Love My Neighbour – In Care Homes

Everyone gets a bit down when the days get colder, and the nights draw in.  Most of us hunker down and suffer through the abominable ‘trick or treat’ season and wave a sparkler or two in November, as we look forward to Christmas and the hope of Easter and Spring.

And as a Christian that’s where things get interesting because the two highlights of the season revolve around the birth and resurrection of Jesus.  It’s a time when its normal to talk about Christian things and when the seasonal songs and images stir the memory, and the mince pies and mulled wine warm the body.

Love my Neighbour is a simple but potentially life-giving campaign to remind and encourage us all to connect with our neighbours. It’s good for everyone, but our prayer is that this would be especially good for older people this winter making the most of the season.

As the CEO of a charity that runs residential care homes, I know how valuable visitors are and I encourage you to see if your local care home(s) could be your neighbours this winter, and  if they would welcome the offer of someone to lead a worship service.  Research this year showed that at least 70% of people living in care describe themselves as Christian so you should get a warm welcome.

In partnership with Embracing Age, Faith in Later Life have a Love My Neighbour service plan which teams can deliver in care homes. You can download it here: LMN-Care-Home-Service.docx.

And as Christmas approaches there is help for organising a carol service that will be accessible to care home residents

And whatever you do or don’t do in person, please pray for people visiting care homes and care home residents to help them love their neighbour. Here are some handy tips to get you started: LMN-Care-Home-Visitors-and-Chaplains.docx

Stephen Hammersley

CEO, Pilgrims’ Friend Society