Prayer diary
Flourish and thrive May/Aug 2022
I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul 3 John 1:2
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Livability Prayer Diary
Dear friend Welcome to Livability’s latest Prayer Diary! It’s wonderful to know that so many of our supporters are remembering us regularly in prayer. Thank you for being part of the Livability community in this way. As a charity, we’ve made wellbeing a focus of our work for some time now. Striving to ensure that the people with disabilities we care for can flourish, not just exist, springs from our Christian ethos – believing that everyone is made in God’s image and is of immense and equal value. We’ll take aspects of wellbeing – physical, emotional and spiritual – as our themes
throughout this Prayer Diary. Caring for people across these aspects of life all adds up to living life to the full. This is deeply important to our staff, who work closely with each person and know them and their needs extremely well. Thank you for praying for Livability. At this time, as the Livability community, let's also remember Ukraine in our prayers.
Flourish and thrive
Welcome to our prayer diary
Sally Chivers CEO P.S. We’re encouraging our readers to receive the Prayer Diary online, making valuable savings for the charity. This will also give you access to our video prayers feature. Please sign up today at livability.org.uk/prayerdiary
Dear God, We pray for the people in Ukraine and everyone who has been forcibly displaced from their homes. We remember those who gave up their lives for Ukraine and we pray for their families and loved ones. We pray that Ukraine will continue receiving support during this time and we ask that You would give the people of Ukraine strength and hope. Amen. 3
May Let’s pray Father, we thank you that everything good comes from you. Thank you that you care deeply about our wellbeing and thank you that we can be honest with you about how we feel and what we’re going through. May your presence and peace be with each person in the Livability community. Amen Click here to see our video prayer with Chris Slade at Livability Victoria School Maintenance & Facilities
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As Livability continues to focus on how our care can improve the wellbeing of each person we support, we pray for insight and resources for this work and tangible differences to result in the lives of people with disabilities. Amen
Week 2 Lord, we thank you for each volunteer who brings their time and gifts to the people we support, and the joy that those new friends and new activities bring to our services. Please send more volunteers so we can offer more opportunities like this. Amen
Week 3
May – Flourish and thrive
Week 1
Dear God, please cause the decision-makers in our society to put the needs and wellbeing of children, young people and adults with disabilities higher up the political and social agenda. We ask for real and meaningful change that will take away the struggle that so many face to get necessary services and a suitable place to live. Amen
May – Aug 2022
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Ma y – Flourish and thrive 6
Week 4 Thank you that many community activities and resources have reopened and people we support can return to doing things they love. We pray for anyone in our services who has lost confidence in going out and socialising, since the pandemic, and ask that you would restore confidence and their joy in life. Amen
Livability Prayer Diary
Why our work is needed
People with disabilities can face a ‘postcode lottery’ when it comes to finding – and funding – suitable housing and care provision. Livability has recently opened more independent living services, for those who thrive in this context, and we have plans to develop this area further.
Livability North East
Independent living services, with staff visiting to provide the right level of care and support, is something Livability provides in several regions. Melanie has worked in social care for nearly 30 years and comments: ‘Living independently means people get more one-to-one time with staff, which gives people greater scope to try new things, always knowing staff are there to support them. We see how this builds confidence and improves people’s social skills, plus life-skills like budgeting and housework. This gives them such a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing.’ You can read about how David is running a pop-up restaurant night in his flat, to get together with his friends, at
Support
In focus: Real life stories
Pop-up wellbeing
Your gift enables us to make sure our staff are well-trained and put the needs and wishes of the person they’re supporting at the centre of all decisions. This requires more resource than simply caring for someone’s basic needs. Call Michelle on 020 7452 2099 to find out more about leaving a gift in your Will. Get your free Will Pack at www.livability.org.uk/ giftsinwills
www.livability.org.uk/blog/disability-care/ May – Aug 2022
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June – Flourish and thrive
June
Let’s pray God, we thank you that you made us and understand our complex emotions and mental wellbeing. We pray you will help our staff as they support people who may be experiencing anxiety as we live through challenging times. Please give them peace and joy in place of worry or fear. Amen Click here to join in our audio prayer with Marcin Waszak, Livability Digital Communications Officer
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Week 1 As the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations take place around the country, we give thanks for the extraordinary example of service that we see in Queen Elizabeth. We ask for your blessing on every area of her life. Amen If you would like to host a Big Jubilee Lunch in support of Livability please visit: www. livability.org.uk/biglunch
We thank you for all the ways that the people we support care about the wellbeing of those around them, like Danny, who donated money he’d saved for a holiday to buy a gazebo so his housemates could meet their family members outside, during Covid. We thank you that even when things around us feel uncertain, you remain our rock and we can depend on you, whatever our emotions are telling us. Amen See p11 for more about Danny
June – Flourish and thrive
Week 2
Week 3 As staff work hard to ensure the safety and happiness of all the people they support, we ask you would renew their strength and give them joy in their work. Amen
May – Aug 2022
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June – Flourish and thrive 10
Week 4 We pray for the success of the new social networking site we have launched for the people we support. We ask that this will result in friendships and support between the hundreds of people with disabilities that we work with. Amen
Livability Prayer Diary
Why our work is needed
Having the highest standards of safety and protection has kept the people we support extremely safe during the pandemic. The people who use our services have shown extraordinary patience and have gone the extra mile to care for others too – see our heartwarming Real Life Story, p11.
