Church Champion Story

I’m Sally Bates and I’m Associate Minister at Frinton Free Church, a Baptist church on the North Essex Coast with about 450 members. Frinton is a retirement destination, so about half of our members are over 65 and when I was appointed in May 2019 I was given special responsibility for our seniors’ ministry, FreeSeniors. One of the first things I did was attend a conference hosted by Faith in Later Life and Pilgrim’s Friend Society and soon afterwards I became a Church Champion. Our mission statement at FreeSeniors comes from Proverbs 4:18 – ’the longer they live, the brighter they shine’ and we seek to reflect this in many different ways.

Back in 2007 my predecessor set up Welcome Break, a weekly group for 60 seniors from the community, which offers friendship, support and above all the chance to know and be known. Alongside a varied programme of quizzes, speakers, music and activities, as well as a ‘thought for the day’, each guest has named team members committed to caring for them, staying in touch if they’re absent or ill, and praying regularly for them. Numerous guests have said over the years that Welcome Break is the highlight of their week and it’s worth mentioning that almost all of the team are over 65 themselves, and many are widowed, giving them the opportunity to serve alongside others at this stage in their lives and enjoy the benefits of teamwork.

At the heart of our church community is Oasis Café, open five mornings a week for hot drinks, toast and cakes, all free of charge. Team members actively look out for those on their own to help combat loneliness and spend time listening, chatting and, if appropriate, praying with them.

Three years ago a long-held vision of mine came to fruition when we began a twice-monthly Dementia Café, headed up by a trained professional and supported by a team of volunteers, many of whom have experience of dementia themselves. The cafe was the first of its kind in our area and quickly became a place to which local health services would refer people. People are bussed in for our monthly Magical Memories singing café, complete with maracas, tambourines and pompoms, and we find regular opportunities to support carers just as much as those living with dementia.

We’ve recently started a partnership with Age Well East to provide bereavement support and all of these FreeSeniors activities provide friendship and care and support the good mental health and wellbeing of the older members of our community.

But rather than talk in theory about what we do and the difference it makes, I’d like to tell you about three people who’ve benefited directly from the work of FreeSeniors. I’ve changed their names to protect their anonymity. Firstly 95-year-old Caleb, who lives independently and comes to the church most days on his scooter. He began as a member of Welcome Break nearly 7 years ago and quickly began attending the lunches we put on at the church on Christmas Day for those living alone. Two years ago, we began an initiative called Meals Matter where we provided a free hot meal for people and Caleb came every week. But it’s very much a two-way relationship: he developed a friendship with our Church Centre Manager, who helped him to find a new home when he was evicted and arranged for it to be adapted so he could remain independent. Caleb is a retired horticulturalist and taught our Centre Manager how to prune the church hedge properly! He also regularly brings in plants and cuttings for people and gives out expert gardening advice to people when sitting in Oasis Cafe. He even offered to design someone’s garden for them! Caleb went on an Alpha course last year and now comes to church every Sunday. During a recent stay in hospital, he began praying for people and was thrilled when one by one they went home. Most importantly, Caleb is no longer lonely.

Secondly, I’d like to tell you about Bobby & Shirley, a retired couple whose first contact with the Free came when Bobby was diagnosed with dementia several years ago. Shirley was struggling to come to terms with the change in her husband and the impact on their marriage as she transitioned from wife to carer. She received specialist advice from our dementia café leader and they began to drop in regularly during the week to Oasis café, finding company and a listening and supportive ear. Before long, Shirley joined the café team and began serving as a volunteer herself, taking orders for hot drinks and preparing toasted teacakes while Bobby sits and chats with other visitors. In this way she is happy to give generously to the community which she and Bobby have become part of. She’s started coming to the ‘prayer pauses’ in the café – short reflective moments where we encourage guests to become aware of the presence of God and the shalom peace he wants everyone to experience. Shirley recently had some health issues and allowed me to pray with her; a couple of days later she stopped me in the street to tell me that she’d been healed. Our church community is a lifeline for Bobby & especially Shirley; in her words, “I don’t know where we’d be without this place.”

People like Caleb, Bobby and Shirley are what motivates us to prioritise the wellbeing of older people in our community and continue to share the love and hope of Jesus in as many ways as we can.

Being part of the national Faith in Later Life Church Champion network plays an essential part in inspiring and encouraging me to keep doing what God’s called me to do.

If your lead a church, a seniors ministry, or you work among older people in another type of faith based organsiation, we’d love you to join the Faith in Later Life Church Champion Network. Find out more and join for free: https://faithinlaterlife.org/get-involved/church-champions/