War Cry 27 January 2024

Shipping Forecast still good after 100 years

WAR CRY

27 January 2024 50p/60c

Explosive drama returns Vicky McClure is back in Trigger Point

Barbara Dickson’s January plans for her February tour

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.

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 7663

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

From the editor’s desk FOR people who don’t go to church on a Sunday, it can sometimes be hard to see what relevance the Christian faith has in the wider world. Why should they take any notice of it, they think, if they don’t go along to join in with the hymns, prayers and sermons?

However, many Christians – and the churches they belong to – are at work in their communities in various ways throughout the week. They run youth clubs and older people’s lunches. Many church buildings host food banks and provide warm spaces for people who are struggling to pay their fuel bills or are isolated.

Christians are motivated to take such action by their belief that God wants them to help other people, whether those people share their faith or not. In this week’s War Cry we speak with Matt Parfitt, who believed that God was telling him that he should set up a social enterprise to provide employment to people who were struggling to get a job.

‘I want to go to a church where we’ll pray for you on a Sunday that God will make a difference, and then on Monday, we’ll give you a job and see that difference coming to fruition,’ he says. ‘We’re demonstrating to people that they are valuable and loved. Jesus promised life in all its fullness. By giving people a route out of poverty, we give them hope, purpose and dignity.’

It is because of their belief that Jesus – God’s Son – values, cares for and loves everybody that Christians look to find ways to help people who are in need. And it is why the Christian faith positively affects the lives of people far beyond those who attend church services on a Sunday.

Whatever we may think about faith or even ourselves, God loves us and wants what is best for us – and it’s good to know that those people who believe in him want to demonstrate that love through their actions.

When you’ve read the War Cry, why not pass it on ➔ ➔ ➔

Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 1 Champion Park London SE5 8FJ Tel: 0845 634 0101 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Lyndon Buckingham Territorial leaders: Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn 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

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FEATURES

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Defusing the situation The bomb disposal unit are back in Trigger Point

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Something to sing about Barbara Dickson starts her new tour

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‘We employ people no one else will’ The work of a social enterprise

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INFO 15 Your local Salvation Army centre

CONTENTS

in Nottingham 13 All at sea 100 years of The Shipping Forecast REGULARS

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Team Talk and War Cry World

12 Hands Together, Eyes Closed 14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: HTM PRODUCTIONS FOR ITV

Lana responds to a dangerous incident

Bomb disposal team faces explosion at power station as drama returns TV preview by Claire Brine

T

O the trained eye, bombs in a war zone may be easy to spot. But bombs on an average London street may be trickier. That’s why, when ITV1 police drama Trigger Point returns on Sunday (28 January), explosives officer Lana (Vicky McClure) is urging a group of businessmen and women to be alert.

After spending six months training Ukrainian bomb disposal teams, Lana is back in London, ready to give a routine talk about bomb-centred terrorism.

Minutes into her prepared speech, she looks out the window and witnesses a shocking explosion in the distance. A power station has gone up in flames – and it doesn’t look like an accident.

Although Lana isn’t meant to be back on active duty, she’s the closest expo to the incident. When she reaches the site, she learns that there’s a suspect device attached to the power station’s gate.

Firefighters can’t tackle the blaze behind it – or attempt to rescue any victims – until they know the device is safe.

With no other expos nearby, Lana has to kit up and respond. But when she

HTM PRODUCTIONS FOR ITV

BACK WITH A BANG assesses the situation closely, she makes a startling discovery.

‘We’ve two devices,’ she reports back.

‘They seem to be linked. The whole gate is set to blow.’

After a discussion with her boss, Hass (Nabil Elouahabi), Lana prepares to deal with the devices by firing a couple of disruptors in a controlled explosion. But after only one blast, Lana can see that one of the disruptors is faulty. The second device remains live and dangerous.

Hass instructs Lana to flee the scene and yells for the emergency services to take cover. But Lana has second thoughts. She wants to replace the faulty disruptor and take another shot at the ticking device, potentially saving countless lives. Viewers are left holding their breath as they wait to see if she will succeed.

