GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE
ISSUE 3, 2020
INTERACT A Path to Change Journeying through the beatitudes
Holistic Help Serving the poor and vulnerable in Nairobi
Hope in a Crisis Sharing good news in lockdown
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CONTENTS 04 08 10 12 14 A Path to Change Journeying through the beatitudes
News
The latest news from the Lifewords global family
Holistic Help
Serving the poor and vulnerable in Nairobi
Hope in a Crisis Sharing good news in lockdown
Get Involved
Lifewords and you
Issue 76 / 3–2020 Editorial team Jess Bee Kris Calver Steve Bassett Photographs Lifewords unless otherwise stated Design S2 design & advertising Ltd
Print Yeomans Creative
Lifewords is the operating name of Scripture Gift Mission (Inc), registered charity in England and Wales, 219055 Registered oďŹƒce 1A The Chandlery, 50 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7QY
Interact is free, available three times a year from your nearest member of the Lifewords global family of organisations (see page 15)
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WELCOME
“The LORD has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 NIV None of us could have imagined that 2020 would so quickly turn in ways that would affect us all deeply. In addition to Covid-19, the killing of George Floyd in the USA – the latest in a long line of Black American men and women who have died in police-related incidents – has focussed the world on racial justice. Justice is one of the life words that leaps from the Bible’s pages. But it’s been shamefully too long for justice to be seen and embraced. Right now, we are seeing a sweeping away of the attitudes, systems, and complicities that provide the fuel for racism in society, in churches, communities, and yes, in our personal lives. Recent events have raised the trauma of injustices perpetrated over centuries. Black lives matter, and for too long, that has simply not been a given. It’s time for change. Lifewords is for justice. For mercy, grace, and peace. For hope, faith, and love. We stand with all of our supporters who pray, ache and long for justice. We want to do better, to lament and to be part of the solution, not the problem. We commit together with all our supporters who are committed to working to root out racism in all its insidious forms. And the Bible’s life words – so often weaponised and
mis-used, from propping up photoopportunities, to justifying violence and oppression – have a vital contribution to make. Lifewords is only here to make a difference and to empower you with Bible resources and creative ways into the Bible for your ministry, work and daily life. We’ll try to make resources that are a positive contribution to anti-racism and its effects, like mental wellbeing, loss, and hopelessness – and to strive to communicate the Bible as good news in these days. Bishop Dr Joe Aldred (Churches Together in England) reminds us: “As Christians, we are called to do more than platitudes. We are called to look for truth, and when we see evil, we should be very willing to call it out.” Let’s pray, work, and stand together as we seek to walk in the way of God’s love and carry the fragrance of Christ everywhere we go.
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Rhanee leading a group in Adelaide
A Path to Change As we move through a year of huge struggles and challenges, how might we be part of bringing healing, hope and justice to a broken world? Words Jess Bee
“The beatitudes cause us to rethink the world – to refigure what’s important and valuable”
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This year, our world has been flung into a greater vortex of pain, injustice and oppression than some of us have ever experienced. And for many of us, our eyes have been opened to ongoing struggles and challenges. So, how do those of us who follow Jesus respond with love, peace and justice? One way is to demand change – the desire for transformation, so that we and others are happier, freer, kinder; more peaceful, more aware, more concerned with justice; so that the oppressed are set free, the lost are found, and so everyone is treated equally. We often look to others for change – but the Bible asks us to first make this journey ourselves.
