are jealous of him and women adore him. The person that has a problem with Cyrano is … himself.’

Usually, the lead role in the much-staged, much-filmed 19th-century drama Cyrano de Bergerac is played as someone feeling hampered by an enormous nose. But in Cyrano, a musical version released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 25 February), he is ridiculed as ‘a freak’ and ‘short’. And, though his swordsmanship makes a mockery of those who mock him, words – and the reality behind them – still seem to leave their mark.

Cyrano says that he will not tell his old friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett) of his true feelings for her, because ‘the world would not accept someone like me and a tall, beautiful woman’.

Perhaps the world thinks she should be with someone like the tall, handsome Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr). Roxanne certainly thinks so. She tells Cyrano that she fell in love with his fellow guardsman without having spoken to him. Christian feels the same about Roxanne.

‘Make him write to me, and I’ll write back,’ Roxanne tells Cyrano.

Simultaneously burying and showing his love for her, Cyrano pens the letters that the inarticulate Christian cannot, pouring into them – unknown to Christian – his own feelings.

Roxanne loves to read them. But it can only lead to awkwardness when Roxanne and Christian meet.

And the question of who loves who and for what leads the three of them into arguably the second most

Is Roxanne hearing what she wants to hear?

famous balcony scene in the history of drama. Looking out into the night from her lofty perch, Roxanne thinks she is taking in eloquent expressions of affection from Christian, but really she is hearing Cyrano – although actress Haley Bennett wonders whether there is something more ambiguous going on.

‘Cyrano and Christian are deceiving Roxanne, but is she hearing what she wants to hear and believing what she wants to believe?’ she says, adding that the story ‘is about how we all have something, whether physical or not, that we are afraid makes us unloveable’.

The characters have flaws – imagined or real. Perhaps, as well as the prejudice of others, Cyrano is held back by pride.

The multilayered characters and themes of ‘love and loss’, says Peter Dinklage, are why the Cyrano story ‘is around hundreds of years later’.

Worries about flaws – imagined and genuine – are why people find some words written hundreds of years before Cyrano still to ring true.

One letter writer, knowing how humans were capable of giving the cold shoulder to people in need and of being driven to their wits’ end by their own feelings of guilt, saw that, through Jesus, God had revealed his love for all people.

It was a type of love that would not look at us with the prejudices of society. It was a love that would not turn away in troubles. It was an everlasting love that would offer us forgiveness when we went wrong.

‘God showed his love for us,’ said the letter writer, ‘by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him’ (1 John 4:9 Good News Bible).

It’s a message that countless people have found to be dear to their heart.

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JOHNNY BECKER

A CATHEDRAL is inviting visitors to gaze up at the stars as part of its 900th anniversary celebrations.

During the summer, part of Carlisle Cathedral will be transformed into a place where people can relax on deckchairs to admire the stars on its renowned painted ceiling.

To add to the atmosphere of the event, titled Rest Under the Stars, visitors will be able to listen to specially created soundscapes on headphones.

Carlisle Cathedral’s programme of events will include talks, concerts, exhibitions and worship on the themes of journey and rest.

The Rev Canon Dr Benjamin Carter of the cathedral said that the site was integral to the heritage of the area.

‘For 900 years, Carlisle Cathedral has continued to faithfully serve the diocese, the city and the county.

‘It has acted as a place of rest throughout its history, welcoming and giving shelter to visitors, travellers and pilgrims, and, as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, the programme of events, activities and engagement to mark this special anniversary will enable people to be part of this ongoing life of journey and rest in many different ways.’

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Y AM /A L ES

A GIANT sculpture of the moon hangs at Exeter Cathedral. The touring artwork by Luke Jerram, entitled The Museum of the Moon, measures 7m in diameter and features high-resolution Nasa imagery of the lunar surface. It has been on display in the cathedral through February.

The Dean of Exeter, the Very Rev Jonathan Greener, told the BBC that he hoped the installation would attract new visitors to the cathedral.

Since its creation in 2016, The Museum of the Moon has toured the world, being presented indoors and outdoors to offer visitors different ways of experiencing it. At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of the model sphere represents three miles of the actual moon’s surface.

Speaking to the BBC Spotlight news programme, artist Luke Jerram said: ‘I like creating artwork that enriches people’s lives and makes people think differently about their cities and where they live.’