Executive producer Jed Mercurio suggests why such stressful situations make for such appealing telly.

‘Every episode features at least one

bomb disposal sequence, and we have to make sure they’re all distinctive and exciting,’ he explains. ‘You want to be in a situation where the audience doesn’t know what’s going to happen next.’

Whether or not our life is a far cry from bulletproof vests and blaring police sirens, each of us knows the harsh reality of what it’s like to face the unknown. No one can tell us what tomorrow will bring. At times, we all feel uncertain or afraid about what’s playing out in front of us.

That’s why many people from all walks of life choose to put their trust in God. As they face an unpredictable future, they take comfort from knowing that he is always with them. One Bible writer acknowledged to God: ‘You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head’ (Psalm 139:5 New Living Translation).

Anyone can know such comfort. With God by our side, we need never fear the future or face it alone. Every day, we can rest secure in his love – whatever happens next.

Viewers hold their breath

27 January 2024 • WAR CRY • 3

Team talk TEAM WA

talk ‘ TALK’ j I’m not an all-right Jack, says Reacher actor Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters ALAN RITCHSON, the star of Prime Video’s thriller series Reacher, has told fans that he loves ‘playing a character who creates a kind of moral ambiguity’. On his YouTube channel, called Instachurch, the actor said that the fictional character of Jack Reacher – a former US army military police major – prompts viewers to consider whether or not his actions are ‘good all the time or morally right’. While Alan admitted to finding the role ‘fascinating’, he added that not everyone thinks the TV show is compatible with his Christian faith.

In response to the people who have questioned his decision to play Reacher, Alan said: ‘What kind of stories are we supposed to tell? If you look at Scripture, what do you find? You see 1,000 years of an infinitely holy God holding tension with human beings, as he ... reveals who he is through an imperfect people. So we get stories of paganism, of war and bloodshed... We see life and resurrection and death.’

He continued: ‘We see this incredible canvas where God is completely unafraid to tell the story of who he is through ... morally ambiguous characters.’

When I look at the Bible for myself, I can see that it contains countless stories about flawed people who encountered God – and many of those encounters happened far from the doors of a place of worship. Sometimes, individuals experienced God’s presence in their darkest, most shameful moments, and it compelled them to change their lives.

I believe that God continues to reveal himself to the most unexpected people, in the most unexpected places – even through conversations that may arise as a result of a TV show. I’ve never known God’s love, grace and forgiveness to be limited to church pews or gatherings of ‘holy’ people. He doesn’t shut himself off from those whose lives are ‘morally ambiguous’.

Whoever we are and whatever our character is like, God loves us and wants a relationship with us. That’s just the story of who he is.

God’s presence compelled them to change

Team talk 4 • WAR CRY • 27 January 2024

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

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TV losing its religion, says Ofcom MEDIA regulator Ofcom has reported that the number of religious programmes that were aired by public service broadcasters has almost halved over the past decade.

According to its figures back in 2013, there were 254 hours of religion and ethics programming across the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, 51 of which were broadcast at peak times.

However, its 2022 figures – which were published in December last year – show that there were only 140 hours of religion and ethics programming, 13 of which were aired at peak times, marking a 45 per cent total decrease. All programmes were shown on the BBC. Former BBC executive Roger Bolton told Christian media outlet Premier that the figures reveal a ‘dramatic collapse’. He expressed concerns that it was part of a wider effort to move religion and ethics programming on to digital-only platforms, even though many households do not have access to broadband and mobile internet or do not use it.

‘Broadcasting still has a role,’ he said, ‘because we have to reach out to people who don’t know anything about religion, and to interest them in it, and to give them information so they can start to think about these things.’

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MARTIN SCORSESE has said that he hopes his new film about Jesus will ‘take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organised religion’.

According to the Los Angeles Times website, the director has completed a screenplay which focuses on the teachings of Jesus and plans to shoot it later this year. Based on Shusaku Endo’s book A Life of Jesus, the 80-minute film will be set mostly in the present day and will explore some of the principles of the Christian faith without proselytising.

