No 7145 Est 1879 FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS · salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry Est 1879 FIGHTING FOR...

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War CryTHE

salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry Est 1879

FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS

Christmas 2013No 7145

CHRISTMAS is celebrated in so many different ways around the world and yet so easily we forget the true meaning of an event that shaped and changed the world. People of all nationalities and cultures have been drawn to God’s light as revealed in Jesus, whose coming to earth changed and changes the way we think and act.

The prophet Isaiah foresaw the coming of Jesus into the world: ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given … he will be called Wonderful Counsellor … Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6 New International Version).

A well-known Christmas carol expresses so beautifully the longing that

A seasonal message from General ANDRÉ COX, international leader of The Salvation Army

people still have: ‘Come, thou long-expected Jesus,/ Born to set thy people free.’

The world has never known, and will never know, a light more powerful than the light Jesus brought. Gospel-writer John described it as ‘the true light that gives light to everyone … The world did not recognise him … His own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him … he gave the right to become children of God’ (John 1:9–12).

Despite this wonderful reality, there are still far too many people living in darkness and despair, suffering and fear, having lost the will to live, for they see no future. They have lost all sense of purpose and direction because they refuse to turn to ‘the light’.

The Bible presents Jesus as the coming of light into the world – light which outshines anything we can ever imagine. We are surrounded by flashing lights, neon signs, illuminated billboards – all designed to attract us, to draw us in. But there is no light that compares to the light of Jesus, for it draws us into the

joy of knowing him as our personal saviour.The impact of Christ’s coming into the world is

still in evidence. People are experiencing change and transformation, finding deliverance and freedom, peace and forgiveness. The message of the angels still resonates powerfully in hearts and lives today.

Christmas is a wonderful opportunity for us to be not only witnesses to the light but also carriers of the light. We must celebrate and give thanks for the true meaning of Christmas. A Salvation Army song puts it like this: ‘He came to give us life in all its fullness … He [the light] came to banish death and doubt and darkness,/ He came to set his people free’.

May the light of the world shine into your hearts this Christmas – and then out to others, so that the world will be a brighter place in the coming year.

May God richly bless you as you join with us in giving thanks to him for the birth of our Saviour.

2 ThTheeee WWaar rr CCryyyy Christmas 2013

Children give a barnstorming performance in Debbie Isitt’s ‘Nativity 2’

THE director and writer of the Nativity! films, Debbie Isitt, learnt at an early age that playing the role of Mary in the

school nativity play was a very big deal. ‘When I was at primary school, my older sister was chosen to be Mary, which caused

much excitement in our house,’ she remembers. ‘But then she got a cold and had to take a few days off school. When she went back, the teacher had given the part to someone else.

‘My mum was up in arms and stormed into the school, demanding that my sister get her part back. In the end, my sister shared the role with the other girl. It showed me how important the traditional nativity play was to families and in schools.’

When Debbie was seven years old, it was her turn to take on the role of Mary. She recalls the pride she felt.

‘I think I was cast in the part because the teachers were terrified of my mother,’ she laughs. ‘But I remember taking the role very seriously. I still have the photo of me wearing

Behind the

3Thheeee WWaarr r CCryyyy Christmas 2013

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Film director DEBBIE ISITT tells Claire Brine why she made two films about school nativity plays

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From page 3

lyrics for the musical numbers. Finding the right words was important to her.

‘I wanted the songs to tell the Christmas story in a way that the children would understand,’ she says. ‘Some of the songs are funny, some are moving. It was most important for me that they were relevant. They come from my heart.’

In the first film, the children sing about Jesus’ birth: ‘One night, one moment, and everything’s changed.’ In Nativity 2 the children sing to the audience: ‘Don’t forget about the baby who was born in the hay.’