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THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that seeking racial justice is a ‘gospel imperative’.

After an address at the Church of England’s General Synod by Lord Boateng, who is chair of the church’s Racial Justice Commission, the Most Rev Justin Welby tweeted: ‘The pursuit of racial justice is a gospel imperative.

It’s inseparable from following Jesus Christ, and must be the prayerful, urgent and intentional work of the whole church.

Thank you Lord Boateng for your powerful and prophetic speech.’

In his address, Lord Boateng paid tribute to the Church of England’s anti-racism taskforce. However, he said the report it produced last year revealed a failure to put past racial justice recommendations into action. He added that rooting out racism would require intentionality and concrete strategies.

PA I

COURTESY OF EXETER CATHEDRAL

Following Jesus and racial justice ‘inseparable’

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

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Good stuff Day encourages people to remember that some old items still have worth Feature by Claire Brine

Rise of the ‘digital missionary’ VIRTUAL reality church services are growing in popularity as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Independent.

To access such services, people put on a virtual reality headset and enter a 3D space in which they appear as an avatar in the metaverse.

The anonymity of virtual reality can help people feel more confident about sharing deeply personal issues, said Bill Willenbrock, who leads a Christian fellowship on the social platform VRChat with worship and counselling services for a flock of mostly teens and early twentysomethings.

He said: ‘I can’t even count the number of times that I’ve heard, “I’m considering suicide… It’s helpful that we’re in VR.”’ One of the places in which the ‘digital missionary’ has preached is a virtual cathedral, with ‘long halls’ and stained-glass windows. In the pews sat colourful avatars – a giant banana, a mushroom, a fox and a man in a shirt and tie.

At the end of the service people spoke about why they went to the virtual community. Some saw it as something to complement, not replace, in-person gatherings.

A person with the username Biff Tannen said it was convenient: ‘For example here in Scotland it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s not very nice outside, but here I am sitting in this beautiful church with my heating on.’

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EELING a bit same old, same old? If we are, then National Old Stuff Day, which takes place next Wednesday (2 March), may just provide the perfect opportunity to shake things up.

There are two sides to National Old Stuff Day. On the one hand, it’s about clearing out from our homes the dusty items that we no longer need or use, helping us to find some extra physical space and not to feel weighed down by the past. Many people find that decluttering their lives encourages them to embrace new challenges and experiences, opening them up to the idea that every day can be full of surprises.

But National Old Stuff Day also recognises that ‘new’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘better’. There are plenty of old things that have value. And it’s worth spending a day appreciating them. Some people mark National Old Stuff Day by rereading a favourite book from their childhood or looking through treasured belongings.

Whether we like to cling on to memories of yesterday or prefer to set our sights on the future, there’s no denying that our present is shaped by the past. Our experiences today are influenced by the people who went before us – and some of them provided invaluable insights on the best way to live.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus taught people to love their enemies and forgive those who did wrong. He showed his followers how to care for people who were excluded from society. He urged people not to chase riches and power but to focus on the love of God, because it was only by knowing God that they would find true fulfilment.

Though the Bible’s stories about Jesus are millennia old, today there are millions of people across the world who find comfort, guidance and truth in his teachings. They are worth a fresh look any day of the year.

‘New’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘better’

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‘Getting old is

Dr DAVID SMITHARD explains how his belief in a person’s intrinsic worth influences his work with older people in hospital Interview by Sarah Olowofoyeku

G

ETTING older can have negative connotations.

While there are benefits, such as reaching retirement age or receiving discounts, some people may be concerned that their best years are behind them or be wary of a decline in health. Dr David Smithard believes that people deserve to be treated well, no matter their age, and that people can enjoy good health as they grow older.

David is a consultant in elderly and stroke medicine with the NHS in south London. His interest in working with older people is ‘about being an advocate for the whole person’.

He says: ‘One of the worst things I can hear from that group is, “Well, what do you expect at my age?” Because you should expect to be the best you can. Getting old is not a disease process.’

He believes that people should be given appropriate care, regardless of how old they are.

‘People who are older deserve to be told what’s going on and to get appropriate treatment. That doesn’t mean giving them every treatment under the sun, as we also need to make sure somebody doesn’t receive the wrong treatment.’

