War Cry 26 October 2019

SINCE

1879

26 October 2019 20p/25c

S YEAARRCRY 140 W THE OF

BAKERS IN KNEAD OF INSPIRATION Former Bake Off contestant looks ahead to this years’ final

CELEBRATING THE BEAUTY OF DIFFERENCES Author reflects on the value of Black History Month

Ahhh, how tweet!

NEW TV SERIES VIEWS YOUNG ANIMALS AND THEIR PARENTS

What is The Salvation Army?

2 COMMENT AND CONTENTS • WAR CRY • 26 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 THE result was Bulgaria 0 England 6 – but the headlines the next day were not about the score or the playing prowess of the Three Lions. Instead it was the behaviour of some of the home supporters that drew comment and widespread condemnation.

Last week, a Euro 2020 qualifier came close to being called off after it was stopped twice in the first half because Bulgarian supporters were racially abusing the England players. Warnings were given over the public address system about the potential consequences of the abuse. Later in the week, the president of the Bulgaria Football Union resigned.

In this week’s War Cry, Ben Lindsay, an activist who fights against injustice, talks about how he is frustrated by racism.

He says: ‘Racism is more than overt name calling. It’s covert and it’s structural.’ He points out that a government report identified that black people fared worse in education, employment, mental health, social housing and the criminal justice system.

Ben’s interview comes as October’s Black History Month draws to a close. It is a time when the culture and contributions of Black African and Caribbean people to the world are taught and celebrated. It is an initiative that Ben fully supports.

‘As a kid, I wasn’t told anything about African or Caribbean history at school,’ he tells us, adding: ‘Our history didn’t start in the 1600s with slavery.’

Ignorance often feeds hatred and discrimination. For tolerance, understanding and acceptance to grow within a multicultural society, more needs to be done to expand people’s knowledge of all the cultures that surround them. That is why Black History Month is important for everyone, regardless of their own ethnicity.

We need to understand others if we are to discover and enjoy the diversity that makes up our society. It is the only way our differences can be celebrated, nurtured and treasured.

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 7446

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

Contents

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

FEATURES 3

Animal magic New TV series examines how the young are raised in the wild

5

Fearsome family returns Animated Addams Family film released

6

Cooks with the best in tent Former contestant on taking part in The Great British Bake Off

8

Celebrating a colourful past Why Black History Month matters

10

Journey’s end How The Pilgrim’s Progress made it to the silver screen

6

8

REGULARS 4

News and media

12

Browsing the Bible

13

Now! There’s a Thought

14 Puzzles 15

War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: BBC Studios/FREDI DEVAS

15

Creature comforts

BBC Studios/ESPEN REKDAL

BBC Studios/ESPEN REKDAL

26 October 2019 • WAR CRY • TELEVISION 3

Emily Bright gives her seal of approval to new documentary

I

N the animal kingdom, navigating offspring through to adulthood is never easy. Birds and mammals alike are plunged into sometimes perilous challenges as they look to protect and provide for their young – and their endeavours are captured in a new BBC One documentary, Seven Worlds, One Planet, which starts tomorrow (Sunday 27 October).

Narrated by David Attenborough, the series spans all seven continents, exploring the wildlife that lives on them.

It opens in Antarctica, where a Weddell seal and her pup face dangerous weather conditions.

These seal pups are born straight on to sea ice, experiencing the sharpest drop in temperature of any animal.

Unable to swim until it is ten days old, each pup is vulnerable. The mother must make an impossible choice: seek warmth in the water and leave her offspring exposed, or risk death in trying to protect her young.

A film crew also follow a grey-headed albatross that has given birth to the only chick she’ll have in two years.

Delicately touching her chick’s beak with her own, she seeks to strengthen the bond between them. But all too soon, she has to search for food, leaving the little one at the mercy of the elements.

King penguins in South Georgia travel vast distances in search of food for their offspring. The chicks are expected to wait where their parents left them, but the temptation to go off and explore is irresistible. Calling out to their chicks in a crowded penguin colony, the

parents desperately seek their young.

Parenting often involves tough choices and a relentless attempt to keep offspring safe.