Does Debbie think people are at risk of doing just that?‘The adverts on TV in December are all about

consumerism, so it is great for us to remember that there is more to Christmas than spending money. For me, Christmas is about a baby being born in a stable and the

my light blue satin headdress and holding the baby doll wrapped in swaddling clothes. And there are all these angels sitting round me and an awkward-looking Joseph – the only boy in the photo – wearing a brown smock.’

Debbie eventually outgrew the headdress, but her fondness for nativity plays remained. When she became a parent, she loved watching her daughter ‘going through the same process’ as she had. And, even though her daughter is now a teenager, Debbie remains a fan of the traditional primary school nativity play.

‘These days so many schools feel they have to spice up their Christmas play, calling it “The Wiggly Worm Nativity” or whatever, because they think they can’t keep wheeling out the same old story,’ she says. ‘But in my experience, parents love seeing a traditional version, because it reawakens memories for them. And kids love performing it too.’

Their enjoyment is evident in Debbie’s 2009

comedy film Nativity!, a story in which a group of children and their teacher (played by Martin Freeman) overcome obstacles to perform their nativity play in Coventry Cathedral. Debbie explains why she wrote the film.

‘People say the Christmas story is the greatest story ever told, and I think they’re right,’ she says. ‘The values of peace, goodwill and love are evident. I can’t think of anything more miraculous.’

The film was such a festive hit with families that Debbie wrote and directed a sequel. Released at cinemas last Christmas and on DVD last month, Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! follows the children and their new teacher (David Tennant) as they travel to Wales for a Song for Christmas competition.

‘We took the kids on a huge journey with the second film,’ Debbie explains. ‘We climbed mountains and rode rapids – and took a donkey with us. Such an epic journey meant the cast and crew couldn’t help but feel the power of the Christmas story.’

As well as writing and directing the two films, Debbie also wrote the

Peace and goodwill are evident

Above: Mr Peterson (David Tennant) and the schoolchildren head to Wales in ‘Nativity 2’

Left: Mr Maddens (Martin Freeman) and pupils in ‘Nativity!’


transformative power of that story.’Speaking personally, Debbie says that

Christianity plays a part in her life.‘I believe that Jesus was and is a powerful

presence for good in the world. His birth is about light, not darkness. Anyone who can grab hold of that light is blessed.’

As well as enhancing her own grown-up faith, working on the Nativity! films also prompted Debbie to consider the Christmas story through the eyes of a child.

‘The season holds so much magic for kids,’ she says. ‘They love the presents and Santa, of course, but when they think about the baby in the manger, about Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem and all the animals, they delight in the miracle of something great happening outside themselves.’

With two successful Christmas films behind her, it’s hardly surprising to learn that Nativity 3 is in the pipeline. Debbie hopes it will be released in the run-up to Christmas 2014.

‘I believe that people will go on telling the nativity story year after year, because it is a part of life,’ she says. ‘It is renewable and eternal. It is important that people think about the message behind the story and what it means for them.’

Parents love seeing a traditional nativity play

THE War Cry has five copies of Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger!, released on

Entertainment One, to give away to readers who can answer the following question:

In Nativity 2, in which country in the UK does the Song for Christmas competition take place?

Send your answer on a postcard to Nativity 2 Competition, The War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN or email your answer to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Nativity 2 Competition’. Include your name and address in your entry.

Entries must be received by Thursday 2 January. The senders of the first five randomly selected correct entries will receive a copy of the DVD. The Editor’s decision is final.

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‘THE Messy Nativity Sheep Trail started because one year I went Christmas shop-

ping and couldn’t find Jesus anywhere,’ explains Jane Leadbetter, a church worker from Liverpool. ‘I saw robins and snowmen and so many decorations in the shops – but no Jesus. It really got to me.’

Jane, a co-ordinator for the family-friendly Messy Church movement, went home and moaned to her husband, who advised her to ‘do something about it’.

Sheep are bringing baaaack into

She wondered what exactly she could do. Then she had an idea.‘Liverpool is famous for its trails, such as the Go Penguin trail.