David argues that western society does not always give older people the respect they are due and that this may adversely affect the care that they receive in all areas of life.

‘Older people generally are dismissed a lot more than they might have been in the dim and distant past. People usually didn’t live very long, particularly round Roman times, but if you did, then you were revered. In some populations around

the world, older people are looked after. But it seems to be that in the West, people get pushed out and ignored.

‘We don’t have large families any more, people don’t live close to each other and often you have husbands, wives, sons, daughters out working, and there’s nobody home to look after Mum. Old people are seen as getting in the way. There appears to be less respect for people as they age.’

On the other hand, he acknowledges that the UK has an ageing population and that there are some older people who will resent having to work longer, but others who will be happy to.

‘Some people do want to contribute to society, but they aren’t being allowed to,’ he says. ‘Society doesn’t try to work with people to see what they can do; it just ignores them.’

By virtue of working with older people, David has a lot of patients with dementia. He explains how dementia comes in different forms.

‘Dementia is an umbrella term. It covers a multitude of diagnoses, including Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, mixed dementia and corticobasal degeneration.

‘It is a long-term condition. At first, it may be that someone is a bit forgetful, but then, as it progresses, somebody’s functional status – their ability to wash,

Older people are dismissed a lot

6 • WAR CRY • 26 February 2022

not a disease’

dress and sometimes walk or communicate – worsens until it becomes severe at the end.’

While he describes his work as difficult, intriguing and at times frustrating, he wants to see that his patients get the care they need.

‘The care system doesn’t cope and the acute care system copes even less, because it’s not the right place for older people with dementia. They can’t cope with the busyness, the bustle, the noise. Sometimes you can’t understand what they are saying, so you don’t know what’s upsetting them, but in acute care you only have five minutes rather than the half an hour you might need.

‘The important thing is to get people treated as real people, rather than just objects. Underneath whatever’s going on, there’s still a person, somebody who is valued, who has been important to somebody. There isn’t any real treatment, but it’s about getting them the right care and support and working with

them and their families.’

David’s passion for helping people stems from his Christian faith, which has taught him about the worth of individuals.

‘My faith makes me try to see people for who they are,’ he says, ‘to see them as people that God loves and cares for. While their memory may not be there and they may have problems, they’re still the same person to God, and they still have a life to lead. Everybody has an intrinsic value. We should recognise that and try to treat people with respect.’

While he is frustrated by the ways in which some systems do not accommodate the proper care of the people he works for, his belief in God helps him to focus on what he can do.

‘I feel angry with the system,’ he says, ‘and dementia is not ideal either. We live in a broken world, and I don’t know the answers to why things are happening. But I am here to be an ambassador for God – to be his eyes and his ears and to do the best I can to show his love to people.’

26 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 7

Hope

Hope despite the pain LOUISE BLYTH explains how she and her husband found a new outlook after he developed the cancer that would end his life Interview by Emily Bright

‘G

EORGE had a magnetic charisma,’ Louise Blyth says of her husband of five years.

‘Everybody knew who he was and everybody was aware of his cheeky personality.’

They first met in 2006 during part of a graduate training scheme at a chocolate factory. The seven young people who were on the sales and marketing division became good pals. Louise developed a particularly close friendship with George, talking to him regularly. Their friendship blossomed into romance.

In 2011, Louise and George married, and their first son, Charlie, was born two years later. Then, in April 2015, they had their second child, Jamie. But within eight months of his birth, a shadow fell across the family’s future.

Over a number of months, George had felt increasingly tired, but he brushed it off as a side-effect of parenthood. However, when a GP decided to take a blood test and unexpected results came back, the couple began to believe that something was wrong.

Months of tests followed. While decorating the family’s Christmas tree, Louise received a phone call from her husband.

George uttered the devastating words: ‘I’ve got cancer.’ He was only 33. Suddenly, their future together was thrown into disarray.

‘After we received the horrendous news that George had stage-four cancer and

that it had spread to his liver, we were literally on the floor,’ she remembers.

‘Nothing can prepare you for a life-altering diagnosis like that.

‘It’s heartbreaking and harrowing for the person it’s happening to – who’s obviously full of fear – and for everybody surrounding them. You know it’s going to change your life, but you don’t know how. And you lose all control over what your life previously was.’