Livability New Court Place When Danny heard his holiday had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, he decided to turn a negative into a positive. His dad Fred says: ‘I told Danny that we’d be unable to get away on holiday this year even though we’d saved up some money to do it. Danny said to me: “Why don’t you give the money to Livability to help New Court Place?”’ The money bought a gazebo as a meeting place for families during lockdown restrictions, to boost residents’ wellbeing. As Danny’s housemate Shaz said, it was an ‘absolutely fabulous’ gift. Read more at www.livability.org.uk/blog/disability-care/ dannys-holiday-gift-reunites-families/
In focus: Real life story
Danny makes a difference
Support Our services make sure that people with disabilities are enabled to enjoy a full and flourishing life. Your support makes this possible. You can donate by phone, to help us meet the rising costs we face as we continue to provide the bestquality care and support for people in our services. Call 020 7452 2121
May – Aug 2022
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July Let’s pray Dear God, the Bible tells us that we are amazingly and wonderfully made by you. Thank you for the incredible things the human body can achieve, with disabilities or without. We pray that our services will enable the people we support to enjoy the best possible physical wellbeing. Amen
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Livability Prayer Diary
July – Flourish and thrive
Week 1 We pray for everyone in our services who is going away on holiday this summer, including our students. We pray for smooth logistics and staffing arrangements, and for families as they adjust to having their young people at home for the summer break. Amen
Week 2 Dear God, we lift our multi-disciplinary therapy teams at our two education centres to you. May their specialised work with individuals open doors to improved physical wellbeing for their young people and enable them to get more from their education, as bodily comfort and their concentration improves.
Week 3 Thank you that so many of our residential services have accessible outdoor spaces that are enjoyed by the people we support, for relaxation and gardening. We pray that there will be many happy times spent by them outdoors this summer. Amen
May – Aug 2022
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July – Flourish and thrive 14
Week 4 We pray for the nurses at our residential homes that offer nursing care, and for NHS teams around the country who treat people we support. Please use their skill to enhance the health and wellbeing of all in our care. Amen
Livability Prayer Diary
Why our work is needed
Government statistics show that disabled people aged 16 to 64 years have poorer ratings than non-disabled people on personal wellbeing measures, with the greatest disparity in average anxiety levels. We enable many people we support to buck this trend and enjoy life, by providing personcentred care, a listening ear and opportunities to connect with other people.
In focus: Real life story
Ride on
Livability Somerset Horse-riding as therapy is one of the many activities Livability enables the people we support to take part in. At our Somerset service, Raphy has benefited hugely, in physical strength and confidence, from learning to ride and care for horses at a local centre. As well as the joy Raphy gets from his weekly visit to the stables, supported by our staff, he has overcome challenges posed by his autism, gradually learning to deal with the sensory overload he experiences from touch.
Support As Raphy's story shows, people with disabilities are often capable of much more than has been assumed of them. At Livability, we always look for potential to develop, because growing and learning adds so much to a person’s quality of life. Please donate online at livability.org.uk/donate
Read more about Raphy on p20.
May – Aug 2022
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August Click here to view our video prayer with Elizabeth Harrison, Livability Chaplaincy Manager
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Livability Prayer Diary
Lord, we pray for Elizabeth Harrison, our Chaplaincy Manager, as she seeks to spiritually encourage and support the people who use our services. Thank you for the real and vibrant faith of many we work with, and we pray that their experience of Christian community with each other, and with their churches and faith groups, would grow and sustain them. Amen
August – Flourish and thrive
Week 1
Week 2 We pray for our president, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the commission he has initiated to reshape social care. Thank you that Livability has been invited to contribute to this work and we ask that it would result in creative solutions for better social care around the country.