Families love getting their maps and searching together for these penguins. I thought about taking that idea and scaling it down.

‘I knew that knitting was popular among my friends, and won-dered what character from the nativity story they might be able to knit. It needed to be something easy, so I thought about a sheep. My daughter came up with the pattern.’

Jane then approached the management team at a shopping centre and told them she would like to run a sheep nativity trail. The staff hoped the idea might mean more customers, so they gave Jane the go-ahead.

‘I got my friends to knit 12 sheep, which were then displayed in various family-friendly stores. John Lewis named its sheep Bauble and hung it on the Christmas tree, which was lovely. Gap staff chose to move their sheep to a different part of the store every day, so it was as though the sheep was going on adven-tures. It was fascinating to see how each store embraced its own sheep.’

The first Messy Nativity Sheep Trail was a success. Families who took part were invited to write down the names of the sheep on a leaflet, which also contained a cut-out-and-keep section telling the Christmas story.

The point was to get the real meaning of Christmas across

‘The point of the sheep trail was to get the real meaning of Christmas across,’ says Jane. ‘Christmas is not Santa’s birthday. It is Jesus’ birthday.

‘As a Christian, I feel responsible for making people aware of what Christmas is all about. If we give in to calling it “Winterval” or whatever, Jesus will no longer be at the heart of Christmas – and he has to be. These days everyone tries to be politically correct, and there are so many “rules” on what we can and can’t say, but I believe Christians have got to start shouting louder on this issue.’

Since its launch in 2010, the Messy Nativity Sheep Trail has spread across the UK and even to towns and cities around the world. In Australia, a church organised a trail, conversations started and the congregation discovered that its minister used to be a shepherd.

JANE LEADBETTER tells Claire Brine why she created a knitivity sheep trail


Jesus Christmas

‘Running the trail brings a community together,’ says Jane. ‘It helps people feel as though they belong. Some areas love it so much that they are putting on a trail for the third year running. I heard of one place that even created a Facebook page for its sheep.’

Jane suggests that the organisers hold a final gathering, once the trail season comes to an end, so people can meet together before Christmas.

‘It’s a good idea if the trail leaflet advertises a little sheep-themed service in a church,’ she says. ‘Some churches did this last year, and were packed out – full of people they had never seen before. It was wonderful.’

Jane admits that she was thrilled by the public’s positive response to the first sheep trail, but perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the staff reaction when she visited the stores after Christmas to round up her sheep.

‘I felt like a sheep rustler,’ she confesses. ‘The staff booed me and some people even cried at saying goodbye to their sheep. They asked me if we could do another trail at Easter. It was very odd, but on the whole a fabulous experience.’

Each store embraced its own sheep

Shops displayed their sheep as part of the trail

Jane rounds up two sheep

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8

THE man whose short story about a miraculous candle has just been turned

into a Christmas film says he enjoys watching It’s a Wonderful Life – ‘the classic’ – and family comedy A Christmas Story. ‘I hope,’ reflects Max Lucado, ‘that one day when people are asked what their favourite Christmas movie is, some will say The Christmas Candle.’

As an author, Max already has fans. The Texan church pastor’s books of spiritual guidance make the New York Times Bestseller Lists. In a Q&A with her fans on Twitter last month, Britney Spears responded to the question ‘What’s your favourite book?’ with: ‘Anything by Max Lucado.’

Over the phone from the US, he explains how he began writing his short story, published six years ago, when he ‘had the idea for the candle and for this little mystery – a tradition of an angel touching a candle every generation’.

The story is set not in Max’s hometown of San Antonio but in the Cotswolds. ‘The most beautiful place on the planet,’ according to Max. ‘And it seems the perfect place for Christmas.’

A candle-maker in the fictional village of Gladstone in 1664 is woken up one night when an angel appears in his house and blesses one of his candles. After an Advent service in the church, his wife passes the candle to an impoverished young widow and tells her to pray. On Christmas Eve, they discover that the widow has been left land in a will and so will be able to survive and support her two young children.