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LOOKING INWARDS The Ninefold Path resources reflect this desire to see change and restoration in a world full of imbalance and inequality. The invitation to see things differently is captured in Jesus’ opening to the Sermon on the Mount: the beatitudes. Mark Scandrette, part of the NINE BEATS Collective and co-author of the Ninefold Path Notebook says: “The beatitudes … give a table of contents for the areas of human experience that Jesus is addressing through his life and message … he’s naming the illusions or distortions that keep us captive, and [he is] calling us back to what’s most real and true, and inviting us in to a new way of life.”1 The beatitudes
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cause us to rethink the world – to refigure what’s important and valuable. Jesus lifts up those who don’t fit into the template of what our culture deems worthy: the poor, those who ache with sadness, those who are humble. Jesus also raises up people who chase after justice, who show mercy, who are pure, who walk in peace, who suffer for doing the right thing. And as we rethink the world, we must look at ourselves and our place in it. Danielle Welch, co-author of the Ninefold Path Notebook, explains: “Talking about the need for change came easy to us,” she says. “But as we talked about the beatitudes, a new and less comfortable truth began to emerge: we don’t change the world ‘out there’ without changing the world that’s inside us. All the ills that we identify around us are mirrored in our own journeys. If we want the world to be different, if we want change, it has to begin with us.”2
JOURNEYING TOGETHER The Ninefold Path Learning Lab and Notebook offer an experiential journey that takes the user through the “nine beats” of the sayings of Jesus known as the beatitudes, exploring how these statements relate to struggles and opportunities in our lives. These resources can be used individually or in a group, in person or online, and are adaptable to different contexts and timetables. For each beatitude there is an invitation or question to help spark group conversation. “From the start, you get the sense that this isn’t just about what the Bible says, but also about the story of our lives – and how the words of Jesus might speak life into our circumstances,” says Mark. In the Ninefold Path Learning Lab, group exercises are included, and participants are invited to try practices between sessions to see what might happen if we follow the teachings of Jesus. “It’s a balance between
1 Episode 57: Back to Reality with Mark Scandrette, Mid-faith Crisis podcast, 8 December 2018
2 We don’t change the world ‘out there’ without changing the world in us, www.christianitytoday. com, Danielle Welch, 26 March 2019
“If we want the world to be different, if we want change, it has to begin with us” A group in Adelaide (left) and Mark Scandrette leading a group in London (right)
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Lament
The Way of ... Trust
“These resources can be used individually or in a group, in person or online, and are adaptable to different contexts and timetables”
Humility
pattern, practice and action, and a more reflective, accountable, journaling approach,” says Cornelia Gaie from Lifewords. “There is a curriculum to follow, but it’s organic, leading the users to go beyond head knowledge into something experience and practice-based.” Kaye and Darryl Schelback from Sydney, Australia, led a group in their church community last year. “It was wonderful,” says Kaye. “Quite revolutionary, really. It challenged our beliefs into action and built relationships between participants in unexpected ways.”
OUR WORLD NOW
“The Ninefold Path offers an opportunity to explore the way of Jesus”
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The coronavirus pandemic has caused many of us to think more deeply about our lives, communities and the wider world. “As we’ve done these groups during Covid-19, we’ve noticed that the beatitudes name current life struggles and people feel invited to consider another way they can navigate these difficulties,” says Mark. “The Way of Trust [blessed are the poor] addresses the uncertainty and economic difficulties many of us are
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Justice
Compassion
facing. The Way of Lament [blessed are those who mourn] invites us to not run from what is hard, but to sit with our pain and wait for divine comfort.” Mark continues: “We recently finished two Ninefold Path groups that started just after George Floyd’s killing in America. Current racial justice struggles have been the backdrop for these groups. A lot of the practices people have taken on have been related to how we can use our power for good.” In a Ninefold Path group in Adelaide, Australia, Rhanee Lester led 28 white middleclass – mainly male – pastors in a lament for Aboriginal people. “We had a beautiful opportunity to be led by Rhanee, an indigenous woman who is a church leader and significant voice for Aboriginal Christians trying to make sense of what she called ‘white-man religion for an indigenous woman in modern times’,” says Dan Hardie, Lifewords Australia Director. Through her reflection and a poem that spoke of being silenced, of violence, of brokenness,
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passion
Right Motive
and of the harm caused by colonisation, she lamented the pain and injustice suffered by her community for over two centuries. “She subverted the normal script of our white western society that is centred around white male leadership,” says Dan. Michael, who was also at the retreat said: “The beatitudes retreat was one of the best I’ve been to in all my years of ministry – and boy, have I been to a few! It opened my eyes and heart to a way of Jesus that was so centring and peace-producing.” It’s in these moments that we see the unique opportunity Ninefold Path offers – for raw, honest, sometimes provocative reflection that leads to a new openness and vulnerability.
Peacemaking
Surrender
FULLNESS OF LIFE “The only way to really experience the fullness of life we were created for is by learning to apply the words of Christ to the messy details of our lives,” says Mark. “There is a huge gap between how Christ calls us to live and how we actually live. Ninefold Path is designed to address that gap in gentle and life-giving ways. For both Christians and those who don’t identify as Christians, the Ninefold Path offers an opportunity to explore the way of Jesus with curiosity.” In a world crying out for change, the beatitudes offer a way to make change happen, starting with ourselves.
Radical Love
PRAY Praise God for the Bible and the words of Jesus that show us how to be human. Pray for all those using the Ninefold Path, that they would be transformed. Pray for our world and for the opportunity we have to bring change.
