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Lives transformed, communities revitalised
Equipping for Life aims to enable people of faith to equip others for life by partnering with existing initiatives that are seeking to improve education, employability and social cohesion.
An Irish Blessing 2020
People from 300 Christian churches and organisations drawn from every county in Ireland submitted self-recordings of vocals and instruments to inspire us all during the current pandemic.
Sir Nigel Hamilton
So what am I suggesting now?
1. Could we try to pray for an hour, or part of an hour, this Sunday, April 19th, between 3 and 4pm? We will be doing it in company with many thousands of others, at the same time. Could we also continue to contact as many people as possible and ask them to pray as well?
2. It has been suggested that some people might like to fast as well as pray. I believe prayer and fasting is the most powerful spiritual combination we have.
3. There is no question that we are in the midst of a major battle against the corona virus. That requires us to use all the spiritual resources at our disposal if we are going to win that battle. So I am suggesting that some of us might like pray every day for at least part of the hour between 3 and 4. The tougher the battle gets the more we need to pray.
4. Thursday night has become the traditional time now to go to our doors and applaud NHS staff and all in service industries. Absolutely right. They are doing a terrific job. I wonder if those of us who are people of faith could also be applauding to Almighty God in thanksgiving for what He is doing? Maybe we could start to bring this thought to the consciousness of many people?
5. I believe that one of the ways we need to pray is, as well as asking God to drive back the corona virus, to ask Him to protect the progress already made through prayer. I have sometimes found that when great healing takes place that healing can be lost if we do not ask God to protect it.
6. We are going to have another morning of prayer for EfL on Wednesday, May 6th from 10am to 12.30pm.
Brothers and Sisters, I feel in my spirit that the contribution of people of faith, through prayer, is a vital ingredient in the battle against the corona virus. Let's do the very best we can to help our people, so many of whom are suffering at this time.
Keep well
Keep safe
Keep praying ( Mrs. Lorraine Graham )
Rev. Jim Rea M.B.E.
(former President of the Methodist Church)
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Letters and Reports
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Hello, Brothers and Sisters, I hope you are still coping well with lockdown. The good weather has been a blessing to us, especially if we have some space around the house where we can take fresh air.
During the past week I have gone back to spending time listening to God. I asked Him to give me some guidance on the way forward for Equipping for Life. I felt that He gave me three things: Firstly, He told me not to limit the ministry just to the areas where we are working now, or about to go in to. He said to start to take the ministry to the whole of Northern Ireland. Secondly, I asked Him for guidance on how to get involved in working with teenagers. He said to go through the Secondary schools. The structure there would enable us to make a meaningful contribution. Thirdly, I felt the Lord telling me to form a group of 'Friends of Equipping for Life ' - individual people, groups, churches, clergy, organisations - receiving our communications, promoting the ministry, possibly praying for us and making a financial contribution.
I then felt the Lord say that this is enough in the meantime. All of these activities will require a lot of work to get them up and running.
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you would like to make about this proposed way forward in the short term.
SOME OTHER MATTERS
1 East Belfast
Bishop David McClay has given us a warm welcome to come and work in East Belfast. I feel that in the days to come he will be a good friend to the ministry.
2 Spiritual food on the radio and internet
On Sunday past I listened to the service on Radio 4 at 8.10am. Then I listened to the service on Radio Ulster at 10.15am. At 11am I went Livestream with Lowe Memorial Presbyterian Church. All were excellent. There is a lot of very rich spiritual food available on the media at the moment.
3 Friends of Equipping for Life
Could you start to think about people, clergy, churches, organisations who could become Friends of EfL? Before very long we could start to contact them.
4 Website
I think our website has some very good stuff on it at the moment. Could I ask you please to recommend it to your friends? Encourage them to visit it. I think the section on profiles is particularly good.
I am doing a short video on the website today Wednesday at 2pm. It should be up a short time after that. www.equippingforlife.org.uk
5 Prayer for our Land
The next hour of prayer for our land will be on Sunday, May 17 from 3 - 4pm. If you feel that you can fast some of us start at 6pm Saturday and go through to 6pm Sunday.
6 Morning of Prayer for EfL
The next morning of prayer will be Wednesday, June 3 from 10am to 12.30pm. Maybe you could spare some time to pray during those hours?
David Jardine
After establishing ourselves in Forth River school, over the following months we received invitations from the other 8 schools in the Greater Shankill area. Since September, 2019, we have had 8 VTs going in to each one of those schools every week. Indeed, we even have three groups going in to Malvern P.S.
Invitations then started to come to us from other areas. We were all set up to start in 3 schools in Rathcoole and Monkstown after Easter, until corona intervened. The same thing has happened in Tonagh and Knockmore in Lisburn.
But this only a delay. We are keeping in touch with our 80 VTs on the Shankill and the 50 just about to start in Lisburn and Newtownabbey, so that we are ready to go when restrictions are lifted. Almost all of these Volunteers have come through the churches, so it is worth saying that the Church has really stepped up to the mark to support this ministry.
Of course,we have plans for the future. A team has been put in place to establish the work in East Belfast, a good team. We have plans to start homework clubs in the Shankill schools. All the Head Teachers are very much in favour of this development. We would like to get established in secondary schools in the area, again taking the young people for reading. What we are really doing is playing to our strengths, building up areas of the work that we know we are good at. Once the ministry is more deeply established we will then be in a position to take on further challenges, such as trying to get parents more involved in their childrens' education.
There are two things which are crucial for Equipping for Life. First of all, everything we do is one to one. The children really respond to this personal attention. Secondly, the spiritual dimension. We work hard at organising prayer in the background. This is what makes us different and is the reason why the ministry has blossomed. We are grateful to our God.
If you would like to be one of the people who prays for our ministry please contact Mrs. Pat Hutchinson at pat@equippingforlife.org.uk
We would be very glad of your support.
Brother David Jardine, Director