Every 25 years, an angel visits the chandler’s shop and blesses a candle. The candle-maker has to decide who has the greatest need and then hand them the transforming tallow.

But in 1864, the tradition is complicated by the arrival of a sceptical new clergyman and an accident in which the chandler loses sight of the chosen candle.

Max says that readers reacted positively to the story.‘I never had any aspirations that it would be a classic. I still don’t

think it is. But the responses of those who read it were that it is a heart-warming story. At Christmas we want our hearts to be warmed and our hopes lifted.’

Screenwriters Eric Newman and Candace Lee have now turned

Wax miracle

Author Max Lucado

A story about an angel blessing a candle has been made into a film. MAX LUCADO, author of ‘The Christmas Candle’, tells Philip Halcrow about its message of hope

Turn to page 10

9Thheeee WWaar rr CCryyyy Christmas 2013

Max’s short story into a film. One-time Time Lord in Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy appears as Edward the candle-maker, Hans Matheson from Clash of the Titans plays the new clergyman David, Samantha Barks, who appeared in the film version of Les Misérables, plays the church-avoiding Emily, and Susan Boyle makes her big-screen debut as a musical villager, Eleanor.

‘The screenplay needed to expand the story, because the story is so short,’ says Max. ‘So Candace and Eric added a few characters and a couple of scenes. But the production company was kind enough to give me right of approval on the screenplay and – from what I understand – that is not always the case.’

The film is set slightly later than the book. The screenwriters introduce a subplot about

electricity. And in another change, the village’s future clergyman begins the film not as a church preacher but as a member of The Salvation Army, serving soup in London.

Max’s participation in the film went further than giving the OK to the screenplay. He and his wife Denalyn also dressed up and went on set to take part in the filming.

He enjoyed seeing the film take shape.‘It was a wonderful experience. The most

enjoyable part has been to sit in two early screenings of the movie with a crowd of people. I enjoyed watching people watch the movie.

‘I have been writing books since 1985, but you can never really watch somebody read your

I enjoyed watching people watch the movie

Hans Matheson plays a clergyman in the film of ‘The Christmas Candle’

From page 9

10

book and see their face. But you can watch people when they watch your story in movie form. It was a delight to hear people laugh at the right time or sigh at the right time.’

Max believes there is room for a film such as The Christmas Candle. After naming It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story as favourites, he adds: ‘To be honest, I always wanted there to be a movie that focused a little more on the birth of Jesus. I appreciate the movies that are all about the Nativity, but I reckoned there could be one which was more contemporary, set either in our day or – as I chose – in the 1800s, but which explored the birth of Jesus.’

Through the story, Max tries to shed some light on faith.

‘One of the topics that the book touches upon is the blending of supernatural miracles and miracles that we create,’ he says. ‘There are times when God intervenes in a situation and brings a supernatural solution; but there are other times when we ourselves are the solution to someone else’s problem.

Sylvester McCoy plays Edward, the candle-maker

There are times when we are the solution to someone else’s problem

11Thheeee WWaar rr CCryyyy Christmas 2013

‘The book explores the balance between receiving a miracle and being a miracle. In the story there are some supernatural happenings that surprise everyone and then there are times when someone just decides to help their neighbour – and they are equally valid expressions of God’s miraculous work.’

In Max’s eyes, Christmas is all about God stepping in.

‘Christmas is more than a good mood, a happy season or the giving of gifts. Christmas means that God cares enough about the world to get involved with it – he cares enough about each one of us to get involved with us.

‘Christmas is a profound moment in the history

of humanity. I do believe that God became flesh and was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. It is also intertwined with questions: How did that happen? What does it say about God?

‘To me, the birth of Jesus – Christmas – and the resurrection of Jesus – Easter – are the two moments on which everything else hangs.’

