Free Church Healthcare Chaplains Annual Study Day

Free Church Healthcare Chaplains are invited to the Annual Study Day on Thursday 7th November 2019 at Free Church House, 27 Tavistock Square, Euston, London WC1H 9HH.

As well as updating you on the chaplaincy scene nationally, we will be considering “From theology to Schwartz Rounds – an exploration of reflective practice”. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Daniel Nuzum. He will be joined in the panel by chaplains who are also involved in Schwartz Rounds.

Daniel is an accredited Healthcare Chaplain and Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor based at Cork University Hospital and University College Cork, Ireland. His research interests are in the areas of perinatal loss, palliative care and pastoral care education.

Daniel is involved in Schwartz Rounds and hopes to train as a Schwartz Rounds facilitator.

The timetable for the day is as follows:

10:30 Coffee available
11:00 Welcome and opening prayers
11:15 Update on FCG and wider chaplaincy landscape
11:45 Keynote address
12:30 Lunch
13:15 Q&A with panel
14:00 What have you learned? What will you take back?
14:30 Issues from around the table
15:15 Closing remarks and Prayer
15:30 Depart

Please RSVP to Thandar at thandar.tun@freechurches.org.uk by Monday 4th November.

NAME: ………………………………………………………………………………
Any dietary requirements: ...........................................................................

We look forward to seeing you.

Best wishes,
Debbie and Meg
Secretaries for Healthcare Chaplaincy
Free Churches Group

"Well Beings" - a Guide to Good Mental Health from the Student Christian Movement

As part of our work with the Free Church Education Committee, FCG has been working with the Student Christian Movement (SCM) in the Higher Education Working Group.

We are pleased to announce that over the summer the SCM has published a resource pack for supporting good mental health for students. This free resource can be downloaded HERE.

The Student Christian Movement has launched Well Beings, a practical guide to good mental health for students. Produced in partnership with Space to Breathe, the resource is a response to a recent survey of students that showed over 90% of students have had mental health problems or are supporting someone who has poor mental health.

The resource covers themes such as where to find help, how to face anxiety and how to build resilience. Each topic is presented along with simple, practical activities to help students develop good mental health.

You can read more about the work we have been doing in the field of HE here and download more resources for you to use and share in your churches and share with your young people.

You may also be interested in a conference for Christian leaders on the theme of mental health which we are hosting later this month (23 Oct) - for further information and to book your place, click here.

(photo courtesy of Eli DeFaria at Unsplash)

What does freedom mean to you? And are you free?

What does freedom mean to you? If I was to consult the dictionary it might tell me that freedom is the “power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants” or “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved”. I could say that I feel particularly free when I am on holiday or when I am in prayer. Freedom might mean very different things to us depending on our background or current circumstances.

With inspiration from Psalm 111:9, this is the question that Prisons Week illuminates in the resources and prayers for our churches to share and pray through from 13th-19th October.

‘He sets his people free.

He made his agreement everlasting.

He is holy and wonderful.’

(Ps. 111:9 NCV)

In the opening sentences for this year’s Prison Week prayer sheet, we read that, “God’s will and intention for all his people is freedom – the freedom to be the people he created them to be.”

Download your free prayer sheet and share in your churches and groups.

For over forty years Prisons Week has prepared prayer literature for the Christian community to use as they pray for the needs of all those affected by prisons: prisoners and victims, their families, their communities, those working and volunteering in prisons and the criminal justice system.

(photo courtesy of Aaron Burden @ Unsplash)

Will you write a prayer for your school?

As part of our work in the education team at FCG, we work closely with Pray for Schools.

Our latest initiative with them is… “Share A Prayer” Will you write a prayer for your school and share it with us?

Pray for Schools say…”We are collecting a variety of prayers from both adults and children about your school: the well-being of pupils and staff, touching on issues of concern and hopes for the future.”

So why not get your thinking, praying and writing caps on?! Send a prayer to: england@prayforschools.org

Find out more - download the poster here.

Tell folk at your church and in your house-groups about this. Get creative! Inspire us to pray.

These prayers will be shared as part of the Pray Day for Schools coming up on 19th November.

(photo courtesy of Jan Kahánek @ Unsplash)

Pray for Schools - latest news!

For many years, the FCG has been active and diligent members of the Pray for Schools steering group. Their work has been going from strength to strength, engaging many churches and groups in praying for schools across the UK.

You can find out more about their interesting and varied work and check out their latest news HERE

To register for your very own copy of their inspiring newsletter HERE.

Date for your diary!

Pray Day is the third Tuesday of November every year when schools across Europe and around the world are the focus of prayer. This year it will be held on Tuesday 19th November 2019, with schools across the UK taking part. Join in the wave of prayer for our schools in your churches!

Let us pray….. Loving God, thank you for our schools.

We praise You Lord, for You are full of love, peace and hope. Please help us to be people of good news sharing your love, peace and hope into schools. Please help us to build good relationships with everyone. Please help us to be peace makers when there is tension and stress. Please help us to bring hope when there is despair and dejection. Please help us inspire others to be joyful when there is much to celebrate. Please help us demonstrate your love. Amen

(photo courtesy of Joshua Eckstein @ Unsplash)