As a marketing professional, George wanted to create a different outlook on his bleak diagnosis, Louise remembers.

‘He said to me right from the off: “I’m not going to have cancer. The word cancer is just so full of fear, anxiety and death. I want to use a project name instead.”

‘I went with it, because I was mindful that he needed to find a way to channel his positive energy. We weren’t Christians, and we were trying to find things to hope for.’

George rebranded his recovery as Project Invictus.

He later discovered the word ‘invictus’ had a greater resonance: a poem of that name, once cited by Nelson Mandela, speaks of having mastery over your future despite seemingly dark circumstances. Looking back, Louise believes this coincidence was an example

Nothing can prepare you for a life-altering diagnosis

8 • WAR CRY • 26 February 2022

Louise and George on their wedding day in 2011

of how God was at work by providing them both with a source of hope.

They set about contacting everyone they knew for advice, determined that George would eventually receive the all-clear. He underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy and a liver resection.

Remarkably, between treatments, George set out on cycling challenges. He raised £20,000 in a 100-mile trip around London, before embarking on another cycle ride from London to Paris.

But after he finished his London to Paris ride, he experienced severe shoulder aches and heartburn and couldn’t eat

ALL PICTURES COURTESY OF LOUISE BLYTH

properly. His cancer had returned.

This time, treatment options were limited. George began another round of chemotherapy, but his health continued to decline.

One evening, Louise was at breaking point. She drove round the area where they lived in Nottinghamshire, looking for a church that was open. Although neither she nor her husband had a Christian faith, she was searching for a sanctuary. The church she found was locked.

She drove on. Then, in a moment of desperation, she pulled over her car and screamed out to God to intervene and save George’s life. Little did she know that he was about to intervene in a way that she could not have imagined.

A matter of days later, Louise’s friend Kate met a Christian woman called Brianna at a wedding. As they chatted, Brianna felt God saying that there was

Turn to page 10 f

A family picture taken during George’s cancer treatment

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Between cancer treatments, George embarked on cycling challenges

From page 9 someone in Kate’s life who was very ill. She offered to put Kate in contact with a prayer network in California who could support George.

Rattled by this spot-on insight from a complete stranger, Kate sat on the news, but decided to tell Louise what had happened. Open to any source of help, Louise agreed that she was happy for people to pray for her. She began texting Brianna, who quickly became a steadfast support, praying for the family.

George continued to deteriorate and was admitted to hospital in a critical condition in October 2016. Brianna travelled to Nottingham to visit the couple. In the hospital room, she played music and prayed with Louise and George for the cancer to be healed. She handed them letters of encouragement that she had written based on what she felt God was saying, summarising Louise and George’s

10 • WAR CRY • 26 February 2022

characters perfectly, despite never having met them.

She then delivered a makeshift Communion, blessing the Ribena and bread. Nurses found that the Ribena removed toxicity from George’s body, and the small bite of bread was the first food that George had stomached in days.

Louise remembers: ‘George had been in such pain, discomfort, anxiety and fear.

But when I went back into hospital after Brianna had prayed with us, that had all left him. He was in this ethereal state, and he was laid out in his bed and almost had his arms in a kind of Christlike pose.

‘George said to me: “It’s gone. All the pain, all the fear. I just feel full of love, full of light and full of God.” George didn’t speak like that. I fell down on my knees in the hospital room. The pragmatist in me checked with the nurses if he’d had more morphine. But he hadn’t.’

Brianna continued to support Louise

by texting words of encouragement, with impeccable timing and wisdom for whatever Louise faced. One day, Louise wrote a heartfelt letter to God on her phone, railing against him and asking how she would cope. Brianna, not knowing this or any of the questions asked, texted back moments later with the exact answers Louise needed.

Although Brianna prayed for healing, and mobilised prayer rooms in London and California to do so too, George didn’t recover. But his pain had gone, and he died peacefully. That night, Louise felt the atmosphere in her bedroom change, which she now explains as the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

‘When George died, something in my body changed and shifted,’ she says.

‘And I just was going: “Okay, he’s died.”

And there was this rush of energy into the room.’

She later learnt George had died in that same moment: just after midnight on 18 November 2016.