‘I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible,’ the film-maker said in an interview with the newspaper. ‘Right now, “religion,” you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways. But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong... It might make a difference in how you live your life – even in rejecting it. Don’t dismiss it offhand.’

Martin also reflected on the portrayal of faith in his earlier films, including the value of complete forgiveness in Silence.

‘It’s almost an impossible goal for human beings, that kind of forgiveness,’ he said. ‘But I really believe in it. If we nurture forgiveness, maybe the world could change, ultimately. I’m not saying next year. It could be a thousand years from now, if we’re still around.’

App opens new way to understand Scripture

Model work from cathedral volunteers A TEAM of volunteers are rebuilding a Lego model of Durham Cathedral so that it can go on display again after a three-year absence.

Put in storage during the Covid-19 pandemic, the structure will be free to view in the cathedral’s museum.

It was first completed in 2016 after a fundraising project in which members of the public made a £1 donation for each brick that would be laid. More than 350,000 bricks were added from 2013 until 2016.

Andrew Usher, Durham Cathedral’s chief officer for visitor experience and enterprise, said: ‘It represents not only the first large-scale Lego model to be built by members of the public, but also the many stories from the thousands of people, businesses and community groups who added their bricks.’

AN AI-powered Bible app aims to revolutionise how people read the Scriptures, the US-based Christian Broadcasting Network reports.

Insight Bible has been designed to help users deepen their faith and understanding of the Bible, and to make the gospel accessible to a more technology-driven generation.

It was developed by Tiatun Tiatun, an entrepreneur, digital marketing strategist and Christian, who said: ‘The inspiration for this app came from a realisation that people today, especially the younger generation, may not attend church as much and do not have a pastor with them at all times to answer and explain Scriptures in a detailed way that they’ll understand, but their phones are their constant companions.’

One of the app’s features is Pastor AI, a digital study assistant, which can offer the context or meaning of a Bible passage.

The AI model is trained using books, Bible commentaries, Christian blogs, research papers and more.

The first beta version of the app was launched in July last year and downloaded by more than 2,500 users. This month, Tiatun has launched a crowdfunding campaign to further develop the app.

27 January 2024 • WAR CRY • 5

Fans know her so well Singer and actress BARBARA DICKSON talks about her greatest achievements, meeting the late Queen and how faith is a ‘fundamental part’ of her life Interview by Emily Bright

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ITH an OBE, Olivier awards and gold and platinum albums to her name, you might be forgiven for thinking that Barbara Dickson’s proudest moments stem primarily from her career. But you’d be wrong. For Barbara, sustaining a stable personal life alongside performing has been a defining achievement too.

‘The Olivier awards and my OBE are very precious to me,’ she says, ‘but there are personal milestones as well. I have three children, and I’ll have been married for 40 years this year. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to run a life in parallel with a career.’

Barbara’s love of music began early in her life. She was learning the piano from the age of 5 and playing the guitar by 12. She also became interested in folk music. ‘Even as a youngster, I was drawn to traditional music, because it has such a wonderful storytelling atmosphere,’ she says.

In the 1960s, she quit her job in the civil service to embark on a career as a folk musician, mixing in circles with musicians including future comedy star Billy Connolly. ‘At the time, people were writing songs about important issues like what was going to happen to the world and the threat of the Cold War,’ she recalls.

‘There was hope through music.’

In the early 1970s, though, her life swung in a different direction after a meeting with a friend, musician and

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Barbara Dickson is starting her final full band tour next month

playwright Willy Russell. He invited her to star in his Beatles musical John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert at a theatre in Liverpool. It later transferred to the West End. Barbara’s performances caught the eye of a new record label, which released her first Top 10 single, ‘Answer Me’, in 1976. Within a matter of months, she performed ‘High on Fortune’ on TV comedy show The Two Ronnies.

Four years later, The Barbara Dickson Album, which featured the hit ‘January, February’, became her first album to be certified gold, and the platinum-selling album All for a Song followed in 1982.

Before long, the West End came calling

again, with Willy Russell inviting her to join his cast for the new show Blood Brothers, for which she won her second Olivier award for best actress in a musical. In 1984, she released the Top 10 world-wide hit and UK No 1 ‘I Know Him So Well’ alongside Elaine Paige.

