Exciting Updates
News
10th April saw the six-month ‘anniversary’ of the launch of Faith in Later Life which is a good time to reflect on progress and to identify what is planned for the near future.
Website
The website continues to be developed in response to user feedback and to build on those aspects of the project already launched.
Last month’s FiLL News focussed on the Directory, but the upgrade to the website also included additions to the Resources section of the website: https://faithinlaterlife.org/resource-hub/. The following pie chart shows the number of resources now available in the various sections:
- Bible Insights, Evangelism, Background Information
- Church and Worship, Ageing Well, Faith in Action
- General Health, Relationships, Community and Loneliness
- Caring, Living with Dementia, Death and Dying
Please do let us know of any resources which you are aware of which we should consider adding to our list for the next upgrade. And tell others of the resources you have found useful.
The Directory continues to grow as more activities and service for older people are added. A big thank you to those who have added their work directly using the Input Form – at the bottom of the following page: https://faithinlaterlife.org/inspire/directory/. The next upgrade may well see the total number pass the 2,700 mark as more organisations become aware of the Directory and its usefulness.
The “Faith in Action” section of the website: (https://faithinlaterlife.org/inspire/) describes the four types of service:
- Information
- Facilitating
- Accompanying
- Providing
The Directory itself focusses on the ‘Providing’ type of service under the three categories (social, care and evangelical) and the front page concludes with a ‘Top Tip’:
In amongst all the policies, procedures and practical considerations involved, it is only too easy to lose focus on the people who come to your event. So, the ‘top tip’ is “design your activity to be intentionally relational”. The best activities are those that encourage a sense of community which leads to those who come becoming friends who build and maintain their own independent contact.
And an ‘intentionally relational community’ will facilitate ‘intentionally relational evangelism’.
Theology
The report this month from the London Seminary on the Faith in Later Life commissioned ‘Theology book’ is very encouraging. There are a couple of stages still to complete before we can issue something to those who have registered for the theology review. It is hoped that this will happen sometime in June. Please refer to https://faithinlaterlife.org/bible-teaching/ for more information on the scope of this work and/or if you wish to register to be included in the review.
Evangelism
The evangelism section of the Resource Hub (https://faithinlaterlife.org/category/evangelism/) contains links to 16 resources and we would very much like to hear of other material which you have seen used successfully with older people. It is really encouraging to feature accounts of people coming to faith in later life on the website and we are always keen to hear of more.
Future Events
The annual thanksgiving service of Pilgrims’ Friend Society, one of the founding charities of Faith in Later Life, will take place as part of the “God’s Purposes in Later Life” conference in Leicester on 12th May.