Louise then had to tell her children that their father wasn’t coming home.

Equipped with advice from a children’s bereavement charity, she avoided ambiguity and told them that Daddy’s body had broken, and he had died, but that she believed the best bit of him, his soul, was now in Heaven.

‘It feels really trite to say that God was with me when I had that conversation, but he definitely was,’ she says. ‘When I later told Charlie, my oldest son, what was going to happen at the funeral, we acted it out using some Toy Story characters.’

After the death of her husband, Louise’s newfound Christian faith provided much-needed solace. She turned to the Bible for help.

‘I hadn’t really read the Psalms before, but I thought: “Wow, these are beautiful.”

They spoke to the hurt, devastation and grief I was feeling, but also of my joy and thankfulness for God’s presence throughout that dark time.

‘I was experiencing this lovely juxtaposition of being scared, angry, wanting to fight, while feeling like the Lord was everything and that I was so thankful for him.

The Psalms described what was going on in my heart in a way I couldn’t.’

Louise’s relationship with God had blossomed in the most difficult of circumstances, and she was keen to share the power of God’s love with others. One way she has done so is through writing the book Hope is Coming, about her experiences.

‘I felt I’d been shown such tenderness, kindness, peace and love in such a horrible time,’ she says. ‘I also had this realisation that God was real, and I felt

utterly compelled to tell people about it, because faith has really helped me and changed me and it’s going to continue to change me. My faith has made the tragic turn of events bearable.’

To highlight the significant role that the Christian faith had played in George’s last days, Louise and her husband had agreed to baptise their youngest son, Jamie, at the funeral.

‘It was a celebration of the cycle of life,’ Louise reflects. ‘I wanted to make a declaration to the world that this awful yet incredible thing had happened to us. Ever since George’s death, our faith has been what we stand on. We now go to church every week, Covid-permitting. It’s our home.’

Since she became a Christian, Louise’s faith has been a pillar in her life. ‘It has made me want to be more patient and kind. It has made me feel expectant about what life may give me, and how God might move in that. It has made me want to parent my children in a way that educates them in faith.’

Prayer has proved to be an important part of Louise’s relationship with God. ‘When I pray, I do so authentically, from

My faith has made the tragic turn of events bearable

the heart. My encouragement to people would be that if you’re grappling with something, let it out to God. He knows what’s on your heart. Don’t hold back, because the more you let go, the more he’ll meet you.’

Louise asks God for good to come out of the pain she has experienced. She says: ‘Ever since George died, my prayer has been “God, use me”, because I have managed to go through what is people’s worst nightmare. The nightmare didn’t just stop when George died.

‘I always say that if I can still stand in all this horror that has unfolded, and find joy, love and hope in my heart every day, then other people can too.’

l Some names have been changed.

Hope is Coming is published by Yellow Kite

26 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 11

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, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. 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.

talk ‘ ’ Team talk TEAM TALK With faith, there can be light in dark times

Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

GRIEF is a ‘personal and intense topic’ for the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote broadcaster Michael Buerk, who interviewed him for Radio Times.

A family bereavement may not have prompted the Church of England leader to abandon his faith entirely, but he revealed that it did teach him that ‘solace is not straightforward’.

In 1983, the Most Rev Justin Welby lost his seven-month-old daughter, Johanna, when she was killed in a car crash. It was, as Justin explained, an agonising experience.

Not long afterwards, another of Justin’s children was ‘seriously ill in hospital’, and it was this situation he found ‘much more difficult to deal with’.

He explained: ‘With Johanna, there was a great sense of the presence of God. With the other child’s illness, that was almost totally absent.’

It’s not every day that Christians talk publicly about the perceived absence of God, and I admire the archbishop’s courage in Friends brought bringing up the subject. I think it’s hugely important for believers – including church leaders – to consolation, acknowledge that having a faith isn’t always easy, fulfilling or comforting. Some days, we just don’t feel which helped like singing God’s praises. I hope that this admission allows others feeling the absence of God to breathe a sigh of relief and say: ‘Thanks for sharing. Me too.’

Though he didn’t understand why he failed to experience God’s presence through the period of illness with his surviving child, the archbishop admitted that eventually there was an end to his ‘darkness’. Friends brought consolation, which helped – and he began to regard their care as an extension of the love of God. ‘There’s light, but you might be surprised how it comes,’ he said.