Whether we’re parents ourselves who feel we’ve fallen short, or whether we have struggled to have good relationships with those who raised us, parenthood affects us all.

But Christians believe that, regardless of our own experiences, we can be in a relationship with a perfect Father: God. While imperfect human relationships can fail us or end, Bible writer Paul explains that God is the one constant, who will stand beside us in our struggles, care for us and never leave us.

He says that God is ‘the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort. He consoles us as we endure the pain and hardship of life so that we may draw from his comfort and share it with others in their own struggles’ (2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4 The Voice).

We may feel buffeted by the storms of life. But God will never forsake us, and offers us all a chance to become his sons and daughters.

Whether we’ve wandered away from God or never known about him, he calls everyone to be in a relationship with him. He will take us under his wing and support us through every episode of our lives.

Parenting often involves tough choices

4 NEWS AND MEDIA • WAR CRY • 26 October 2019

New mobile canteens support emergency services TWO new Salvation Army vehicles that will respond to emergencies across London were unveiled at Shoreditch fire station.

The bespoke vans will operate as mobile canteens within the M25, providing emergency services personnel with food, drink and pastoral support at the site of incidents.

The vehicles will be based at Shoreditch and Acton fire stations, with another new van expected to arrive in Bexleyheath in 2020.

Salvation Army vehicles have worked alongside the London Fire Brigade for more than 35 years, offering support at incidents that require eight or more fire engines.

Lieut-Colonel David Shakespeare, the church and charity’s leader in north London, said: ‘The dedication of our volunteers and personnel in responding to emergencies is one of The Salvation Army’s assets. They respond at any time of the day or night, supporting the London Fire Brigade and communities across London.’

AN aquatic video game service has n taken place at Exeter Cathedral, The Telegraph reported.

Churchgoers participated in Playstation game Abzû, in which a deep sea diver explores ocean environments.

The game was projected on a screen, and congregation members took it in turns to play, passing round the controller.

Gaming journalist and former theology student Andy Robertson conceived the idea for the service, tweeting that the game

Fire crews at one of the new mobile canteens

was designed to help the congregation in ‘contemplating the depths of Jonah’.

Chris Palmer, Canon Chancellor at Exeter Cathedral, said: ‘The game has the potential for engagement and mindfulness.

It draws the worshipper from being an observer to participant and opens up a broader realm to our imagination.

‘It therefore allows the congregation both to have a fresh experience of worship and the chance for theological reflection on what is happening.’

Christians join climate protests A PRIEST who attempted to glue himself to the ground outside Scotland Yard was one of a number of Christians arrested during Extinction Rebellion protests in London.

Father Martin Newell, 52, from Birmingham, was taking part in the action at the police headquarters along with nun Sister Katrina Alton to show solidarity with disabled protesters who were asking for the return of equipment that had been removed from them by the police.

A police spokesman told the War Cry: ‘Officers have powers to seize any equipment which they believe will facilitate unlawful protest. When officers make arrests the health and wellbeing of people in our care and custody is a priority.’

Earlier, Father Newell had said he was taking part in the Extinction Rebellion protests ‘to help raise the alarm, to call for a profound ecological conversion’.

He said: ‘The life of God’s creation is under threat, especially the lives of God’s poor.

I am here to protect our common home.’

The Bishop of Colchester, the Right Rev Roger Morris, led a Eucharist outside Scotland Yard and also joined other Christian protesters in prayer and worship in Trafalgar Square.

Members of Christian Climate Action closed Lambeth Bridge to traffic and turned it into a ‘faith bridge’ during the protests in the capital.

The Extinction Rebellion movement is demanding that the government tackle climate change.

Father Newell is arrested outside Scotland Yard

THE Archbishop of Canterbury n has spoken about his experiences of depression in a Twitter

video seeking to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health problems.

In the video, which was published on World Mental Health Day, the Most Rev Justin Welby urged people struggling with their mental health to reach out to friends and family and seek support.

‘Last year I realised that I was depressed,’ he said. ‘I went and got help. It’s not always easy, but it made a huge difference.