Week 3 We remember anyone in the Livability community who is going through a difficult time. We ask that you would give them confidence in the knowledge that you are with them, whatever they are experiencing, and that they can have hope in you. May – Aug 2022
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April – Flourish and thrive 18
Week 4 Dear Lord, we ask for your blessing on every church that seeks to meaningfully include people of all abilities in church life. Please strengthen the bonds of friendship and fellowship as everyone is enabled to participate. We pray that more churches will respond to the need for true inclusion. Amen
Livability Prayer Diary
Why our work is needed
Care providers are required by law to meet the spiritual needs of the people they serve. This is something that Livability takes seriously and we meet those needs in a variety of accessible ways, such as supporting people to get to their place of worship; meeting online in our chaplaincy group, to pray, read the Bible and encourage each other; and with fellowship groups in person, in some of our care homes.
In focus: Real life story
Spiritual wellbeing + friends Meeting every fortnight since January, Livability’s Wellbeing Club is a place of friendship and challenge. Members are drawn from across the UK and span all ages. Each session we listen to music, learn a new technique for improving our wellbeing, and talk about how we got on with putting the previous session into practice. Particularly popular were our “three good things” exercise, and looking for signs of spring. As the group builds their understanding of Five Ways to Wellbeing, they will contribute ideas to the monthly Wellbeing Journal for people Livability supports.
Support Your support means we can care for the whole person – body, mind and spirit – and not just for basic needs. Please donate today at livability.org.uk/donate
May – Aug 2022
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Wellbeing appeal
Wellbeing Appeal The people we support can experience huge benefits to their wellbeing and physical strength, by learning to ride and by being around horses and other animals. For those on the autism spectrum, research has shown that levels of oxytocin, the hormone which promotes social interaction and increases bonding and empathy, increase when interacting with horses.*
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Livability Prayer Diary
Raphy is supported by our services in Somerset. He has profound learning disabilities and physical disability and has found confidence and joy through riding. He loves grooming and engaging with the horses – his favourites are Sergeant and Biscuit. Raphy thoroughly enjoys his horse riding lessons and is currently working towards his horse care certificate. Livability would like to provide more experiences such as this and your kind support today could help bring happiness and better wellbeing to even more of the people we care for. *www.autismawarenesscentre. com/horses-can-benefit-thosewith-autism
Support our Wellbeing Appeal Your support can help to fund more staff hours, enabling more of the people we support to try new, beneficial activities, like horse riding. To donate today please call 020 7452 2121 or visit livability.org.uk/raphy
May Jan –– Aug Apr 2022
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The Big Jubilee Lunch
Join in The Big Jubilee Lunch We in the Livability community love a party and we’re very excited about planning to celebrate The Big Jubilee Lunch, in honour of our Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. When? 2-5 June – any time over the Platinum Jubilee weekend What? We’re hosting a lunch – or that could be a barbeque, a street party or any event you fancy, big or small – at many of our services and their local communities. You’re invited to join in with a Livability service near you or by hosting your own celebration.
Why? Our Jubilee Lunches are sharing in The Big Lunch annual event, which aims to beat loneliness and create friendships. You can invite family, friends and neighbours to join in and raise money for Livability – as well as celebrate the Queen’s amazing reign!
What do I do now? Visit www.livability.org.uk/ biglunch to find out more 22
Livability Prayer Diary
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I am over 18 years old I’d like to find out more about: How my church can support Livability Receive the supporter enews Receive the community engagement enews You can also visit livability.org.uk/enews-and-updates/ to find out more Please return this form to: Livability, Coburg House, 1 Coburg Street, Gateshead, NE8 1NP
Thank you for your support Livability always endeavours to take great care with your personal data and we commit to protecting any personal information we obtain about you. We never sell or swap your details with any other organisation for marketing purposes. Our privacy policy explains how we collect, manage, use and protect your personal data, including how we work with third parties. For more information on this policy, please visit livability.org.uk/privacy
Ref PD05/22
If you do not want to be contacted by Livability or would like to change the way you hear from us, please call 020 7452 2121 or email supporterservices@livability.org.uk If you would like to support Livability's wellbeing appeal, please use the enclosed form. Thank you.
May – Aug 2022
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About Livability Livability is the disability charity that’s committed to enabling children, young people and adults to live a life that adds up for them. What makes life livable is never down to just one thing – it’s the sum of many things. From friendship to fun; from companionship to community; from a great chat to a challenge overcome – it all adds up to Livability. Through a wide range of disability care, special education, and rehabilitation services, we promote inclusion and wellbeing for all. Together, we work to see people take part, contribute and be valued. We put the elements in place that all add up to connected lives.
Contact us:
Livability 6 Mitre Passage, London, SE10 0ER Tel: 020 7452 2000 Email: joinin@livability.org.uk livability.org.uk
LivabilityUK
All images were taken pre-March 2020 With thanks to Nancy Honey for some photos featured.
Livability is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee in England and Wales. Charity No: 1116530 and Company No: 5967087. Registered office: 6 Mitre Passage, London, SE10 0ER.