NINEFOLD PATH NOTEBOOK A new edition of the Ninefold Path Notebook is now available at the lower price of 5 copies for £15. So why not take this opportunity to explore the beatitudes? Visit www.ninefoldpath.org for more information, to order resources, and to access free online and video content. And watch this space for Ninefold Path events happening in the UK this autumn. 7
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world NEWS Celebrating Pavement Project
Last June, Pavement Project marked 20 years of reaching vulnerable children. The celebrations had to be curtailed and reshaped due to the global pandemic, but that didn’t stop the team and its supporters marking this major milestone. On 20 June, an online service was held to give thanks to God. “We were able, even from a distance, to celebrate together what God has done for Pavement Project,” says Juliana Gonçalves, from the Pavement Project team in Brazil. The Lifewords Brazil team hosted the party, with trainers, workers and children from various countries participating. “We had children praying from Colombia, Tanzania, India, Zimbabwe and Uganda,” says Juliana. “And we heard testimonies from Pavement Project workers, such as Olivia, from Cape Verde, who was counselled as a child and is now a missionary; and the story of Dixon, a worker from Kenya who was impacted by the green bag as a young adult.” “Even in a difficult time like the one we are living in, we remember the many good things from these last 20 years,” says Juliana. “Each volunteer, each strategic partnership; the workers and trainers; our donors; and, each one of the 75,000 counselling sessions.” Follow us on Facebook for upcoming stories of transformation, photos, and memories from the last 20 years. lifewordsUK
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Reaching out online
During the global coronavirus pandemic, Pavement Project trained workers were prevented from counselling with the green bag due to social distancing guidelines. The green bag games and stories have always been told in person, but the pandemic called for a new solution. An online counselling session In April of this year the Pavement Project team tested an online version of the counselling process. The results were very positive with a 95% rate of improvement in self-esteem of the person being counselled – the same as with face-to-face meetings – so online counselling was rolled out into more regions. “We had 18 workers cleared to help children from 9 years old, young people, and their relatives,” says Clenir dos Santos, Pavement Project Director. “For some time now, we have known that the green bag methodology also has a transforming effect on adults, leading them to Christ. We believe that it was a very important tool in the crisis, when parents were also facing great difficulties – many had lost their jobs, were struggling with the children full-time at home, were mourning, and were themselves facing the fear of dying or losing their loved ones.” Clenir continues, “The workers experienced great joy as they felt they could virtually visit homes and help in an effective and secure way.”
On the frontline
Last April as the severity of the coronavirus pandemic became more apparent, Lifewords in the UK encouraged chaplains, via a social media campaign, to order free Bible resources. “Chaplains from hospitals, the armed forces, prisons, and neighbourhoods across the country have been on the frontline of a tide of grief, disorientation, and anguish,” says Elizabeth King, from the Lifewords UK team, “so we wanted to support them in their ministry, especially at this time of crisis.” Neil Tyrer, lead chaplain at Kettering General Hospital, ordered resources, including Inspiring Prayer and Daily Strength, to use at the hospital where he and his team serve over 4,000 staff, many of whom are frontline healthcare workers. Speaking at the time, Neil said: “As chaplains we have been asked to provide systematic staff support by providing 24-hour ‘We Care Cafés’, ‘Breakout Rooms’ and safe spaces for staff to off-load, decompress, and talk about their experiences. We are trying to develop comfortable areas with coffee and tea, pastoral support, and helpful material and resources to take away.” He continued: “We simply cannot get enough resources at the moment and anticipate … increased demand for help with frontline staff.” The chaplain team at Kettering General Hospital
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Pastor Mary using the green bag
Holistic Help Words Clara Ngobolia
“The pandemic has resulted in a lot of physical, social, psychological and emotional suffering”
All over the world the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected the poor and vulnerable. Throughout this time, the Lifewords team and its partners have been serving people in Kenya. For those already struggling with poverty, debt, ill-health and insecurity, the merciless sweep of the coronavirus struck a further blow. In Kenya, living standards and lifestyle have changed completely with the onset of the pandemic. It has caught many people unaware and unprepared, especially those who are living in informal settlements, where people depend on casual labour. With new government directives and a curfew put in place, many families have been unable to meet their basic needs. How can someone buy sanitiser and masks when they can’t put food on the table? The pandemic has resulted in a lot of physical, social, psychological and emotional suffering.
