Pray for Livability

May – August 2013

Livability is the new face of John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society

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At Livability, we are passionate about creating opportunities for disabled people and supporting those who want to make a difference in their communities.

We offer a wide range of services to support and empower disabled people throughout their lives, from our colleges and school to residential care and supported living. We also provide many other specialist services including brain injury rehabilitation and accessible holidays.

Livability also works with churches and community organisations. We provide them with advice, training and resources to transform their neighbourhoods.

Our organisations were started by passionate Christians whose faith compelled them to act when they saw poverty and social challenges on the streets of Victorian Britain. Inspired by their legacy, we continue to keep a clear Christian ethos at the heart of all we do.

By sharing our joys and challenges, and bringing them to God on our behalf, you are truly a part of what God is doing through Livability – transforming communities and individuals.

Livability was created from the merger of two well-respected organisations, John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society.

Our founders John Groom (left) and Lord Shaftesbury

Who we are

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Dear friends,

Sunny days, ice-cream running down your fingers, children laughing as they build sandcastles, no phone calls or emails to worry about; on our summer holidays it’s easy to think about ‘life in all its fullness’.

On the wall of Livability’s central office we have a version of Jesus’ famous quote from John 10:10 – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” But the context is very different – the office opens onto a busy London road, pavements cluttered with fast-food rubbish and sirens going past.

If Jesus’s promise of abundant life is for everyone, for every day, then it’s not just for the summer holidays. At Livability we spend time thinking about what that life looks like in the ordinary, the everyday. That’s why we are interested in happiness and wellbeing. Did you know that last year’s official wellbeing statistics revealed that the happiest areas of Britain are in fact the least sunny – Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides!

One of the keys to happiness is relationships. Nothing has the power to make people happier than strong relationships. Whether it’s strengthening marriages or just getting to know your neighbours – the more robust your relationships, the more resilient you are.

How can we better invest in our relationships? It may mean going wider to befriend an increasing range of people, or going deeper with people we already know. Either way, we can access life to full – and we don’t need to be on our summer holidays to experience it!

Adam Bonner Director Community Mission

Cover photo: caption to follow.

Life to the full

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May

Week beginning 12 MayPlease join us in thanking God for a safe, dry and successful Easter fun run – the Rabbit Run. We saw over 160 runners, cheered on by family and friends, raising over £6,000 for Livability’s work.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38

Week beginning 5 May It’s all change at Livability’s central office. We’ve reorganised our building and squeezed our desks closer together, emptying the top two floors of our building. We are hoping to fill the space with new tenants – bringing in a useful new source of income. Thank God that we are blessed with this great building – and please pray that we will find the right tenants to move in.

Run, rabbit, run! Sponsored runners at the starting line

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Week beginning 19 MayLivability continues to speak out against benefit cuts which are damaging the health and wellbeing of the poorest in society. Please pray that the voices of disabled and disadvantaged people will be heard.

Week beginning 26 MayLivability’s Community Mission team has just started an exciting project with the Diocese of Durham. We will be working with churches right across the north-east of England, helping them get better at reaching out to their local communities. Pray in particular for Ruth Smith, who is heading up what is one of Community Mission’s biggest ever projects.

Livability will be working with churches across Durham - including the beautiful cathedral

ACTIONMany churches choose to mark Disability Sunday on the first Sunday in June. If you would like Disability Sunday resources to use in your services please visit www.churchesforall.org.uk/disability-sunday-resource

Accessibility sharing expertise

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Accessibility is a big problem for many people with disability in Nepal, both inside and outside the home. This results in few opportunities for disabled people to integrate and participate in their family life and local communities.

In partnership with the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre, Livability is supporting a project to ensure that when people return home after rehabilitation, access will not be a problem.

When she returned home, Mittu Tamang was confined to one room in her house because her bathroom, bedroom and kitchen were all inaccessible. The project enabled modifications to be undertaken to ensure that all rooms were accessible, and now Mittu is able to carry on her housework independently and cook for her family.

Please pray that many more people living in Nepal will benefit through the modification project and enjoy a better quality of life.

