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Avengers Assemble!

Dear Prayer supporters,
Jesus, reading out these words of prophecy from Isaiah, said that he was the fulfilment of them, that he was the one sent “to preach good news to the poor, to bind up broken hearts, and to proclaim freedom for captives, release from darkness to prisoners”. He said that now’s the time of God’s favour and he called us to continue this work, freeing people to enjoy the favour. The next line in Isaiah says that it’s also “the day of vengeance of our God”. What’s that about?

As I asked the Lord what to write today, I heard: “Avengers Assemble!”. You might know it as the name of the Marvel blockbuster, but it also describes what’s happening right now at Acorn Chaplaincy! Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work (1John 3:8) – and He’s assembling this team for this purpose. We are avenging God on his enemies; those spirits who do Satan’s will, who rob people of life, hope and purpose. We retaliate by helping these same people to become Oaks of Righteousness, people who know they are loved and whose lives have purpose. We won’t be strengthening their willpower, but facilitating them to accept and embrace their weakness, creating space for God’s love to work it’s magic. As Jesus said “The meek will inherit the earth”. This is a spiritual law: that the power of God is released into us when we let go of our illusion of power and trust instead in His. We don’t have a photo yet of all of our Avengers, but here’s some of us at our Volunteer Induction. 

We thank God, the Lord of the harvest, for these handpicked labourers and include you, our prayer supporters, as part of this team. Please pray for these Chaplains: Pat, Denise, Denise, Michelle, Matt, Jack, Linda, Becki, Philippa, Steve and Karina; the 4 trustees also serving as Chaplains Mary, Tricia, Derek and Simon; and Niki our social media creative. 

We still need a Prayer Coordinator and some more admin support. There has been interest in these roles but no applications and both are foundational and crucial to have in place for healthy growth, so persist please in prayer for these workers and for another male chaplain for Wednesdays.

Please also share either this email with any Christians who you believe would pray for the work, or our facebook and Instagram pages and posts with friends, in order to help grow the labourers.

WE HAVE A DATE!

We also have a venue 135 St Mary’s Street, in the basement under the Saint Mary’s Parish Office. We will use this for the drop-ins on Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons every week. We will have practice runs on Wednesday 15th a.m. and Thursday 16th p.m. so please pray for those and for us to learn from them what we need to. Then on Wednesday 29th 10am-1pm it’s THE LAUNCH! Prayer for this event would be very welcome.
As we grow we will also use other venues for appointments with chaplains for people who can’t make the drop-in times.

November 2nd has been set as the start of the in-person Recovery Course, probably every Tuesday evening, venue tbc.

TRAINING

We are excited to have Dan Head, programme lead at Yeldall Manor, coming to give us an evening of Addiction Awareness Training on August 16th. We will add to this as we go. We all have access to online training with Keys for all our volunteers. 

ACORN CHAPLAINCY GUESTS

Two people, B and R, are going to do a Keys Community detox, with Mary, Tricia, Pat and Jack supporting them over the next 6-8 weeks of preparation, stabilisation, detox and aftercare. 
We have also had enquiries from L and K, two people wanting to get lasting freedom from substance abuse who we will meet to see how best we can support them. Pray also for M and D who are using The Genesis Process to renew their minds. M has a strong relationship with God and just wants her ability to trust Him in all things to be renewed again, so that she doesn’t have to grip onto sobriety in her own strength. D is exploring Jesus, needing grace to start that journey of trust, so that she can let go of alcohol.

  • Praise and thanks for our volunteers and for growth in freedom for those working on their recovery.
  • Pray for the trustees and think tank to make Holy Spirit led decisions
  • For Group leaders with personal addiction recovery experience, a Prayer Coordinator and digital and admin support.
  • For the training programme
  • For grace, strength, hope and protection for guests and team.

Thank you so much for your support. The church is not meant to be on the defensive, fearful of enemy activity and closeted in our buildings, but going on the attack to take back what has been stolen and to bind up the wounds of the sheep that got lost and damaged. That title, Avengers Assemble, feels like a reminder from God of this truth.
The Acorn Chaplaincy Team