‘I want to say to anyone who feels like they’re walking in darkness: don’t walk alone. Mental illness is no different to physical illness, except it’s invisible, and it has a stigma. We need to get rid of that stigma. We need people to get help. We need people to know that their friends will go on loving them, that it’s not a disgrace to suffer from mental ill health.’

Faith comforts Bill despite illness FORMER BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull has told Radio Times that his Christian faith has ‘always been a great comfort’ to him.

Nineteen months ago, he was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer. Speaking to the magazine, he described how his faith ‘just evaporated’ when he received his initial diagnosis, but that since then it has ‘gradually come back’.

‘I do have faith, and it’s always been a great comfort,’ said Bill. ‘I believe in a loving spirit that I think is evident all around us. It’s not “man with beard in the sky”, but it’s nature, life, everything that’s good.’

Hundreds die experiencing homelessness FORTY-five people experiencing homelessness have died in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the past six years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The East London Advertiser reported the latest ONS figures, which revealed that there were nine deaths in the East End in 2018.

A spokesman for Booth House, a Salvation Army centre for people experiencing homelessness in the area, said that cuts to local authority homelessness services had increased the demand for emergency support.

He added: ‘Due to the severity of funding reductions The Salvation Army is increasingly subsidising supported housing schemes, including our addiction services, to ensure vulnerable people continue to receive the help they desperately need.’

An estimated 726 deaths were registered for those experiencing homelessness in England and Wales in 2018. It marks a 22 per cent increase on the previous year, the highest rise since the ONS began its annual count.

© Universal Pictures

26 October 2019 • WAR CRY • FILM 5

Will the y l e Relativ Addams family hold on to their fright-full Anvaludresew? asks Stone

PA

EVERY family is different but, for more than 80 years, the Addams family has been more different than others.

Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Grandma and Cousin It first saw the light of day in 1938. The brainchild of artist Charles Addams, they featured in cartoons in a New York newspaper for 26 years before, with butler Lurch, appearing in their own television programme in 1964.

Since then, the Addamses have been reintroduced in a cartoon TV series, live action films and even a Broadway musical. Now they have returned to the silver screen in animated form in The Addams Family, released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 25 October).

The overall look and character of the family members have remained remarkably constant over the past eight decades. That remains the case in this latest film, described by producer Gail Berman as ‘not a reboot’ but ‘another way into this world of the Addams family’.

That world is, in the words of the theme tune, ‘creepy, kooky, mysterious It is not always and spooky’ and includes moving trees and talking envelopes as well as the easy to deal with disembodied hand, Thing. being different But it is not always easy to deal with being so different. Schoolgirl Wednesday wants to be more like the other children in the neighbourhood. Much to her parents’ horror, she starts to add some colour to her outfits.

The two adults cannot understand the struggles Wednesday goes through because she does not fit in with the children around her.

Some of the children who watch the film may know how Wednesday feels – along with some grown-ups. People of all ages long to know that they belong and are accepted by those around them. But sometimes they can feel isolated and rejected for reasons that are beyond their control – it could be family background, but also gender, ethnicity or age.

It is a centuries-old predicament. Throughout the years, people have found themselves discriminated against and ostracised. The good news is that there is someone who does not discriminate.

The Bible says that ‘God has no favourites’ (Romans 2:11 The Voice). He loves and accepts everyone.

Regardless of who they are or what they have done – everyone is invited to join God’s family.

6 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 26 October 2019

As this year’s Great British Bake Off final approaches, former quarter-finalist BENJAMINA EBUEHI tells Emily Bright about her experiences on the TV show and what she

really thinks of Paul Hollywood

which will be broadcast on Channel 4 on Tuesday (29 October).

The end of the series will no doubt contain a generous helping of fraught bakers, a dusting of puns from presenters Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig, and a hint of an impending crisis. Mix those ingredients with the comments of judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, and leave the bakers to sweat for approximately an hour in TV time until the winner of the tenth series is crowned.

A baker’s dozen of contestants started this year’s ten-week competition. Inside the tent you could cut the tension with a bread knife as the weekly signature bakes, technical

Rising to the © Love Productions

N your marks, get set … bake!