Before modification, Tamang had no accessible toilet

After modification, Tamang is able to use her bathroom independently

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Imagine the preciousness of every moment, Every smile, song, and blade of grass.If we truly believe they are gifts from the Creator, Given to us for this very moment, And that our enjoyment of them Is limited to this day.Imagine living in the present, And the Presence, with contentment.

May I seek justice, peace, joy, And God Himself each day, Each moment of my life. May I not allow a moment to be wasted, May I see the gift that is life. May I know that God is here, With me, today.

Pause for thought

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June

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Week beginning 2 JuneThis Sunday is Disability Sunday, a day which many churches dedicate to learning, thinking and praying about disability. Please pray that churches will not see disability as a once-a-year subject, but a daily challenge that sits right at the heart of their work.

If you would like a Livability speaker to visit your church, we would love to tell you more about how you can include disabled people at the heart of your community. Simply email mray@livability.org.uk

Our Churches Inc charter can help churches start thinking about how they include disabled people

Week beginning 9 JuneOn 14 June, teams of Livability supporters will gather at the Selsdon Park Hotel and Golf Club for our annual golf tournament. Please pray that this fun event will build valuable links with our corporate supporters, as well as raising funds for Livability’s work.

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Week beginning 16 JuneIt’s not often we are happy to lose a member of staff with over 30 years’ experience. But we’re making an exception with Tony Pilkington, leader of Bell Farm Christian Centre, a small church on a tough estate next door to Heathrow Airport. Under Tony’s leadership the church has grown stronger and is now able to employ him directly. Join us in thanking God for his faithfulness to Tony and his family and pray that the church continues to flourish.

Week beginning 23 JuneEvery year Livability trains hundreds of church and community leaders in skills like conflict resolution, managing volunteers, and retaining a Christian distinctiveness. Please pray that our upcoming training days will be times of support, encouragement and practical learning.

Tony addressing HRH The Princess Royal after a tour of Bell Farm

A recent study by Bristol University revealed that on average people with learning difficulties die 16 years younger than non-disabled people.

16 years

younger

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Earlier this year, we received a surprise gift of £171 from somebody who had read the last prayer diary on our website. She is a Christian who was inspired to make the donation after finding out about Livability by searching the internet through Google. Please give thanks for computer technology which enables people to make these connections.

Researching what older people think of Hillingdon’s lunch club

June

Week beginning 30 JuneLivability’s Community Mission team has just started working with Hillingdon Park Baptist Church in West London. We are helping them to assess the impact of their work with older people and to research the needs of their local community. Please pray for great working relationships.

ACTION‘Lazy scroungers’ – that’s how the media likes to label people who rely on benefits. It’s important that we tell an alternative story. Do you know someone affected by the latest benefit cuts? Why not take half an hour and (with their permission) write a letter to your local newspaper, telling their story.

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Focus on... Let Me Work

Ian’s work experience helped him become more confident and independent.

Unemployment is a key political and social issue at the moment, and there is no group more affected than disabled people. Out of the 5.2 million disabled people of working age here in the UK, over half are available and willing to work, but simply cannot find a job.

So as part of our Let Me In campaign, we have launched Let Me Work – a campaign to get disabled people into work. We are working from both sides – working in our schools and colleges and Enterprise scheme to give disabled people the skills and confidence they need for the world of work, and at the same time, we’re working with large companies, trying to persuade them to employ more disabled people.

But we need your help too. Can you do one of these three things:

Sign our petition calling on the government to give more support to disabled people doing work experienceOffer a disabled person work experience in your organisationMake a donation to help support a disabled person set up their own business.

For more information, visit www.livability.org.uk/ let-me-in-campaign/work

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July

Week beginning 7 JulyPraise God – work is now well underway on Victoria Education Centre’s new hydrotherapy centre. We have been fundraising for the Sparkle Appeal for the past few years, so it’s great to finally see steel girders being moved into place. And it will be even more exciting to see Victoria pupils in their new pool in September!