Other career highlights followed when, in 2000, she received an Olivier award for her performance in the musical Spend, Spend, Spend and in 2002, she was appointed OBE, for her services to music and drama.

‘The Queen awarded me the OBE and it was so brilliant,’ Barbara says. ‘I went to the palace, I took my children and my husband with me. She talked to

There was hope through music

BRIAN ARIS

everybody. That was the wonderful thing about her. She was so welcoming, and she knew who I was, because I had met her before. The Queen knew why each person was getting their award and a bit about them, and that does make you feel slightly less nervous.’

Reflecting on her musical career, Barbara says that performing in the West End and touring as a musician are two very different disciplines. It is clear that she prefers the flexibility of one compared with the rigidity of the other.

‘In the theatre, you’re very structured. If you don’t follow a script to the letter, the technical people will not hear the words that make them change the lighting,’ she says. ‘You’ve got to do what you’ve learnt to do at the beginning. It doesn’t change

very much. Hopefully your expression changes, but you can’t give somebody a different cue.

‘I can’t say I enjoyed the nature of being in the theatre for nine months a year. But if I could pick out the roles of Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers and Viv Nicholson in Spend, Spend, Spend, my favourite part was the shared experience of working with fabulous actors on the stage, and bringing the character to life as you see it.’

In contrast, her favourite part of being a musician is her ability to decide the set-list for herself at the beginning of each tour.

‘Sometimes the song doesn’t work out,’ she adds, ‘and we’ll substitute it for something else. But performing something that I absolutely love for an audience and having them share my enthusiasm for it has always been what I’ve liked best.’

Barbara is currently promoting her last full band tour after releasing her latest album, My Own Adventure in December. Starting next month, she is playing 10 dates across England and Scotland.

‘A farewell tour is something I never planned to do,’ she says, ‘but for a part

The Queen was so welcoming

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From page 7

BRIAN ARIS

of last summer, I felt really drained and I thought: “I’m going to pull back a bit here.” What manifested was the thought that I should do my final tour with my band. But I do intend to keep musically expressing myself. I’m not stopping being a musician.

‘Some songs for the tour are things that people would want to hear that are from my pop career and some from the new album. We will have a mixture of things.’

Throughout her evolving career, there has been one constant: her faith.

‘I have been a Christian all my life,’ she says. ‘I get great strength from going to Mass every week, and I occasionally have a retreat of some sort where I can recalibrate myself.

8 • WAR CRY • 27 January 2024

‘I also say my prayers, look at the Bible and do Christian meditation on my own.

I think that all of it helps to make you feel more grounded.’

This grounding has helped Barbara in times when life has felt daunting. She says: ‘A friend once said to me several years ago: “Why do you get scared? I would have thought that your faith would stop that happening.” I said: “No, we get as scared as everybody else, but hopefully we put our hand out and somebody takes it.”’

While Barbara has never sung any religious music herself, she believes that faith enables performers to reach

profound depths.

‘American singers, when they sing in church, just break your heart,’ she says. ‘I think a lot of that is from deep emotional connection to your faith. It’s fundamental, it goes through you, like a stick of Blackpool rock.’

Faith plays a ‘fundamental part’ in Barbara’s life too.

‘I think of God as being allpowerful and being my Father in Heaven,’ she says. ‘I tend to lean on him, I thank him when things go well, and I ask him what to do when things are not going well.

‘He’s there constantly in my life, helping and advising me, and edging me along my journey, which is still happily going on after all this time.’

I thank God when things go well

‘We’ll employ people when no one else will’ MATT PARFITT, the CEO of Grace Enterprises in Nottingham, reveals why he gave up his day job as a teacher to run cleaning, biscuit-making and events businesses Interview by Emily Bright

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S Matt Parfitt headed home one Friday afternoon after a day’s teaching at the Nottingham primary school where he worked, everything seemed normal.

But by Monday morning, he’d handed in his notice.