Max says that, although he appreciates films about ‘Santa Claus or Christmas shopping or visiting relatives’, he is glad that The Christmas Candle will offer cinemagoers the chance to see ‘a movie that talks about the real meaning of Christmas’. He wants people to leave cinemas with hope.

‘I want them to take away the hope that God is still working in the world; hope that our acts of kindness can make a difference; hope that God still does what he did at the first Christmas. And I believe he does.

‘Jesus is still being born – he can be born in us and through us.’

Previews of The Christmas Candle will take place at Vue cinemas tomorrow (Sunday 8 December). The film will be released nationwide from 13 December

Max and his wife Denalyn took part in the filming

Christmas means that God cares enough about the world to get involved with it

Before becoming a preacher, David serves soup with The Salvation Army

H Q A T W R D L I B H M Y L R J I N F A N T S A X D P K O N S T S O H A H C H X G J H O E C L T Z V R U L C N V L E B I R T H G R E U I H L E G E F N R G O S Y Y F L S I P O R M D J S E V K N Y D T Q L P A N T L M W Z D K B Y V I L A P R T E N D E R W Y W D U S N F W A L S M U N G U E I F M R D E H Q K I R R T H M M E Q J D V O H J E S U S L V G L O F S L V O Y F K A I J O H M F X O B R A E B A A M M R T L E N H B M Z N J T J I U T N I C I G A F C H G E K A W W I B N V E V N T F E Q P U E S X E K E Y A C G K H K R P A C Y A V D C X B D C R T D S M H N L D L N I S T U Y A N S N H T Y H R Q V T F I Z D V D Z S B R K L C W S A H U O P K N J A M A S A D U G T S R L B Z R H Y L U L D G C H E M R Q D J L E O A C H A M H E R G P T N B G E L Y W B I O F H G W F E L Z E J S W U I H N D O T T P S R D T X A W F Y R I C L K P S R H E I U N I H I J V N I T H G I R B E S B A H S R G S E R L E C Q V C H I L D H X E O T L P E T A O K N O S J W T D E G S H T F P E A C E

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these words from the carol ‘Silent Night’AFARALLANDBEAMS BIRTHBORNBRIGHTCALM CHILDCHRIST DAWN FACEFROM GLORIES GOD

PURE QUAKERADIANT REDEEMING ROUNDSAVIOUR SHEPHERDS SIGHTSILENTSINGSLEEP SONSTREAM

GRACEHALLELUJAH HEAVENHEAVENLYHOLYHOSTSINFANTJESUSLIGHTLORD LOVE’S MILDMOTHERNIGHTPEACE

TENDERTHETHY VIRGINWITHYON

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

Solution on page 15

SUDOKU

ANSWERS

QUICK CROSSWORDACROSS: 1 Mural. 5 Forum. 8 Omega. 9 Tally. 10 Infer.

11 Again. 12 Echo. 15 Reject. 17 Saved. 18 Ending. 20 Pass. 25 Booth. 26 Thumb. 27 Route. 28 Evade. 29 Dated. 30 Dream.

DOWN: 1 Mature. 2 Relish. 3 Loyal. 4 Delay. 5 Fainted. 6 Refuse. 7 Market. 13 Con. 14 Bag. 15 Red. 16 Cos. 17 Snubbed. 18 Elated. 19 Deduct. 21 Accuse. 22 Scream. 23 Royal. 24 Shred.

ANAGRAMS1 White Christmas. 2 Here Comes Santa Claus. 3 Winter

Wonderland. 4 Mary’s Boy Child. 5 Let It Snow. 6 Frosty the Snowman.

HONEYCOMB1 Briggs. 2 Ladies. 3 Bauble. 4 Smiled. 5 Sleigh. 6 Angels.