O Synchronise your timers for the final of The Great British Bake Off,

I’ve enjoyed baking since I was quite young challenges and show-stoppers whittled the amateur bakers down to three finalists.

One person who knows all about the rising rivalry within the tent is 2016 contestant and long-time fan Benjamina Ebuehi, who participated in the last series to be aired on the BBC. ‘It has always been my favourite show; I’ve loved watching it since the beginning,’ she says.

‘I really liked Michael and Helena from this series, but they’re both gone now. I have no idea who’s going to win.’

She reminisces about her own Great British Bake Off experience.

‘I’ve enjoyed baking since I was quite young, and friends told me that I should apply for the show. And then one year, I thought “Why not?” I didn’t tell anyone I’d applied,

Current ‘Bake Off’ judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and then I got further and further through the process until I somehow got on.’

Stepping into the tent in the first week was her series highlight. ‘It was surreal. I was thinking: “How am I actually in this tent that I’ve been watching on TV for years?”’

It was also the first opportunity that Benjamina had to meet the other bakers and the show’s judges at the time, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. Paul has cooked up a reputation as a hard-to-please judge. But, after interacting

with him on the show, Benjamina takes a different view.

‘Paul’s all right actually,’ she says. ‘I think he plays up the bad cop role for the cameras.’

However, while Benjamina thinks that Paul puts on a TV persona for entertainment value, she reveals that the emotions shown by the contestants are for real.

‘There were definitely a few tears,’ she recalls. ‘I cried in week one because it was so overwhelming. You don’t want to be the first

26 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 7

occasion MARK BOURDILLON/Love Productions

one to go, you’re feeling panicked and you’ve got all the cameras in your face.’

Reflecting on her time on the show, she says: ‘I was stretched in ways that I hadn’t been before. I baked things that I would never have dreamt of, like filo pastry or puff pastry from scratch. You’re forced to get out of your comfort zone and explore breads and pastries that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

‘It expanded my skills in a short space of time. It was a good learning curve on working to deadlines and coming up with loads of ideas at once.’

After her success on The Great British Bake Off, Benjamina is launching her first recipe book, The New Way to Cake, which is released in December.

‘It’s full of modern cakes in different flavours that bakers might not have explored before, giving them new cakes for their repertoire,’ she explains.

‘One recipe in the book that I love, because it’s quite autumnal, is the apple and sage caramel cake. It’s a moist apple sponge and the caramel is infused with fresh sage so it tastes earthy and fragrant.’

Benjamina says that throughout the highs and lows of The Great British Bake Off and her culinary career to date, her Christian faith has

Benjamina in the ‘Bake Off’ tent kept her grounded and shaped her work.

‘My faith really helped me to put things into perspective, and keep a steady head. It’s easy to get carried away, especially with the opportunities I’ve had. I felt that the show was a great opportunity, but it shouldn’t take over my life or be my number one priority.

‘Being a Christian has also influenced the projects that I get involved in and that I’m passionate about. I’m an ambassador for a social enterprise called Luminary Bakery. It works with disadvantaged women, teaching them how to bake and gives them employability

‘Bake Off’ expanded my skills in a short space of time

skills. I teach some of the bakery classes, do public masterclasses, and tell people about the work it does.

‘Luminary Bakery brings both my passions together: baking and supporting women. I can serve others with the skills that I’ve been blessed with.’

l The New Way to Cake is published

by Page Street Publishing Co

8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 26 October 2019

BACK TO

BLACK

BEN LINDSAY talks to Sarah Olowofoyeku about Black History Month, colour blindness and why it all matters to him DRUMMING workshop in Devon, a reading flash mob in Leicester, A a folk song workshop in Edinburgh and a games night in London are just some of the events that have taken place across the UK this month. Though seemingly unrelated, there is a common thread. Each one has been part of Black History Month.

Established in the UK in 1987 by Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, a special projects officer at the Greater London Council, Black History Month aims to celebrate and educate people about the culture and contributions of Black African and Caribbean people to the world, past and present.