His head teacher was perplexed, thinking he’d been poached by another school. The reality was something completely different.

Outside of his work at the school, Matt, a Christian who attended Grace Church in the city, was supporting a person who had a ‘rocky background’ and was looking for work.

‘He had too much time and not enough money,’ Matt recalls. ‘I was getting frustrated with God, saying that someone should be an employer who would take such people on. Then that Saturday afternoon, I felt God was saying to me: “Well, you do it.” I said: “I will then.”’

In 2007, Matt began his own gardening business. Over the next 10 years, he employed 35 people, and the enterprise grew into garden landscaping – working on driveways, decking and patios. But Matt eventually decided to branch out into a new business that he could scale up more easily.

He says: ‘I was left wondering, “How do you employ the single mum? How do you employ the addict who’s 60 and can’t do a whole day’s digging?” I thought that we could start something small, grow it and trust that God would provide for the next thing.’

In 2017, after asking Grace Church for the money that he needed to start the project, Matt and his wife, Sam, set up Grace Enterprises and its first business,

We ought to be light in the darkness

Matt Parfitt

Radiant Cleaners, which now holds 40 contracts with commercial, construction and warehouse clients. Sam quit her job as a GP to support the new business, and Radiant Cleaners has hired more than 100 people over the past seven years.

‘Cleaning is an industry where people aren’t typically treated well and are often paid minimum wage or less,’ explains Matt. ‘I thought: “Why can’t we run a better cleaning business?” We ought to be light in the darkness, and that was partly why we chose cleaning.’

Matt’s desire for high standards in the workplace stems from his belief in Jesus, who had a trade as a carpenter before embarking on his ministry. ‘Jesus wouldn’t have made wonky tables,’ says Matt. ‘He

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27 January 2024 • WAR CRY • 9

Radiant Cleaners was the first business set up by Grace Enterprises

From page 9 wouldn’t have made chairs that were falling over. And it was not just about the carpentry, but people.’

As time went on, Matt decided to set up a marquee and events management business, Jubilee Events, which offers its services for weddings, parties and corporate events in Nottingham.

‘It’s a high-value service,’ he says, ‘and again, we’re in an industry where people often aren’t paid well or treated well.

We wanted to have a more environmentally friendly, sustainable and ethical events business. I think the average bride – who knows it’s going to be an expensive day – would love to get married and leave some positive legacy.’

Last year, Grace Enterprises launched its third business, Half the Story biscuits, in partnership with housing charity Green Pastures.

‘There was a gap in the market,’ says

Matt. ‘A few nice social coffees were fair trade. Then there were various tea companies that were employing refugees or supporting a charity. But there was not a social biscuit in existence. If big companies are prepared to pay for tea and coffee that’s changing lives, then why would they not want to buy biscuits?’

Operating out of Grace Church’s kitchen, the shortbread is selling like hot cakes. ‘Biscuits take away all the geographical barriers,’ says Matt. ‘We can create and deliver a high-quality biscuit to offices.

Demand is far outstripping supply.’

At the heart of all the businesses is the ethos of offering hope to vulnerable people. Grace Enterprises says that 52 per cent of its beneficiaries have reported facing mental health issues.

A fifth say they have experienced domestic violence, drug misuse or

Demand is far outstripping supply

10 • WAR CRY • 27 January 2024

run-ins with the police, while nearly a quarter have experienced homelessness.

‘We’ll employ people when no one else will,’ says Matt. ‘We can then link them to a company that’s going to have to look beyond previous convictions, homelessness, addiction or whatever it may be.’

He sees the social enterprises as a practical outworking of his faith. ‘I believe totally in the power of prayer,’ he says, ‘but I want to go to a church where we’ll pray for you on a Sunday that God will make a difference, and then on Monday, we’ll give you a job and see that difference coming to fruition.

‘We employ people of all faiths and none. They don’t have to believe what we believe. We’re demonstrating to people that they are valuable and loved. Jesus promised life in all its fullness. By giving people a route out of poverty, we give them hope, purpose and dignity.

‘We want to treat employees well,

handed in my notice, we’re still here and many lives have been changed.’

