July Newsletter

Reaching, serving and empowering older people

Welcome to this July Faith in Later Life newsletter where we will be sharing updates and news, signposting to new resources, and highlighting opportunities for you to get involved with.

 

 

“I love the [Faith in Later Life] oneness of heart in wanting to bring Christ to those in most need and with little time left in this world and the support, love and respect for those who are wiser and more senior than us in every aspect of life.”

Church Champion

 

Resource of the month

Bible Reflections for Older People

 

 

Written by older people for older people, these reflections are designed to bring hope, assurance and sustenance, reminding the reader of the presence and love of God. In each issue are 40 Bible reflections and prayer suggestions to use and revisit as often as is needed. In the central section, Debbie Thrower of BRF’s Anna Chaplaincy ministry offers interviews and ideas to encourage and inspire.

 

July news

I wonder whether you find yourself sweltering in energy sapping heat or maybe you enjoy the warm weather- or maybe wherever you are you aren’t experiencing the mini heat wave that has certainly hit the southeast of England! Wherever you are, I hope this month’s scripture passage is an encouragement, as we are reminded that it is in the Lord that we are renewed.

 

As August fast approaches and some people may be planning a break, we continue to be as busy as ever and thank God for all He is giving us to do. July was another busy month which included recording talks for churches, as well as participating in a panel discussion on an Evangelical Alliance webinar, reflecting on the importance of mission with older people. One positive to have come from the coronavirus pandemic is that older people have more of a profile which means our work is gaining momentum and enabling our Christian voice for older people to grow. Another illustration of this is that we have been invited to lead the BBC Sunday Service on Sunday 8th August. This will go out across all 39 BBC local radio stations, at 8am, and will include some wonderful old hymns, and a reflection given by me. Do tune in if you can.

 

Knowing how August can fly by, I wanted to remind us that we have our first annual Faith in Later Life Church Champions online conference on Saturday 18th September. The event is open to all, and is free to Church Champions and £5 for non- Church Champions. We are delighted that Debbie Thrower, founder of Anna Chaplaincy will be speaking to us, as will author and dementia specialist Louise Morse, Professor Keith Brown, and Carl Brettle, CEO of Neighbourhood Prayer Network. To attend, click this link to register, or email [email protected].

 

Lastly, I am delighted to share that this year we are partnering with our sister charity Pilgrims’ Friend Society to deliver a joint prayer week. This will be happening on 12th – 18th September and I will write with further details in due course, when we will share an excellent resource with daily prayer points.

 

Thank you so much for all the prayer support we receive as well as for the monthly direct debits and gifts that you have been giving. Your giving is enabling us to invest in growing our Church Champion community and associated resources, as we seek to inspire and equip Christians in their Kingdom impact in local communities across the UK. If you feel prompted, would you prayerfully consider whether you could commit to giving, to enable our ministry to continue? This will enable us to plan effectively. If you were able to give regularly (every pound makes a difference) to the work of Faith in Later Life- or even a one-off donation- that would be hugely appreciated. You can give by contacting us directly and we can provide our bank details, or by setting up giving via our website. If you would like a conversation about this, I would be delighted to speak with you.

 

Thank you once again for all your support for Faith in Later Life, and your interest in keeping up to date with what we are doing.

 

Everything we do is underpinned by prayer, so we thank you for your continued prayers for our ministry. Please can you pray along the lines below:

 

  • Please pray for our Church Champions conference as well as the prayer week, that both would bless and encourage all involved.
  • For financial provision for our work in 2021.
  • That through our Church Champion network we would be able to support and equip more and more church communities in serving and empowering older Christians and reaching older people in the community with the love and good news of Jesus.

 

Yours in Christ,

Carl Knightly

CEO, Faith in Later Life