Building for the future – work starts on Victoria’s new hydrotherapy pool

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Week beginning 14 JulyPraise God - Livability has just won an award from the British Safety Council for our standard of workplace health and safety. Or health & safety team do a great job of advising us how to cut down unnecessary risks while still encouraging service users to live life to the full.

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Pray that our holidays will give disabled people the opportunity to relax and enjoy life to the full

Week beginning 21 JulyThis summer will see hundreds of disabled holiday makers taking a break in our hotels and self-catering accommodation. Disabled people can struggle to find accessible and affordable holidays. Please pray that they will have restful stays, strengthening relationships and enjoying the summer.

Week beginning 28 JulyA recent Unicef report found that out of 29 developed nations, the UK ranked 29th for further education, 27th for teen preganancy and 24th for youth unemployment. Please pray for all those working with young people - that they will find encouragement in their work and a renewed determination to make a difference in the young lives they can guide.

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Focus on... Nash College

Great news! Nash College, our in Further Education college in Bromley, Kent, has just been awarded a ‘Good’ by Ofsted inspectors. Built on a steep slope, Nash College has always struggled with the government’s regular inspections. Staff have regularly been told that they would never achieve more than the basic ‘Satisfactory’ simply because the steep campus was not ideal for students.

But this year, principal Claire Howley-Mummery and her staff have made some changes. They are trying to deliver teaching in different ways, using rooms in the local community rather than just on the Nash campus. Teaching students in a ‘real world’ context really helps their learning. And it’s impressed the inspectors too, who just awarded the college with a ‘Good’ for teaching. It’s great news and an achievement that the Nash team can really be proud of.

Please continue to pray for Nash College. With fundamental changes in the way that funding works, it’s hard to plan for the future. But our staff remain as committed as ever to provide an education which is both safe and challenging, helping disabled young people develop skills and self-esteem for adult life.

Horticulture is an important part of the curriculum at Nash College

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August

Week beginning 4 AugustSupporting disabled people means helping them access all areas of life – both pleasant and unpleasant. One Livability support worker recently helped a service user report a crime committed against him. Please pray for our staff – for wisdom and sensitivity in their challenging jobs.

Week beginning 11 AugustLoneliness and isolation are issues that many disabled people face - preventing them from living ‘life to the full’. Please pray for Livability’s social group for disabled people in Plymouth. The group enables people to make friends and get better engaged in community life.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.Philippians 4:13

A trip Paignton Zoo - just one of the Plymouth group’s regular outings

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August

God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. C.S. Lewis

Week beginning 18 AugustAugust bank holiday weekend sees the 40th Greenbelt festival. Livability is now an established partner of this annual faith, arts and justice festival. We are sponsoring a venue where disabled and marginalised people’s voices can be heard. Please pray for a great weekend full of challenging talks, inspiring conversations and dry weather!

Livability sponsors Christian arts festival Greenbelt

Week beginning 25 AugustIcanho, our brain injury rehabilitation centre, often helps people who are at real crisis points in their lives. Recently we have been working with a man who sustained a brain injury in a serious car accident in which he lost other family members. Please pray for him, and our therapy team, as they try to help him rebuild his life.

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Get in touch with Livability My details (PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS)

Name:

Address:

Postcode:

Email:

Telephone:

Church name:

I’d like to find out about supporting Livability financially

I’d like to know more about how my church can welcome disabled people

Can Livability visit my church?

Please tell me about leaving a gift in my will

Please send me ___ more copies of this prayer diary

Please visit our website www.livability.org.uk to find out more about our work

Thank you for your support

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Contact us:Mat RayPray for Livability editor50 Scrutton Street London EC2A 4XQTel: 020 7452 2000

mray@livability.org.ukwww.livability.org.uk

Registered charity no. 1116530Registered in England no. 5967087Livability is a company limited by guarantee

The new face of John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society

Did you know you can download this prayer diary from our website? Go to www.livability.org.uk/prayerdiary

If you need this publication in an alternative format, please ring our communications team on 020 7452 2085

Pause for thought

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.New International Version

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.The Message

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. King James Version

I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance - to the full, till it overflows. Amplified Version