As the founder of Grace Enterprises, Matt takes a moment to describe what grace means to him.

‘I have experienced God’s grace in my life,’ he says. ‘I feel totally forgiven and am given hope and purpose while I’m on Earth, with a certainty of where I’m going after death. The little I can give of demonstrating grace to some of our employees is nothing in comparison.

‘People who are thinking that life has done the worst to them, that they’ve messed things up or that they’re not worth anything are actually inherently valuable, because they are made in the image of God.’

provide value to customers and make reasonable profits, because that’s what businesses should do. We’re reinvesting our profits and using all that money for good.’

Matt has witnessed transformation in people’s lives first-hand. ‘We have seen people come for a food parcel, find community in the church, get baptised and find work.

‘For instance, there was a 52-year-old who’d been unemployed for 35 years, and we gave him his first-ever job. Six weeks later his son was working for us. At 21, he had never worked, because he’d grown up in a workless family. But he saw the fact that his dad had a sparkle in his eye, and had got more money, dignity, purpose and hope.’ Both have since become Christians.

Part of the success of the social enterprises lies in a holistic approach, caring for the mental wellbeing of the beneficiaries. ‘We’ve got church-based mentors. They support our employees by going for a coffee with them once a month. It’s about spending time with people and breaking down some of those barriers.

‘We’re also prepared to go the extra mile to try to make things work. For instance, for a single parent, the difference between a 9am start and a 9.15am start could be huge.’

Despite the positive differences Matt has already made in many people’s lives, he still has big dreams for the future of Grace Enterprises. His ideas are not based on idealistic thinking, but on his personal experience of God’s goodness.

‘God has come through time after time,’ says Matt. ‘Seventeen years after I

Biscuit business Half the Story was launched last year

27 January 2024 • 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, 1 Champion Park, Lon­don SE5 8FJ. 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.

Hands together, eyes closed Andrew Stone looks at the Lord’s Prayer

Hallowed be thy name HAVE you noticed that some celebrities are so well known that they are often referred to by only their first name? In the world of cooking we find Nigella and Jamie. Music gives us Beyoncé, Kylie and Adele. And not many people need to be told that John, Paul, George and Ringo made up the Beatles.

In their particular field of expertise, those people are so successful that their first name is all that is needed for us to know who they are. Their names also carry a level of authority. If we want to know how to boil an egg, we are more likely to follow the instructions if we are told: ‘This is the way Nigella says to do it.’

In the Lord’s Prayer we are told that there is a name that carries ultimate authority. The prayer says that God’s name is to be hallowed, which means it should be honoured and respected. It also means we should take notice when we are told: ‘This is the way God says to do it.’

However, there are times when God’s name is used in a way that is not hallowed. It is used as an expression of shock, as in ‘Oh my God!’ (aka ‘OMG’) or in frustration, Our Father, which art in Heaven, when people say ‘For God’s sake!’

Hallowed be thy name, If we misuse God’s name, it Thy Kingdom come, devalues him in our minds. We may Thy will be done, in earth as it is begin to see God as no more than in Heaven. a figure of speech or an insult. But Give us this day our daily bread; he is so much more than that. God And forgive us our trespasses, is our creator, and he longs to be As we forgive them that involved in our lives. trespass against us; Through the Bible, God teaches And lead us not into temptation, us the best way to handle any But deliver us from evil. situation and, through his offer For thine is the Kingdom, of forgiveness, he gives us the the power, and the glory, chance to put past mistakes For ever and ever. behind us. You name it – God can Amen make a difference in any part of our lives.

God longs to be involved

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

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen

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Looking for help?

Name

Address

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

Or email your name and postal address to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • WAR CRY • 27 January 2024

THE MET OFFICE

QUICK QUIZ 1 2 3 4 5 6

Who created the sculpture the Angel of the North?

Which car manufacturer produces the Prius?

Who recently re-entered the singles chart with her 2001 hit ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’?

Which author wrote the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

What does the Italian phrase ‘al fresco’ mean in English?

What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet?