10. Deduce (5)11. Once

more (5)12. Resound (4)15. Spurn (6)17. Rescued (5)18. Final part (6)20. Overtake (4)25. Kiosk (5)26. Digit (5)27. Course (5)28. Elude (5)29. Old (5)30. Hallucination (5)

DOWN1. Ripe (6)2. Enjoy (6)3. Faithful (5)4. Hold up (5)5. Swooned (7)6. Decline (6)7. Emporium (6)13. Swindle (3)14. Sack (3)15. Colour (3)16. Lettuce (3)17. Slighted (7)18. Overjoyed (6)19. Subtract (6)21. Impeach (6)22. Shriek (6)23. Regal (5)24. Tatter (5)

Unscramble the following to reveal these Christmas songs

1. CHAIR WITH STEMS

2. COACHMAN SEES A RESULT

3. NEW WORLD IN A TREND

4. IDYL BOYS MARCH

5. TIN TOWELS

6. WHY SOFT ORNAMENTS

ACROSS1. Wall painting (5)5. Meeting (5)

8. Last letter of Greek alphabet (5)

9. Agree (5)

QUICK CROSSWORD

1. Surname of the author of The Snowman

2. According to the song, they were dancing on the ninth day of Christmas

3. Tree decoration

4. Line from ‘The Little Drummer Boy’: ‘Then he ______ at me’

5. Santa rides on one

6. They told the shepherds about the baby Jesus

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

ANAGRAMS

SEARCH

HONEYCOMB

H

WORDSEARC


the show, Louise and Martine read passages from the nativity story.

As I watched, I screamed with righteous indignation: ‘That can’t be right. Don’t people know who they are! How could they be asked to read from the Bible on telly?’

Immediately, I was overcome by a deep sense of shame and remorse. I was a hypocrite. Who was I to criticise anyone? I had forgotten my own failures and felt truly chastised.

Some words of the martyred Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, came to mind: ‘The authentic Church is one that does not mind conversing with prostitutes … and sinners, as Christ did … in order to bring them salvation’s true message. Jesus came to save people in whatever situation he found them.’

Louise and Martine Fokkens had every right to read the story of the birth of Jesus. He came into the world for them as much as he did for me.

The story of Jesus has to be reclaimed from superior-feeling spirits like me. It must also be

In this series, RON THOMLINSON calls for a rethink on the festive seasonReclaiming

the story

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Please send meBasic reading about ChristianityInformation about The Salvation ArmyContact details of a Salvationist minister

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Who was I to criticise anyone?


LOUISE and Martine Fokkens must be the most famous prostitutes in the Netherlands. These 70-year-old identical twins worked for nearly 50 years in Amsterdam’s red-light district.

Last December, they, along with several Dutch television personalities, took part in a Christmas special in the city’s Dam Square. The televised programme combined popular and religious music with readings from the Gospels. During

reclaimed from those who want to keep a ‘meek-and-mild’ baby in a sterile, comfortable, warm crib inside the Church – as though Jesus must never connect with or be tainted by reality.

Jesus was born to do more than make us feel cosy at Christmas.

He came to reclaim us, all of

us, whatever we’ve done. He came to reclaim the whole world and make it new. It’s all in the nativity story.

There is a power in the story that seeps through our defences. The power behind the nativity story can save us from ourselves and that’s why the story has to be reclaimed, retold and retained in each generation.

Dam Square at Christmas

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The War Cry Registered at Companies House as a newspaper under the Newspaper Libel and Registration Act 1881

Editor: Nigel Bovey, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Stephen Pearson Editorial Assistant: Claire Brine Editorial Assistant: Renée Davis Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston DTP Operator: Denise D’Souza Secretary: Joanne Allcock War Cry office: 020 7367 4900Email: [email protected]

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asks WESLEY HARRIS

WHEN my wife and I moved from our native Britain to Australia some years ago, we felt almost as much at home as at home! The language was obviously the same. In addition, many of the people we met shared our links with Britain and loved to talk about the old country.

