Dear friends,
Greetings from all at the Acorn at the start of a new year. We rededicate ourselves to ‘helping people in addiction find God’s Love, Hope and Life’; trusting God to afford our team and guests renewal and flourishment.
We really appreciate your ongoing interest in the ministry of Acorn Chaplaincy. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your ongoing support and continual prayers; without which we would struggle to deliver our ministry.
Team News
Exciting news! Paul O’Neill has joined the Board of Trustees and is also joining the team as a chaplain.
In the last couple of months, several members of our team were affected by winter viruses and Covid. Thankfully, we were able to keep our Drop-in open and to continually support our guests throughout the festive period.
Ministries
We thank God very much that our ministry is continuing to grow, in trusting relationships with our guests and the local community.
Drop-in
We celebrated Christmas with our guests at the Drop-in, by giving each guest a small gift whilst they enjoyed being served festive refreshments. We were humbled to see the smiles, joy and affection shared as we experienced God’s love and generosity.
So far, this January, we are seeing the numbers coming to our Drop-in increase – on Wednesday mornings from an average of 10-12 to about 16-17, and on Thursday afternoons from 15-20 to 18-21.
“Recovery Community”
We are delighted in being able to start a new group with 9 members joining – 5 from the first group and 4 new to the group.
This group meets on Mondays at Freemantle Baptist Church.
Good Fruits
We celebrate the fruits of trusting relationships that we build with our precious guests. Through their comments, we know our Drop-in provides a ‘safe and welcoming’ space where they can relax, knowing that they ‘are not judged’ and are ‘supported’. As a result, many of our guests are regaining their self-esteem and feel increasing confidence in their recovery and to rebuild their lives.
Collaboration
With God’s help, we are continuing to forge new working relationships with local organisations and churches.
Prayer Requests for 2023
We would love you to continue to pray for our guests, our ministry and our team members.
Please continue to pray:
- For our guests who struggle with sobriety and those who have lapsed
- For our guests to be encouraged, become fully committed to their recovery and grow in relationship with God
- For our guests that they will come to know God’s unconditional love, and so have hope, significance and lives filled with God’s purpose
- Give thanks to God for bringing more guests to us
- For the Acorn team for physical, emotional and spiritual health and God’s protection that we have resilience in ministering to our guests
- For God to bring more volunteers to our team
- Give thanks to God for His steadfast upholding of all that we deliver and that He will continue to guide us in growing our ministries
God bless you all.
Mary, January 2023