ANSWERS

Shipping bulletin Radio 4’s beloved rules the broadcast is 100 years old airwaves Feature by Philip Halcrow

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ND now The Shipping Forecast – issued by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency – has been broadcast for a century. The safety message to help seafarers plan their passage was first relayed in January 1924 via a bulletin transmitted from an air ministry station. It gave information on pressure systems, wind and visibility. The BBC took on the bulletin the following year.

Currently broadcast four times a day on Radio 4, The Shipping Forecast has made a splash in popular culture. Blur referenced it in their song ‘This is a Low’. Enthusiasts can buy merchandise bearing a map of the evocatively named areas, such as Viking, Rockall and Fair Isle. And enthusiasts are not just people who regularly take to the sea.

While the bulletin has saved ‘thousands – possibly even hundreds of thousands – of lives’, says Met Office archivist Catherine Ross, it has ‘taken on a cultural aspect far beyond the maritime world’. She says: ‘It’s almost poetic, almost beautiful, in the way that fixed-pattern forecast is read out. It is familiar and it’s a voice from home. In fact, it’s the voice of home.’

It’s more than ‘almost’ poetic. Former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy ended her sonnet ‘Prayer’ by describing how, when there’s ‘darkness outside’, inside, The Shipping Forecast’s words – ‘Rockall.

Malin. Dogger. Finnistere’ – become ‘the radio’s prayer’.

The poem echoes Catherine’s notion of ‘home’. It seems that The Shipping Forecast appeals because it is the sound not only of the need for journeying but also the desire for safety.

And, while acknowledging that life is not always plain sailing, another, much older, prayerful poem gives a cause for hope.

‘God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid,’ it says, ‘even if the seas roar and rage’ (Psalm 46:1–3 Good News Bible).

The Bible passage provides reassurance that, whether everything is going smoothly or we’re all at sea, we can put our trust in God, who cares for us, offers to guide us and gives a peace that – far from being occasional – is ours for good.

It’s almost poetic

27 January 2024 • WAR CRY • 13

1. Antony Gormley. 2. Toyota. 3. Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

4. Ian Fleming. 5. In the fresh air. 6. Omega.

PUZZLES Quick CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Colossal (4) 3. Light blow (3) 5. Smaller amount (4) 7. Rise and fall (9) 9. Of the mouth (4) 10. Break (4) 11. Metal structure (5) 14. US film award (5) 15. Made mistake (5) 17. Bury (5) 18. Monarchs (5) 19. Meeting place (5) 20. Weird (5) 23. Overdue (4) 25. At this place (4) 27. Tired (9) 28. Consider (4) 29. Foot part (3) 30. Byway (4) DOWN 1. Forbid (4) 2. Cash register (4) 3. Unsteady (5) 4. Mickey’s dog (5) 5. Auction items (4) 6. Halt (4) 7. Enchant (9)

SUDOKU

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

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

21. Play out (5) 22. Problem (5) 23. Noisy (4) 24. Test (4) 25. Pile (4) 26. Engrave (4)

8. Delighted (9) 11. Lever (5) 12. Not yet (5) 13. Boldness (5) 14. Acorn tree (3) 16. Perish (3)

3 2 5 6 1 7 9 2 5 5 1 1 5 9

W RDSEARCH 5 3 9 2 1 4 7 6 8 1 4 6 8 9 7 3 2 5 Look up, down, forwards, 2 8 7backwards 5 3 and 6 diagonally 4 1 9 on the grid to find these messaging apps 9 5 4 1 6 2 8 3 7 1 D3K K4 M 7L W9Q W 2 Y5W 6 H G K A H K8O P R L ZQKA LQBACV ZQRP Z F 6 7 2 3 8 5 9 4 1 T H G H NMO KWD OQ L J G A X V 6 R8B N7 Z 4U V1N D 5 U9A 2 A A R Z S K3P Q H V HR EQOKOZ F PHGKY J F 4 9 5 6 2 8 1 7 3 C X B CMV CO ZM I A QG RMY V 2 K1M D9 V 5Z A3A C 6 H8S 4 P Q F A E Y7R F

