Prayer diary
Making all things new
Rev 21:5
Jan–Apr 2025
We are recruiting… …for various service-based roles in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Please visit the Shaftesbury Jobs Board, where you will find all current vacancies and further details: www.shaftesburygroup.org/jobs Alternatively use the QR code. If you would like any further information, please contact recruitment@ shaftesburygroup.org
Shaftesbury defines itself as a ‘learning organisation’, which means we will invest in supporting you with your career and personal development. In addition to a friendly working environment, we offer the following benefits:
Competitive salaries
Training in line with job role
Training for professional qualifications
Pension scheme
Flexible working
Generous annual leave entitlements
The Employee Assistance Programme
Welcome to our prayer diary
Dear friends
Spring is around the corner, with its promise of new beginnings. I’m excited about the plans and potential we have for ‘making things new’ at Shaftesbury and this year there are more examples than ever. For instance, many new people needing our support find that the care they receive is exceptional. They develop, they gain confidence and they enjoy life to the full. Your prayers underpin all the transformation that goes on in Shaftesbury’s services and I hope you feel inspired by Paul’s story of a life made new (p11).
I’m moved by the many stories I hear from clients at Shaftesbury Icanho, our brain
injury rehabilitation service, who finish their treatment with hope for a new, if different, life for them and their loved ones.
Thank you as always for supporting Shaftesbury in prayer,
Sally Chivers CEO
Dear God,
Thank you that you bring new life to us in so many ways, through creation and in our spirits. Help us to bring renewal and hope to people we interact with, in all areas of our lives. Amen
January
Let’s pray
We thank you for all the possibilities this new year brings for the people we support. We ask that Shaftesbury’s care will transform the lives of the people we are privileged to care for, whether in education services, child and adult care services or in brain injury rehabilitation. Amen.
Week 1
At the start of a new year, we lift everyone in the Shaftesbury family to you – the people we support, staff, volunteers and supporters – and ask that they will know you are with them always, on the good days and the bad, and that you care about their lives. Amen
Week 2
We thank you for people like John (see p7), whose life changed for the better after treatment at our brain injury rehabilitation centre, Shaftesbury Icanho. We pray for the many people who will come through Icanho’s doors this year, that each person and family would flourish as they receive treatment and embrace a new chapter of their life. Amen
Week 3
We pray for the nurses in our workforce, at our education centres and residential care homes, at this time of year when people with disabilities can be particularly vulnerable to illness. Please give our nurses, and the clinicians they liaise with, strength, insight and protection from illness themselves. Amen
Why our work is needed
Up to 1.5 million disabled adults in England could be eligible for social care or other support but aren’t receiving it. Our staff enable the people we support to receive the services that they might need, such as accessible medical attention or support with finance, and advocate on their behalf where appropriate.
Healthwatch
Week 4
Dear God, we thank you for every child and young person returning to our education centres: Shaftesbury Nash College, Millie College and Victoria School. We pray you will help them develop resilience, independence and enthusiasm for life, whatever their ability. Amen
John’s story
John was seriously injured when his car hit a stationary lorry at 70mph. Following months of hospital treatment, John was referred to Shaftesbury Icanho, our brain injury rehabilitation centre. With his wife Julie by his side, John put in the hard work and progressed physically and emotionally. ‘Even though awful stuff has happened, I feel incredibly blessed because of the family I’ve got, and the rehab I’ve had,’ says John. ‘Julie and I feel part of an Icanho family, we feel that all the team are friends and I couldn’t have better friends.’
Read John’s story at
Support
Please help us to provide life-changing care and support for people living with disabilities
You can donate online at www.shaftesburygroup. org/donate
In focus: Shaftesbury Icanho
February
Let’s pray
Lord God,
When we yearn for inclusion and the world will not let us in, we feel weary. But hope in you renews our strength.
Show us your kingdom of justice and equity. Help us to understand our part in it and give us courage to keep going.
Amen
From our Chaplaincy
Manager
Week 1
We pray for the exciting plans for horticulture and the new kitchen garden at Shaftesbury Millie College. We pray that students will engage with all the activities it involves, that their wellbeing will benefit from learning and working together outside. We pray that the garden's produce would be abundant for the new veg box scheme. Amen
Week 2
Lord, we thank you for the exceptional work Shaftesbury services do with people with challenging behaviours. We thank you for the commitment and love shown by staff as they persevere in helping a resident to settle and become part of a Shaftesbury community.
Amen
Week 3
Dear Lord, we grieve when we hear of people with disabilities being treated unfairly or offered fewer opportunities in life. We pray that this will change in our locality and in our society and we ask you to encourage all those working for a better world, including people we support who push for disability rights. Amen
Why our work is needed
Week 4
Holy Spirit, You inspire us to imagine a better world, where disabled people don’t face barriers. We pray for activists and policy makers, that they would be able to make changes happen. We pray for the Changes for the Future Forum, and their work to improve life for people Shaftesbury supports. Amen
When people receive social care support, their experiences are very positive, with 78% of disabled adults aged 18 – 64 nationally agreeing that their care helped them live the lives they wanted to*. Shaftesbury’s 2024 survey with people we support found that 93% were extremely happy or happy to say they received ‘considerate support delivered by competent people’.