But when Christmas arrived in our new homeland, there were marked differences. Instead of being in the depths of winter, it was in high summer. Our Salvation Army band would play a carol such as ‘See Amid the Winter’s Snow’ with perspiration running down their faces. This was hardly the experience of bands in the UK. And on Boxing Day in Australia, there was an exodus from cities to sunny seaside resorts, for

dips in the sea and beach barbecues.

But I realised that, despite the meteorological differences, the significance of Christmas was the same. We were celebrating the birth of Jesus – and it didn’t matter where we lived.

Christmas is about far more than personal family traditions or national customs. It should be about what is in our hearts and remembering that God


cared for the human race so deeply that he sent his Son to share in our vulnerability.

The purpose of Christmas is summed up in these words of the Bible:

‘God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life’ (John 3:16 Contemporary English Version).

Wherever we find ourselves over the festive season – and whether it snows or shines – we can recall that God is always with us. Not just at Christmas-time, but every day of the year.

OOOnn BBooxiinggg DDDaaayyyy, tthhheerree aarre bbeeaaccchhhh bbaaarrbbeeccuues

I’M Michael Darracott. I have been an executive chef in several large establishments in charge of cooking for 200-plus people. I have also written a number of books. It gives me great pleasure to offer my recipes in The War Cry.

I invite readers to send in recipe ideas, to be considered for publication here. I would also like to offer help with any cooking-related problems you have. So send in your question and, if it is selected, an answer will be published on this page.

Email your recipes and questions to [email protected]

Ingredients:

4 dates, chopped and stoned

550g sweet mincemeat

Zest of 1 large orange

1tbsp vanilla essence

55g self-raising flour

1½ tsp mixed spice

4tsp brown sugar

Sprinkling of grated nutmeg

55g fresh white breadcrumbs

2tbsp black treacle

1 medium egg, beaten

Cover pictures: Page 1 Shutterstock image © Angela Waye Page 16 Shutterstock image © Ahturner

SUDOKU SOLUTION

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Method:Grease a 900ml pudding basin. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and

stir well, then pour into the pudding basin.Cover the basin with baking paper, then a

circle of tinfoil, and tie securely round the edge of the bowl with string.

Place the Christmas pudding in a saucepan and fill the pan with hot water until it reaches nearly halfway up the basin. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the saucepan with a lid.

Cook the Christmas pudding for 2½–3 hours. Top up the saucepan with

Fast Christmas

pudding

more water if necessary. Serve hot with ice-cream or custard.

Serves 6

chefmikedarracott.com

Cook with chef MICHAEL DARRACOTT

15Thheeee WWaaar rr CCryyyy Christmas 2013

The Salvation Army (United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland) on behalf of the General of The Salvation Army. Printed by Wyndeham Grange, Southwick. © André Cox, General of The Salvation Army, 2013

By Nigel Bovey

FRAIL, fragile, vulnerable,The Word made fleshAnd blood and sweat and tears, Who’ll weep – heart broken – for death-stung friendsAnd give his life to draw the sting, For friend and foe, together fallen:God’s gift to a selfish world.

Handed to the trust of humankind,Kindness fails. His hands are pierced, Fingers nailed, impact nullified.An inconvenience swept aside, The sacrificial LambIs shorn of life.God’s gift to a senseless world.

Stripped of rank, namedAnd numbered among criminalsJesus, sinless Son – God’s one and only –Bares his soul: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Yet, at point of death, guides penitent to Paradise,God’s gift to a self-willed world.

The ‘sleeping’ Son wakens the dead,Defying death, Christ comes to life.Heaven’s path now open, he bids Sin-weary travellers to take faltering steps of faith –A journey in repentance, forgiveness, second birth,Where we can unfoldGod’s gift to a searching world.

No 7145 Est 1879 FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS · salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry Est 1879 FIGHTING FOR...

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Transcript of No 7145 Est 1879 FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS · salvationarmy.org.uk/warcry Est 1879 FIGHTING FOR...