Praying with and for the Prison Fellowship Support Team

Prayer for Sunday 23rd May

We pray today for the Prison Fellowship Support Team, who are mostly working from home through this time. Loving God, would You sustain them, give them new energy and vision for the work, and keep them connected to each other and the wider Fellowship.

Amen

The Free Churches Group and our work in prison chaplaincy have worked with The Prison Fellowship (PF) for many years. Last year the Prison Fellowship celebrated 40 years of working with prisoners… their mission is : “to show Christ’s love to prisoners by coming alongside them and supporting them.”

Their work continues, as do the links the FCG and other organisations have with PF. You can join with friends and partners of The Prison Fellowship, by praying together through the month and May and beyond…

Prayer Diary – May 2020

This month, they are continuing to pray for all the prisons across England and Wales. There are four listed each day. To find out more about their work and register for their monthly prayer diary, click HERE.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27: 13-14

(photo courtesy of Zac Durant at Unsplash)

The Law Around Organ Donation is Changing

The law around organ donation is changing and providing the key details on:
• The law change and how it will change organ donation and transplantation
• What the law change will mean in the current context of COVID-19
• What we’ve been doing to reassure people who want their faith/beliefs to be respected if their family were approached about organ donation.

We’re asking all stakeholders to show their support by sharing assets, like the video and other assets available at this link.

The details is available to download here.

Kindness matters most, Mental Health Awareness Week

This week is the Mental Health Awareness Week. The theme this year is kindness. You may have already seen this clip but if not, it's worth spending a couple of minutes looking at it.

Kindness Matters - Mental Health Awareness Week

"Kindness was chosen because of its singular ability to unlock our shared humanity. Kindness strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity. It is a cornerstone of our individual and collective mental health. Wisdom from every culture across history recognises that kindness is something that all human beings need to experience and practise to be fully alive."

Over the past eight weeks we have seen all over the country wonderful acts of kindness and how it can bring communities together to strengthen, support and encourage.

There is support for people who are finding life a struggle and who need a helping hand. No one should suffer in silence. There are plenty of suggestions and ideas if you tap in Mental Health Awareness 2020 into a google search. I am sure you will have either yourself, or know of somebody who is or has, struggled at some point in their lives. Thankfully this topic is talked about a lot more these days and help available but we need to be mindful at all times.

One of the quotes is "Now is the time to re-imagine a kinder society", hopefully we all try to do that, pandemic or no pandemic!

Matthew 25:35-40 Taken from The Message

34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ Amen.

Di Welchman
Trinity Methodist Circuit & Clays Churches (Admin Support)
Grove Street Methodist Church

Free webinar for Chaplains and Christian leaders: 2 June at 1.30 p.m. Reflective Practice: a Pathway to the Heart

Photo by Guillaume LORAIN on Unsplash

Date: 2 June, 2020 at 1.30 p.m. – 3.45 p.m.

Venue: wherever you like – as long as you have a screen and are connected to the internet (we’ll be using Zoom)

Cost: Free!

Who is it for?: Chaplains in healthcare, prison or education settings, or any other setting; Christian leaders; anyone who is interested.

We’ve talked to a lot of chaplains and other leaders recently, and understand something of the range of new pressures that the Coronavirus pandemic has brought with it. These pressures and challenges have opened up new opportunities for many people, but there has been little time to stop and reflect.

We’re offering you the opportunity to take a bit of time out for yourself – time to ponder, time to think, and time to learn how to embed reflective practice in your ministry.

Mark Stobert, chair of UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy (UKBHC) and Lead Chaplain at Cambridge University Hospitals, will present the webinar.

More details and information are available HERE

Please register here to book.

You will receive the links to join the webinar if you book in advance.

A participants guide to Reflective Practice Sessions is available to download here:

Reflective Practice – Reflection on Action

Clouds

Join us in praying with Prison Fellowship in the weeks ahead...

The Free Churches Group and our work in prison chaplaincy have worked with The Prison Fellowship (PF) for many years. Last year the Prison Fellowship celebrated 40 years of working with prisoners… their mission is : “to show Christ’s love to prisoners by coming alongside them and supporting them.”

Their work continues, as do the links the FCG and other organisations have with PF. You can join with friends and partners of The Prison Fellowship, by praying together through the month and May and beyond…

Prayer Diary – May 2020

This month, they are continuing to pray for all the prisons across England and Wales. There are four listed each day. To find out more about their work and register for their monthly prayer diary, click HERE.

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27: 13-14

Prayers for Sunday 17th May

God, give us this day a vision of Your Church, which extends into every prison in this country. Thank you that we are one in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

(photo courtesy of Sincerely Media at Unsplash)