ROSS HENDRY CEO of CARE
DEAR FRIEND, ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’ Galatians 6:9,10, NIV It’s been just over a year since I took over as Chief Executive of CARE. The past 12 months have flown by, and I’ve been able to meet so many wonderful people, from the incredible team here at CARE, to faithful, Christ-honouring politicians from across the UK who are determined to live well for Him. I’ve also met some of you at our supporter events, now back in-person after a threeyear hiatus. As I reflect on the last year, I’m encouraged that God is at work in our national life. Amidst the chaos of our national politics, we’ve seen genuine encouragements. For example, a dangerous assisted suicide bill in the House of Lords failed to pass and we helped brief Peers to speak against an equally dangerous assisted suicide amendment. Extreme proposals around further liberalisation of abortion laws were stopped. On support for modern slavery victims, we’ve seen the UK government move towards our position and in Northern Ireland, we worked with MLAs to secure a guarantee of at least 12 months help. Yet looking back should always be to help us engage with the present and look ahead. 2023 is a big year for CARE. We will celebrate two significant anniversaries and will be setting out our new vision and ambitions for this generation and the next. From late Spring, we will mark 40 years of CARE’s witness and work in the public square. We’re also marking 30 years of the Leadership Programme which has seen 350 leaders equipped to serve Jesus in public life. I’ll write to you later this year about our longer-term plans. But I want to focus now on a new area of work for CARE and one that involves engaging on one of the biggest and most challenging public policy challenges of our time.