*Healthwatch
Real life story
Several of Shaftesbury’s residential care homes support people who can exhibit challenging behaviours, such as screaming or profound distress in certain situations. When someone realises they’re safe and cared for, their behaviours often settle down, says area manager Patrick Iddon. ‘Shaftesbury staff are determined to make life better for individuals we care for, and they persist in finding something that relaxes the person who is struggling. It could be through music, for instance. I’m proudest when I see someone settled, happy and smiling and developing as a person –a lot of hard work has gone into that.’
Read Paul’s story at www.shaftesburygroup.org/who-cares/blog
You can help Shaftesbury to continue delivering the kind of specialised care that people with disabilities need and deserve.
Please donate by phone: call 0191 500 9176
March
Let’s pray
Thank you God that you care about everyone in Shaftesbury’s services and you promise to listen when we call to you. Amen
Week 1
Lord Jesus, Thank you that we can keep learning, growing, and changing throughout our life. Please walk alongside everyone who has decided to take up a new challenge during Lent. Help them to build the daily habits that grow their character, so they can become more like you, and live life to the full. Amen
Week 2
Lord, we thank you for the joy and new friendships that Shaftesbury’s penpal scheme has created. We pray that more people we support will join in and discover connections beyond their home and family. Amen
Week 3
We pray for Shaftesbury Victoria School members of staff as they seek to build up extra-curricular opportunities for pupils to widen their horizons. We ask that you will open doors to groups, individuals and organisations that can help with these plans. Amen
Read more visit the blog www.shaftesburygroup.org/blog
Why our work is needed
Learning different sports and creative skills at school gives confidence and improved mood*. This counters a pattern of people with disabilities feeling excluded from such opportunities; around 35% feel too self-conscious to ask for extra information and support from gym, fitness and leisure centre staff.
*UK Active www.ukactive.com/ news/ukactives-everyone-canreport-reveals-what-disabledpeople-want-from-the-fitnessand-leisure-sector and BUPA
Week 4
We pray for the carers’ café at Shaftesbury Icanho, where partners and loved ones of clients who are living with brain injury can meet for friendship and support. May this group be a source of strength and comfort for each person. Amen
Education in focus:
A holistic approach
Shaftesbury Victoria School, our independent school focusses on education and therapies together, combining teaching & learning with extra-curricular activities that work in the interests of the whole person. This is more effective for pupils with disabilities.
Please call Michelle on 020 7452 2099 to
April
Let’s pray
Dear Lord, we pray you will help the charity’s decision-makers as they shape plans for developing our work, so we can support more people with disabilities. Amen
Week 1
We thank you for the love, joy and support that couples who live at Shaftesbury share. We pray you would bless their relationships, encourage them when they face challenges and give them many joys to share together. Amen
Week 2
Dear Lord, we are excited to see the difference our support makes to people’s independence and wellbeing. This week we pray for the young people who we support at Shaftesbury Ivy Lodge, asking for your help as they pursue their goals and dreams for life. Amen
Week 3
Lord, we thank you that our children’s service in north-east England is proving transformative for children and their families being supported in their home. We pray this service will expand as there is such a great need. Amen
Why our work is needed
Social care provision for young people with disabilities is hard to find. In the UK, 14.6m people are currently registered as disabled. Despite 21% of working adults being classed as disabled, the emphasis on disability in social housing still tends to focus predominantly on the over-55s. That’s why services like Shaftesbury Ivy Lodge are vital, supporting young people in their first experience of living away from home.
hact.org.uk/blogs/silence-in-oursector-disabled-voices-in-socialhousing
Week 4
We lift our students who will be leaving Shaftesbury Education this summer and pray for the transitions teams who are working with students to find their next step. We ask that the best setting is found for each young person. Amen
Real life story
One of our newest services is Shaftesbury Ivy Lodge, a supported living service in Bournemouth for six young people. it is their first time living away from home and with support of Shaftesbury staff, they are flourishing and are taking steps towards greater independence. For Steph, this means training on how to use public transport safely, while Dennis and Scott are learning catering and hospitality skills in a professional Says new staff member Mayowa: ‘Shaftesbury is great at supporting people and is quite different to other facilities I’ve come across. They support each person to make choices of their own and a person’s wellbeing is paramount.’
Find out more visit the blog at www.shaftesburygroup.org/blog
Support
Please support us so we can continue to provide the best possible start in life for children and young people with disabilities:
donate online at www.shaftesburygroup. org/donate
In focus: Shaftesbury Ivy Lodge
About Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is the disability charity that enables each child, young person and adult to live a life that adds up for them.
What makes life add up is different for everyone. It’s the sum of many things and many people – from friendship to fun; from companionship to community; from a great chat to a challenge overcome.
‘All together better for disability’ means working with the people we support, promoting inclusion, independence and opportunity.
All together we are better; it’s why we work to see people take part, contribute and be valued. We do this through our wide range of disability care, special education and rehabilitation services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Email: info@shaftesburygroup.org
www.shaftesburygroup.org ShaftesburyGroupUK
Shaftesbury is the operating name of Livability which is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee in England and Wales. Charity No: 1116530 and Company No: 5967087.