‘Black History Month is a good thing, but it should go beyond October,’ says author and activist Ben Lindsay. ‘It does spark a wider conversation about what’s being taught. As a kid, I wasn’t told anything about African or Caribbean history at school. But my parents and grandparents talked to me about our history, and about black issues here and globally.’

The multiplicity of black narratives is something Ben is keen to emphasise. ‘We’re not a monolith,’ he asserts. ‘Our

Colour-blindness means missing the beauty of God creating differences history didn’t start in the 1600s with slavery. Black people have been in this country for centuries.’

While slavery is not where black people’s history in the UK began, it is part of the story.

And Ben, also a church leader, has had to come to terms with slavery not only as a black person but as a Christian, knowing that the religion was once used to justify the slave trade.

‘About seven years ago, I was asking myself how I could reconcile being a Christian with its historical complicity in slavery,’ he tells me.

He says he worked

26 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9

through the predicament by praying and talking. In his book, We Need to Talk about Race, Ben highlights the importance of having such difficult discussions. He explores the experience of black Christians within white majority churches, addressing issues such as the Church’s role in slavery and the negative impact that has had on black people in Britain.

‘Black people don’t have a chip on their shoulder,’ he says. ‘The UK government produced the race disparity audit in 2017. It showed that in education, employment, mental health, social housing and the criminal justice system, black people tend to fare the worst. Racism is more than overt name calling.

It’s covert and it’s structural.

That’s what we need to tackle.

‘Some Christians will say: “I don’t see colour, I’m colour-blind.”

I find that funny, because I don’t think God is blind to colour. There’s a spectrum from colour blindness to colour consciousness. If you go too far on either end, you miss the beauty of what God has done. Sticking to colour consciousness means ignoring that Christ is a unifier who brings us all together, which is a wonderful thing. And sticking to colour blindness means missing the beauty of God creating differences, and of my heritage – I want that to be celebrated.’

Ben is aware that some people may find racial discrimination a stumbling block to staying in the Church or being drawn to it at all.

‘What I’d ask people to do is understand that the problem is not God,’ he says. ‘Christianity has been manipulated, but that’s what humans have done.’

For Ben, the Church provides a contrast. He references a world that is divided, emphasising that Christianity is ‘for everyone’. He explains: ‘There are many stories in the Bible of people from different backgrounds coming together – Jew and Gentile, rich and poor. Within Jesus’ group of disciples, there were former terrorists, fishermen and tax collectors.

‘Church should be a community, a place where people aren’t judged, and where everyone is welcome. In reality that isn’t always the case, but it is where people can come as they are, with all their baggage, and try to live life together.’

Ben has discovered this for himself,

describing his faith as ‘a game changer’.

He says: ‘I grew up in a Christian home, but gave my life to Jesus at 22. When I understood that you could have a personal relationship with him and that he was bigger and better than I’d ever learnt, something radical changed in my heart. I went from a selfish individual to somebody who cared about what was going on in the world around me.’

His change of heart led him to work with young people in youth groups, the youth offending service and community safety teams.

He then became a pastor and later launched a charity, Power the Fight, which seeks to empower communities to end youth violence through training, workshops and resources.

‘As someone who fights against injustice, I’m frustrated by racism,’ Ben says. ‘That God has made us all different shows me that God is an artist. He’s bigger and more creative than we can possibly imagine.

‘There are so many differences in the world and yet the Bible says that we’re all made in God’s image. To me that means God is awesome. When people judge others by their skin colour in a negative way, I just think: Can you not see the wonder in our being different?’

l We Need to Talk about Race is published

by SPCK

Black people don’t have a chip on their shoulder

Library pictiures

10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 26 October 2019

Animator pictures the journey of a lifetime Director ROBERT FERNANDEZ tells Sarah Olowofoyeku why he turned a classic book into a film

Robert Fernandez

Stills © The Pilgrim’s Progress Movie

2019

BOOK that has never been out of print in more than A 300 years has been adapted into a feature-length animated film. The Pilgrim’s Progress, an epic tale of

along the way Christian meets many characters

one man on a journey from darkness into light, was released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 25 October).

