We might as well be up front about what this post is mostly about – money – so you’ve been warned!

Firstly, a huge THANK YOU to all who have supported us financially over the last few years and continue to do so faithfully, whether as one-off gifts or as monthly contributions to enable us to carry out the work we believe God has called us to, currently with ex-offenders in Shrewsbury. We could not do this without your valuable support.

It is fair to say that we have been feeling the stretch in recent months, not only with the increase in everyday living costs, but also with several significant and unforeseen one-off bills associated with 8SC, the community house for ex-offenders that we run. These include a split in the oil tank leading to a recommendation to transition from oil to mains gas in December (£500 to remove the oil boiler plus £2,665 for the new gas boiler); the discovery of burst water pipes under the drive in January (£900 to fix); and last week, rather shockingly finding that all four tyres of our car had been slashed overnight while parked outside our house – an unfortunate occupational hazard when supporting complex people – leading to being towed to a garage to have the tyres replaced (£365 in total).

If you would like to make a one-off contribution at this time to help us recover these costs, we would be extremely grateful – you can do so through this link.

Monthly Support

May we also take this opportunity to prompt you, our monthly supporters, to prayerfully consider whether you are in a position to increase your giving at this time, to help us manage our increasing everyday costs and budget for a reduced income while Rachel is on maternity leave (not to mention the additional costs of having a new member of the family). It is such a privilege to be in receipt of support in this way, but this model doesn’t come with any built in pay rises or consideration of inflation unless our supporters increase their giving. If you would like to respond in this way, please follow the link to log in to your Stewardship account. You can also initiate a new monthly gift at the same link. Thank you so much for considering this.

Watch this space for more news and updates in the next few weeks!

We will sign off with a Celtic Circle Prayer for us all:

Circle me, Lord.
Keep protection near
And danger afar.

Circle me, Lord
Keep hope within.
Keep doubt without.

Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.

Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within.
Keep evil out.

Love and all God’s blessing,

Rachel and Alex