Someone Cares
Through our Partner Church Scheme, we aim to equip and empower churches to be as effective as possible at changing the lives of those trapped in poverty in their communities. Our partner churches inform and inspire us, and we hope their stories will inspire you too. We’re currently spotlighting some of the social action projects and ministries run by Freedom Church Liverpool.
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When their youngest child was born, Jenni and Pete Calcraft suddenly found themselves juggling medical appointments, surgeries, tube feeding and admissions to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Jenni says:
“During one of these admissions a mum in the hospital bay asked whether anyone could recommend a fortune teller, as she wanted to speak to someone urgently about her child’s future. What happened next surprised me – everyone got their phones out and shared numbers for countless spiritualists in the hunt for answers. I remember thinking what they needed was God and how wonderful it would be if the Holy Spirit could be brought into Alder Hey. I prayed into it but dismissed the thought fairly immediately as it felt completely implausible.”
Jenni discussed her experience with the church elders, made enquiries, got talking to the Spiritual Care Team (chaplaincy) at the hospital and offered to help. The result was ‘Someone Cares’, a project which sees Freedom Church assisting the Spiritual Care Team to support the families of children who are admitted to Alder Hey. A team of volunteers from the church visit the hospital wards regularly to offer a listening ear, emotional support and prayer.
The team’s motivation for Someone Cares is Psalm 147:3 – He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. Jenni explains that behind every child in hospital there are often heartbroken and traumatised parents and carers. She marvels at the privilege of being able to sow seeds of the Kingdom of God on the wards of the hospital:
“One week we were leaving ‘Do you need to talk?’ flyers in the common areas on the wards. A dad, initially very dismissive, chased after us saying that actually yes, he did need to talk! His life was unravelling before his eyes and he had recently come very close to attempting suicide. We spent over an hour with him, listening and praying. We also recommended local churches and other ongoing support should he need it.
On another occasion we met a dad who told us he hadn’t taken any medication for his significant mental illness since his child was admitted. He felt like he was deteriorating and asked us to help. He hadn’t thought to tell the hospital staff about his own needs, which is quite common. Within an hour he was seen by the clinical psychologist and his medication was ordered and collected locally. We built an ongoing relationship with the family, praying with them and spending time with them as they walked a difficult path.”
Jenni and the team have been privileged to support the families of some of the most unwell children in the UK. They see that God is already at work at Alder Hey and they get to join in with what He’s doing:
“As we entered one hospital room the mum had just finished putting tiny wooden angels around the room, so she declared that God had heard her prayer and sent us to see her. Then one morning recently, we met two different mothers who each told us they had faith in God and had already experienced answers to prayer as their daughters’ situations had improved.”
As well as providing volunteers to visit patients and their families, Freedom Church Liverpool also provide children’s pyjamas and parents’ toiletry care packs, for when families are admitted to the hospital in an emergency and haven’t brought anything with them.
Someone Cares has recently been granted a place on the Cinnamon Network’s Incubator Programme, to develop and grow the project. Jenni would love to see Someone Cares replicated in other hospitals nationally, as more churches reach out to offer help:
“There are thousands of people experiencing tough times in hospitals all over the UK. What a need there is for God’s love and presence in those situations and what an opportunity and privilege for us as the Church to be able to bring it. We simply started a conversation with the Spiritual Care Team (chaplaincy) at Alder Hey and found a real openness to our involvement.”
If you would like to explore running something similar in your area, do get in touch with the Someone Cares team (contact details available here).
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Written by Claudine Roberts