The original story was penned by a tinker named John Bunyan. Bunyan converted to a nonconformist strand of Christianity in 1655 and drew crowds as a lay preacher. In 1660, he was arrested for illegal preaching.

Tried for skipping Church of England services and instead attending unlawful religious meetings, he was sent to Bedford’s county jail and remained there for over a decade. He spent a large part of his imprisonment writing The Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegory of the Christian spiritual journey. The work describes the trials and adventures of one man, Christian, who travels from his home in the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

In the new animated film, Christian (voiced by David Thorpe) begins his pilgrimage with a huge burden on his back. He meets a man named Evangelist (John Rhys-Davies), who tells him what to do and points him in the direction of the Celestial City.

Along the way he has to fight temptation in the form of places, from Vanity Fair to Hill Difficulty, and people, coming face to face with a great enemy. He meets characters who represent virtues and vices, including Worldly Wiseman, Hopeful, Obstinate and Prudence.

Robert Fernandez, the film’s director, had wanted to animate the work for a long time.

‘Reading the book when I was younger, my imagination would be all over the place,’ he says. ‘Every place Christian goes to is like another world, and then there are all the characters. In the back of my mind I’ve always had a strong desire to create it for other people.

‘I met with my good friend and colleague Steve Cleary

26 October 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11

Christian faces trials before reaching the Celestial City one evening, and we ended up talking until about three o’clock in the morning. Steve asked me what I would like to produce, and I immediately said The Pilgrim’s Progress. I explained to him why, and he said, “Why don’t we just do it?”

‘The day after this late-night chat, he called me up and told me that he was serious. He said he would take care of the financial aspect and asked if I would get behind the creative side. I said yes.’

Work for the production got under way. Robert was to write the screenplay and play a part in creating the initial concept art with the animation team.

Writing the script was a challenge, he recalls. ‘The book itself is not an easy read. It isn’t something that you can sit and read in a few hours, because it’s deep. But we hope the

In life we meet people who help us and we meet opposition film will prompt people to go back to the original work, because it is so encouraging.’

While Robert had to work on producing a script that would translate to the big screen and be easy to understand, he acknowledges that the story itself is still relevant today.

‘The story is timeless because it reflects how people go through difficult journeys in life. And it offers comfort and guidance.

‘Life is full of surprises, sometimes good ones but sometimes difficult ones. We meet people who help us and we also meet opposition. The Pilgrim’s Progress is an uplifting and encouraging story. And it is a reflection of life, so it speaks to everybody.’

What Robert found striking in the narrative is that when

Christian gets to the Wicket Gate, which marks the start of his journey of faith, he still has the physical burden on his back.

‘The burden doesn’t fall off straightaway,’ Robert says. ‘As much as there is a side of Christianity that tells people to come to Jesus and everything will be fine, it’s more comforting to know that God walks with you when you’re in sorrow, in times of total confusion and utter pain, because that’s what makes us human, that’s the human experience.

‘Nobody goes through life without experiencing deep pain that at times makes you feel like you’re the only one experiencing it in that way.’

Whatever level of faith the film’s audience members have, Robert hopes that the story will give them a revelation of what it is to believe in God. ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress suggests that what matters isn’t how much theology you know, but that God is a companion to us on our journeys,’ he says. ‘Anybody, whether Christian or not, wishes to have somebody next to them, holding their hand, crying with them or just holding them.’

12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 26 October 2019

Prayerlink 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

Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures

The New Testament RITTEN between about AD50 and W AD100, the New Testament is made up of 27 books, beginning with the four

gospels and ending with the mysterious Book of Revelation.

The gospels are accounts of the birth, life, teachings, actions, death and resurrection of Jesus. Although dates are disputed, scholars generally calculate that Mark was the first to be written and John the last. Being biographical summaries, Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels. John is focused on the nature of Jesus’ divinity.

The gospels are followed by the Acts of the Apostles. Written by gospel writer Luke, Acts chronicles the birth and growth of the Early Church. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples of Jesus attest to his resurrection and preach salvation in his name. Focusing first on their Jewish countrymen, they then take the good news to Gentile nations.