I couldn’t agree more. In my experience, when we are feeling broken, God doesn’t always do what we hope he will or what we think he should. It’s tempting at such times to assume that he is absent and uncaring. The faithful part of my brain knows that he’s not.

In the dark times, God’s love is still there – but it sometimes works in a less obvious way than we’d like. It crops up in unexpected places. It shines through unexpected people. And as a result, it’s possible for our hearts to find solace in ways we would never imagine.

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

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen

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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 • 26 February 2022

Q

QUICK QUIZ 1

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Singer Miley Cyrus starred in which TV show about a teenage pop star leading a double life?

Which archipelago in the Outer Hebrides hosts the UK’s largest colony of puffins?

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Java, Ruby and Python are examples of what type of languages?

Blue Ivy Carter is the first-born daughter of which superstar musician couple?

Who wrote the 19th-century novel North and South?

What is a group of foxes called?

ANSWERS

In this occasional series, Nigel Bovey unlocks the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus speaks to his disciples about in Matthew’s Gospel

The scales of the Kingdom H

AVING already explained what the Kingdom of Heaven is like by using stories about a sower, weeds and buried treasure, Jesus turns to what was an everyday sight for his listeners at the side of Lake Galilee – fishermen casting their nets for a catch.

In this parable, Jesus paints a picture of some men who cast a net into the sea and then hauled in a net-bulging catch to the shore, where they ‘collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away’ (Matthew 13:48 New International Version). This, says Jesus, is how it will be at the end of time.

Some Bible commentators spiritualise every element of the story. To them, the sea, the net, ‘all kinds of fish’, the good and bad fish, the baskets, the angels and the fiery furnace each have a particular spiritual significance.

Some regard the catch as being those who have been gathered into the net that is the Christian Church.

Their message is that, one day, God will sift the committed (‘righteous’) Christians from the nominal (‘wicked’) Christians. Another interpretation is to regard the catch as the whole of humankind, who, one day, will be sorted and judged.

As with all of Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven (and on other subjects), it is the bottom line that counts. Jesus says: ‘This is how it will be at the end of the age’ (Matthew 13:49). God will judge the worthiness of righteous people and of wicked people. A different destiny awaits each category.

This parable provides us with a bunch of keys to the Kingdom: being eternal, the Kingdom will exist beyond the current age. There is a day of divine judgement facing us, on which God will judge people according to his own criteria. There is a connection between this life and the next. God will punish and obliterate wickedness and reward righteousness. How we behave – and what we believe – in this world will have consequences in the next.

There is a connection between this life and the next

26 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 13

1. Hannah Montana. 2. St Kilda.

3. Computer programming. 4. Beyoncé and Jay-Z. 5. Elizabeth Gaskell. 6. A skulk.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Unmasked (7) 5. Opened wide (5) 7. Funeral procession (7) 8. Shock (5) 10. Disposition (4) 11. Mutinied (8) 13. Hatred (6) 14. Pastoral (6) 17. Etched (8) 19. Alone (4) 21. Taunt (5) 22. Coach (7) 23. Dictatorial (5) 24. Bishopric (7) DOWN 2. Act (7) 3. Hut (4) 4. Fuel (6) 5. Elegant (8) 6. Pontifical (5) 7. Capable (9) 9. Ridiculous (9) 12. Campaign plan (8) 15. Bother (7)

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

8

7 8

5

1

6 9 4 5 2 6 1 2 6 7 4 5 9 3 9 8 7 2 4 7 1 6 3 9 2

16. See (6) 18. Turf (5) 20. Unfasten (4)

WORDSEARCH

5 3 8 2 6 1 9 4 4 7 9 8 3 5 6 1 Look up, down, forwards, backwards and 1 grid 6 to 2 find 4 these 9 cities 7 3 5 diagonally on the 7 4 5 3 2 9 8 6 T X I F Q B Q8T O 2 J 6R X7 J 1O H4R Z 5 B9 V AUK V A Z L A T LQCS L CAQ 9 A1D O5 Y 8 M E I F S T Y3R G W Z6B 7 T U2 V W O C S O M6Q H 8 N3Q X9 L 4Y D2X R 1 V7 C J GGME NOD NO L L U T Y Z Q 1 B7L K6 A 5F O3F C 4 Z8 I Z K E X B R2H L Z Z F R W E D9 I N 5 B4U R1 G 7H K8E D 2 W3