SUPPORTING THE VULNERABLE In the midst of new challenges thrown up by the pandemic, Lifewords partners are continuing their work, especially with the poor and vulnerable. The Maisha Poa Centre works with street children and families in the Kawangware area of Nairobi. They seek to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate children, providing counselling, educational sponsorship, vocational and skills training, literacy programmes, and social and economic support. Throughout the pandemic Maisha Poa has received donations of food and non-food items to distribute to families living on the streets, and to the community they serve in Kawangware.
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Alongside serving families, the centre has been helping street children navigate the crisis. “To ensure that our boys were safe, we took them through basic safety measures such as washing hands with soap and plenty of running water, together with issuing each one of them with new face masks,” says Pastor Mary. The strict dusk-till-dawn curfew (7pm to 5am) measures created problems for those living on the streets. “This directive, though in the best interest of our country, presented many difficulties for the boys,” says Pastor Mary. Maisha Poa Centre, in conjunction with other partners, provided items like mattresses and blankets, together with renting houses for the boys in order to support the government’s effort in containing the spread of the virus.
Alongside responding to the physical needs of the street children, Maisha Poa has continued to find a way of
encouraging hope through sharing stories from the green bag with the boys. Mary met with the boys in small groups and gave them pocket cards to take away. “As I interacted with the boys using the green bag, I got very positive responses from them. One of the boys, Kennedy*, said that the stories of Jesus help him leave the sin that makes him feel like the lost sheep or the prodigal son. When the boys hear these stories, they feel valued by God, instead of despised by people when they are on the streets. The pocket cards help them express faith as they reflect on their past hurt.” The work is ongoing. Mary tells the story of another boy, John*, who having been counselled with the green bag, was changed by God into a completely different person. He now loves singing and dancing in church and was missing Sunday services that were suspended during lockdown. “In this situation we are all facing, boys like John still need us,” says Pastor Mary.
Distributing essential items to the community
* Names have been changed
ONGOING WORK
“Maisha Poa has continued to find a way of encouraging hope through sharing stories from the green bag with the boys”
PRAY Give thanks for churches and organisations in Kenya who are supporting vulnerable people. Pray for Maisha Poa, that they would have the resources they need for their work. Pray for the children they serve, ask that God would bring them rescue, recovery and hope for the future. 11
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here and other language as the insert worked
Words Jess Bee
Hope in a Crisis For over 130 years Lifewords has been helping the lost, vulnerable, heartbroken and despairing connect with the Bible, and in a year of immense change, turmoil and uncertainty, it has been able to respond to the need for hope and a solid rock to stand on.
“The idea behind the revamp was to offer a resource, which could be accepted and well-used globally, across cultures”
In the early part of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the world, Lifewords brought forward a planned redesign of Finding Hope for the global range. The resource, which was originally written for people working with refugees and displaced people, is now shared with anyone in crisis or experiencing trauma. It is used in many pastoral situations all over the world: in hospitals, prisons, social work, and with women working in prostitution
alongside the Consider the Wildflowers booklet. In June, a revised version of the booklet was printed in Polish, English, French, and Portuguese. “It’s a slightly abbreviated and simplified version, also including simple and globally understood graphics,” says Jarek Jankowski, Lifewords Europe Director. “The idea behind the revamp was to offer a resource, which could be accepted and well-used globally, across cultures. We wanted to
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make it easier to read, for the elderly, by the semi-literate, by those who struggle to focus for too long (e.g. patients and those who are terminally ill), by those reading in poor lighting conditions such as on the streets or in shelters. We wanted to make the design compatible with the message of hope and peace, hence the simple, muted and calming images.”
A TIMELY RESOURCE The response to the resource has been very positive. “Some perceive the title as a message for the current time of pandemic,” says Jarek. In the UK, where the original version of the resource is still available and used extensively, Reg, a UK chaplain working in the NHS and with those suffering from Covid-19, said: “The Finding Hope booklet has been the one I have used most. It is such an attractive booklet, with simple, biblical messages, and thoughts which are an antidote to the hopelessness, anxiety and helplessness in the media. Every person who has received one of these from me has clutched it, and said that they need hope, and it has given us a chance to talk about what and who we put our trust in. Who knows what the long-term fruit of these conversations and Scriptures will be.”