The book’s leading characters are Peter, who is based in Judaea, and Paul, who embarks on four evangelistic tours of the eastern Mediterranean.

Paul is credited with authoring the 13 letters that follow the Book of Acts. These letters give instruction in the beliefs and practices of fledgling Christianity. The first nine letters are addressed to congregations he visited on his travels. The next four are personal, pastoral correspondence. The letters in both groups are

arranged not in order of importance or inspiration but in descending order of length.

Paul’s letters are followed by one whose writer is unknown. The Letter to the Hebrews explains the relationship between Jesus Christ

The gospels are accounts of the birth, life, teachings, actions, death and resurrection of Jesus and Judaism. For the unknown writer, Jesus is the ultimate expression and fulfilment of God’s covenant with his ‘chosen people’.

The New Testament continues with seven more letters variously credited as being written by Jesus’ early followers James, Peter, Jude and John.

Finally, Revelation is the New Testament’s only book of prophecy, written against a background of Roman persecution of Christians.

Beyond its opening messages to seven churches, it is a book of heavenly visions.

Judgment, tribulation, the battle at Armageddon, the overthrow of Satan and the Second Coming are writ large.

A mysterious book, Revelation engenders much interpretation as well as debate about the nature and timing of the end of the world.

Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

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26 October 2019 • WAR CRY • EXPRESSIONS 13

NOW, THERE’S A THOUGHT!

by Naar M’Fundisi-Holloway

QUICK QUIZ 1. Which James Joyce novel features the character Leopold Bloom?

2. Who had a No 1 hit in 2013 with the song ‘Somewhere Only We Know’?

3. What is the capital of Albania?

4. What is the name of the cat that lives at 10 Downing Street?

5. Who painted the 20th-century Cubist work Ma Jolie?

6. What is the common English name for the aurora borealis?

ANSWERS 1. Ulysses. 2. Lily Allen. 3. Tirana. 4. Larry.

5. Pablo Picasso. 6. The northern lights.

CBAD a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk Twitter: @TheWarCryUK Facebook.com/TheWarCryUK

B www.salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry

Family reunions can be heavenly ARLIER this year, I went to Zambia for two weeks, as my E niece was getting married. Each time I go back to the country of my birth, I feel an overwhelming sense of contentment, joy

and belonging. I do also experience some sadness, because both my parents have died, as have many other friends and family members. But still, there is truly no place like home.

As this was a family wedding, I was going to have the rare opportunity of seeing members of my family from all over Zambia and across the globe in one place. My siblings and I are spread over three continents, so it isn’t often that we can all get together.

Sadly, there are many people who do not have a place to call home. For There is truly others, home may not be a place of happy memories. I consider myself blessed no place like because, even when I am far from my home home, I am aware that I can always go back to it and know I belong.

As I was thinking about home I was reminded of Heaven. These days, I don’t usually hear sermons about Heaven as our home unless I’m at a funeral. But we Christians believe that our life on Earth – no matter how great or how horrible – is temporary, and that our real and permanent home is with God, our Father, in Heaven.

The Bible records God’s Son, Jesus, saying that he was leaving the world to prepare a place for his followers in Heaven (see John 14:2). Another Bible passage says that we shall dwell with God in Heaven and he will wipe every tear from our eyes; there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain, as he will make all things new (see Revelation 21).

If we choose to follow Jesus, this can be our hope. When we belong to the family of God, Heaven is promised to us all. As much as I love being back home in Zambia, I cannot wait to experience my heavenly home.