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

WX T F F I DR A C A Y ON Y I S Z GWB E I J I N G S P Z S Y O O K X Y OWZ K V G J A C O O E B P H D G J AMH R KW I S T A N B U L J BW RCCZOCCY EMS B EQ I A XC X G F K Y Z DW L D N P L U A L WR X E N I WN H L C J P S F L B RWZ S Z B R E E A Z L A VWA FM I NQ HEOYNN T YUE A F S T US TM P S G QWXWQWHW T T GMB Q T U L Y KAR I Z K J BRDKGZ PM

1. Turn into ice 2. Spirited 3. Ballroom dance 4. Express regret 5. Main meal of the day 6. Run at full speed

ANSWERS 5 4 1 7 8 3 6 2 9

3 7 6 4 2 9 8 1 5

8 9 2 5 6 1 3 7 4

2 8 4 3 7 5 9 6 1

6 3 9 2 1 8 4 5 7

1 5 7 9 4 6 2 3 8

9

9 6 3 8 5 7 1 4 2

4 1 5 6 9 2 7 8 3

2 1

6

3 4

7 2 8 1 3 4 5 9 6

HONEYCOMB 1. Freeze. 2. Lively. 3. Minuet.

4. Repent. 5. Dinner. 6. Sprint.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Exposed. 5. Gaped. 7. Cortège. 8. Appal.

10. Mood. 11. Rebelled. 13. Enmity. 14. Rustic.

17. Engraved. 19. Solo. 21. Tease. 22. Omnibus.

23. Bossy. 24. Diocese.

DOWN: 2. Perform. 3. Shed. 4. Diesel. 5. Graceful.

6. Papal. 7. Competent. 9. Ludicrous. 12. Strategy.

15. Trouble. 16. Behold. 18. Grass. 20. Undo.

14 • WAR CRY • 26 February 2022

BANGKOK

HONG KONG

MUMBAI

BEIJING

ISTANBUL

NEW YORK

BELFAST

LAGOS

SÃO PAULO

BUENOS AIRES

LAHORE

SEOUL

CARDIFF

LONDON

SYDNEY

EDINBURGH

MOSCOW

TOKYO

7 2 8 1 3 4 5 9 6

7

Meat loaf with onion gravy Ingredients For the meat loaf 225g lean minced beef 225g lean minced pork 50g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs 2tbsp fresh mixed herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano), chopped 1 small red onion, finely chopped 1 eating apple, grated Black pepper, to taste For the onion gravy 2 red onions, finely sliced 2-3tsp gravy powder 1tsp wholegrain mustard 1tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

Method Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/ Gas Mark 5. Mix all the meat loaf ingredients together in a large bowl and season, to taste. Press the mixture into a 450g loaf tin. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until cooked through.

Meanwhile, to make the onion gravy, heat a non-stick pan, add the onions and dry-fry over a moderate heat until the onions start to brown. Add 300ml water and stir. Mix the gravy powder in a separate jug with 2tbsp cold water, then stir into the pan. Simmer gently to thicken, adding more water, if required, then stir in the mustard and the chives.

Pour the gravy over the meat loaf, to serve.

SERVES

6

Fruity mince with gluten-free stock Ingredients 100g butternut squash, cut into small chunks 25g green beans, halved 1 small onion, finely chopped 75g pork mince 200g can chopped tomatoes 1tbsp tomato puree 1tbsp sultanas 1tsp mixed herbs

Method Bring a small pan of water to the boil, add the butternut squash and green beans and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Place the onion and mince in a non-stick pan. Fry for 4-5 minutes, until the mince is browned.

Add the remaining ingredients, as well as the butternut squash and beans, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Season well and serve with wholegrain rice.

2tbsp gluten-free stock Freshly ground black pepper Cooked wholegrain rice, to serve

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk

SERVES

1

26 February 2022 • WAR CRY • 15

GOD determines the number of the stars and calls each ONE by name Psalm 147:4

GREG RAKOZY

WAR CRY