GOING DIGITAL The pandemic also caused problems with the global postal systems, meaning that some orders were delayed or temporarily unfulfilled. Part of the response to this was to create an animated version of the booklet that could be shared digitally. Over the summer it was launched in English, Hindi, Polish, Portuguese and Swahili on YouTube and Facebook, with a version in Spanish planned for later in the year. “During the current crisis a significant part of life has moved to the internet,” says Jarek, “so we have followed the pattern and offered our important resources online.” One of the comments posted in response to the animation on Facebook was from Wladyslawa in Poland, she said: “This works 100 percent. I have experienced it in my life. It is God’s Word that is my strength and my safe refuge. Sometimes even trained professionals cannot help, because they are not omniscient, but God has always been like that … always ready to help when someone asks for help.”
“Who knows what the long-term fruit of these conversations and Scriptures will be”
PRAY Praise God for all those involved in creating and producing Lifewords resources. Give thanks for the speedy and timely redesign of Finding Hope. Pray that Finding Hope would bring comfort and a new perspective for those in crisis. 13
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GET INVOLVED LIFEWORDS AND YOU
The True Light
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This Christmas will mark the end of a year contrasted with pain and healing, despair and courage, oppression and justice. It’s been a year where we’ve seen light emerge in the surrounding darkness as key workers have served our communities, and as centuries of injustice have been held up for scrutiny. Wherever we find ourselves this year, The True Light – a new print and digital Christmas resource for 2020 – encourages us all not to fear, but to rejoice in the hope and “glad tidings” of Jesus’ presence. Join us this Christmas as we share the “true light that gives light to everyone”.
CREATIVE CHRISTMAS Every year, we hear stories from people using our resources in creative ways – taking the opportunity to invite people to hear good news at Christmastime. Last year, Lenzie Union Church in Glasgow, UK, used Meet the Cast as part of an event. “Every year, our church presents the Christmas Experience – a multi-sensory drama of the Christmas story – to almost 300 children from the local schools,” said Margaret McCartney from the church. The event, which was also open to the public at different times, invited participants to move around the church from scene to scene “meeting all the cast”, played by people from the congregation. “Your booklet Meet the Cast almost mirrors what we do and made an excellent souvenir for the children, enabling them to recall the different parts of the Christmas Experience,” said Margaret.
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Meet the Cast is just one title in our Christmas range – how will you take the opportunity to share Lifewords resources this year? To find out more about The True Light, Meet the Cast and the rest of our Christmas range, visit www.lifewords.global. 14
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Daily
STRENGTH CONTACT US 11/02/2020 12:33 Little Book of Faith 2020
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Get in touch with the Lifewords global family. Find us online at www.lifewords.global, or contact your local office.
Good news from a distance
AUSTRALIA
During the coronavirus pandemic we’ve been touched and encouraged by the stories of how you’ve been serving your friends, families, and communities – both practically and spiritually – during social isolation and lockdown. From people who’ve ordered resources to share with their friends and family, to those adding them to care-packages for people in their community, we’ve seen some really creative ways of sharing the Bible while maintaining social-distancing. Roderick Ripamont from Living Hope Community Church on the Isle of Man used Lifewords resources in a “starter pack” which people could request while watching church services on a Facebook Live stream. The pack included a copy of the Little Book of Faith and Daily Strength, and was delivered free to those who requested it. Roderick told us that the church had given out 28 packs in just four weeks. The church also used resources in gift bags for care home and care agency staff across the island.
+1 905 683 6482 info@sgmcanada.ca
australia@lifewords.global
BRAZIL projectoc@lifewords.global
CANADA
KENYA +254 20 2730100 kenya@lifewords.global
INDONESIA +62 81294210986 indonesia@lifewords.global
INDIA +91-80-25296587 india@lifewords.global
POLAND europe@lifewords.global
UK & INTERNATIONAL OFFICE +44 (0) 20 7730 2155 uk@lifewords.global 15
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THIS CHRISTMAS, HOW DOES THE TRUE LIGHT FIND YOU?
COMING SOON
WHEREVER WE FIND OURSELVES THIS YEAR, THE TRUE LIGHT – A NEW PRINT AND DIGITAL CHRISTMAS RESOURCE FOR 2020 – ENCOURAGES US ALL NOT TO FEAR, BUT TO REJOICE IN THE HOPE AND “GLAD TIDINGS” OF JESUS’ PRESENCE. JOIN US THIS CHRISTMAS AS WE SHARE THE “TRUE LIGHT THAT GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE”. TO FIND OUT MORE VISIT LIFEWORDS.GLOBAL/CHRISTMAS
