Hope

‘For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.’ Jeremiah 29:11

This month’s prayer theme is about the Hope we can give to those on the long journey from slavery to freedom, a journey that does not end with the release from invisible chains.  Hope sustains with a vision of a better future.  We can give Hope to those we encounter through our love and prayers but the love and kindness we feel for those we never meet reaches out to them too.  Like the butterfly that flaps its wings in one corner of the world and impacts on the other, we never know what impact our love might have.

 Remember the Future

In this powerful, original spoken-word piece, Joshua Luke Smith – a poet, producer, published author – brings to life the long journey of healing from slavery and violence.

A seed splits the burnt soil, not yet a forest, but a sign, a whispered promise: healing takes time.

Remember the future.

The roots stretch deeper than can be seen, veins of quiet strength, tender yet unyielding, beginning to hum with life yet to come.

Children one day will play beneath their canopy, despite the tragedy that’s been.

Through their resilience and belief, the air unshackled, carrying no fear of calamity.

A landscape of peace.

Through the work of hands that help mend hearts, that hold space for what’s been torn apart.

Who see promise in the struggle and help others dare to dream in the valleys of despair, who stand with those who stumble with arms outstretched in care.

The past, they say, is already written.

But there is a pen in the hands of those who refuse to let their story end there, stitching life back together, thread by thread, scar by scar.

This is where Justice becomes art restoration – the patient craft of an artist with paint dusted palms.

Freedom from captivity may happen in a moment, but lasting Liberation is a movement, a steady rhythm in motion.

Rebuilding what was ruined, replanting and renewing.

This is where the free find their voices again, rebuilding their strength, reclaiming their story.

Where what was once shattered not only mends but shines with a glory despite its breaking.

Where what was lost can lead us forward, toward a redemption we never imagined or believed could become its ending.

Every hand held, every story told becomes the cornerstone of a future where the chains of the past no longer hold.

The weaving of the weary towards wellness, the crafting of tomorrows from today’s brokenness.

Where those who have walked through the fire are not just survivors but icons of Humanity’s triumphs.

They are poets and peacemakers, educators raising the next generation, reclaiming the ordinary days with extraordinary courage.

Choosing life, storytellers and painters, healers, mothers and fathers.

They are the architects of a new world, the ones who will teach us what it means to be free.

Overturning the tables of Injustice, showing us how to trust again, how resilience and belief turn wounds into wisdom and pain into peace.

She writes her name – and these aren’t just letters on a page, but the declaration of her worth.

She sees her reflection and knows it speaks, not only of what she endured but of who she is becoming.

A seed splits the burnt soil, not yet a forest, but a sign, a whispered promise: healing takes time.

Remember the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfhvhzUZaeA

Marek was rescued from a scrapyard in Manchester having being brought to the UK with promise of work and an opportunity to achieve his aspiration to be an architect.  Instead, he was enslaved and abused, beaten and traumatised.  Now he speaks to groups of people raising awareness of modern slavery via his own personal experience.  Let us pray that Marek will reach people and change hearts and minds.  Let us pray that through his testimony we can learn what it means to experience slavery and, in so doing, promote the message of people like Marek.

A woman rescued from a brothel in Preston left a diary.  She wouldn’t accept help and disappeared.  We don’t know her name and we don’t know where she is but we have the words she left behind, “You know I was praying last night for you to finish me off. You know I felt like I was swallowing my tongue and I was begging you to do something. Today I’m asking you for strength.   Hey, Allah, don’t you think you’ve prepared me enough and don’t you know that there’s a tiny soul waiting for me there? For that soul’s sake, not mine, will you let me walk away alive? I know I made mistakes but what is my child guilty of?” Let us pray that wherever she is now, her anguish is over and that she and her child are safe.

A health service receptionist received a call from the police asking for a database search of a name which she recognised as her brother, Alan.  Missing for years, Alan had been kept as a slave for 26 years, by a family who targeted homeless people and men with learning difficulties, taking them off the streets with the promise of work and shelter. Along with 17 others victims he had been denied access to money, beaten into submission and given a false identity. He was made to work seven days a week laying drives, and living in a basic caravan with no running water or toilet facilities.  Let us pray that Alan has a new life and has come to recognise the love of those who now care for him. Let us pray that we can stretch out our love to people like Alan in the hope that in some way that love will touch them.

Hope at Home is a charity with a mission to offer safe homes for all survivors of slavery.  It trains and supports volunteer hosts across the UK who have a spare bedroom and the goodwill to welcome a survivor of modern slavery into their home. Hosts are asked to offer a warm welcome and acceptance, a spare bedroom and then all other facilities (bathroom, kitchen, laundry etc) can be shared. Hosts are not expected to do any support work as all guests are supported by an external agency case worker. Hosts can choose who to host (male/female/either) and how long they are willing to host for.  On average, placements are arranged for 3-6 months and this is agreed in advance with hosts. Hope at Home prides itself on the 1:1 support it gives to hosts, during and after every placement.  Let us pray for the willing hosts of Hope at Home, and the victims they share their homes with.  And if we have a room to spare let us pray that we might consider offering it to a victim of modern slavery.