14 PUZZLES • WAR CRY • 26 October 2019

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Fertiliser (7) 5. Pour fat over meat (5) 7. Pariah (7) 8. Rascal (5) 10. Brazen (4) 11. Waterfall (8) 13. Ghost (6) 14. Column (6) 17. Evident (8) 19. Against (4) 21. Dodge (5) 22. Perfect (7)

by CHRIS HORNE

23. Mortal (5) 24. Mangers (7)

7. Curved body of water (5, 4) 9. Blackmail (9) 12. Bony fish (8) 15. Desire (7) 16. Confer membership on (6) 18. Biblical song (5) 20. Game played on horseback (4)

DOWN 2. Roald Dahl’s child genius (7) 3. Gemstone (4) 4. Venetian artist (6) 5. Savage (8) 6. Greek letter (5)

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

HONEYCOMB

5

7

8

3

2

6

9

1

4

3

4

2

9

1

7

8

6

5

9

6

1

4

8

5

7

3

2

Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

7

8

4

2

5

3

1

9

6

2

3

6

1

9

8

4

5

7

1. Careless writing 2. Farming machinery 3. Small boat 4. Stay in the same place 5. Danger 6. Deceptive appearance

1

5

9

7

6

4

2

8

3

4

9

3

5

7

1

6

2

8

8

1

7

6

3

2

5

4

9

6

2

5

8

4

9

3

7

1

5

ANSWERS 7

8

3

2

6

9

1

4

WORDSEARCH

3

4

2

9

1

7

8

6

5

AMBER

9

6

1

4

8

5

7

3

2

BONFIRE NIGHT

7

8

4

2

5

3

1

9

6

2

3

6

1

9

8

4

5

7

1

5

9

7

6

4

2

8

3

CRISP

4

9

3

5

7

1

6

2

8

8

1

7

6

3

2

5

4

9

FALLING LEAVES

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Compost. 5 Baste.

7 Outcast. 8 Rogue. 10 Bold. 11 Cataract.

13 Wraith. 14 Pillar. 17 Apparent.

19 Anti. 21 Evade. 22 Utopian.

23 Human. 24 Troughs.

DOWN: 2 Matilda. 3 Opal. 4 Titian.

5 Barbaric. 6 Sigma. 7 Oxbow lake.

9 Extortion. 12 Sturgeon. 15 Longing.

16 Induct. 18 Psalm. 20 Polo.

HONEYCOMB 1 Scrawl. 2 Plough. 3 Dinghy.

4 Remain. 5 Hazard. 6 Façade.

6

2

5

8

4

9

3

7

1

CONKER

FRUITAGE HARVEST JUMPER

5

7

8

3

2

6

9

1

4

3

4

2

9

1

7

8

6

5

POPPY

9

6

1

4

8

5

7

3

2

PUMPKIN

7

8

4

2

5

3

1

9

6

2

3

6

1

9

8

4

5

7

REMEMBRANCE DAY

1

5

9

7

6

4

2

8

3

SCARECROW

4

9

3

5

7

1

6

2

8

SYCAMORE

8

1

7

6

3

2

5

4

9

6

2

5

8

4

9

3

7

1

WINDY YIELD

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these 5 7words 8 associated 3 2 6 with 9 autumn 1 4

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

SUDOKU SOLUTION

Corrections needed by…

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

Bubble and squeak with asparagus 300g King Edward potatoes, diced 150g savoy cabbage, shredded Salt and pepper 2tbsp oil 200g asparagus spears 1tbsp hollandaise sauce

Place the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage and cook for a further 3 minutes. Drain and mash roughly, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

SERVES

2

2 large Maris Piper potatoes 1tsp oil 2 skinless chicken breasts, cubed 1 garlic clove, crushed

SERVES

2

Chicken and pesto jacket potato 2tbsp green pesto 4 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

Allow to cool slightly before shaping the mixture into 4 equal patties. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the patties for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Meanwhile, boil the asparagus for 3 minutes until tender, then drain.

Top the patties with the asparagus and spoon over the hollandaise sauce, to serve.

Large handful baby spinach

Pierce the potatoes in several places with a fork. Place on a microwave turntable and cook for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the chicken and garlic. Cook for 6 minutes until browned all over. Add the pesto and stir through. Mix in the tomatoes and most of the spinach.

Remove the potatoes from the microwave and allow them to stand for a minute. Cut the potatoes in half and pile the chicken mixture on top.

Serve with the remaining baby spinach leaves sprinkled over.

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board website lovepotatoes.co.uk

Teresa of Ă vila