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

A L NW L WA ZMR EMN R Q Y K P NH E QK PMKO Y G S GQ Z Y GK S QMG S P Z C Q K D E S P P D OQ RKP Z S P S F QC L GP EQQOK J NU L Z I L S L E J A Z BNQGR R P O J D Q G L T E S J T QWG L M V ZRBOP ZNS T V BDO I Y EQ O J G J U V J X A L CMGO A V C R T S G J QG T H Z LWZ NRDKHK P Q N P L WW Y W Q T H N F K C A Q R E B I V F S K N L GMV T D Y T K

1. Floor covering 2. Domesticated polecat 3. Female parent 4. Patriotic song 5. Proposal in parliament 6. Lower leg bone

ANSWERS 5 1 2 9 8 6 3 4 7

3 4 8 5 1 7 6 9 2

9 6 7 4 3 2 8 5 1

2 8 5 1 4 3 7 6 9

1 9 3 6 7 8 4 2 5

4 7 6 2 9 5 1 8 3

7 3 4 8 2 9 5 1 6

6 2 1 3 5 4 9 7 8

8 5 9 7 6 1 2 3 4

HONEYCOMB 1. Carpet. 2. Ferret. 3. Mother.

4. Anthem. 5. Motion. 6. Fibula.

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Vast. 3. Rap. 5. Less. 7. Fluctuate.

9. Oral. 10. Snap. 11. Pylon. 14. Oscar. 15. Erred.

17. Inter. 18. Kings. 19. Venue. 20. Eerie. 23. Late.

25. Here. 27. Exhausted. 28. Deem. 29. Toe. 30. Path.

DOWN: 1. Veto. 2. Till. 3. Rocky. 4. Pluto. 5. Lots.

6. Stop. 7. Fascinate. 8. Entranced. 11. Prise.

12. Later. 13. Nerve. 14. Oak. 16. Die. 21. Enact.

22. Issue. 23. Loud. 24. Exam. 25. Heap. 26. Etch.

14 • WAR CRY • 27 January 2024

CONFIDE DISCORD GOOGLE CHAT GROUPME KAKAOTALK MARCO POLO MESSENGER

SIGNAL SKYPE SNAPCHAT TELEGRAM VIBER WECHAT WHATSAPP

4 9 5

2

SERVES 4

Beef and vegetable Balti curry INGREDIENTS

METHOD

375g lean beef mince

Heat a large non-stick frying pan and dry-fry the beef, onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until the mince is brown, breaking up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon.

2 large red onions, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed 2.5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped 2tbsp Balti curry paste 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional) 200g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced 1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets (about 300g) 400g can chopped tomatoes 300ml hot vegetable stock

Add the ginger, curry paste and, if using, chilli. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the butternut squash, cauliflower, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Add the green beans and cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Spoon over the Greek yogurt and garnish with a small bunch of coriander, to serve.

200g green beans, topped and tailed 2tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt Fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish

SERVES 6

Beef mince and sweet potato frittata INGREDIENTS

METHOD

2tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat. Rinse and dry the sweet potatoes, then fry them for 5-6 minutes, until golden brown.

Reduce the heat and cook for another 5 minutes, until tender, turning occasionally. Remove the sweet potatoes and drain on absorbent kitchen paper, then set aside.

225g sweet potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced 450g lean beef mince

Remove any excess oil from the pan, then heat until hot and cook the beef mince, leeks and yellow pepper for 5-7 minutes, until the mince is brown.

1 small yellow Add the cayenne pepper, some salt and pepper and pepper, deseeded the chives. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes. and finely diced Pour in the beaten eggs evenly, then place the sliced 1tsp cayenne potatoes over the top. Reduce the heat and cook for pepper a further 5 minutes, until the egg is set.

Salt and ground Transfer the pan to a preheated grill and cook black pepper until the frittata is slightly brown. Cut into wedges, to serve.

2tbsp fresh chives, chopped 2 medium leeks, thinly sliced

4 large eggs, beaten

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

27 January 2024 • WAR CRY • 15

Colossians 4:6 (New International Version)

WAR CRY