Hidden treasures of ‘lockdown’.

At the heart of what we do is equipping Christians, through the local church, in serving and empowering older Christians and reaching older people with the good news of Jesus Christ. A key way we seek to do this is through our Church Champion community, made up of people in their local churches with a heart for ministry with older people. Anyone can join our network, and they are first to hear about and receive resources as we commission or develop them.

Working with Professor Keith Brown, a Christian, who leads the National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice at Bournemouth University, we have developed an exciting new resource which provides very useful guidance for christian faith organisations, in the support and value of older people. We will be sharing this widely in the autumn but first we will be sharing this with our Church Champion network, at an online session in September where Professor Brown will be talking to us. For access to this, and to an encouraging and valuable network of Church Champions across the UK and beyond, do consider whether you or someone in your church would join our Church Champion community. You can do this very easily (or just seek more information) via our website by clicking here.

 

Finishing Well: A Gods eye view of ageing

Have you read ‘Finishing Well’ yet? Earlier in the month Revd Ian Knox (the author of ‘Finishing Well’) and I filmed a conversation about the book, why it is important and what it is about. It is worth a watch, and you can view it on our website by clicking here.

You can also read a taster booklet for free on the resources section of our website by clicking here, or you can order the book by visiting SPCKs website here.

 

Hidden treasures of ‘lockdown’

The Israelite’s, we read, wandered the wilderness for 40 years. With the benefit of scriptural hindsight, we can see the working hand of God on their situation, and the explicit lessons that the Lord wanted the Israelite’s to learn (Deuteronomy 8:2-3), namely that of humility and dependence on the providence of God. But in ‘lockdown’, as with other situations of life, we struggle sometimes to evaluate our current circumstances with the same perspective – even though God is still very much in control, working and speaking in our lives. Read more in our blog as we explore 3 ways in which God is opening our eyes during these trying times. Click here to read the blog.

 

Daily Hope: Impact

Someone who called the Daily Hope free phone line recently said this:

‘Thank you so much for the free phone number which I’ve dialled this morning and had a wonderfully blessed time singing lots of the old hymns I was brought up on. They were often written out of great trials which didn’t stop them praising and thanking Him for His faithfulness. It was such an encouragement which I can repeat whenever I want to. So thanks once again.’

Have you told someone about the ‘Daily Hope’ phone line yet? It is available 24 hours a day and free to all UK landlines and mobiles. This month there is an added ‘Holiday at Home’ series of reflections. The number you need is 0800 804 8044.

If you would like some more information about ‘Daily Hope’, or posters to promote ‘Daily Hope’, you can look on our website.

 

Save the date: Neighbour Sunday – 18th October 2020

Last year saw us partner with Neighbourhood Prayer Network and launch the first ‘Neighbour Sunday’. We put together a toolkit for Church leaders and our supporters, to help get the most out of the day. This included preaching notes, videos, resources and practical suggestions for activities. We were also able to  share about the importance of Christians engaging in their neighbourhoods, on various Christian and secular media outlets.

This year ‘Neighbour Sunday’ returns on Sunday 18th October as we continue to encourage individuals and Churches to build community and pray for their neighbours. All the downloadable resources in the forthcoming ‘Neighbour Sunday’ toolkit will be free, available from Friday 19th September.

We are particularly asking you to highlight the date with your Church leaders, asking them if your Church could have a Neighbour focus for Sunday 18th and perhaps whether we could all invite a neighbour to experience Church physically or online that day.

We plan to have a Neighbourhood Party (Covid-19 lockdown dependent), inviting our neighbours over for tea and cakes during that day and possibly with the opportunity to watch our own Church service in our home or garden. More details to come shortly.

To find all the resources you need visit www.neighboursunday.com

 

‘Sunday Night Live’

Earlier this month I joined the Christian broadcaster Pam Rhodes on her weekly show, ‘Sunday Night Live’, where I shared a bit about the work of Faith in Later Life. If you would like to watch this, click here, and you will find me on at around 8 minutes in.

 

Prayer points

If you are praying for us and our work, thank you! We would love to try and inform your prayers a bit more specifically. Below are three prayer points at this time:

• Pray that God would use our Church Champion community to bless churches and glorify Him.

• Pray for financial planning for Faith in Later Life, and financial provision to enable the charity to continue to move forward.

• Thank God that the ‘Daily Hope’ phone line continues to comfort and bless so many, during this time of Coronavirus.

 

Yours in Christ,

Carl Knightly
Chief Executive, Faith in Later Life